The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.  (Lamentations 3: 22-23)

He brought me out of the miry clay,

He set my feet on the Rock to stay;

He puts a song in my soul today,

A song of praise, hallelujah!  (Henry Zelley)

 

The world is on fire. 

At least that’s what it feels like.  And I don’t mean this just physically, although as I write this there are still 425 active wildfires in Canada, and the acrid smoke is affecting people as far south as New York City.  (Which, actually, isn’t all that far south, it just feels like that because there’s a border crossing and a vast political gulf). 

No, I’m not just referring to the Eco-crisis that we are in.  My friend, Rev. Dr. Jessica Hetherington has been prophetically yelling about this for years and entreating all of us who profess a faith to have a faithful response.   You can find her work here: www.jessicahetherington.ca.  (Sometime we need to invite her to speak at Bethel – her work is brilliant). 

I’m also referring to the huge crisis of – ummmmmm…..I’m not entirely sure what to call this.  Maybe morals and ethics?  Today, as I read through my Twitter feed, I saw that the former President of the country to our south has been indicted for stashing classified documents at his home in Florida.  I saw that 17,000 Canadian jobs were lost in the month of May.  I heard of the 4 children in France who lost their lives in a senseless knife attack.  I read about the Catholic Priest who had molested many children in communities in Nunavut and I watched the video footage of a protestors, teenagers, protesting that the Rainbow flag was taken down outside of a high school in York Region be attacked by an angry counter protest.  Water bottles were thrown.  Pride symbols were trampled on. 

I saw this all, I read this all, I watched this all, and I felt that horrible sinking feeling that we all feel when life seems to swallow us up.  The feeling where you long for someone to throw you a life preserve you and bring you out of the “miry clay.” 

And then Hugh brought me coffee in my favourite mug.  My favourite mug is one with that has a stylized drawing of Prince on it, surrounded by purple raindrops.  Every time I use it, I sing out loud, to anyone who cares to hear: “Purple Rain, Purple Rain” ….And every time I sing it, Hugh chuckles – because I sing it really badly, but also because he knows that the song reminds me of being 20-something when life seemed a lot less complicated. 

And then I got dressed, and pulled on the pair of knitted socks that Jane gifted me last week, and I remembered my Tuesday evening, watching Downton Abbey on Netflix, wearing these same socks and sitting with the bowl of jello and marshmallows that Ruth Anne made for UCW.  Ruth Anne is amused that I love Jello and marshmallows, and I got to take home the leftovers because of this. 

And as my mind went in the direction of all of these little moments of joy, I also remembered things like an amazing lunch with a friend and a colleague that I have mostly only seen virtually, but we have developed a surprisingly close and trusted friendship.  I remembered the feeling of my warm and wiggly dog curing up next to me as I work on our worship service for Sunday.  I recall the conversations and the support that Bethel gives each other on Sunday mornings, on Tuesdays, on Thursdays and, well, pretty much 24/7 in less structured ways. 

And I realize that its these moments that are what will lift us from life when it threatens to swallow us up. 

One of my favourite theologians (yes, I know, that statement shows just how much of a geek I am), is Yvone Gebara.  Yvone is a Brazilian (yes), Catholic (yes), nun (triple yes) who is a feminist (ummm…. of course) and is known mostly for her work on ecofeminism.  I wish I could meet her because she strikes me as one of these feisty women who have plowed the way for people like me to be in ministry.  Regardless, one of the things that Yvone writes about that has always struck me as profoundly helpful, is the idea of “daily salvation” – daily moments in our lives that bring us into relationship with each other and with God.  You know, things like, coffee with a friend, or sitting on your couch in a pair of handknit socks watching Downton Abbey and eating Jello and marshmallows straight out of the serving bowl.  Maybe even with your coffee in your favourite Prince mug. 

I know that we are all longing for a big single act of salvation that will pull us out of this burning world.  It would make it so much easier if life had quick fixes and we served and interventionist God that magically put out forest fires and forced people to act in moral and ethical ways.  But I’m thinking, instead, that the mark of faithfulness, of Christianity even, is that although the world is burning around us, that we can still hold on tight to the daily salvations that are all around us. 

And then, of course, find the ways to collectively extinguish the fires in our burning world. 

So, today, my dear Bethel friends, take some time to savour the daily salvations that God has offered us.  And maybe put on your favourite Prince CD and sing along at the top of your lungs: “Purple Rain, Purple Rain”.  Then as you claim this moment of salvation, we can go and offer salvation to others. 

Blessings today, and remember you are loved. 

~Rev. Lynne