The Pilgrim and the Pulpit Podcast

Scripture: Jeremiah 17:5-10 - Those who trust the Lord are like treesIn 1961, outgoing Republican President Dwight Eisenhower delivered his farewell address to the nation, as all presidents do. But as a former World War II general, his address included this prescient warning: “In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex.” Eisenhower continued: “The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted.”In January of this year, President Joe Biden delivered a farewell address of his own and in an explicit nod to Eisenhower, offered a scorching warning about a new concentration of power.  President Biden said: "Today, an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power and influence that literally threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights and freedoms and a fair shot for everyone to get ahead. I’m equally concerned about the potential rise of a tech industrial complex that can pose real dangers for our country."This new "tech industrial complex" was unabashedly on display at the inauguration of President Donald Trump on January 20th, where pride of place in the ceremony was given to Elon Musk and other tech leaders from Meta, Amazon, Google, Apple, TikTok and Uber.  As Senator Elisabeth Warren noted at the time:“They have even better seats than Trump’s own cabinet picks. That says it all.”This new concentration of influence in just a few wealthy people is arguably the most obvious in the far-reaching powers recently given to the entirely unelected "richest man in the world", Elon Musk, to take the tech mantra of "move fast and break stuff" into governmental institutions. -------I recently listened to a New York Times interview about Musk between Ezra Klein and Kara Swisher, a tech reporter who has been covering Musk for years. It was fascinating and disturbing to hear Swisher's take, starting with her assertion that Musk has a darkly dystopian view of the world. His desire to go to Mars is very much centred in his belief that humanity is doomed, and we have to get off this planet.  His worldview, she says, is greatly informed by video games, where he is Ready Player One, the hero, the one who matters the most, and everyone else is an N.P.C. — a nonplayer character, a faceless other who is only in his way.Despite his vast wealth that he could chose to use to help solve some of humanities problems, Musk is not motivated by money, only the power that money provides. Money brings the tools and opportunities to decide, to centre reality on yourself.  And while this self-centredness is certainly not unique within the billionaire class, Swisher says that Musk's narcissism took a distinctly darker turn through COVID, where he, and so many others were radicalized online into right-wing conspiracies, which provided easy answers to why he, and others were so unhappy. Half jokingly, and half not, Swisher described Elon Musk as a: "sad little boy who wasn’t loved enough as a child [who] is searching for meaning, searching for love." She goes on: "Why would you stay up at night talking to people named Catturd [on Twitter]? Why Because you have a desperately empty hole in the center of your life that you can never fill. It’s a bottomless well. And I hate to break it down like that because I’m not a psychologist, but boy, does he have a big old hole right in the center of himself."Thus says the LORD: Cursed are those who trust in mere mortals and make mere flesh their strength, whose hearts turn away from the LORD. They shall be like a shrub in the desert and shall not see when relief comes. They shall live in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land... The heart is devious above all else; it is perverse-- who can understand it?The words of Jeremiah seem apt in the current era of power-hungry politicians and oligarchs who would uplift the devices and desires of their own hearts - who would see themselves as the main character, usurping for themselves the rightful place of God in the story of salvation.  The prophet's words lay a biting criticism upon any who would rely on their wealth, status or religious heritage while failing to honour God and God's commandments of Torah to love the neighbour and welcome the stranger.The prophet Jeremiah's historical context was that of the Babylonian exile, the 6th century BC rupture of culture, religion and national sovereignty for the nation of Judah.  The rupture came in the form of an invading army, which, the prophet says, is justified because of the nation's unfaithfulness to God. It may make us uncomfortable to hear, but Jeremiah declares that this is God's judgement. The only ground in which God’s people can truly flourish, the only way to make the nation great again, is by letting go of traditional understandings of power. Strong armies, secure borders, sustainable religious institutions—Jeremiah challenges them all as ultimate goals of life. Such standards by which humans judge success are as shallow as the roots of a shrub in the parched places of the desert - this is the way of dust and death.  Go deeper, the prophet says. Go deeper, deeper, deeper. ------Perhaps you saw this in the news, or celebrated it yourself, but it was recently "Flag Day" in Canada. A day that we mark the first time the red and white maple leaf flag was raised on Parliament Hill on Feb. 15, 1965, replacing the Canadian Red Ensign. Leading up to Flag Day, Canada's five living former Prime Ministers, Joe Clark, Kim Campbell, Jean Chrétien, Paul Martin and Stephen Harper, jointly wrote an open letter, telling Canadians to "show the flag as never before" as the country contends with "threats and insults from Donald Trump." The letter says that they have: "witnessed a surge of Canadian pride and patriotism" and they are heartened to see so many people "come together to express their love for our country and their determination to defend Canada's values and our independence." These leaders from different political stripes conclude: "We've had our share of battles in the past. But we all agree on one thing: Canada, the true north, strong and free, the best country in the world, is worth celebrating and fighting for."Makes you want to hug a beaver and chug some maple syrup, and doesn't it? I am a very proud Canadian, and I strongly believe in supporting Canadian culture, businesses, institutions and the people who put on a uniform to defend our country. But there's something about this current moment that we are in that is reminding me of another moment.  This "we're all in it together" vibe feels to me like those first weeks of the Covid-19 pandemic.  And I’m sure you will recall, what started as a unifying effort to tackle a common threat, quickly took a nasty turn. What started with goodwill, in a very short amount of time, metastasized into intolerance and radicalization.  And we must be clear-eyed about the fact that the tech platforms that enabled that radical turn, and the people who entrenched their own power and literally made billions of dollars when neighbour turned against neighbour, were the exact same people - the tech industrial complex - who were given pride of place in the inauguration ceremony on January 20th in Washington D.C.I think we must be very, very cautious that the patriotism we are feeling these days is not weaponized and used as just another way to drive us further apart. While this moment of national pride comes from a good place, we should also recognize that this is a moment of the heart - the heart as the prophet Jeremiah understood it - the place of passion and emotion, which is also the place that can be exploited when we are scared or feel threatened.  As Jeremiah writes "The heart is devious above all else; it is perverse-- who can understand it?"The heart longs, the heart aches, the heart breaks, the heart is the hole at the centre of us that years to be filled - and make no mistake we will fill it with something.  That scared child that lives within each of us will reach out for something to hold onto.  Maybe it will be patriotism, maybe it will be the idols of consumerism, or the conspiracy theories that titillate, or the hedonistic pleasures that bring the next dopamine hit.  But Jeremiah knew that none of them will satiate, for they are the path of woe, and not the blessing we seek.  Go deeper, the prophet says. Go deeper, deeper, deeper. ------The mediaeval theologian Thomas Aquinas once wrote that "It is evident that nothing can bring the will of man to rest except the universal good. This is not found in any creative thing but only in God. Therefore man's happiness consists in God alone."  God is the one who can make our hearts whole.  We live in the world, and we have to make decisions on how to be in the world - what to buy, who to vote for, what we give our attention to.  But our faith says, that out trust, our trust is for God: "Blessed are those who trust in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD" the prophet says. "They shall be like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream. It shall not fear when heat comes, and its leaves shall stay green; in the year of drought it is not anxious, and it does not cease to bear fruit."When we do our best, which is really all any of us can do, when we do our best to love our neighbour, and welcome the stranger, and take care of our common home - but we place our trust in God - as prophet Jeremiah says - when we place our faith in God, that… that is how our soul finds it’s rest and our heart is filled with the universal good and we are like the tree with the deep roots by the flowing stream, not fearing the droughts, always bearing good fruit. And that might sound like beautiful poetry, but here's how it's actually prophesy: when the roots of a tree run deep, they become enmeshed with the roots of other trees, sharing nutrients, communicating with each other. The figures that appear to be solitary are actually a community.  There is no Ready Player One's in a forest, all characters are valued, all creatures are needed, and the stream that nourishes all, knows no political boundaries and waves no national flag.The great river of God's love flows through all places and races and can never be dammed for exclusive use by anyone, no matter how much money you have. The true power in this universe resides with God, and faith… faith is the only thing that truly fills the human heart. -------I give the last words now, to what might sound familiar from Jack Layton's last public statement before he died in 2011, but were actually given by Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier to a group of young Canadians on October 11, 1916, two years into the First World War.  Laurier said: "I shall remind you that already many problems rise before you: problems of race division, problems of creed difference, problems of economic con­flict, problems of national duty and national aspiration. Let me tell you that for the solution of these problems you have a safe guide, an unfailing light if you remember that faith is better than doubt and love is better than hate."Our safe guide and unfailing light is to always remember that faith is better than doubt and love is better than hate. Amen. Thanks for reading The Pilgrim and the Pulpit! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit revjasonfrancismeyers.substack.com

Scripture: Luke 4:14-30, 1 Corinthians 13:1-13Sermon for Black History MonthEach year, I enter into Black History Month humbly, fully aware that my personal lived experience is different from those in our communities that are of African decent. And in this month where we honour Black culture and contributions, I am especially mindful of not wanting to fall into cultural appropriation, or tokenism, and I admit, that each year I do hold some apprehension about making mistakes, and falling headlong into my own blind spots.  But this year... this year, any apprehension I felt about preparing this message quickly faded away into gratitude.  Gratitude that I get to serve in a church where there is a growing diversity of background and culture and lived experience, that enriches our ministry, and makes my life so much better for being a part of it.  I am also thankful that I live in a country, while far from being perfect, still seeks to honour the differences amongst us - that still finds pride in its multiculturalism, and sees beauty in the cultural mosaic that is the Canadian people.  I am also very aware, and this has been driven home for me the past couple weeks - perhaps it has for you as well - that we cannot take any of this for granted.  "Human progress never rolls in on the wheels of inevitability" and if we do not make very deliberate decisions, it is not just possible, but probable that we will roll backwards. It's already happening. KPMG recently published research of 1,000 Canadian professionals who identify as Black, and found that in the past year, 81% of them reported enduring some form of racism or microaggression in their workplace. 81% of Black people experienced racism at work - here in Canada in the past year. And this backsliding extends to other groups as well.  Homophobia, transphobia, Islamabobia and anti-semitism are all on the rise in our country. Last week, when the world marked the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, a new study showed that a growing number of Canadians, especially young Canadians, believe the Holocaust has been exaggerated. The backsliding is real and it is dangerous. Fomented by certain politicians and propagated by the big tech algorithms, there is a growing, and increasingly rage-filled backlash against any program or policy to level the playing field for historically marginalized groups, contemptuously labelling such efforts as "woke" - a term that originated in Black communities, meaning to wake up, to become aware of the realities of the Black experience, and by extension, any experience that is different from our own. This awareness is the basis of compassion, and a necessary step in building a just society, and frankly, makes our lives better.  How is this not a laudable goal?  But rather than celebrating our differences, and ensuring that all people have opportunities to flourish, too often we are being told by those in places of power to fear - even to hate - that which is different from us. And there is a real and growing threat of people being radicalized into hate on the social platforms who profit, not from upholding human dignity, but by fuelling our division - where life is presented as a zero-sum game, and for you to win, others must lose - where anger seems to be the only currency that holds any liquidity. -------These past weeks, as I have seen the societal backsliding into our very worst impulses, I will admit to feeling angry, and I fear for what these drastic shifts might mean for us - especially for the most vulnerable amongst us.  Now, as a person of faith, I don't believe that a faith that promises easy answers is much of a faith at all.  Faith is about wrestling with hard things, with the belief that a loving God is with us in the struggle. A God who calls us to be co-workers in bringing God’s Kingdom to earth as it is in heaven - and who gives us tools for this work through community and tradition and scripture. As our United Church Song of Faith says: scripture is our song for the journey, the living word passed on from generation to generation to guide and inspire, that we might wrestle a holy revelation for our time and place from the human experiences and cultural assumptions of another era. We do not live in first century Israel, but by reading these ancient texts each week with open hearts, we do the work of wrestling a holy revelation from them for what we face now.  With this in mind, we we turn now to the 4th chapter in Luke’s gospel, and a moment of such fear and anger, that in just under eight verses, the crowd in Nazareth turns from amazement to murderous - from lauding Jesus as the hometown boy done good, to wanting to throw him off a cliff.  Why?  And what can we learn from this?The story begins with the story of how Jesus began his public ministry. Filled with the Holy Spirit after spending 40 days in the wilderness, he comes home and goes into the synagogue in Nazareth, and opens the scroll of the prophet Isaiah and reads these words: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour." According to Leviticus, this "year of the Lord's favour" - also known as the Jubilee - is the divine directive where every fiftieth year would be a kind of “reset” for creation as a whole: the land would be given a rest, enslaved people would be set free, debts would be cancelled, and “liberty” would be proclaimed “throughout the land to all its inhabitants.”  The Jubilee would have helped prevent any one of Israel’s groups from becoming dominant over the others. Which would be great news for the vulnerable — and unsettling news for anyone attached to the inequalities and privileges of the status quo. Now I don't think it's fair to say that those people in Nazareth saw themselves as particularly privileged - they were rural farmers and labourers living under Roman occupation and subject the whims of their vassal kings like Herod.  Their lived experience would have had more than its fair share of pain.  But, as we see in the text, Jesus refuses to make the good news about just this one group of hurt people, even if it is his neighbours.  I think he intuits their desire for exceptionalism, a feeling that they are entitled to a greater share of the bounty - of the Jubilee - because of where they are from and their perceived connection to him. Perhaps they assumed that "Joseph's kid" would give them a special standing in a golden age or an inside track to the winners’ circle in the zero-sum game of life that they felt tired of losing. Jesus, I believe, senses this presumption and brings it out into the open by referencing two stories of prophets who bless not insiders but outsiders - something central to the teachings of Torah. But there in Nazareth... and in Washington, and in Toronto, and in all places where even the thought of the possibly of being passed over or left behind takes hold, the age-old fears rage through the crowds: "If outsiders are to be welcomed in, doesn’t that mean that we will be pushed out?" This fear turns to fury, and the mob becomes murderous.------There are no easy answers for us here. But what stories like this allow us to do is reflect on how the Gospel challenges us, or provokes us, or even offends us?  Having a biblical faith invites us to place ourselves within the biblical stories, there in the crowd, and imagine what we might be feeling, what we would be doing if the story was unfolding in our lives. Because it is. Scripture is the living word.  Are there not times that you or what's important to you are threatened?  What does that feel like?  When you are scared, how does that impact how you treat other people?  What do you post on social media when you are upset?  What is the effect of anger on you - what does it do to your body, your emotions, your faith?------I've had to wrestle with some of these questions myself recently.  You see, someone left me a message last week.  After my sermon last Sunday, which was very much about honouring the diversity within the church and the world, someone left me a message in the form of a Bible.  A Bible on my desk at the church open to Paul's letter to the Romans, chapter 1 and one of the texts that some people point to, to put it bluntly, to legitimize bigotry. There are a handful of verses in the Bible, that are sometimes referred to as the "texts of terror", because in some fundamentalist Christian circles, they are used out of context to make the claim that there’s something sinful about how and who some of us love. This message that sought to diminish people that I love was left for me. And it made me angry.  I could feel it in my body.  For hours, I couldn't focus or think straight. I couldn't work. And then I remembered that line in our Song of Faith about scripture being the human experiences and cultural assumptions of another era that we wrestle with in hopes of finding a holy revelation for our time and place.And so I forced myself to sit down, and have a little prayer, and read that passage in Romans again. And then I felt the Spirit’s nudge to kept reading, and there in the very next paragraph, clear as day, was, I believe, a message back to anyone who tries define the parameters of God’s love and acceptance. The text says:"Now if you feel inclined to set yourself up as a judge of others, let me assure you, whoever you are, that you are in no position to do so. For at whatever point you condemn others, you automatically condemn yourselves."And then I though I would just keep reading, and I flipped ahead a few pages to our 1 Corinthians text today and found this: "If I speak in the tongues of humans and of angels but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers and understand all mysteries and all knowledge and if I have all faith so as to remove mountains but do not have love, I am nothing. Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable; it keeps no record of wrongs; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends."These are Paul's words, but I believe they encapsulate the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That even when he was faced with the murderous mob in Nazareth; even before Pilate and the seat of Imperial power; even on the cross, Jesus did not pass judgement - he did not lash out and he did not lose focus on his mission. He took all the fear and pain of this world into his own flesh and transformed it though resurrection love - his work was to show without hesitation or equivocation that the powers of hatred do not get the last word.The salvation he brings is for all of creation, but as he points to in the book of Isaiah, it starts by bringing good news to the most vulnerable, and the end of dominance by one group over another.  And as Christians, we must always be mindful that our proximity to Jesus provides us with no special privilege - no claim to exceptionalism - in fact, it binds us, body, mind and soul, to his sacrificial ministry of love. --------Though he did not know it at the time, Martin Luther King Jr. preached his last sermon on March 31, 1968 at the Washington National Cathedral in Washington DC.  And in that sermon, Dr. King said: “Human progress never rolls in on the wheels of inevitability. It comes through the tireless efforts and the persistent work of dedicated individuals who are willing to be co-workers with God.”  And so I ask, are we as followers of Christ, continually called to build God’s Kingdom of love, willing to be co-workers with God?In these days of backsliding into the very worst of human impulses, are we willing to be co-workers with God?Alongside our Black sisters and brothers and siblings facing racism, are we willing to be co-workers with God?Amidst rising homophobia, transphobia, Islamabobia and anti-semitism, are we willing to be co-workers with God?Within a culture that tells us to fear that which is different amongst us, are we willing to be co-workers with God?In the face of leaders who claim an exclusive exceptionalism for some based on where they were born, or the colour of their skin, are we willing to be co-workers with God?And whenever we receive divisive messages that incite us to anger, are we willing to prayerfully but clearly send a message back saying that in the church of Jesus Christ, we don't play those zero-sum games - we uphold the dignity of each person as a beloved child of God, because we are co-workers with God?Are we willing to do this? Are you willing to do this?Thanks for reading The Pilgrim and the Pulpit! This post is public so feel free to share it. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit revjasonfrancismeyers.substack.com

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 12:12-31aI know this will be shocking for you to hear, but sometimes... sometimes there is conflict in the church. In the church! I know... hard to believe, right? That sometimes Christians would do things contrary to the ways of Jesus... but it seems like that's what's going on in the church in Corinth. -----Alright... The church is, of course, a human institution, and individual congregations are made up of individual people, and whenever people come together in human community, yes, sometimes there is conflict.Sometimes the age old issues flare up around power and status and who's in and who's out.And as we can pick up on in the 1 Corinthians text that I’ve linked to in the text version of this post, all this very human drama is playing out within the church in Corinth, the church that Paul himself founded, amongst the people that he personally knows and loves. There are problems specific to those people at that particular time, but as the writer of Ecclesiastes says, there is nothing new under the sun, so there is benefit to try and understand what was going on then, to illumine what we deal with now.It is edifying to hear Paul's "I'm not mad, I'm just disappointed" message to the church there to see how it may still resonate with the church here. And it's important, because when you boil it all down - and this becomes clearer when you read the whole Epistle - Paul is fundamentally talking about the identity of the church and what it means to be a Christian in the world. And Paul the pastor has to find the words to say to the people that he loves that they are getting it wrong - that, as the Biblical professor Frank Crouch puts it: "they have strayed from their essential identity and purpose—to be the church—created by the Spirit to love and serve each other and the world in Jesus' name".You see, instead of serving others, certain members of the church in Corinth have prioritized serving themselves - their own basest desires, their own puffed up egos, their own need to feel "holier than thou" because of certain spiritual gifts they possess or traditional markers of power they have outside the church like money or education or social ranking.In short, some of the people think they are better than others, and this is playing out in very unhealthy ways within the life of the community, and is pulling the church away from its essential identity.And so Paul does, what Jesus himself did so often, he uses metaphor to help people understand his understanding what it means to be a Christian. Paul leans into the metaphor of the church as the body, saying: "For just as the body is one and has many members and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you,’ nor again the head to the feet, ‘I have no need of you.’"Paul tells the church, then and now, that we live in relationship with each other, and the well-being of the individual is inseparable from the well-being of the whole.And Paul preaches that unity comes not through conformity but through diversity.Just as the eye is different from the foot, we are all different - different backgrounds, different perspectives, different skills and gifts - but all that diversity is valued - is needed - to make up the living, breathing, singing, serving, praying, dancing, loving community that is Christ's body - the church.This is what Paul the pastor preaches… but too often... too often... then and now, other voices fill the space between us that preach, not welcome, but fear. Fear of that which is different, resulting in the demonization of so-seen outsiders and a culture of division that tears the fabric of human community.Too often the head says to the feet "I have no need of you!"And when this is done in Jesus' name, we are getting church wrong - we lose the essential identity of what it means to be a Christian in the world. And make no mistake, the world is watching. -------Within our church, some of us are educators, some of us work in healthcare, others are entrepreneurs. We have lawyers and homemakers and accountants and people that work in technology and customer service. We have young people in school, retired people and those who's current circumstances do not allow them to work for income but still have vital gifts to share with the church and the world.We all have different backgrounds and my background before becoming a minster is in marketing and communications and branding, and over my time of being a Christian, I have done my best to take Paul's message seriously, and bring these gifts into the body of Christ. I am a Christian because of my relationship with Jesus, and also because of my deep belief in the church and it's calling to be an active agent in addressing the problems we face as a species, which so often stem from spiritual problems. I know, because I have personally experienced it, that the church can be a place of hope and healing and beauty in Jesus' name. But as a human institution, the church is far from perfect, and without a doubt, sometimes it gets it wrong.And at other times, and this is especially true in mainline denominations like ours, the church’s failure comes in the inability to articulate a coherent and compelling vision of what the church actually is, ceding the ground to much louder, angrier voices.I know, because I see it every day on the news, in popular culture, on social media, that the church has a serious identity problem - or to use a modern term: a branding problem. -------There was an article in the Toronto Star last Sunday, perhaps you saw it, written by two experts in the Sociology of Religion.Now, the prevailing understandings around the shift towards a more secular society generally focus on increased individualism, materialism and pluralism, and the rising authority of science.But the authors of the article argue that there's another dimension that's driving people, especially young people, away from organized religion: it's the public perception of what religion is.It's a branding problem. The researchers surveyed Anglo-Canadian Millennials who identified as ‘spiritual but not religious', and asked them about their perceptions of religion, and came back with some, I think, un-surprising results. According to the study, young Canadians believe that religion is: anti-modern, colonial and conservative; specifically defined by a certain brand of American conservatism.The young people said they see religion as antithetical to modern views around social progress, especially for the LGBTQ community.There is also visceral anger towards churches for their role in the residential school system and the perpetuation of colonialism.And seeing the movement towards Christian nationalism to the south of us, there is an almost patriotic pride these days in turning away from religion as if to demonstrate that "we're not like that". In short, the researchers found that being religious in this country is increasingly socially unacceptable, especially among the young.------This past summer, after I did a wilderness right of passage in the Dartmoor forest of England, I went to Ireland and was very graciously hosted for a few days by one of members, Grant, who has a home there in the Midlands.  We had a wonderful time together. Grant is a great tour guide and is rightly very proud of that part of the world in which his family has deep roots. On one of our excursions, Grant took me to St. Patrick's wellNow perhaps there are many "St. Patrick's wells" in Ireland, I don’t know, but this one was special because it was far from being a tourist destination. We had go down these windy backroads and get the local farmer's permission to walk through his field, navigating cow plops along the way. But there in the field over a little hill is this ancient stone circle with spring-fed pool at it's centre. And next to the well is a white thorn tree. And the tradition is that you take a piece of fabric, and dip it in the water, and stand where Patrick himself stood, and say a prayer, and then tie the fabric to the tree. And there in that field, by the well, on a tree that you have to go on a journey to find, there are hundreds of pieces of fabric, representing thousands of diverse dreams and longings, but collectively, they form one beautiful monument to the common human need to be bound to something greater than ourselves.In the Gospel of John, Jesus uses the metaphor of the vine to describe himself "I am the true vine" he says "and my Father is the gardener." I've been thinking about it these past months, and I've come to consider that that thorn tree with the fabric flying in the wind as again another way of seeing the church - as a place of ceremony where we bring our hopes and our longings, our wounds and our gifts, and, as St. Patrick wrote in his famous prayer: I Bind Unto Myself Today.The church is formed by binding our lives unto Christ. This is not something that can be forced, it’s a choice that presents itself only when someone feels compelled to connect with something greater, something more.And when this happens, it’s the church’s role to affirm that everyone who approaches the holy water with an open heart is welcome to bind their life unto Christ in the company of others. It is the church’s role to communicate into our culture that there is an imperfect, but deeply connected community, where all are valued. All are cherished, whether you are male or female or non-binary; whether you are gay or straight or 2 Spirit or trans; whether you are rich or poor, young or old; whether you are new to this country, or you can trace your heritage back generations, or your ancestors have been on this land since time immemorial, all are welcome to bind their lives to the life of Christ. This binding, through baptism and the living of our lives in a way where the well-being of each individual is inseparable from the well-being of the whole, forms the basis of the Christian life.-----If you've been to Metropolitan United Church in the past months, you will know that we have been developing a relationship with the Official Estate of the great Canadian Ojibway artist Norval Morrisseau. As a first step in this relationship, with the support and generosity of the Estate, we have jointly placed a series of Norval's artworks in the sanctuary.Being Christian means valuing diversity within the church and also outside the church within the wisdom of other spiritual traditions. For whenever we fall into the age-old trap of focusing solely on who's in or who's out, we've seen too many examples of religion turning self-righteous, self-serving and cruel.  People get hurt, and all those problems identified in that public perception study of young people I mentioned earlier are entirely... entirely valid. And so here, through the sharing of sacred space, and the intentional making of space to encounter the richness and resiliency of Indigenous storieshere where we tell the Christian story, this project is a small, but meaningful step in our reconciliation journey as a church and our healing journey as a country. Over the past months, a number of school groups have come through to see the art.After one of the visits, one of the students said "With the paintings and the stained glass and everything, it’s like the whole building is one piece of art." And in another session with a class that was learning about the residential school system, a student said: "We’ve been learning all term about the harm that was done... I never imagined I would see an exhibit like this in a church. It is amazing!"------If we want to change the public perception - the brand - of what the church is, it starts with doing a better job of being the church. Of being humble, recognizing when we've got it wrong, and making amends when we've caused harm. It also comes by standing in the footsteps of those who have gone before us and leaning on our traditions, not with dogmatic rigidity, but in ways that offer stability within these unsteady times while also inviting people to go on a great spiritual adventure in the company of others.And just as Paul did with the church in Corinth, changing public perception requires continually coming back to Jesus, and preaching him as Christ crucified and risen, our judge and our hope. The one who comes to bring good news, even in the bad news of our days.I am a Christian because of my relationship with Jesus.I have traversed the field with the cow plops and have chosen to bind my life unto him, and I am better for it. And I am a Christian because of my deep belief in body of Christ - the church - that messy and mystical community of intertwined individuals collectively called to be an active agent in addressing the problems we face as a species, which so often stem from the spiritual problems of meaning and identity and belonging. And I know it to be true, because I see it lived out every day, that the church as a community of intertwined individuals, can play a role in shaping public perception of what church is by living into a brand of hope and healing and beauty in Jesus' name. And just as the eye cannot say to the hand "I have no need of you" I can tell you with confidence, that the body of Christ needs ALL of you and all of YOU, including your voice.The Church needs your voice to help counter the louder and angrier voices that have dominated public consciousness for too long. This church needs your voice to proclaim that there are places of hope and healing and beauty in Jesus' name where we are all welcome to bring our longings and ours gifts and be bound to something greater than ourselves - to be bound up together as the living, breathing, singing, serving, praying, dancing, loving body that is the church of Jesus Christ.And with God's help, may this always... always be so.  Amen.  This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit revjasonfrancismeyers.substack.com

Photo by Kristina Tripkovic on UnsplashI’m not preaching at our church this week, so I thought I would offer one of my favourite sermons from last year. I just watched The Pope’s Exorcist with my kids - which, I’ll admit was an interesting parenting decision - so perhaps, it’s the reason why I have the topic of demons on my mind these days. But also, it’s the time of year - post Christmas, when the weather is bad, and the news is worse - that many of us struggle with our mental and spiritual health.Now as you will see below, the sermon starts in somewhat of a creatively emotive way, but I hope these words and those that follow, land with you in the way they are intended; which is ultimately to remind you of your belovedness , and all the positive possibilities that Christ sees in you. Today’s scripture is Mark 1:21–28, where Jesus heals a man with an “unclean spirit” in Capernaum.I am legion, for we are many.I am the shadow monster.I am the unclean spirit.I grip, I convulse, I claw, I bite.I am the scraping source of terror in the night.I am that sweet song of sin in your ear.I am the dementor's kiss.I suck you dry then I puff you up.I throw tires on the fire of your ego and when your hands are triumph raised, I plunge deep my poisoned pike.I am the critic.I am the vertigo of the soul.I am the needle in the arm. I am nihilistic thought within your head.I am the loop of failure that keeps you tossing in your bed.I am the learning watcher.I am the shame maker.I am the rage stoker.I am the comment section troll.Beneath my perfect skin are slugs and worms and razor blades.I am demon, I am baba yaga, I am Belfagor.I am the rat king.I am the lord of the flies. I am pride, envy, avarice and wrath.I am legion, for we are many…Now, what have you to do with me?------For churches like ours that lean towards a more metaphorical rather than literal interpretation of scripture, we tend to stumble over gospel passages like the one presented today from Mark.  They make us uncomfortable - they get us squirming in our pews.To put it bluntly, we don't know what to do with demons.  And Mark, more than any other Gospel writer, emphasizes Jesus’ miraculous power to heal and to exorcise. Of the eighteen miracles recorded in Mark, thirteen have to do with healing, and four of those are exorcisms.  Now, Jesus’s rebuking of the unclean spirit in Capernaum is the very first act of his public ministry - this is foundational to who he is and his mission in the world - and so, we are compelled… compelled to wrestle with what to do with demons. For our spiritual ancestors, the possibility of manipulating the physical or spirit world was never questioned - there was always something else going on beneath the surface of things - including, as many believed a quite literal battle between the forces of good and evil - read the Book of Revelation sometime for a blow by blow account of this.   But in our days, the typical modernist approach focuses on finding rational explanations for things that appear to transgress natural laws - so things like demon possessions are demythologized and arm-chair diagnosed as epilepsy or some other condition. Now, I know that we here today will have a variety of viewpoints on things like angels and demons and exorcisms and great cosmic battles for the soul of the universe. I personally don't believe we need to literalize what we see in scripture for it to have authority in guiding our lives - taking scripture seriously does not require claiming its inerrancy, but also.... also I don't believe we should close ourselves off to the miraculous - to the mysterious - lest our lives becomes flat, utilitarian and void of all spiritual adventure.  And while we may have different understandings of the spirit possession we see in our gospel text today, I bet most, or all of us, have had the feeling of being “possessed” by something that we wish could be exorcised. I bet most, or all of us, have behaviours that we struggle with, some form of unhealthy addiction or compulsion we wish we could be free of. And it’s not that we don’t know what’s good for us, but more often than we would like, we end up listening to the siren song of temptation in our ear. Like the man in Capernaum, at least sometimes, I bet we all feel like we need help - we need assistance from an energy, a strength, a wisdom that is greater than our own.The gospel compels us to take seriously our mental health and our spiritual health and see how these different dimensions to ourselves are interwoven, and how faith, and the spiritual adventure of following Jesus can be foundational to the wholeness and healing that we seek. Now these days, we might not use phrases like "unclean spirit” to describe THAT which must be exorcised, but in the language of the bible, words like “unclean” and “impure” simply mean: that which is contrary to the sacred.  So, it is those forces contrary to the sacred, that Jesus speaks and acts in opposition to. Mark’s message is clear: Jesus comes into people’s lives as a healing liberator, in direct, authoritative opposition to the death-dealing forces of chaos and ruin. And it is these forces that immediately recognize him for who he is, well before any of his followers. "What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?" says the demonic one "Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God."  Jesus's reply, which in Greek, is the word phimoō, is often translated into English as “be silent”; but some scholars don't feel this is strong enough.  Rather, the term would be better rendered as “be muzzled”. Muzzled, like a rabid dog, able to bark, but not bite. It growls, but cannot infect. It makes noise, but is kept in its place. "Be muzzled, and come out of him!" Jesus commands as one with authority. It is important to notice here that Jesus speaks directly to the demon. He recognizes that while the possession is part of the person’s reality, it is not the person himself.  We are not our demons.  We are not our addictions or unhealthy compulsions, we are not those forces contrary to the sacred, we are beloved children of the living God, worthy of wholeness, and Jesus can see that.  One of our ‘wise ones’ in our bible study at Metropolitan said something that has stuck with me: “Jesus is the one who sees people for their possibilities, not their demons.” Jesus sees our possibilities, not our demons.  And as with those disciples so long ago, when we follow him, his word has power. His word has authority in our lives.Thankfully, taboos around mental health are lifting and more people are feeling comfortable talking about their struggles - this is a very good thing.  As is medical research into diagnosable conditions in which medicine is an entirely appropriate form of treatment, and is giving renewed life to so many.  And yet, in this time, when we as a society are en masse moving away from the miraculous, there are also implications to our mental and spiritual health when life becomes flat, utilitarian and void of all mystery.  We must be wary of the medicalization of the human experience, and those instances when it is really the culture that is sick, not the person.  Think about how loneliness and isolation and stress and feelings of meaningless are so often the triggers for addiction and other unhealthy compulsions. -------There was a famous study done in the 1980's where scientists would put a rat in a cage, alone, with two water bottles. One of the bottles was just water. The other was water laced with heroin or cocaine. Almost every time they ran the experiment, the rat became obsessed with the drugged water, and kept coming back for more and more, until finally, it died.But another scientist, Bruce Alexander, a professor of Psychology in Vancouver noticed something about this experiment: the rat was put in the cage all alone. It had nothing to do but take the drugs. What would happen, he wondered, with a different set of circumstances… a difference culture, so to speak?  So, Professor Alexander built what he called Rat Park. It was a lush cage where the rats had coloured balls to move around, and tunnels to scamper through, and all the best rat-food, and plenty of friends to play with.  The rats in Rat Park also tried both bottles, but they mostly shunned the drugged water, consuming less than a quarter of the drugs than those in the isolated rat experiment. While all the rats who were alone became heavily addicted, none of the rats in the community of Rat Park did, and none of them died. Of course, people are not rats, and our reality is much more complicated, and it is a tragic truth that despite the best efforts of loving families, sometimes people with ample access to supports fall into addiction and other serious mental health struggles. But on aggregate, modern science recognizes that social determinants, including access to supportive community, have a profound impact on our mental and physical health.  Professor Peter Cohen argues that human beings have a deep need to bond and form connections. It is how we get satisfaction, and if we can't connect with each other, we will connect with something else - drugs or drink or food or porn.  A heroin addict has bonded with heroin because they couldn't bond as fully with anything else.  As another of our ‘wise ones’ in Bible Study recently "the opposite of addiction is not sobriety, it is connection." The opposite of addiction is connection, and so as we talk about individual recovery we also need to talk about social recovery. How can we all recover, together, from the societal sicknesses of loneliness and isolation and stress and feelings of meaningless that have taken hold - that have possessed - so many?-----"What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?  "Be silent" he says "and come out of him!"  Jesus sees people for their possibilities, not their demons. And his word has power.  His word has power in our lives.  As his followers, Jesus calls us into relationship, into spiritual adventure and he sends us into the world to spread his message of hope and healing. But as with his followers so long ago, he does not send us alone.  He sends us together, and he promises, even through the centuries, that “wherever two or three are gathered in my name, I am there with you.”I am there with you.His church is one of the few places left in society, where you can actually build relationships with people that don't have some sort of transactional or financial function.  It is one of the few places that still brings people together from various ages, abilities, genders, ethnic backgrounds, political views, socio-economic circumstances, to make not some monoculture of instagrammed idealism, but an often messy and always beautiful garden of human possibility.And rather than being reliant on algorithms and A.I. chatbots for answers, the church is one of the few places where we can still tap into the energy and wisdom and strength of deeply held traditions.The church of Jesus, is one of the few places that really takes seriously the link between spiritual and mental health - that recognizes that we are not our addictions or compulsions, we are beloved children of the living God, worthy of wholeness.   None of us are perfect, and at times we all do things that are contrary to the sacred. But in the church we seek to follow, we seek to be bonded to the one who sees our possibilities, not our demons.  Jesus sees our possibilities, and his word has power in our lives.So, what have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?Everything. As it turns out… absolutely everything.Thanks for reading The Pilgrim and the Pulpit! This post is public so feel free to share it. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit revjasonfrancismeyers.substack.com

Scripture: Luke 3:15-17, 21-22Even before there was light, there was water.  In the beginning when the earth was formless, and darkness was upon the deep, the Spirit moved upon the face of the waters. Even when all was lava and fire, the gasses rose out of the cracks of doom and vapours ascended, and condensate fell, and cycle upon cycle, with refinement upon refinement, the lowlands filled and life sprang forth and, cycle upon cycle, the snow glaciated the cold places and rain carved the warm places. Droplet and wave, wave and stream, stream and lake, lake and sea, ever flowing, ever rising, ever falling, ever rising again, cycle upon cycle.Molecules migrating, microbes multiplying, the great procession of life moving onwards, ever onwards.Dinosaurs and ducks, trilobites and turtles, birds and bees and trees and chickadees, onwards ever onwards, life flowing like a river - like the Jordan, like the Nile, like the Yangtze, like the mighty Mackenzie mirroring snow geese in the moonlight. Cycle upon cycle - a billion-trillion tears of joy and pain flowing onwards every onwards.  Even before there was light, there was water, and upon it, the Spirit moved.------I remember my baptism. It was stunning summer day 13 years ago on a lake up in Haliburton, where our minister had a cottage. I had spent the night up on the hill by myself praying, and donating my blood to a gagillion mosquitoes.  But after the sun had risen, I came down onto the dock, and there was a simple service, and then we entered the water, and the words were said, and a gentle hand on my head guided me down and brought me back up, and I was a Christian. And a mother duck and her 12 ducklings floated past quacking their congratulations.  I remember my baptism… the water, the sun, the trees, the chill on my skin, but the thing that I remember the most were the people.  I remember our minister Doug and his wife Heather, and their kindness and generosity for hosting us. I remember Bri-anne, who was pregnant with our first child, and had to make a mad dash into the woods to deal with a bout of morning sickness.  And I remember Paul and Shell, who I did not know well, but who I will forever be bound to, because they were members of our church who were there to bear witness and to make and receive the promises on behalf of the community.  This, I think, is the most important thing I remember about my baptism, that it wasn't just about me - it was about community.  It was about me joining a community with a particular purpose - a community with a Christ-shaped character willing to make space for me to learn, to grow, to serve alongside others who had also been named and claimed.  While I was the one who went down into the water that day, the ceremony was a reminder to all who participated that all are beloved children of the living God.This is the power of our sacramental symbols: the water, the bread the cup - simple things - everyday things, that point to the deeper reality of God's grace that is always present, always accessible.  While, God's love is always with us, sometimes we need reminders don't we? Sometimes we need that splash of cold water on our face to break the enchantments of our flattened, digitized days and remind us of our blessedness, our belovedness.  And if it true for us, it must be true for others as well - for the neighbour and the stranger and the enemy - and not just now, but always.  Sometimes we need a reminder that there is silver cord of grace that extends from the past, into the future - connecting, binding, weaving all of us into community - a community with a particular purpose, with a Christ-shaped heart, where all have all been named and claimed with the words that forever ring through the ages "You are my child, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased."————This character of connectedness was on full display in Jesus's own baptism.  Luke takes a unique approach to the story, that is so foundational to Jesus's own story, that we find it in all four gospels.  But unlike in Mathew, Mark and John, where it's explicit that John the Baptist was the one who baptized Jesus, in Luke we actually don't know who conducted the sacred act, as its only in Luke do hear how John was arrested by King Herod prior to that day when Jesus made his way to the Jordan. Likewise, unlike the other Gospels where we are given the sense that's Jesus's baptism was more of a private affair between him, the Spirit and the baptizer, in Luke, Jesus is just one in the crowd that day. Did you pick up on that?  Here’s the line: "Now when all the people were baptized and when Jesus also had been baptized…” When the people were baptized, Jesus also was baptized.  The alpha and the omega stood in line with everyone else that day. Just a stranger on the bus, as Joan Osborne might say.  This is the mind-melting mystery of the incarnation: that the Word of God, though whom all things came into being, is one of us, walking where we walk, feeling what we feel, loving how we love, ever connected to others through time and space by the silver cord of grace. So let’s follow that cord… do me a favour. I want you to try and imagine the day of Jesus's baptism in your mind. Picture the water - is it clear or muddy?  Is the sky blue or cloudy? Maybe there's a threat of storm on the wind.  What does the vegetation look like?  What do the people look like?  What is the feeling in the crowd as one of them climbs down the bank and the current catches their clothes?  Now, picture that there's a hand guiding a head down into the water, and now back up.And then there's a voice that speaks speaks of love and belonging.All the while, the river keeps flowing, flowing, flowing.I want you to imagine that the water that flowed around Jesus' body that day, continued to flow though the desert to the sea.  And imagine that some of the water evaporated and got caught in the jet-streams that circumambulate the globe.Droplet and wave, wave and stream, stream and lake, lake and sea, ever flowing, ever rising, ever falling, ever rising again, cycle upon cycle, onwards ever onwards. I want you to imagine that water present at Jesus' baptism was also present at your baptism - that water that streamed off his face is the same water that tricked down your face.  Even if was a long time ago and you don't remember your baptism, you can follow the silver cord and imagine his.You can touch the same water present then, even now. This is the power of our sacramental symbols: simple things - everyday things - that point to the deeper reality of God's grace that is always present, always accessible.  Even when, especially when, we feel isolated and alone, we can remember that through our baptism, we are connected to each other and to Christ. We are connected, and not in some banal way where nothing changes and nothing is at stake, no, we are connected for a purpose, in a community with a specific character where all are given space to learn and grow and serve in Christ's name for the sake of the world. ------The Celtic saint Pelagius taught, and I know that it's true, that every person bears the face of God, and God's love extends to all people whether they are baptized or not. It is obvious that this is true, but there is also something specific about baptism - it is a particular act that binds our life to Christ and forms us as the worldwide communion of Christ with all Christians of every time and place, and also... also, our baptism weaves us into the tapestry of a specific community with a particular people.  When someone is baptized, they become a member not just of the holy catholic church - catholic meaning universal - but they also become part of the local church that conducts the baptism.  Even if you don't remember it, on the day you were baptized, people gathered around you and made promises to love and support you.  While it is a hard reality that sometimes we fail each other, these promises are intended to form the character of Christian community, where it's not just about about me or about you, it's about us being in relationship with each other and with Christ, ever bound together by the silver cord of grace. This is the thing I have learned about faith, it is a journey we are not meant to walk alone - we need, we need, we need to be in the company of others to help us navigate the hard times and to celebrate the good times.  Just as our baptism was not a private act, our faith is meant to be lived out in public, bound up with each other in the beloved community of Christ, where we are constantly reminded - in our worship, in our pastoral care, in our governance and committees and small group ministries - that just as the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus in the waters of the Jordan, we too have been named and claimed by our heavenly father who says to each of us "You are my child... you are my child, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased." Let us pray now this baptismal prayer:Gracious and Holy God, we bless you for the gift of life, and, within it, the gift of water. Over its unshaped promise your Spirit hovered at creation. By water, comes the growth of the earth. Through water, you led the children of Israel to freedom. In the waters of the Jordan your child Jesus was baptized. Now may your Spirit be upon us and what we do. May this water be a sign of new life in Christ for all, in whose name we pray. Amen.The same water present at Jesus' baptism, was present at your baptism, and is also preset today.  I invite you to pour some water and mark yourself with the cross and remember your baptism and the promises made of love and support - to remember that you are a beloved child of the living God, and you never… never need to journey through this life alone. May it always be so. Thanks for reading The Pilgrim and the Pulpit! This post is public so feel free to share it. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit revjasonfrancismeyers.substack.com

The bells of waiting Advent ring,The Tortoise stove is lit againAnd lamp-oil light across the nightHas caught the streaks of winter rainIn many a stained-glass window sheenFrom Crimson Lake to Hookers Green.The holly in the windy hedgeAnd round the Manor House the yewWill soon be stripped to deck the ledge,The altar, font and arch and pew,So that the villagers can say'The church looks nice' on Christmas Day.And is it true?  And is it true,This most tremendous tale of all,Seen in that stained-glass window's hue,A Baby in an ox's stall?The Maker of the stars and seaBecome a Child on earth for me?These words from Sir John Betjeman get to the heart of the matter don't they?  Tonight we have come blinking out of the dark into this place of altar, font and arch and pew wondering... wondering "is it true?" Could it be true that the maker of the stars and sea became a child on earth for me?" --------I love this Christmas Eve service.  Each year, I love climbing up here into the pulpit and seeing all of you here. While the rest of our culture is either sleeping, or three cocktails deep, you have chosen to be here - your faces aglow in candlelight, siting amongst strangers, to sing the old songs, and to tell the tremendous tale once again. The angel has tapped each of us on the shoulder, and it is strange, maybe even a bit frightening because we don't fully understand, but we have chosen, nonetheless, to become those shepherds of the field like so long ago willing to abandon "normal" rhythms and responsibilities and say "Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place." Oh sure, you could chalk it all up to nostalgia or family tradition, but I think something else is going on here. I think it is our longing.It is our longing that gets us off the couch and into some sensible shoes and down to the church on Christmas Eve - our longing to go and see if it's actually true. And not in some factual historical, empirically measurable capacity that gets us debating the years of the Roman census, or the plausibility of virgin births, or any of the other "well actually" memeable gotcha details of the story that are simply distractions… distractions to keep us from dealing with the heart of the matter. I'm talking about longing. I’m talking about that aching that we feel for meaning, for more, for that deep kind of knowing that may mystify the head but can melt even the hardest of hearts.  I'm talking about longing. The longing to know if it is true.  Could it be true that the maker of the stars and sea became a child on earth for me?" ------I read an article last week about the sale of Bibles and how they are booming these days, mostly fueled by first-time buyers. Apparently, comparing this year over last, Bible sales are up 22%, and you can likely guess the reasons why. As one publisher put it: “People are experiencing anxiety, or they’re worried for their children and grandchildren. It’s related to artificial intelligence, election cycles, [climate change]… and all of that feeds a desire for assurance.” One young person was quoted saying:“I felt something was missing [in my life]. It’s a combination of where we are in the world, anxiety, and the sense that meaning and comfort can be found in [scripture].Another young mother said she started reading the Bible this year after feeling unfulfilled by years of advice on self-care and advancing a career. She was seeking some stability as: “things just went off the rails throughout society. We’re kind of holding on to the edge of the ship. Like, we’re not sure what’s happening here.” We are talking about longing. We are talking about longing - and I see it here in our ministries at Metropolitan every day. People longing for hope to hold onto, for beauty to aspire to, for community to belong to. This is true for longstanding members of our church, and it is just as true for those at the very start of their spiritual journey. I did not read the Bible or even step foot into a church for worship until I was in my thirties. So, I know because I lived it, that there are people here tonight, or participating online - maybe it's you - who have virtually no experience of church, or have drifted away from church, or have been hurt by church, and are not even sure where to start with the Bible, or are even sure if they should really be here tonight, but have nonetheless felt the angels touch on their shoulder, and have picked up their shepherd's crook, and have taken the courageous step to follow their longings into this most holy of nights saying: ”Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place."  Let us go and see if it is true that the maker of the stars and sea became a child on earth for me?" -------I've been thinking about this for a while... and I don't think I believe... in atheism. I just don't think it's actually a real thing.  We're just not wired that way. We will always believe in something, we will always deify some thing and serve a god of some sort.  These days, maybe it's technology, or a celebrity, or money; maybe it's food or alcohol or drugs, maybe its a political or cultural affiliation - some term that ends in "ism" - maybe it's our job, maybe it's ourselves, but we will always kneel at some at some sort of alter. And the gift of free will means we get to decide which one. We get to choose which stories to tell, and which story our life shall be part of.  And it matters… it matters what we choose because our story shapes our worldview, which forms our identity, which impacts our actions, which dictates the kind of world we live in, and will leave to our children and grandchildren. So given these disruptive days dominated by A.I. election cycles and climate change, I don't find it at all surprising that more and more people - maybe you are one of them - are recognizing where the story of our modern, consumeristic, polarized, hyper-individualistic society is taking us, and are turning to the old stories of scripture once again. But, when we are reading the bible, the "good book" as it is sometimes called - it is actually a misnomer to see it as a "book" at all. It’s more like a library, containing many different books, many different stories, written by hundreds of human hands over the millennia. There is history, and myth, and prophesy, and poetry, and wisdom literature, and pastoral letters, and gospels. It is beautiful and disturbing and constantly contradicting itself because it tells the stories of our longings - our longings for God, for community, for justice. The Bible also contains testaments of our mistakes - our almost constant propensity to get it wrong, and to kneel at the alters of our own making. But what we also see when we read the scriptures, why the old stories still hold so much weight today, is that us getting it wrong is never the end of the story.  What we see when we read the sacred texts is that God does not leave us when things "go off the rails." God does not abandon us just "holding onto the edge of the ship." We see that Noah was not left floating in the arc forever. The Hebrew people were not abandoned to slavery in Egypt or in exile in Babylon. Worshiping the golden calf was forgiven. The line of David was allowed to continue.  The scales were removed from St. Paul's eyes. Again and again and again we see God as mercy, as forgiveness, as the one who says through the prophet Isaiah:"Comfort, O comfort my people... Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God,the Creator of the ends of the earth."And on this night... on this Holy Night the angels echo the prophet's proclamation and come to those with a shepherd's crook in their hands and say: Have you not known? Have you not heard that the wheel of mercy and forgiveness continues to turn - that now God's everlasting love has been born into the world? Have you not known? Have you not heard that salvation has come for you as one of you?There are different pathways to the holy, and ultimate truth cannot be contained in any one tradition, but the contribution of the Christian faith to the rich tapestry of human spirituality is that THAT which we long for is not a "that" at all, but a "who". That a child, born just as we were, with blood and sweat and push is also the long foretold "Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."  What an audacious claim that is... That a human babe at the breast with a soft spot on his head is the root of Jesse, the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end, the Christ.  The one, through whom, as St. John says, "all things came into being", "the true light which enlightens all people", "full of grace and full of truth" - a child of the stars here on earth, his face that night illumined by candlelight, just as yours is this night.  What an audacious claim this is.  That THIS is how God wants to be known, as a child. As a child who then learns and grows and is tested and is tempted and encounters the best of what it means to be human, and who's love is so great and so vast and so deep that he does not abandon us when he also encounters the worst of what it means to be human: our selfishness, our scapegoating, our capacity for violence.  Indeed, the child of the manger becomes the man on the cross - the one who takes the pain of the world into his own flesh, and does not strike out in retribution, but raises up in resurrection. And the wheel keeps turning so that mercy and forgiveness and compassion are how he is known forevermore. -------We will always kneel at some at some sort of alter - and the gift of free will means we get to decide which one.  We get to choose which stories to tell, and which story our life shall be part of.  And it matters… it matters what we choose because our story shapes our worldview, which forms our identity, which impacts our actions, which dictates the kind of world we live in, and will leave to our children and grandchildren. And so, it matters that you are here tonight, that you have listened to your longing and have come to encounter for yourself that audacious claim of faith, that yes, it is all true. The maker of the stars and sea became a child on earth for me, for you, for all children of this good and glorious creation. And even if at this point on your spiritual journey, the claim is just too audacious, and you are just not ready to believe it, I wonder what might happen if you started acting like you did anyway.  What would happen if the story you choose to be part of is one of mercy, and forgiveness, and compassion, and a love without end?How might that shape your life, the life of your family, your community, the life of the world?  What might happen if you continued to listen to the angles, and week after week, year after year, you kept picking up your shepherd's crook and setting out with others, strangers who become friends, on the great journey together saying "Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place." Maybe you will find that THAT which you long for is not a "that" at all, but a “who" - and he has come.  He has come in flesh and in spirit, in manger and in cross, for us as one of us. He has come. Hallelujah! Allelujah! Hallelujah! Merry Christmas to you.Thanks for reading The Pilgrim and the Pulpit! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit revjasonfrancismeyers.substack.com

I told the first half of this story last week, but if you didn’t catch it, to get you up to speed...A long, long, long time ago there was a Raven Queen who could see a big change coming, when flesh would get separated from Spirit, and there would be suffering and war on the earth.  So a council of creatures was called and they made a plan, a plan to send out messengers - Spirit messengers - who would shine in the sun, brilliant white and beckon people back to themselves by reflecting to themselves the gifts they had to share that could heal the soul of the world.  And, in time, one of these messengers - a white rabbit named Hope - with sparkling grey eyes, like starlight in the Eastern sky was born to a litter of 12 in the deep mid-winter. Hope, the white rabbit, was prone to wander in the woods, and on one of these wanderings, she encountered the Raven Queen. And with the flap and summons of regal wings, the Raven Queen led Hope to a cottage where there was a family - Suzy, the mother and her boys, Jonathan and Charlie.  And after waiting and watching them a long time, Hope felt beckoned forward toward them. And as this was a time when animals and people could still understand each other, she approached each of them in turn and showed each of them the gifts they had to share - to teach, to preach and to make music that could heal the soul of the world.  And with those gifts, the family inspired others, who inspired others, who inspired others who built this church - Metropolitan United Church. And if you don't believe me, if you think I’m just making up folktales there's a window in our narthex with Susanna, John and Charles Wesley, who history records, as the founders of Methodism, a founding church of our church.  And in that stained glass window, if you look very closely you will see a white rabbit looking up at them. Now, Hope, the white rabbit, did not know that she was different from her 11 brothers and sisters, but as the months went on and the snow started to melt, the fur of all the other rabbits turned brown, but not Hope's... because she was one of the messengers called forth by the Raven Queen and the council of the white animals - for that is how it is known in the old stories.  And now, our story continues...-------A long, long, long time ago, there was a white rabbit named Hope who stayed white, even when the snow of winter melted.  And this was hard for Hope because it set her apart from her brothers and sisters, and cousins and neighbours.  She was different, and as you may know, it is not easy being different.  The other rabbits picked on her and called her names like snowball and frost-face and milk-ears - bunnies can be so cruel.Hope was different, and so she felt sad and lonely a lot of the time.  Her world became small and dangerous. Being a white rabbit when the snow melts meant she could no longer blend in to her surroundings, she had no protective camouflage, she stood out, making her vulnerable to teeth and talons and people with guns.  And in those days, the big change long prophesied by the Raven Queen was taking place.  The change of metal and machine - the change within the man to forget the forest, and to stop listening to the wind, and to make war with the wild places, and with each other.  The big change that happens when flesh separates from spirit, and Hope found that the people could no longer understand her. They would see her white fur not as a beacon or as a summons, but as a trophy.  They sought to make a plaything out of her, to squeeze her too tight - to trap her in a cage, to un-wild her, domesticate her. Some even craved to claim her white foot as a talisman for luck or for fashion.And so, scared and alone, Hope fled. She fled to the woods and ran - and she ran and ran and ran for minutes or months, it no longer mattered.  Hope ran and ran through place and space. She ran through destiny and prophesy. She ran until she got to the deepest, to the darkest part of the forest, a place seemingly set apart, where the mist laid close to the ground and the trees sat sentinel, knowing and wise since the times before time.  And in this place set apart, Hope came to a clearing, and from the Eastern direction, slowly very slowly she entered it. And as she entered the clearing, she could see from the other three directions - North, South and West - a soft glow emanating - a soft glow growing brighter and brighter, each now she could tell, moving towards the centre of the clearing, beckoned, it felt, towards each other.  And then Hope could see the glowing shapes become more and more defined - she was not alone in that clearing.  There with her was a Bear, and a Loon, and finally, a human boy - and they were all luminous, shining with a light seemingly from the source of all things.  And they found that they could speak to each other as in the days of old, in words beyond language and so they shared their names with each other.  As we know, the rabbit was Hope.  The bear was Joy.  The Loon, Peace.  And the boy - the boy was Love.  And they felt, and they knew, that they had found each other - that they were beckoned to that place set apart for the same reason. They all had the gift to reflect goodness and Spirit that could to heal the soul of the world, but they had all been rejected for being different.  As you may know, it is not easy being different.-----Then, in that moment of understanding between them, out of the darkest part of the sky, there was the faintest sound of flapping wings, and then there in the inky black, came circling, circling an old raven, who then landed on a stone in the very centre of the clearing.  It was the Raven Queen, and how regal was her countenance.   "I have been waiting for you, my children" she said.  “The big change long seen is upon us.  We are in the time of metal and machine and war in the heart of man.  You have seen this for yourself and you have also seen how a healing is possible, when gifts are shared and hearts are opened. And so in this time when the people no longer remember the old ways, I am sending you into the very longings of the human heart, only now reached though story and song, through the heavens and though the earth herself.  You are the Spirit messengers long foretold.”  Then the Raven Queen flapped her regal wings and spoke to them each in-turn. To the Spirit Bear called Joy, she said, “I am sending you to wander the wild places of this world to spark imagination and wonder and to help the people love the land again and all the creatures that call it home.”To the Spirit Bird called Peace, she said, “I am sending you to the waters of the world, to calm troubled hearts with your morning song, and to be that reminder of that first voice that swept over the face of the waters that called everything into being, with purpose, holy, and very, very good.”  To the Spirit Boy called Love, she said, “I am sending you into the heart of human experience - into the entirety of its joy and its pain - to be birthed in flesh and rebirthed in Spirit, to live love fully, and to call people to follow you into the heart of their own humanity.”And to the Spirit Hare called Hope, the Raven Queen said, “I am sending you, Hope, into heavens - into the stars themselves, to remind people to always elevate their hearts and thoughts, to always dream dreams as vast as the cosmos itself, and to always hold hope that every person has gifts to give to heal the soul of the world, even if, perhaps especially if, they feel different from everyone else.”And that is what happened. Hope went to the heavens, Joy to the earth, Peace to the waters, and Love into the heart of human experience.-------Now... I know we are in the times of big change, and it's hard to believe in anything anymore.  Maybe you don't believe that my story is true.  Maybe you think that I'm just making up folktales.  Well friends, I can't make you believe - but please do me a favour. After your Christmas meal and all the presents have been opened and all the songs have been sung, go outside tonight and look into the Eastern Sky. And find Orion the Hunter with his famous belt - then if you look very closely and very carefully, you will see… a star rabbit looking up at him. And maybe, just maybe, if you stay there long enough, and open your heart wide enough, maybe just maybe, you too will hear the beckoning sound of regal wings on the wind.The End. Thanks for reading The Pilgrim and the Pulpit! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit revjasonfrancismeyers.substack.com

Today’s post is the first part of an original folktale that I wrote for last year’s Family Christmas eve service at Metropolitan United Church. As I originally offered it in the church building, there is one point that I refer to a stained glass window we have in the Narthex. A picture of it is displayed in the text below.A long, long, long time ago, there was a forest, and in that forest was a Raven Queen.  And the Raven Queen with her keen eyes, and cunning mind, and long life in the high places of the world, could see things that the other creatures of the forest could not see.  She could see the big change coming - the change of metal and machine - the change within man to forget the forest, and to stop listening to the wind, and to make war with the wild places, and with each other.  She could see the big change that happens when flesh separates from spirit.  And so, in her wisdom, the Raven Queen called a great council of creatures - all the creatures that flew and swam and waddled and walked and wriggled and called them all together to tell them all that she could see of all that was to be.  "How can this this happen?!?" cried the coyote.  "What will we do?!?" wheezed the weasel.  "We must warn them" saged the salmon from the stream.  "Yes, we must warn them!" chorused all the creatures of the council.  And that is what they determined to do - to send messengers - Spirit messengers, out into the world - bright beacons - shining symbols for any and all with eyes to see and hearts to hear - to warn, but also to inspire.  The old lore now records that gathering of the Raven Queen as the council of the white animals. And you will soon hear why.-------A long, long, long time ago, there was a forest, and in that forest was a rabbit - a pregnant rabbit ready to give birth to her babies.  It was very late in the year and the snow was already falling on the forest floor, and so when the time had come, the mother rabbit went deep, deep, deep into her burrow.  And when she next emerged, out into the snowy sunshine, she did not come out alone. A baby rabbit hopped out behind her, and then another, and another, and another.  12 bunnies in total - rather a lot it, it must be noted - even for rabbits.  And as expected at that time of year, all the babies were brilliant white, almost unseen against the snow, except for their brown eyes blinking against the sun - all with brown eyes, that is, except one, the last and the smallest had bright grey eyes - like starlight in the eastern sky.  Now, to keep all the bunnies straight in her mind, the mother rabbit set to naming them - there was Bruce and Bob, and Deloris and Denise, Florence and Frances - they were identical twins - Mark and Madison, Hazel, Harley and Holly and the last and the smallest of them all - the one with the bright grey eyes - she named Hope.  And Hope seemed different somehow, quieter certainly, definitely more observant and sensitive than her sisters and brothers. While her litter-mates were off frolicking and feeding and snow-ball fighting, Hope was prone to sitting by the stream, and wandering in the woods, and she would often ask her mother to tell her the old stories of the forest.  And she treasured all these tales and pondered their meaning in her heart.One day as Hope was alone in the forest, she hopped up a hill, and on the hill there was a tree, and on the tree sat an old Raven - a Raven utterly regal in her countenance. And as Hope approached, the Raven spoke.  "I have been waiting for you”.  And with those words, the Raven flapped her proud wings, lifted skyward and flew Eastward.  Feeling beckoned by an unspoken summons, the white rabbit followed - she followed and followed and followed until the forest thinned and signs of people emerged - roads and fields and factories - and still the rabbit followed until finally the Raven landed on the chimney of a small cottage.  And there, as black eyes met bright grey, Hope felt that the Spirit was on the move and something long-promised was now taking shape. And with that understanding between them the Raven bowed her head purposefully, flapped her wings powerfully and flew up up and away into another story, leaving Hope waiting here in this story.  And for a long time she just waited - waited and watched the cottage and the people that lived there.  There was Suzy - as she was known to her friends - the mother of the family, and Jonathan and Charlie her boys.  A regular family it would seem - bustling to and fro - here and there - busy as beavers after a flood.  But the longer Hope watched them, the more she saw in them - not just with her bright grey eyes, but with her heart. Her heart strangely warmed as she watched them.  She found that could see beyond the barriers between things, past the masks of expectation, and trepidation; she could see inside things, into their essence, into their beauty, into their belovedness.  She could see how the people could either be a channel of the Spirit, or they could be its obstacle, cutting the Spirit off and wounding the soul of the world.  There, hidden by the snow of winter, Hope watched and waited - and waited and watched - until finally she heard the faintest echo of flapping wings in the wind and felt beckoned forward.  Very thoughtfully - very carefully - she approached the people to tell them what she could see - what she could see in them. The white rabbit would be a messenger. -------You see a long, long long time ago, before the big change fully took hold, people and animals could understand each other.  And so to Jonathan, Hope said: “I have looked into your heart, and I have see the gift of words - words that can touch the soul of the world. Go and share the Spirit's gift." To Charlie she said "I have looked into your heart, and I have see the gift of music - music that can heal the soul of the world. Go and share the Spirit's gift".  To Suzy she said "I have looked into your heart, and I have see the gift of teaching - teaching that can inspire the soul of the world. Go and share the Spirit's gift". And the old lore tells us, that is exactly what happened. Suzy taught and inspired her sons to share their gifts of words and music into the world.  Jonathan became a great speaker and leader, Charlie wrote hymns and songs, and each in their own way, inspired others to share their gifts, and together they came together in communities of people that would try to inspire others to share their gifts, and to live with the Spirit and in service.  Jonathan was known to tell people: “Do all the good you can, By all the means you can, In all the ways you can, In all the places you can, At all the times you can, To all the people you can, As long as EVER you can.”  And they were not perfect and they made mistakes, but they did their best to put beauty and goodness and a spirit of service into the world.  And they inspired more people who inspired more people and eventually those people built this church, this church where you are sitting right now. And they were not perfect and they made mistakes, but they built this church to be a bright beacon of hope in this city for any with eyes to see and ears to hear and souls in need healing - they built this church to inspire those who would come after them - us here today - us here today, to share our gifts and live with Spirit and in service.  And so here today in this special place, in this season of giving, I wonder what gifts you have to give?  With those sparkling grey eyes, like starlight in the eastern sky I wonder what Hope would see in you? -------Now I know we are in the times of big change, and it's hard to believe in anything anymore.  Maybe you don't believe that my story is true.  Maybe you think that I'm just making up folktales.  Well friends... when you leave the church today, go and look at the stained glass window to the right in the Narthex. In it you will see Suzy and Jonathan and Charlie - the old lore and the history books record them as the founders of Methodism, which was one of the founding churches of our church, the United Church of Canada.  And in that stained glass window in the Narthex, the one of Susanna, John and Charles Wesley, if you look very closely you will see a white rabbit looking very thoughtfully and very carefully up at them.  And maybe, just maybe, if you stay there long enough, and open your heart wide enough, maybe just maybe, you too will hear the beckoning sound of regal wings on the wind.-------In a winter a long, long, long time ago there was a white rabbit named Hope.  And as the months went on, the snow on the forest floor where she lived began to melt, and the coats of all of her brothers and sisters began to turn brown. But not Hope's - it stayed white - because she was one of the messengers called forth by the council of the White Animals.  And to hear the rest of the story, come back next week.Thanks for reading The Pilgrim and the Pulpit! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit revjasonfrancismeyers.substack.com

Scripture: Luke 3:1-6Photo of Lois Wilson by Michael SwanOn October 15 of this year, the church that I serve, Metropolitan United Church, hosted the funeral of The Very Reverend, The Honourable Doctor Lois Wilson. Lois was a Senator, a companion of the Order of Canada, an ecumenical bridge builder, the first female Moderator of the United Church of Canada, and a fierce and fierce-some advocate for the most vulnerable in our world.She did not mince words or suffer fools, and I consider it a great honour that in the last years of her life, she chose to call our church her spiritual home.She was deeply faithful, and those of us that knew her, or her writings on the church and society, carry gems of her prairie-fired wisdom with us like the pearl of great price.I remember a number of years ago, she told me that she didn't really consider worship true Christian worship if the service didn't contain a prayer of confession."How am I supposed to worship God," she said,"if I am not first reconciled to my brother?"She was paraphrasing Jesus's teaching in Matthew 5 when he says "Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift."Within the symbology of the scripture, the gift is our worship of God. But before we can truly and authentically offer ourselves to God, we must first offer ourselves to our brothers and sisters and siblings - for that which blocks us from each other, blocks us from God.And this unblocking is the work of confession, which is the fruit of repentance, which is a necessary step towards forgiveness, which is a requirement for reconciliation. Lois was a very wise person, she understood this and that what we do in our churches, can play a role in healing that which is broken amongst us.And it all sounds very good, doesn't it?But there's also a pretty significant ask of us…. forgiveness, healing, peace amongst us come with a very real requirement of us. Did you catch it?Here's that Matthew text again: "If someone has something against you, first go and be reconciled to them." "First go," like, actually go and talk to them. Hear their perspective, share yours, honour each other's pain, seek common ground, make and keep commitments, move forward together.Reconciliation requires no less than pulling down the mountains that have risen up between us, and filling the valleys that have formed amongst us.The first step in moving towards God is moving towards each other.It is a hard step to take, really hard, and unfortunately, it is one, I believe, we are increasingly losing the capacity to take.I read an article this week where the president of an ivy league university in the US was raising the alarm about the effect social media is having on young people and their ability, or rather, lack of ability, to deal with conflict.As we likely all know, the tech platforms are set up as social eco-chambers. They are designed to connect us with people who essentially think like us - like the same things, dislike the same things - thus re-enforcing a worldview that fundamentally matches our own.But as Professor Beilock at Dartmouth College says “learning to talk to people who are different from you is a muscle that you build with training.”But now, she says: "we’re seeing that students aren’t practised at having conversations with people who disagree with them" “Now they communicate online" where "social media puts you towards people who agree with you."Students used to debate issues in public, now Professor Beilock says "some are even scared to make a phone call."Some are scared to make even a phone call, never-mind talking face-to-face, because without the technological filters that sort us into the boxes of our own making, many of us these days, of all ages and stages, don't have, or have lost the muscle memory needed to deal with opinions, perspectives, and pain that are not our own, or a worldview that we do not share.This, combined with our current culture that rewards instant reaction - “like” / “don't like” - and penalizes reflection and nuance, never-mind confession and repentance - is causing in a shift in how we see each other.It means that the people who think differently from us are no longer JUST PEOPLE like us who happen to think differently, they are JUST DIFFERENT - weird, backwards, leftist, neo-con - everyone else becomes a Nazi in eye of the beholder.The one who has "something against you" is no longer a brother or sister or sibling, but... an enemy.-----When I was away on sabbatical these past months, I very intentionally touched technology less. If I was ever asked for my advice about how we could raise our collective mental health a hundred basis points, I would say we should all be prescribed "less tech and more trees.”And nature certainly can be a place of healing for us, but also, for people of faith - whether they be Christian or Jewish or Muslim or Buddhist or those practising Indigenous spirituality - we also have the deep wisdom of our traditions to draw upon - our ceremonies, our songs, our ancient stories.Over the past months of being away I would start each day by reading the Bible as a way to ground each day in the words and experiences of our spiritual ancestors. It is comforting, I believe, to know that even though there are unique particularities of our current context, there really is nothing new under the sun.Since the beginning of us we have been navigating the cycles of conflict and peacemaking, exile and liberation, death and new life.When you look at the stories of the Bible, it is essentially the human story played out again and again in different ways. But also, when you look at the Bible in it's entirety, you see that there is an overarching direction to it, a movement within it. It has a beginning, a middle and an end.Starting in the Book of Genesis, once we move through the beautiful creation myth of the first seven days, what is the first story of the Bible? It is Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden right?Our sacred story starts in paradise - a garden filled flowers and fruits, streams and fountains - and the people living in right relationship with each other, and with God.And then, because it is a human story, there comes the conflict - the lack of faith, the disobedience, the scape-goating, the sin that causes the separation from God and the exile from the Garden.Now, if our story starts in the garden, how does it end? If you turn to the back of the Christian version of the Bible, it ends with the Book of Revelation, with the prophetic words of John, who sees not a garden, but a city.“And I saw the holy city" he says "the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “See, the home of God is among mortals.He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them and be their God; he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more.And the one who was seated on the throne said, “See, I am making all things new."At the end of our sacred story is a city. A city where its citizens live in harmony with one another - live in harmony with God - a place where there is no misery, no death, no separation between us and our creator.But even as we hold hope in this promised future, it’s pretty obvious that we are not there yet.We are still in the middle, somewhere between the garden and the city. And scripture has a name for that place. Between the garden and the city is the wilderness. The wilderness is the place of exile - and it is the place of preparation.Consider the story of the Israelites who wandered for a generation after the sins of Mount Sinai. 40 years of testing and preparing and refining until they were ready to walk together into the promised land.In our human story, the wilderness is not our true home - but it is where we go to work - to work on ourselves - to do the work of being human.The wilderness is not the beginning or the end, it's the messy middle part where we bump into each other, and have to figure out how to deal with each other along the way.The wilderness does not care if you are progressive or conservative, if you are on Twitter or Bluesky. We are ALL in the wilderness because NONE of us is perfect. We all make mistakes. And we all long for our true home where our mourning and crying and pain will be no more.In his book The Wilderness of God, Andrew Louth, says that"the wilderness is the place where the troubled, the hurting, the alienated, the angry, and the forlorn may hear a word of hope and renewal, and discover the possibility for change and rebirth."Discover the possibility for change and rebirth. Remember those words “change and rebirth”… you will hear them again in a moment.----Each year on this, Second Sunday of Advent, we encounter the well-known story of the wild-one of the Jordan - John and his "baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sin."Now, I'm sure you are an expert in biblical Greek, but just in case you need a refresher... the Greek word for “repentance” is “metanoia” - from “meta”, meaning “change,” and “noia”, which is “mind.” So to repent, literally means to change one's mind. Repentance brings a shift in worldview - to turn and see the world from another perspective, which is so often a necessary step towards forgiveness.And forgiveness in Greek is “aphesis” which is synonymous with our word “release”, as if to be released from a form of captivity or enslavement into a renewed life.So the voice from the wilderness preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sin, is also the one preaching the possibility for change and rebirth.Repentance and forgiveness are change and rebirth.This is the work of the wilderness, and even now there are voices crying out from amongst us reminding us that that which is broken amongst us does not need to stay broken - that healing is possible - that reconciliation is achievable - that the city without mourning or crying or pain is just over the next hill. Can't you see it?The voice in the wilderness cries out to pull down the mountains that have risen up between us - to fill the valleys that have formed amongst us. The city of God is at the other end of the path that we have allowed to become crooked. Make it smooth!Remember that if your brother or sister has something against you... first go and be reconciled to them, for that which blocks us from each other, blocks us from God.-------The Very Reverend, The Honourable Doctor Lois Wilson was one of the prophets of our church. For decades, she was that voice from the wilderness calling all people of goodwill towards change and rebirth. She knew the way to the city that we all seek.I remember a number of years ago, I was in a session with her where a congregation was looking to set up a group similar to the Peace and Social Justice Committee we have at Metropolitan.And in that session, she said there is really only one way to ensure peace and to do the work of justice. That way is to build real and reciprocal relationships.To build real, reciprocal relationships.To get out of our eco-chambers, and actually go and talk to other people, even if they are different from us, even if they disagree with us. To hear their perspective, share ours, honour each other's pain, seek common ground, make and keep commitments, move forward together.To see each person as a fellow child of the living God, our brother or sister or sibling, where each one of us has something to teach, and everyone has something to learn.This is the worldview that we are called into, and Lois understood that when we as Christians live into it, the church can play a role in healing that which is broken amongst us.-----Taking a step towards someone who has "something against you" or you against them, is not easy, and there are times when not taking it is the right thing - if things are too raw, for you or them.But there are other times, where the city we seek is just over the hill, and the only way to get there is to take a first step. And remember, taking that step is an act of worship, for that which blocks us from each other, blocks us from God.So in this Advent season of preparation, in this wilderness place where the work of being human happens, I wonder if there is a relationship in your life, with a family member, a friend, a work colleague, a fellow church member, where something has come between you, and you might go to them, and offer yourself a gift - to listen, to share, to love, to gently, oh so gently, take a step together.Take one step together towards that city of God where all things are made new.I wonder what would happen if we all did that?Thanks for reading The Pilgrim and the Pulpit! This post is public so feel free to share it. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit revjasonfrancismeyers.substack.com

Scripture: Luke 21:25-36Shhhhhhh.... be still... be still for 30 seconds... starting NOW. [30 seconds]"There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will faint from fear and foreboding, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken... shaken... shaken”Be honest…how was it for you to be still for 30 seconds? Where were you?What was going on for you as the seconds ticked past?Was it relaxing? Or did it make you feel anxious? Or self-conscious? Or Bored?Maybe you got annoyed, and rebelled: "who does this guy think he is, telling me, to be still." Or perhaps, as the seconds ticked past, you became very aware of just how long 30 seconds of stillness actually feels.The reality is, most of us have trouble with stillness. Ohhh, we might say that we crave it:"Life is so busy" we opine"Oh, how I wish I had a minute just to be still!"But when we get that minute, we tend to fill it, not with stillness, but with suff, don't we? We read something,or eat something,or turn on the Netflix,or more commonly these days, we mess around on our phones -we fill our seconds with stuff.Though we might think of ourselves as citizens, likely much more than we are aware of, we spend much of our time these days simply as consumers - consumers in an economy of distraction, where our attention, and the data that is monitored, manipulated and monetized from it, is the new fungible currency. Empowered by A.I. and algorithms, it is an undeniable truth of our present reality that powerful corporate and political interests are becoming shockingly sophisticated in exploiting our often uneasy relationship with stillness.And what is at the root of this uneasiness?Some wars in this world are fought with guns, but I would argue, that for most of us,the most intense battles we fight take place within ourselves.Shame, guilt, regret, fear - unhealthy self-talk about our own self-worth - those internal battles when it feels like the Sun and moon and stars in the heavens are shaken... shaken... shaken... and we don't like feeling this way, do we?So reach out for a handrail to steady ourselves-and so we read something,or eat something,or Netflix something, or mess around with our phones.We distract ourselves from ourselves and we voluntarily abdicate our attention.And let’s be clear - this is not benign, because we are abdicating our attention to forces that seek to flatten the human experience into the eco-chambered realities that they alone control. They know that we will fill every second with stuff - their stuff - because sitting in stillness, alone with our own stuff… is really hard. -------This is my first sermon after being away for 4 months on holiday and then sabbatical.Maybe you feel this at times as well, but for a while now, I have found that the almost constant pull of distraction has been having a flattening effect on my soul and a domesticating effect on my faith. For a while now, I have been craving something deeper… more wolfish, so the gift of time of these past months was anchored by a wilderness right of passage that I did in the Dartmoor Forest of southwest England.Led by the mythologist Dr. Martin Shaw, I was part of a group of Christian pilgrims, that spent a week in the woods, and included 4 days of vigil and fasting... alone. Four days - that's over three-hundred thousand seconds - with no food, no books, no tech, no tent, no-one to talk to - just stillness, and the sun, the moon and the stars in the heavens to mark the passing of time. There, in that primordial place of wind and waking dreams, we sat for a while outside the distraction economy, simple citizens of creation with the moss and stone.As Dr. Shaw said, it was time set apart to encounter the animal of life, not just the pelt.To encounter the animal, not the pelt.From the Maasai of Kenya, to the Sateré-Mawé of Brazil, to the Anishinaabe and Inuit of North America, different cultures have been doing wilderness right of passage rituals for millennia. But in our days, in our so called “modern” culture most of us, myself included, are not accustomed to feeling wolf-breath on our face. It was hard. I found the stillness very hard.There, alone, beneath the sun, moon and the stars in the heavens there was nowhere to hide - no stuff to distract me from my own stuff - those fears, regrets, and unhealthy narratives that have keratinized within me over the years like snake scale. And as the seconds ticked past, the stillness became like a wire brush scraping, scraping, scraping it's way towards raw flesh. It was hard, at times it was horrible, and at least for the first three days, barely a second ticked past that I did not want to quit - to grab a well-worn handrail of distraction, and get the heck out of there. --------Each year, the scripture passages for this, the first Sunday in Advent, have a distinctly darker tone that we might associate with this season were we anticipate the birth of Christ.The readings on this Sunday speak of what we might refer to as the "end times", or "the apocalypse". A time where, as Jesus puts it in our Luke text today: There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will faint from fear and foreboding, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken... shaken... shaken.So, if you looking for some fa-la-la-la-la's this week, I'm sorry, but you will be disappointed. But stick with me. Within popular culture, and even within the church, there is often a misunderstanding that "apocalypse" is synonymous with "destruction": with meteorites slamming to the earth, or giant tidal waves swamping cities, or maybe that some people will be snatched up to heaven while the rest of us poor sods are left behind to deal with zombies and gridlock on the freeway forever. But as much fodder as these narratives offer Hollywood screenwriters and megaphoned street preachers, none of it holds up to critical analysis, or, I would argue, to biblical faith. The Irish poet and theologian Pádraig Ó Tuama helpfully notes that the term "apocalypse" is not about destruction, it's about revelation - as in "to reveal something". Apocalypse is a word from the theatre meaning to pull back the curtain. To pull back the curtain on that which is hidden - to reveal that which is true - even if the truth is hard to bear. But also, and this is important, as we see in our Gospel text: God's attention is not just focused on some far off reality, but in the present moment. God's attention is especially focused in those hard moments, as Luke puts it: "of fear and foreboding when it feels like everything is shaken... shaken...shaken."Indeed, when our present reality includes war, polarized politics, hate crimes, the epidemic of loneliness, or anything that traps people in fear or despair, it is THEN that we should be looking for God's in-breaking. It is precisely when we feel shaken, when things get impossibly hard, that we should expect the advent of the Child of Humanity, the Christ, the one whose promised future inspires our living today. It is a truth of the Christian faith that Christ comes into the world… but like the thief in the night, scripture also tells us that his coming may not be in a way we expect or could ever anticipate. -------My time in the Dartmoor Forest was not easy.But as hard as it was, the experience was not destructive. I was never unsafe. It was however, I believe, "apocalyptic." Apocalyptic in that truth was revealed.You see, there in the stillness, I had nowhere to hide from some hard truths about myself, but also there in the stillness, a deeper truth was revealed - not about me... but about God. A deeper truth was revealed… but not in any way I would have anticipated or expected.The first three days of the vigil were very windy. These roiling waves of wind would come rolling down the valley, shaking the trees and chilling the bones.It was grey, and cold, and even the birds were sheltering in place. Thoughts, regrets, worries kept roiling like storms within me, and I hadn't slept much.I was getting weak from lack of food. So by the end of the third day, I was pretty fed up. I recall that dusk was only just falling, but I was so done with that day, I just climbed into my sleeping bag and and curled into a ball, shaking and feeling very very alone.Physically, mentally, spiritually I was empty.And then... and then the clouds lightened and the wind stopped.And a little bird landed in the ewe tree right over my head and started singing. Singing and singing and singing a song so beautiful it could have been a beatitude. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. And I listened and found myself laughing and weeping and all shaking was stilled. There, in the darkening time between the dog and the wolf, when I was empty, suddenly I was filled. I was filled with birdsong, filled with blessing.I don't pretend to understand it, this is the stuff of mystery, but I know it to be true because I experienced it, that what I needed was provided - and the deepest, wildest part of me knows that it was provided by God. Even though I was cold, hungry and alone, I didn't actually need the creature comforts, or technological distractions, or the approval of others, or any of the other handrails I tend to grab for when I am feeling depleted or scared.I needed to know the truth.I needed to know the TRUTH that I was worthy of God's attention. My beloveds, I come back from the forest with this message: you are worthy of God's attention. It is all true…“Ask, and it will be given;search, and you will find;knock, and the door will be opened.Christ comes most directly into those moments when everything else is stripped away and it is revealed just how much we need him. Perhaps it won’t be with trumpets and a chorus of the heavenly host. Maybe, for us, Christ comes in the presence of a friend when we need them, or in the kindness of a stranger on the subway, or maybe, just maybe, Christ’s Spirit is revealed in a tiny bird in a forest far away with a voice so beautiful that it fills us with the courage we need to not give up when things get hard - to keep showing up. To keep showing up in our times of emptiness and in our times of fullness - to show up in our longings and our celebrations and to recognize every second for what it is: a gift.A gift of God who shows up for us. ----The challenge of faith is never the absence of God, it is the absence of us. Christ is here in our present reality, but so often, we aren’t.We are pulled in dozens of different directions - we abdicate our attention and become inattentive to the details of life. And this is the great disconnect, because for God, the details matter - nothing is unimportant - not the trees, not the bees, not me, not you. Every detail matters to God, and for us, God will only be revealed in the details of our present reality.God is revealed in the details of your own life. Remember: seek the animal, not the pelt. And fear not the wolf breath on your face. Every second of every day is an invitation to behold what God has done and is doing right now to bring love and liberation into this world.Every second we are given is a new opportunity to say or sing or simply sit in the stillness of our faith-filled response, which naturally comes overflowing as praise-making for the gift of life - this fleeting gift of life that is so precious that God comes in Jesus Christ to live it alongside us as one of us.———Advent is a time for practicing attention - for waiting, watching, listening for the everyday revelation that God's promises are true - that God is with us - even in ways that we might not anticipate or expect. And so in this season for practicing attention, especially if things get hard - if we feel depleted, or scared or alone and we are tempted to ask "where is God right now?"I invite you to remember the deep truth that you are worthy of God's attention, and ask yourself instead: "Where am I right now?" Be still and ask "Where am I right now?"And maybe, just maybe as the seconds tick past, you will hear a birdsong on the wind. Shhhhhhh.... be still...Thanks for reading The Pilgrim and the Pulpit! Subscribe for free to receive new posts. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit revjasonfrancismeyers.substack.com

This is a sermon offered at Metropolitan United Church and won Broadview Magazine’s “Best Christmas Sermon Ever” competition. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit revjasonfrancismeyers.substack.com