From Paul Turley

In its efforts to help Ukraine preserve its territorial integrity and secure its borders, the U.S. State Department says that the U.S. has provided more than $6.5 billion dollars since 2014. More than half of that sum has been provided since the latest invasion of Ukraine by Russia beginning in February this year.

At the same time, the U.S. and other countries have imposed sanctions on the Russian government and Russian oligarchs making it very difficult for them to conduct business with the international community.

While Ukrainians are under fire and at immediate risk and while ordinary Russian citizens are feeling the effects of the war and of the sanctions, some people are making hay, and lots of it.

Goldman Sachs, the giant New York investment bank, is acting as a broker between Moscow’s creditors and U.S. investors, selling Russian debt to the highest bidder. Taking advantage of Russia’s war-crippled economy, they are encouraging clients to by Russian debt at low prices, telling clients that they can sell them at a higher price at a later date.

NBC News says, “The Biden administration’s concern for U.S. investors, including major companies that broker deals for a buck, has stopped it from cracking down harder on Russia and left open the possibility that unsanctioned Putin cronies could gain access to cash by selling debt through Goldman Sachs.”

But Goldman Sachs is not the only organization making hay while the bombs rain. Arms manufacturers like Raytheon and Lockheed Martin have seen massive increases in profits. The share price of BAE Systems, the largest arms manufacturer in the UK and Europe, is up 26%. In These Times magazine says, “Raytheon and Lockheed Martin – are openly telling their investors that tensions between the countries are good for business.” Gregory J. Hayes, the chief executive of Raytheon, stated on a call to investors a month prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, “We just have to look to last week where we saw the drone attack in the UAE … And of course, the tensions in eastern Europe, the tensions in the South China Sea, all of those things are putting pressure on some of the defence spending over there. So I fully expect we’re going to see some benefit from it.

People profiting from misfortune of others goes back a long way…

Explore… Acts 16:16–34

One theme of the Book of Act can be summed up in the verse from Acts 17:6: “These people who have been turning the world upside down have come here also.”
How is your faith community participating in turning the world upside down?
How do you think in our contemporary culture we should understand Paul when he says, ‘‘Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household”; when the text tells us, “he and his entire family were baptized without delay”; and, “he and his entire household rejoiced that he had become a believer in God”?

Prayer…

God of all goodness, you know all too well how so much of our culture has been built on the suffering and exploitation of others. We pray for compassion to see the damage we do, and for courage to make the changes we can to turn the world upside down. Amen.

Learn more…

From Fraser Macnaughton

This spring has seen a confluence of two of the most important festival celebrations of two of the world’s major religions – Islam and Judaism. The Jewish feast of Passover celebrates the liberation of the Hebrew people from slavery in Egypt, as told in Exodus. The Islamic festival of Ramadan is observed by Muslims as a month of fasting prayer and community, commemorating Muhammad’s first revelation.

This might be an ideal opportunity, one might, think for these two great “People of the Book” faiths to share together in ministry, based on their common concern for the poor and the development of spiritual life.

Instead, what we have is at least 31 Palestinians injured in clashes after Israeli police raided the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem in the latest round of violence at the site, as tensions rise between Jews and Muslims.

According to police, “hundreds” of Palestinian demonstrators inside the mosque compound started gathering piles of stones, shortly before the arrival of Jewish visitors. Jews are allowed to visit but not to pray at the site, also known as the Temple Mount, the holiest place in Judaism and third holiest in Islam. Israeli forces entered the mosque early in the morning firing rubber bullets and stun grenades after Palestinians reportedly hurled stones at a gate where the authorities were stationed. According to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society [a humanitarian organization that is part of the International Red Cross movement], 19 Palestinians were wounded, including at least five who were hospitalised. It said some had been wounded with rubber-coated steel bullets.

Similar restrictions were imposed by police on the Christian Orthodox Easter at the end of April. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is the site where Christians believe Jesus Christ was crucified, buried, and resurrected on the third day. During the ceremony, the faithful witness a flame of fire that emerges from the empty tomb. Although it is customary for many thousands of worshippers to attend every year, the Israeli police have demanded that only 1,000 people enter the Church of the Resurrection for the Holy Fire ritual, which takes place each year on the Saturday before the Orthodox Easter. The police have also said that only 500 people can enter the Old City and reach the courtyards of the Patriarchate and the roof overlooking the Church of the Resurrection.

Explore… Acts 16:9–15

In a world of division, where does your faith community see itself working with others together in ministry?
How are the relations between your faith community and other Christian denominations in your area?
What barriers do you think still need to be broken down in your faith community?

Prayer…

In a world dominated by media headlines, so often negative, may we stay aware of the many good and compassionate acts done quietly and out of sight in all communities. May we celebrate all the places and people who, touched by the Spirit, work together in ministry. Amen.

Learn more…

More than 20 injured in Israeli-Palestinian clashes around al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem

Fraser Macnaughton

The issue of transgender people and sport is one which has thrown up many challenges for those who wish to be as inclusive as possible. Over the years, there has been a seismic shift as boundaries were broken, with often sport leading the way in such areas as paralympic sports, and women’s participation in sports such as rugby, soccer, and cricket. Is it time, then, for more boundaries to be pushed and eventually broken with regard to the transgender community.

In sport, governing bodies have struggled to develop policies around fair competition and the possibility of unfair advantage being gained. Recently, in cycling, the double Olympic champion Katie Archibald has sharply criticized the transgender policies of the International Olympic Committee and other sports bodies, saying they have not only let down female cyclists by underplaying biology but have left trans women, such as Emily Bridges, facing intense scrutiny. Archibald, who won the second of her cycling gold medals in Tokyo last year alongside Dame Laura Kenny in the Madison, said it was wrong for governing bodies to ignore the science that shows trans women who have gone through male puberty have a retained advantage in strength, stamina, and physique.

On the eve of the recent Nations Cup in Glasgow, Archibald issued a statement that said, “It is my opinion that the international governing bodies of several sports have let down transgender athletes, in particular transgender women, with their inclusion policies. These policies have put the athletes, their involvement in sport, and their personal lives under intense scrutiny when all the athletes have done is follow the rules and enter a category they were encouraged to enter. I, too, feel let down by these policies. I feel let down by the International Olympic Committee who tell me there should be no assumed advantage for an athlete with a gender identity different to their sex.”

However, she also expressed deep sympathy for Bridges, who broke the junior men’s 25-mile record before transitioning in 2020, saying she was only following the rules of cycling’s governing body, the UCI, before it decided to block her racing as a woman.

Explore… Acts 11:1–18

In what areas of life do you see steps being achieved in breaking boundaries?
In what ways might you see that policies of inclusion at all costs may be detrimental?
How do you think vegetarians or vegans might view the story of Peter’s dream?

Prayer…

May our eyes and our hearts always be open to new ways of seeing and feeling things. May we always be prepared to walk in another’s shoes, even for a while, to appreciate their world view, so that, together, boundaries of discrimination and prejudice might be cast away for good. Amen.

Learn more…

Katie Archibald hits out at UCI over handling of transgender debate

From Fraser Macnaughton

It is fascinating to see how, around the world, people connecting with one another through chance meetings or events can mushroom into something much bigger. The story of the “Dnipro kids” is one example.

In September 2005, Hibernian Football Club (based in Edinburgh, Scotland) made a European soccer cup trip to the Ukrainian city of Dnipropetrovsk. A handful of supporters organized a charitable collection for some local orphans. Within a few months, the idea had snowballed and the well-meaning supporters had an official charity to their name. With the outbreak of war in Ukraine, the soccer club and charity went into overdrive.

This has resulted in the evacuation of 52 orphaned children from Dnipropetrovsk to Scotland. After much wrangling and red tape, the group finally arrived and have spent some time recovering in the Scottish Highlands before settling into their new homes.

Charity chairman Steven Carr praised the “phenomenal” response from people across Scotland, which saw football fans from all clubs offer help and support. He said, “I’m pretty tired but obviously ecstatic they have managed to get this over the line. [The children] have obviously been through a very traumatic experience. We need to make sure they are looked after.”

The children – aged one and 18 – arrived from orphanages with their house mothers, and facilitators are ensuring they are not split up from this vital support relationship. The group want to go home when it is safe to do so. To that end, online lessons are being provided to the displaced children by Ukrainian authorities, to help support their Ukrainian identity and so that the values and views of others will not be imposed on their experience.

Churches, local authorities, and businesses, have all rallied round to provide life-giving acts of compassion for these already disadvantaged children evacuated from a horrific war zone. And it all started with a soccer match.

Explore… Acts 9:36–43

Can you share other heart-warming stories of life-giving acts from your own experience?
What areas of life in your local community do you think might be inspired by the example of Tabitha?
Share in your group what inspiring role models have moved you to life-giving acts of compassion – large or small.

Prayer…

Too many are hungry, lack shelter, endure injustice; too many are held back, kept silent, treated as lesser people; too many lack clean water, adequate food, easy medical treatment; too many cry over the loved ones they have lost to war and violence. Our prayers are for the people of the world. Where can we bring change that will make a difference? Amen.

Learn more…

From Sandra Rooney

A recent opinion piece in the New York Times by Rebecca Solnit begins with these words: “When we see others as the sum of their past beliefs and actions, nothing added, subtracted or transformed, forgiveness and redemption become impossible.” She begins her essay with the story of Jarvis Masters, a man she now calls her friend, who entered San Quentin prison in 1981 as an angry teenager guilty of numerous counts of armed robbery. With help from Melody Ermachild Chavis, who was investigating his case, Masters discovered and embraced Buddhism, devoting himself to meditation, becoming a Tibetan Buddhist practitioner and peacemaker, all while in prison.

As Solnit writes, Masters has been in San Quentin for 41 years, most of that time on death row for a crime in 1985, which many believe he did not commit. In fact, since what Solnit refers to as Masters’ “metamorphosis,” Masters has often defused potentially violent situations and been a “trustworthy listener to the sorrows of those around him, both guards and fellow inmates.”

But the legal system doesn’t seem interested in the strong case for Masters’ innocence, seeming only to see him as the angry young man he was those many years ago. While prisons may use the language of “correctional” or “reformatory,” the reality is that they are often more focused on punishment than reform. Solnit suggests that it’s not just prisons and the criminal justice system, however, but we as a society seem ill-equipped to recognize transformation let alone work to facilitate it. Yet most of us have changed over time, more often than not so slowly that we are often only aware of it when we suddenly recognize that we know longer believe something we used to believe.

When Master’ case came up for review by the California Supreme Court in 2016, the justices didn’t seem to take seriously the evidence that he had become a new person. A look at what Masters did in his childhood and youth needs to be viewed also in light of what he had experienced by the time he was six – chronic hunger, extreme neglect and violence, including seeing his own mother almost beaten to death. A good first foster placement was unfortunately followed by a series of homes and institutions where he experienced both physical and psychological violence. Considering all that, it’s all the more remarkable that Masters, from death row, now has a wide circle of friends on the outside, has published two books, and has gone so far as to take vows from a Tibetan lama.

Solnit describes Masters as “a miracle of cheerfulness through discipline, a person who’s found some kind of interior tranquility and hope in a life locked up among the most violent Californians.” But as she says, “The system seems uninterested in who he has become despite rather than because of it.”

In a short Ted Talk, “The Danger of a Single Story,” novelist Chimamanda Adichie also provides a compelling warning that if we hear only a single story about another person, or country, we risk a critical misunderstanding.

Explore… Acts 9:1–20

What is required of us to be able to respond with compassion to those who have committed serious injury to us or to others?
When have you seen such a response, or wished that it might be possible?
When have you had the experience of learning new information about someone that completely changed you opinion of them?
How has your worldview changed over the last 40 years? How has that changed your attitudes and/or behaviour?

Prayer links…

Oh Loving God, you who offer us forgiveness and the possibility of new life, may we believe in that new life, for ourselves and for others. May we help to build communities of compassion, forgiveness, and justice. Amen.

Learn more…

From Sandra Rooney

In Massachusetts, Worcester Bishop Robert McManus challenged Nativity School of Worcester, a small Jesuit school, for flying the rainbow Pride flag and the Black Lives Matter flag alongside the United States flag, saying it was inconsistent with the Catholic faith. School officials say the flags are there “to remind our young men, their families, and Nativity Worcester staff that all are welcome here and that they are valued and safe in this place.” The school is a tuition-free, all-boys school whose 60-some students are mainly students of colour from low-come families. Officials say the purpose of flying the flags is to show the boys “that they matter and deserve to be respected, as Christian values teach.”

A world away, in Russia, the Rev. Ioann Burdin, rector of Resurrection of Christ Orthodox Church in the village of Nikolskoye, has spoken out again about his country’s invasion of Ukraine. Last month he made international headlines when Russian authorities fined him for his dissent and threatened him with the possibility of up to 15 years in prison. His own bishop urged him to “keep silent” and suggested he could be banned from ministry because of his actions. In an interview speaking through a translator, Burdin said, “I don’t consider it possible to remain silent on this situation. If I remain silent, I’m not a priest.”

Generally, Russian Orthodox leaders closely align their ideology with the Kremlin’s, at least in public. Burdin’s declarations were in direct contrast to the preaching of Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, head of the Russian Orthodox Church and widely seen as having not only endorsed the war but having provided the spiritual basis to justify it. In response, a vocal group of Russian Orthodox priests in Ukraine and elsewhere have stopped their usual commemoration of Kirill’s name during their worship services, and more than 280 Russian Orthodox priests around the world signed an open letter in early March calling for “the cessation of the fratricidal war” against Ukraine. Burdin continues to frame his words and actions as a requirement of his Christian faith, saying, “Your job is not to change, but to testify.”

And back in the United States, all eyes are on the continuing investigation of the January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, when thousands of Trump supporters gathered following a “Stop the Steal” rally and protesters broke into the capitol building. Though that event did not come out of nowhere, it did come with many Christian flags, portraits of Jesus, Bible verses, and the singing of Christian worship songs, all alongside symbols of racist oppression like nooses, swastikas, and Confederate flags. Often described as Christian Nationalism or white Christian Nationalism, a recent statement by an American Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty (BJC), noted that while that designation may be appropriate from a sociological perspective, it is not appropriate from a theological one, saying there is nothing “Christian” about it. After an extensive analysis of the many factors leading up to the present, the report says clearly, “There must be a nonviolent countermovement centered on the Jesus of the Bible.” Amanda Tyler, BJC executive director, said, “Christians must lead efforts that call out Christian nationalism in a self-critical way.”

Explore… Acts 5:27–32

Where do you think the disciples got the courage to continue preaching Jesus’ message in the face of warnings from Roman authorities as well as hostility from other Jews?
What parallels do you see between the time in which the disciples lived and preached, and today?
Where do you see hostility today to the message of love and justice Jesus taught?
Where do you see his message preached and lived out?
Where might you witness to Jesus’ message of compassion, justice, and love?

Prayer…

Grant us a voice, O God, when staying silent seems so much easier. Help us build communities of support that we might together swim against the tide of cultural conventions or dogmatic teachings and live in a way that demonstrates the truth of Jesus’ ways of peace and justice, inclusion and compassion. Amen.

Learn more…

From Sandra Rooney

The Hollywood Oscars may not be headline news around the world, but they certainly get a spotlight in the United States. One of the most moving moments of the recent Oscar ceremonies was the award for best supporting actor to Troy Kotsur, the first male deaf actor to win an Oscar. In CODA, he plays a deaf fisherman in Gloucester, Massachusetts. His wife and son are also played by deaf actors. His daughter is not deaf. “CODA” means child of deaf adults and the story revolves around the tensions of that circumstance.

Kotsur himself has been deaf since birth. While he is a veteran stage and screen actor, this is his first moment in the national spotlight. In his acceptance speech, through an interpreter, he said, “This is our moment.” He addressed the significance of that moment in a PBS interview later with Jeffrey Brown.

Through an interpreter, he said that people in the outside world tend to overlook those who are deaf. He said he wanted to dedicate the Oscar to the deaf and disabled community, as well as the CODA community, “to make them feel good, make them feel seen and recognized.” He added that he hoped there would be more diversity and more storytelling in Hollywood in the future. Though he’s had a 35-year career honing his craft, he acknowledged that the communication barrier has made it difficult to find a role that would really help the entertainment industry “think outside the box and collapse that box.” He said he hoped that Hollywood was “finally ready to open their hearts and minds to us and really finally be able to tell stories that are empathetic and can shift and transform cultural perspective.” That the deaf community “had really been waiting for this moment for a long time.”

Now, after having had to chase down auditions, he is receiving offers and scripts. He said he would “love to play an historical deaf figure. We have so many rich stories.” He mentioned there was a deaf boxer and someone who developed technology for the deaf, and, in fact, that the football huddle was created by the deaf.

Addressing the tensions between the hearing and the deaf, Kotsur said, “Our film is perfect, because I feel like we’re finally able to connect the deaf and hearing worlds.” He said the film shows the real culture of a child of a deaf adult, adding, “We are a rich culture. We have rich family life.”

But there’s more to the story. Some deaf people and children of deaf adults found the film’s perspective at times frustrating or even upsetting. Jenna Beacom is a deaf media critic and she often works as a consultant on writing projects with deaf characters. She said that on the one hand she wanted the film to “win every award,” but added that there were also what she described as “actually harmful messages” in the movie, so she was conflicted.

When Beacom first saw the trailer for CODA, which is based on the 2014 French film La Famille Bélier, she thought it must be set in the past, given the way the deaf parents relied so completely on their hearing daughter instead of on professional interpreters, which, she said, have been mandated ever since the Americans With Disabilities Act passed in 1990. “Deafness is seen as a burden for both the deaf people and their poor, overworked CODA daughter, and it’s not,” Beacom said, adding that “Many deaf people are extremely independent and competent.”

Explore… John 20:1–18

What do you imagine the disciples were saying to one another that day after Jesus’ death?
What about those who had been part of the crowds to whom Jesus spoke?
What about the other Jews, those who had challenged him, or had spoken harshly about him?
What stone needs to be rolled away for you to see new possibilities for your life?
Who will support you in choosing a new direction for your life? Who might criticize you? Why?

Prayer links. . .

Holy One, we admit we are often afraid of offending others or embarrassing ourselves and we stay quiet when we might speak boldly about living life in a more faithful way. We look at the world around us and know change is needed. We believe change is possible, and we pray we might be part of rewriting the future. Amen.

Learn more…

From Joan Kessler

Some ten months following the discovery of 215+ unmarked graves on the former Kamloops Residential School site, survivors were invited to an audience with Pope Francis at the Vatican. A delegation of the Assembly of First Nations travelled to Rome the last week of March to share their stories of the abuse and trauma they endured while attending church-run residential schools. An apology from the Roman Catholic Church has been a sought-after response by survivors and their families in order for healing and reconciliation to begin. The wait for a response from the Holy See has been long and painful and there are questions among First Nations, Inuit, and Metis survivors as to what will be offered and if it will be enough.

The Metis delegation was the first of three, hour-long meetings with Pope Francis. While an apology was not offered, Metis elder and survivor Angie Crerar spoke to reporters of a comfortable meeting that saw the pope give his full attention to the sharing of traumatic experiences and she was very grateful and appreciative of the time together. She commended the courage and bravery of survivors to retell their stories of abuse and trauma. Crerar said the pope made a personal commitment to “truth, justice, and healing” and reiterated a promise to visit Canada in the future and to meet with survivors of church-run residential schools. Crerar summarized her experience of residential school by saying, “Although they tried to change us, to say our family was no good … my mom and dad taught us kindness, to love, respect.”

The Assembly of First Nations delegation that visited Rome represented more than 150,000 children who attended church and government-run residential schools across Canada between the 1870s and 1996. It has been a long-awaited invitation. And some at home watching the proceedings are angry and hurt it has taken so long and so little has transpired. Robyn Michaud, a Sagamok Anishnawbek from Woodstock, Ontario, told a CBC reporter that the truth has to be told. “Until there’s an apology, there will be no reconciliation,” Michaud said.

Residential school survivors are asking the Catholic Church to do more than apologize and offer lip-service. Action is being called for that would see the church create healing and wellness opportunities for next generations. Survivors want the church to return to them their culture, their traditional ways of healing, and their language.

This Palm/Passion Sunday, where does Jesus’ journey take us? What thresholds need to crossed to foster truth-telling before reconciliation and healing can take place?

[UPDATE: Since this piece was written, Pope Francis has apologized for the actions of those who perpetrated abuse within the residential schools. Though he didn’t offer a broader apology for the participation of the church in the scheme as a whole, which many would have preferred, his more limited apology is seen as a remarkable and healing first step. Of course, as many have commented, words are not enough. They must be back up by healing actions.]

Explore… Luke 19:26–40; Luke 22: 14 – 23:56

What stories have you been motivated to share to foster reconciliation with another?
Who and what do you surround yourself with for support when a difficult decision is to be made?

Prayer…

Jesus, as we enter into another Holy Week, remind us the journey towards healing, compassion, and reconciliation is far from over. Be with us in the spirit of your life and teachings to strengthen us to have hard conversations and make difficult decisions. Amen.

Learn more…

From Joan Kessler

From the early days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the empty stroller or baby pram has become emblematic of the humanitarian crisis that has been unleashed, but also the kindness of strangers to help in a time of deep need. In early March, a million displaced Ukrainians, largely women travelling alone with their children, made their way to Poland with the hope of being welcomed and provided refuge. This number has since grown to roughly 3.5 million Ukrainians on the move. Poland has become the staging ground for this growing displacement.

An image has been widely circulated in the media of a number of baby strollers lined up on a Polish train platform awaiting the arrival of women who had to flee their homes with a moment’s notice, some with only their children and the clothes on their backs.

With men left behind in Ukraine to fight on the front lines, families become separated. Women and children are left to find their way to safety. They have given birth in maternity hospital hallways and then been whisked away to underground bunkers where they can be kept safe. Mothers are faced with the question of where to go to raise their young families. As the war continues, the death toll continues to climb. Once again, the empty pram is a symbol of the senselessness and heartbreak of war. At time of writing, 109 strollers were placed by activists in Rynok Square in the city of Lviv, Ukraine, representing the number of children killed by Russian forces thus far.

The world has been moved with compassion, opening doors and providing shelter and employment to those who have been displaced. Canada is the second largest diaspora of Ukrainians, behind Russia. Many communities, including the Thompson-Okanagan area in which I reside, have seen residents offer up couches, spare rooms, and basement suites to Ukrainians looking for resettlement.

As we live into war and its multi-faceted issues and resulting humanitarian crisis, John’s account of the anointing of Jesus by Mary at Bethany brings into the light the gracious ministries we are called to exercise. Jesus, a guest at the home of his good friends Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, accepts their gracious hospitality. Martha prepares and serves the meal while Mary quietly anoints Jesus’ feet with a most expensive nard, a preparation for the death he was to face when he reached Jerusalem in a few days’ time. Mary is criticized for her generous act, seen by some as waste. Jesus rebukes the harsh criticism waged against Mary. Both Mary and Martha give extravagantly and generously to their friend without worrying about the cost of this gift. This Sunday, may we celebrate the role of women in the gospel story and the generous ministries they exercise.

Explore… John 12:1–8

Reflect on the image of an empty stroller. What feelings does it invoke? Generous spirits? The death and loss of a people’s future?
What do you know about the history of the ministry of diakonia?
What role do women play in your community as organizers and deliverers of hospitality and compassion?

Prayer…

God poured out, Generosity running over… we pray for people who know war this day. May those who know peace share generously and extravagantly with all who are looking for safety and security. We give thanks for all the various opportunities we are given to serve You. We pray for war to cease, for families to find their ways back to one another again. Amen.

Learn more…

From Joan Kessler

A survey of Saskatchewan residents, conducted by the Canadian Hub for Applied and Social Research in partnership with CBC Saskatchewan, found that more than 31 percent of respondents had experienced reduced contact with family or friends the past year due to differing viewpoints on a variety of topics. And from this grouping, 94 percent identified the reason for estranged relationships was due to COVID-19 differences. One woman explained that she was unable to share the heartbreaking news of her miscarriage with her mother and other family members because she feared their reprisal of her decision to be vaccinated while pregnant. A senior mother of four adult children also shared her one child’s contrary view of the pandemic and the rift it caused in her family. She described the breaking apart of her family as an “unexpected burden.”

COVID-19 restrictions that we have lived with these past two years are beginning to be eased. As we come out from under the pandemic, the strain within family relationships may be a side-effect of COVID that will linger for time to come. What does it mean to reconcile these broken relationships? When differences of opinion arise and relationships become estranged, reconciliation can only take place when the parties sit down together to listen openly and without judgment. Empathy and understanding are key to the healing process.

This week, we read the familiar parable of the prodigal son. Given the family discord many in our congregations are experiencing, this reading may deeply resonate with listeners. The father in the parable has two difficult sons: one who is ready to branch out on his own, away from his family, and take his inheritance with him; and another who bears the burdens of family loyalty and remains at home out of a sense of deep obligation. The father is a loving arbitrator and longs to see his family reconciled once again. It is painstaking work that will take time to heal the fractured places. Jesus’ parable of the Prodigal Son challenges us to live generously and graciously with others we may not always agree with. May we welcome grace into our communities and families as we are invited to this necessary work.

Explore… Luke 15:1–3; 11b–32

COVID disagreements have also arisen in our communities of faith. What work of reconciliation does your congregation perhaps need to undertake?
What does it mean to welcome grace? A change of mind? Or a change of heart?
Do you have a prodigal story to share? Can you recall a time in your life when you needed to follow a different path in order to discover yourself? What was that like? Did it come with a cost?

Prayer…

In our pain and loss this day, fill our empty spaces with your love and your grace, Holy One. We pray for the health of our families and other relationships. May we be strengthened to do the hard work of reaching out to those we don’t agree with and begin to walk the road of reconciliation and reparation. Amen.

Learn More…

From Fraser Macnaughton

As the Russian invasion of its neighbour Ukraine unfolds, there have been striking differences shown in the reaction of other European countries with regard to the hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian refugees seeking to escape the violence by fleeing their country. There is confusion within the UK government over how open their invitation should be to Ukrainians. Initially, there were limits set – only near relatives of Ukrainians living in the UK would be allowed to join them, but that’s all. Then there was a talk of a “humanitarian” route proposed by the Home Secretary Priti Patel. Meanwhile, Foreign Office minister James Cleverly and Downing Street (office of the Prime Minister) both denied the UK was to offer Ukrainian refugees a new humanitarian-based route to the country. Cleverley said, “Whilst all of us would want to throw our arms open and be as generous as possible, there does need to be a process.”

Contrast that with the reaction of Ukraine’s near neighbour Poland. It is fair to say that Poland’s open invitation to Ukrainian refugees is far more apparent and is being backed up with actions. As one journalist from The Kyiv Independent (Kyiv is the capital of Ukraine), wrote on her arrival at a small Polish border town, “I expected to be confronted with a humanitarian catastrophe, produced by a million people fleeing their homes due to war. But what I saw was instead the best of humanity.”

More than 1.5 million people fled Ukraine to Poland in the first ten days of the invasion. Yet people were met with banners saying, “You are safe here.” Polish volunteers provide Ukrainian refugees with “everything for free,” as another sign says – food, water, clothes, phones with prepaid plans, accommodation, legal advice. Not surprisingly, the reaction from refugees was overwhelming gratitude. Some explained that when they arrived people helped them with their luggage, and then offered to put them up in their own homes. But as one person pointed out, “Poland will have to bear the brunt of refugee resettlement – when a humanitarian crisis is on your doorstep, there’s little time for discussion; the instinct to help instead kicks in.”

Explore… Isaiah 55:1–9

Although geographically distant, what do you think your faith community may do to help Ukrainian and other refugees across the world?
How aware are you of Ukrainians or people of Ukrainian descent living in your community who may need an invitation to talk freely about the situation?
Share how you might think about humanitarian actions being understood as God’s blessings on the poor and unfortunate in our world, without reference to church.

Prayer…

May the light of God continue to shine in every little kindness, in every little action of humanity, in every example of loving neighbours, that more and more may see the true power of love at work in the world through ordinary people. Amen.

Learn more…

From Fraser Macnaughton

Sometimes when we read the story of Abram and Sarah and God’s promise to them of a land, we forget that these were nomadic people, always on the move. The notion of settled borders is one we are all too familiar with, and yet even today the invasion of Ukraine by Russia is being portrayed by President Putin as an unresolved dispute about land. Across the modern world there are still numerous arguments and conflicts over disputed territory, one of the main ones being the land of Canaan, now Israel/Palestine, that same land promiseed to Abram by God, as the old story tells us.

Here is a living example of the conundrum: “How do we respond when fulfilment of a promise means difficulty for others?” Many Palestinians, decades after they were forced from their homes, still possess the key to their former homes’ front door. It is a ritual, a symbol of hope that one day these people might be able to have “the right of return” to their homeland and to once again use those keys to enter their homes and live there in peace. It is the right to the property they themselves or their ancestors left behind or were forced to leave in what is now Israel and the Palestinian territories.

In a different but similar vein, in the UK there is growing unease in places like Surrey at the presence of what has been dubbed “Surrey’s Beverley Hills,” an exclusive gated luxury housing estate where more than a quarter of the properties belong to wealthy Russian oligarchs, many suspected of having links to Putin and having benefitted from his time in office. As one nearby resident named Joy said, pointing at the fence that separates the communal garden of her council estate from the St. George’s Hill golf course in the estate, “The rich Russians who live in the huge houses over there, the government should seize their houses.”

Exploiting the UK government’s almost ritualistic “golden visa” scheme, wealthy Russians moved in, no questions asked; the only require was that they invest £2 million in the UK. According to Transparency International, it is estimated that Russians accused of corruption or with links to the Kremlin have bought about £1.5bn of UK property since 2016. It seems promises of land, without much regard for folk who already live there, or going through rituals to settle there, continues unabated since the time of Abram.

Explore… Genesis 15:1–12, 17–18

How well do you understand the long history of promises of land and the effects it has had on Indigenous peoples? What examples can you think of?
Share what you see are the different perspectives in which this biblical story can be read?
What are some of the rituals surrounding land ownership, whether by fair means or foul?

Prayer…

May all land be cherished and nurtured, and may we, with the Spirit’s help, become more aware and engaged with the importance of land and its ownership through the lens of Jesus’ message of justice for all. Amen.

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Tensions rise at 3bn Surrey estate Russians call home

From Fraser Macnaughton

A former Moderator of the Church of Scotland once said of Lent, “At Lent we should take something up not give something up.” Wise words which could ably be exampled by the exhortation to “practice gratitude.”

As the world looks on in horror and disbelief at the invasion of Ukraine by President Putin of Russia, stories are emerging of the gratitude ordinary Ukrainians express at the support for them from people all around the globe.

The invasion was only a couple of days old when ordinary people took to the streets in capitals across the world. In London, a demonstration organized by the London Euromaidan group and other Ukrainian activists urged the Russian leader to “stop this war now” after Ukraine was hit by missiles. Mass protests were also held in Berlin, Barcelona, The Hague in the Netherlands, Warsaw, and Thessaloniki in Greece, among others. Demonstrators held placards saying, “Hands off Ukraine” and “No war!” in cities including Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Bangkok.

In Moscow itself as well as in other Russian cities, over 900 people were arrested in anti-war protests in one day. In many places, Russians in foreign lands were also on the streets. About 80,000 protesters poured into Prague’s central square to support Ukraine. The Czech prime minister told the crowd the country still remembered the terror of Russian tanks rolling into the capital more than five decades ago.

For many people, the swiftness of the upturning of matters in Eastern Europe as well as the presence of many Ukrainians all over the world have drawn people closer. Many people in Ukraine – like many outside observers – have found it hard to believe what has transpired, yet the gratitude of Ukrainians for the outpouring of support they have received has been widely reported.

Not only that, but citizens of many countries fleeing the war have been grateful too. An Indian student, who was evacuated to the Delhi airport via a special flight said on leaving Ukraine, “We came through Romania. People there prepared home-cooked meals for us. Until we left Lviv, the situation was normal, but it seemed quite uncertain.”

At the Polish border, tens of thousands of Ukrainian refugees have been warmly welcomed, in a country whose border guard only last year beat back mostly Middle Eastern migrants. People were just grateful to get across the border alive although it was mostly women and children, as the men had stayed behind to join in resisting the invading forces.

Explore… Deuteronomy 26:1–11

What might you do by way of taking something up for Lent, to practice gratitude.
In what ways can our faith community engage with supporting Ukrainians either in your locale or in Ukraine itself.
How might you express gratitude for the blessing your community enjoys and how might you spread wider, that practice.

Prayer…
May we embark on our Lenten journey leading to a cross, and through that cross to new life. But there is much we must encounter before we reach that empty tomb. We take these hopes, birthed in the memory of the firm voice proclaiming that, wherever we are, we are in the presence of the Christ.

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From Paul Turley

As I write, Russia and Belarus have begun ten days of joint military exercises along their borders with Ukraine.

The BBC says these exercises are believed to be Russia’s biggest deployment to Belarus since the Cold War. France is calling this a “violent gesture.” UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson says that Europe, “faces its biggest security crisis in decades.” Ukraine says that they amount to “psychological pressure.”

No one, it seems, other than the Russian president, knows what will be happening by the time you read these words. While Russia has repeatedly denied any plans to invade Ukraine, it continues to mass troops at the border, now numbering more than 100,000. In the words of NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, “This is probably the most dangerous moment, I would say, in the course of the next few days, in what is the biggest security crisis that Europe has faced for decades.”

France is taking a slightly different approach. French President Emmanuel Macron has played down the likelihood of a Russian invasion soon. The French leader and the Russian leader met for five hours earlier this week in the Kremlin. Following the meeting, the Putin said of Macron, “A number of his ideas, proposals ... are possible as a basis for further steps. We will do everything to find compromises that suit everyone.”

Since then, contradictory accounts of the meeting have emerged. At a press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Kyiv on Tuesday, Macron insisted he had received assurances from Putin on the military front. “He told me that he would not initiate an escalation, and I think this is important,” Macron said. However, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov dismissed reports of an agreement: “Given the current situation, Moscow and Paris could not have struck any deals. It is simply impossible.”

What, you might reasonably ask, does this dangerous and confusing situation have anything to do with our story of the Transfiguration? Troops massing on the Ukrainian border and ancient prophets appearing on a mountain with Jesus are both events out of the ordinary. Both events reach back into a complex and fraught past. And both events need to be carefully thought through, talked about, and considered before action is taken. Peter did not think and talk before taking action. Let us hope that those with cool heads and a willingness to talk will prevail in our current crisis.

Explore… Luke 9:28–36 (37–43)

Moses and Elijah are major historical, political, and religious figures in Israel’s culture. What figures from your culture’s history can you imagine appearing with Jesus in this visionary event, and how might they alter the impact of the event for your community?
What do you think was behind Peter’s desire to “make three dwellings”?
Why do you think the disciples, and presumably Jesus, “kept silent and in those days told no one any of the things they had seen”?

Prayer…

God of peace, we pray for peace in our world. We pray for the people of the Ukraine, of Russia and of Belarus. We pray for the leaders of these nations and for the leaders of the NATO nations. We pray that peace and justice will be upmost in their minds in the decision they make in the coming days. We pray that they will know that war is always an admission of failure. We pray that they will be peacemakers. Amen.

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From Paul Turley

Last week, Michael Gove (Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Community in the British government) unveiled the government’s white paper, “Levelling Up the United Kingdom.”

Levelling up was a key part of the Conservative Party’s 2019 election manifesto and one of the reasons commentators believe Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s conservatives won that election. Levelling Up is the recognition of the need to invest in what has often been called the “forgotten north” of England. Michael Gove said that levelling up will, “shift both money and power into the hands of working people.” And that, “the government was on a ‘moral mission’ to boost prosperity in poorer areas.”

The White Paper says, “While talent is spread equally across our country, opportunity is not. Levelling up is a mission to challenge, and change, that unfairness. Levelling up means giving everyone the opportunity to flourish. It means people everywhere living longer and more fulfilling lives, and benefitting from sustained rises in living standards and well-being. This requires us to end the geographical inequality which is such a striking feature of the UK.”

The goals of Levelling Up are couched in 12 “missions.” These include better public transport, investment in primary education, a “significant” rise in the number of people completing high-quality skills training across the UK, a major increase in access to high-speed broadband, and an overall fall in homicide, serious violence, and neighbourhood crime, focused on worst-affected areas.

In response to the release of the White Paper, the Financial Times said, “The good news is that it contains thorough analysis, clear aims and sensible policy steps. The bad news is that many goals will be unachievable and the plan under-resourced.”

It is the under-resourcing that has drawn the most criticism of the government’s plans. Many observers have pointed out that the £4.8bn fund promised in the Paper to support regeneration, transport projects, and education across the UK, is recycled money rather than new funds, and that it doesn’t go far in restoring the £15bn of cuts in central government grants to local authorities between 2010 and 2020, while the Conservative Party has been in power.

It remains to be seen whether Levelling Up will be the kind of initiative that can begin to heal and restore divided communities like the kind that Jesus addresses in our reading for this week.

Explore… Luke 6:27–38

Because our culture is focused on the the individual, it is easy for us to assume that Jesus is talking here to us as individuals. But in the first century people were far more orientated to the group, family, and clan. Jesus’ first hearers would most likely have heard him talking to them as a collective. What insights come to you from this reading, when you think about it as addressed to us as a group?
For Jesus to call us to love our enemies and to do good to those who hate us, it must be that we have enemies and haters. We may not like to think about this. We may wish to get along with everyone. But if we are to follow the radical way of Jesus, that may not always be possible. What activities or practices in your faith community might draw enemies?

Prayer…

God of community and of love, we pray today for those with whom we are out of communion, as individuals, as a faith community, and as a wider church. Give us compassion, wisdom, insight, and grace that we maybe peace makers in our world. Amen.

Learn more…

From Paul Turley

Have you heard of the Gini Coefficient or the Palma Ratio? Unless you are a professional economist, it is likely only in the past decade that you have heard these two terms, if at all.

Both are tools for identifying levels of inequality. The reason they have become better known is that inequality is growing in nations where the post-war promise of true common-wealth is breaking down.

The idea that a rising tide lifts all boats was true for many in the industrial West following the war years. Machinery and works that had been built for war were turned to producing consumer goods. Swords were, sometimes quite literary, beaten into ploughshares. At least in industrialized economies, the post-war boom gave many a small slice of the good life.

That all began to change in the late 1970s, but was visible at the time mostly only to those who study these things and to those who worked on the margins with the poorest of the poor. By the 1990s and certainly by the global financial crisis of 2007–08, the growing gap between the richest Westerners and the poorest was becoming obvious to all. It is then that many of us started to hear about the tools economies use to measure inequality.

In the Gini Coefficient, inequality is measured between 0, where everyone is equal, and 1, where all the country’s income is earned by a single person. The Palma Ratio, which many economists consider is a more sensitive and therefore more accurate measure, focuses on the bottom 40% of a population, based on income, and the top 10% and the gap between them.

Whichever measure we look at, income inequality in many industrialized, Western economies is now as great or greater than it was in the 1920s, that era of excess, often called the “Roaring Twenties.” The pandemic has only increased both inequality and the rate that the gap between the rich and the poor is growing.

In an address to mark Human Rights Day 2021, on December 10, United Nations High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet said, “Despite significant progress since the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) 73 years ago, the COVID pandemic has fed a frightening rise in inequalities, and laid bare many of our failures to consolidate the advances made.”

So great is the income gap between the mega-rich and those at the bottom, and so unfair has the tax and benefits system become, even the rich are calling for a change.

One hundred and two members of the global super-rich have written an open letter calling on governments around the world to “tax us now” to help pay for the pandemic response and tackle the gulf between rich and poor.

Jesus, in our text for this week, was speaking to people from across the income divide in his day. People came to hear him from “all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon.” His message was for all, and it was – as people complained in Acts – turning the world upside down.

Explore… Luke 6:17–26

Notice how Jesus, in our translations, does not speak of “the poor” as a category of persons, as we so often do in our societies. Instead Jesus says, “Blessed are you who are poor…” How can the difference in these two ways of looking at poverty help you think about what it means to be part of a community of welcome?
In the NRSV translation, Jesus says, “Blessed are you who are hungry (and weep) now.” Why do you think Jesus emphasizes the present moment?
We don’t often use the word “woe” in the way that it is used in this text. How might you rephrase this idea in your community?

Prayer…

God of all people and of all places, we are shocked, delighted, and humbled by your concern for all of us, and for your desire that all people live with dignity and humanity. May all in our communities today experience themselves as blessed. Amen.

Learn more…

From Sandra Rooney

Two recent surveys indicate that young Americans – and, worldwide even young people in poorer countries – are more confident about the future and their ability to make positive change than older people. The surveys point to Generation Z (ages 13–24) and millennials (ages 25–40). At 45, Wendy MacNaughton, San Francisco illustrator and graphic journalist, is not a millennial, but she recently found herself venturing in a new direction, influencing younger folks, children in particular.

MacNaughton’s background includes a BFA from Art Center College of Design, in Pasadena, and a Masters in International Social Welfare, from Columbia. She has travelled widely, drawing things she sees and the people she meets. In 2019, she documented the military court in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for the New York Times. In 2000, she designed a campaign for the first local elections in Rwanda.

For MacNaughton, drawing isn’t about making a good drawing, it’s about the process of looking at the world and people in it and connecting with it. When Covid came along she realized that connecting was going to be more difficult, and she wanted to do something to help. Talking to her parents about it, her mother suggested she teach drawing to kids. She took her mother’s advice and, in March 2020, she went live on Instagram, something she had never done before. She was teaching kids how to draw a dog.

With the help of her wife Caroline Paul, MacNaughton was off and running. They thought they might get 100 people. They had over 12,000 on the first day. They did 72 live Instagrams over the next few months, with thousands logging in from all over the world. She calls her videos DrawTogether and combines art instruction and social-emotional support. The kids would take pictures of themselves showing their art. “This incredible community of kids formed,” she said, “and they all got to see each other and got to feel connected.”

MacNaughton says that drawing, in addition to helping kids develop fine motor skills, helps them make decisions, recognize their emotions, learn to be curious about other people and connect with them, and celebrate differences. She visits all different kinds of people so the kids will see themselves reflected in the show. Given the initial response she received, she recorded 12 episodes and made them available for free on Substack and YouTube.

Seeing an opportunity to help teachers integrate art education into their classes, she launched a pilot project called DrawTogether Classrooms. Support for the arts is often underfunded so the project is providing high-need schools and community programs with resources and curriculum developed with the help of education experts.

Anna Sopko, a first grade teacher at Cesar Chavez Elementary in San Francisco’s Mission neighborhood, has been using the program and has seen the way children connect with MacNaughton. She saw how at the beginning of the year they all wanted their drawings to be perfect, but they came to realize that what they drew didn’t have to be perfect. It was OK to mess up. “We all draw differently,” Sopko said, adding that you can always turn the page over and start again. “If you keeping that dialogue going,” she added, “It is going to improve their confidence, not just as artists, but as people in the world.”

Over the past 20 years MacNaughton has moved from advertising and graphic journalism to a global art education program with hopes to expand the DrawTogether Classroom project to 10,000 schools by 2023.

Explore… Luke 5:1–11

What caused those fishermen to leave their comfort zone to follow Jesus?
Whose voice inviting you into something new and ambitious would you trust? Why??
What would it take to draw you out of your comfort zone into some new service?
When have you followed someone out of your comfort zone into a new form of service?

Prayer…

Creator God, we never know when or how we will hear your call and we pray that we may find ourselves willing to trust the voice that calls us out of our comfort zone to follow the ways of Jesus wherever they may lead. Amen.

Learn more…

From Sandra Rooney

Dr. Joellen Russell is a distinguished professor at the University of Arizona, who teaches oceanography and climate science. When she came to the university, she began building a supercomputer system that could help her understand how the oceans both slow and accelerate atmospheric warming. She networked with colleagues on both coasts to put together a multi-million-dollar interdisciplinary grant application. None of that has been easy for a woman in the geophysical sciences where, in the U.S., only 27% of the faculty are women. Add to that, she learned early on that “motherhood was suspect.” She knows that women, especially women who are pregnant or who have children, are often denied positions and may not be taken seriously.

When Dr. Russell herself learned she was pregnant, she was determined to continue to work, but was reluctant to tell her department chair she was pregnant. She remembered a time when, as an undergraduate at Harvard, she was part of a research team slogging through mud, collecting soil samples in a swamp in Hawaii with two male professors and a female postdoctoral student. At one point the other woman pulled her aside and she learned the young woman was pregnant and trying to hide the fact because she was afraid it would threaten her position. Together they put her gear in Dr. Russell’s backpack, which she carried out to help the young woman keep her secret. At the time, she took from that experience that to survive motherhood in the sciences you had to pretend your children didn’t exist.

Dr. Russell thinks differently now and is determined to show that motherhood need not affect a woman’s work, but rather, that they have something special to bring to their work, especially in the climate sciences. Many female scientists are in this work so that their children and grandchildren can live in a better world. Their children don’t hinder their work, but are their motivation, their hope, and the source of their fierceness. One woman put it this way: “When you’re fighting for your babies, there’s no such thing as giving up.” These women are challenging norms and assumptions about what types of classes they can teach, how research should be shared, the importance of collaboration, to whom credit is given, and how scientists incorporate their families into their work. She’s also part of a group called Science Moms networking across the country to support and encourage female climate scientists and to connect them with other mothers in their communities.

Dr. Russel’s journey began as a child. She grew up north of the Arctic Circle, where she dreamed of studying the oceans. From there it was boarding school in New Hampshire, then Harvard, and finally Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego. Today, Dr. Russell can be found teaching introductory oceanography in a huge auditorium with excited students crowding around her afterwards asking questions. She likes a big class: “the bigger the better,” she says. She admits that university administrators have suggested she might want to teach smaller, more exclusive seminars, the norm for distinguished faculty at her level. But she sees her role as making science exciting for undergraduates, who might then enroll in other science classes, and, she hopes, join her in what she sees as the “most important battle of our day.” It’s not just the battle against climate change, but also against those who think no one can do anything about it. “My job,” she says, “is not just to advance the science. It’s to build the next front lines. I launch as many as I can.”

Explore: Luke 4:21–30

Why were some people angry about what Jesus said?
Who do you know who has spoken out or acted contrary to expectations or norms because of their convictions?
On what basis would you judge someone who spoke out or acted contrary to community expectations?
When have you had such an experience? How did you feel? How were you treated?

Prayer…

God of our past, our present, and our future, we pray for the wisdom to learn from the past, to understand the realities of today, and for the courage to speak up and take action to build a better future. Amen.

Learn more. . .

Meet the scientist moms fighting climate change for their children

From Sandra Rooney

Many cheered when Deb Haaland, a member of the Pueblo of Laguna, and a 35th generation New Mexican, was named to head the U.S. Department of the Interior. Her impressive background of civic involvement includes serving as U.S. Representative for New Mexico’s 1^st Congressional District prior to her appointment as Interior Secretary. Haaland might well be considered just the tip of the iceberg of Native American women being moved to assume leadership roles in their communities.

Five such Navajo women were interviewed in the December 20, 2021, issue of The Christian Science Monitor. Each describes herself as being part of a long tradition harkening back to their creation stories. Changing Woman was a powerful deity who reflected thinking about the longevity of the Diné people. Wendy Greyeyes, assistant professor of Native American studies at the University of New Mexico, put it this way, “This ideology is baked into our DNA as Navajo women – our need to care and nurture and protect our communities, our families.”

While the concerns that have propelled these women into activism differ, all represent the dominant presence of women in Navajo society, where taking charge is rooted in a matrilineal culture. Nicole Horseherder is executive director of Tó Nizhóní Aní (Sacred Water Speaks), an organization working for new energy policies and water protection across the Navajo Nation. For half a century, coal mining and a generating station in northern Arizona had polluted the air and had drawn billions of gallons of water from deep aquifers, mixing it with pulverized coal, and sending the slurry through 273 miles of pipeline to a Nevada power plant. It was one of the ten top carbon emitters in the United States. Ms. Horseherder says, “I want to see the Navajo Nation take a really aggressive move toward energy standards and a more intentional move away from fossil fuel.”

For Kendra Pinto, it was not only the years of oil drilling and the methane leaks at abandoned gas wells, but now fracking and its environmental damage. “They’ve always put a price tag on our forehead,” she says, and they “just expect us to be quiet.” But no longer. One step are bold signs that have been erected along the region’s main highway protesting the loss of sacred lands.

Two weeks before last year’s presidential election, Allie Redhouse Young led voters to polling stations on horseback. Their intent was to send a message to Washington about inequities on the Navajo reservation, where there is a dearth of voting stations and short polling hours. In addition, poor mail service. Imagine only 27 post offices for the entire Navajo Nation, which encompasses 27,000 square miles. The two Rides to the Polls that she led attracted national headlines. Diné and Hopi voters turned out in force, casting nearly 60,000 ballots, which proved pivotal in Joe Biden’s win by a slim margin of 10,000 votes in Arizona.

It was her grandmother’s sacrifices for her family that encouraged Jasmine Blackwater-Nygren to get a college education. She went on to get law degree and pass the Arizona bar exam. She is now the youngest member of the Arizona House of Representatives, where she is a champion of education for Native youth and voting rights. Being in the minority party, she has nevertheless spoken out against restrictive voting bills passed by the Republicans, noting that such restrictions would only increase the difficulty of people such as Native Americans to vote. And she has had some successes – a bill allowing Native students to wear traditional attire at high school commencements, and a law creating an Arizona holiday honouring Navajo Code Talkers.

For Charliane Tso, it was two tragedies that fired her up. First, a head-on collision with a drunken driver that left her bedridden for months, and a harsh winter storm that marooned an older woman in her remote home, with no food and no firewood, where she froze to death. “Where were our leaders?” she asked. She is now one of only three women on the 24-member Navajo Nation Council. There she is steadfast in promoting issues such as elder care, missing and abused Native women, and education.

Explore… Luke 4:14–21

Why do you think people responded to what the Jesus was saying to them?
What parallels in the stories of these Navajo women do you see in this scripture passage?
Where do you see people in your community stepping forward to take unexpected leadership roles?
What has motivated you, or might motivate you, to take action on behalf of some justice cause?

Prayer link…

We long to be part of your plan for peace and justice in our world, O God. May we hear your still small voice in the midst of the noise of our lives. May we not cling so close to our comforts that we miss the opportunity to be true followers of Jesus. Amen.

Learn more…

From Joan Kessler

We have all seen them. Those cute, funny images accompanied by a few lines of text. They show up in our social media feeds. We email them. We repost them. We tag others in our social media platforms who might share our sense of humour. They often cause us to laugh at ourselves. I’m talking about memes. And if there is a Jesus meme we have likely all seen at one time or another, it is the miracle of turning water into wine at the wedding at Cana. Jesus is displayed as the man who likes to have a good time, giving a holy thumbs-up to his ability to turn water into wine so the party can continue. One meme I saw recently displayed an exchange between Jesus and Judas. Judas sarcastically comments that wine is technically only 85% water so that’s only 15% miracle, to which Jesus responds, “This is literally the worst betrayal.”

Memes are a digital phenomenon that have become part of our cultural landscape and provide commentary on society. Ideas are shared and spread virally. Cute images of animals and baby Yodas accompanied by some words on our current state of affairs help us to feel connected and affirmed. They represent thoughts, feelings, and popular opinion. But such depictions are not new to the 21st century. Archeologists found images with captions dating back to 3 B.C. in Antioch depicting a bathing scene in three frames with the last illustrating a skeleton with a jug of wine. The inscription read, “Be cheerful. Live your life.” Good advice from a skeleton!

The pandemic has us all looking for ways and means to raise our spirits. A wedding celebration has become a bit of an anomaly with COVID health restrictions dampening the nuptials of many couples. Maybe this Sunday, I will look to the lighter side of the miracle at Cana and find some memes to share. No one in this miracle story came to Jesus asking for healing for themselves or for a family member they loved and cared for. Instead, it was a request by his mother to save the wedding party. The biggest concern was the poor planning of the caterer. Jesus comes through with more than enough wine, the good stuff we are told, that will see the celebration through to its conclusion. Turning water into wine is how Jesus begins his ministry in John’s gospel. Our Epiphany moment is Jesus’ display of abundant love for all. It foretells what is to come. And how Jesus, too, enjoyed a good wedding celebration.

Explore… John 2:1–11

As we experience supply chain disruptions and shortages, how does this story of a wedding party running out of wine resonate with us? What does it mean to have enough today?
What do we learn about Jesus’ nature from this story?
In this season of Epiphany, what is being revealed? What might we learn about ourselves?

Prayer…

God of abundance, of never running out, may we see your loving work in the everyday tasks of this new year. May we live with an attitude of abundance rather than scarcity and live life in ways that affirm there is enough for all. Amen.

Learn More…

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