THOUGHTS ON MOTIVES IN DEALING WITH BROKEN WORLD

This compelling epitaph is engraved on the tombstone of poet Robert Frost: "I had a lover's quarrel with the world." Frost himself chose that. What it means is that he had a lover's quarrel with God. And, whether we realize it or not, the same is true of us all.

We quarrel with the world and God because of the evil we encounter in our lives. Why is there so much war and hatred? Why so much sickness and sorrow? Why so much anxiety and insecurity? Why so much loneliness and emptiness? Why death? Why did God make such an imperfect world? (Truthfully, it is not the world that is not perfect...It is the peole who live in it who make it imperfect.)

We lament that the world is not perfect, forgetting that if it were, there might not be a place for our loved ones or us in it. We all fall short of perfection. It was into this world that we were called. It was in this world that our loved ones were called. Consequently, whenever we quarrel with God's world, let's be sure it's a lover's quarrel. Let's never forget to love this world because it is a gift of Grace; it is a gift from God.

And from a related school of thought...with a twist

If it seems like most of the headlines these days are grim (87 percent of news reporting was about bad issues, according to one source), it’s because there is simply too much bad news to report.

What is a person to do when growing weary of reading about and watching war atrocities, lethal tornadoes, floods, strikes, protests and murders?

Dr. Pieter Noomen, a fellow blogger, wrote about a far more peaceful approach to life’s realities, using words he believed were given to him by what he called a Presence, a higher being or the Real Reality. He believed we have better options.

"What you hope, the way you think or how you behave, is it all in pleasant harmony? If so, you function in accordance with the rhythm and design of the whole universe,” he wrote. “Full peace or perfection is impossible on earth, but not a desiring or working on it! From your deepest within, insight may surface about how your life should be lived.”

Dr. Noomen worked as a psychotherapist and staff member at a Los Angeles church, completed doctoral studies in theology and pastoral psychology at the Free University of Amsterdam, and became senior minister of three Protestant churches. He died in 2019, but his writings remain available to everyone on his website.

He asked these questions: "Can one human being who lives in peace and with inner harmony make a difference? For that matter, will anything change because someone does believe these words? Most things on earth are fractured. Are you able to heal, or why should you bother? Do you need to be involved politically or be an activist for justice debunking phoniness? Should you fight, donate money, speak up, vote or volunteer to protest brokenness? Asking yourself questions like these can lead to exploring your personal motives.”

And he added: “Politics can be corrupt, religion divisive and science erring: what'll you stand for? What's your goal, vision, pride or intention?”

All good questions to ask of ourselves when we engage in personal inventory of where we stand in life from time to time.

CLAP YOUR HANDS: THINK ABOUT IT!

Hand clapping may be the most common sound we humans make without using our vocal cords. Surprisingly, according to researchers, the clap of an individual has less to do with one's opinion of a performance and is instead motivated by a feeling of belonging as we applaud with others. 

As far back as the 6th century BC, it was customary for audiences to clap in approval of their leaders, a concession made when there were too many people to greet individually. And this is the genesis for our modern-day custom of applause -- to express a unified form of admiration for a speech or performance.

With that bit of history out of the way, let's turn our attention to that all-important question: At a concert, should you clap on the first and third beat or the second and fourth? And the answer is, "It depends." Of course, you should clap "how you feel," but beats two and four work best for many forms of music, including Rock, Pop, R&B, Hip Hop, Jazz, Dance, and Gospel. And if you pay close attention to the spirit of a performance, when the clapping is off beat, you'll know it. 

Part of the joy of watching a talented group of musicians is tuning in to the spirit and feeling the music deep within. When you move from a passive ticket holder to an active participant, you can't help but join in!

I share a lot of music on my Facebook profile because it often expresses what I cannot. It may be due to my advanced age and increasing emotional sensitivities, but I am similarly impacted by what I hear on line or in media broadcasts these days. More and more I feel the beat and the joy flowing from the meaningful, lyrical words offered by soulful presenters utilizing God's special gift of talent to them.

I fear, however, that we are often "offbeat" in our spiritual life experience. We have the words but not the rhythm: not enough soul or enthusiasm flowing into it. Consequently, not enough joy -- contagious joy -- flows out of it. 

Think about it. Are you a passive listener, just a little offbeat?

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FOR THOSE WHO DIDN'T KNOW: 102nd. ANNIVERSARY OF THE HISTORIC BATTLE OF VIMY RIDGE

CANADIAN MEMORIAL AT VIMY RIDGE

Sunday, April 9, was the 102nd anniversary of the beginning of The Battle of Vimy Ridge during WW2 and, in Southampton, flags were at half mast in recognition of the historic battle. 

Vimy Ridge was a sacrifice of immeasurable loss on all sides and for countless Canadians, both on the battle grounds and home front. Intense fighting raged from April 9th to 12th, 1917 at the beginning of the Battle of Arras.

Historians attribute the success of the Canadian Corps to technical and tactical innovation, meticulous planning, powerful artillery support and extensive training, as well as the German 6th Army’s failure to properly apply the new German defensive doctrine. The battle was the first occasion when all four divisions of the Canadian Expeditionary Force fought together and it was made a symbol of Canadian national achievement and sacrifice.

Vimy Ridge itself is an escarpment 8 km (5.0 mi) northeast of Arras on the western edge of the Douai Plain. The ridge rises gradually on its western side and drops more quickly on the eastern side. At approximately 7 km (4.3 mi) in length and culminating at an elevation of 145 m (476 ft.) or 60 m (200 ft.) above the Douai Plains, the ridge provides a natural unobstructed view for tens of kilometres in all directions.

The ridge fell under German control in October 1914 during the Race to the Sea as the Franco-British and German forces continually attempted to outflank each other through northeastern France. The French Tenth Army attempted to dislodge the Germans from the region during the Second Battle of Artois in May 1915 by attacking their positions at Vimy Ridge and Notre Dame de Lorette. The French 1st Moroccan Division managed to briefly capture the height of the ridge but was unable to hold it owing to a lack of reinforcements.

It was the first instance in which all four Canadian divisions, made up of troops drawn from all parts of the country, fought as a cohesive formation. The image of national unity and achievement is what, according to one of many recent patriotic narratives, initially gave the battle importance for Canada. 

The historical reality of the battle has been reworked and reinterpreted in a conscious attempt to give purpose and meaning to an event that came to symbolize Canada’s coming of age as a nation.

The French made another attempt during the Third Battle of Artois in September 1915 but only captured the village of Souchez at the western base of the ridge. The Vimy sector calmed following the offensive with both sides taking a largely live and let live approach. In all, the French suffered approximately 150,000 casualties in their attempts to gain control of Vimy Ridge and surrounding territory.

The Canadian Corps was to capture the German-held high ground of Vimy Ridge to protect the First Army and the Third Army farther south from German enfilade fire. Supported by a creeping barrage, the Canadian Corps captured most of the ridge during the first day of the attack. The village of Thélus fell during the second day, as did the crest of the ridge, once the Canadian Corps overran a salient against considerable German resistance. The final objective, a fortified knoll located outside the village of Givenchy-en-Gohelle, fell to the Canadians on 12 April. The 6th Army then retreated to the Oppy–Méricourt line.

By nightfall on 12 April 1917, the Canadian Corps was in firm control of the ridge. The corps suffered 10,602 casualties: 3,598 killed and 7,004 wounded. The German 6th Army suffered an unknown number of casualties with approximately 4,000 men becoming prisoners of war. Four members of the Canadian Corps received the Victoria Cross, the highest military decoration awarded to British and Commonwealth forces for valour, for their actions during the battle.

Today, the Canadian National Vimy Memorial is Canada’s largest and principal overseas war memorial. Located on the highest point of the Vimy Ridge, the memorial is dedicated to the commemoration of the Battle of Vimy Ridge and Canadian Expeditionary Force members killed during the First World War. It serves as the place of commemoration for Canadian soldiers killed in France during the First World War.

France granted Canada perpetual use of a section of land at Vimy Ridge in 1922 for the purpose of a battlefield park and memorial. A 100-hectare (250-acre) portion of the former battlefield is preserved as part of the memorial park that surrounds the monument.

The grounds of the site are still honeycombed with wartime tunnels, trenches, craters and unexploded munitions and are largely closed off for public safety. A section of preserved trenches and a portion of a tunnel have been made accessible to site visitors.

PALM SUNDAY: LET US JOIN THE WELCOMING, PALM BRANCH WAVING CROWD OF BIBLICAL TIMES

DO YOU REMEMBER? Palm Sunday is a Christian celebration that marks the beginning of the Holy Week leading to Easter Sunday. It commemorates Jesus' triumphant entrance into Jerusalem, when people laid down palms and branches in front of him as a sign of honor.

In his Palm Sunday sermon, my friend Rev. Randy Benson reflects with a degree of remorse on Easter church services of the not-too-distant past and the absence of children in today's pews. I take the liberty of reproducing extracts from that sermon because he has taken words right out of my mouth, albeit it more eloquently.

"Now…well, we have to raise the age of childhood to 70+ in order to have children (in church). And, we all sing with a bit of sorrow and the anger of lament in our voices as we miss the joyful noise of all those children banging and clanging in a well-attended service," he exclaimed with a typical hint of humor coupled with obvious sadness.

"Things Christian have fallen so far off the map in our culture that it’s a rare kid, even counting those 70-and-under, who could answer if you stopped them on the street and asked 'What’s Palm Sunday?'"

"If we want to know why the church is in the shape it is, one way to find out is to give a good, honest ear to those who have left the church in droves these last several decades, and trying to understand their reasons for doing so. Doing so we will realize that it is because the church has been and continues to be too much like that religious establishment in Jesus’ day that coveted power over people rather than actually loving God with all its heart, soul, mind, and strength and its neighbour as itself. 

"We have been too much like that institution with our judgementalism and exclusion of vulnerable people while not inventorying our own “sins”. We have not only colluded with corrupt political powers whom we should have held accountable, but we have also sought governmental power for ourselves and abused it. We’ve been warring. We’ve blamed the poor. We’ve been racist. We’ve been misogynist(ic).  

"We’ve stood by while children died in educational institutions run by us. If you ask people out on the streets why they don’t come to church, if they know what church is they will tell you what I just said and more.

"It was that religious establishment by means of coopting the power of government that crucified Jesus who was God come to be with and among them…with and among them manifesting the power of the reign of God. But, they were too corrupted by power to know their own God so it was not among them but rather amidst all “those people”, the outcasts whom those religious authorities had deemed to be not allowed in the presence of God, that “God with us” manifested the Kingdom."

In concluding, Randy reminded congregants that the same thing happens today. "Instead of our owning up and admitting our own weaknesses and blatant failures and thus truly becoming a part of the ragtag crowd of outcasts needing Jesus to save us now, we’ve let ourselves be an establishment that cruelly insulates itself against the outcasts among whom we will find Jesus. 

"Maybe the best thing we can do this Palm Sunday is to welcome Him in as He comes to cleanse our Temple, welcome his crowd of outcasts realizing we each are one of them. Let’s put our pride and fear aside and humbly join the joyful chorus, 'Save us, now, Jesus. Now'.”

Thanks to Rev. Randy for those heart-felt, honest words!

NOTE: Rev. Randy Benson serves a four-church Presbyterian co-op ministry (Chatsworth, Dornock, Chesley and Southampton) representative of no more than 100 active members combined. He knows whereof he speaks.