O Holy One, I am out in this world in this crazy time and we all have stuff going on. 
Help me to be kind. Help me to be of service in some way.

Keep me safe, O God: protect me from the virus should it come in my midst
and protect us all from the virus that hurts our souls.

Should something not go my way, help me to breathe and help me to see.
Should I feel the need to argue, may I do it respectfully and with good intentions in my heart.

If I see someone mistreating another and if I don’t have the courage,
give me the courage O God to either act immediately or to report it in some way.

Help us to hold each other accountable for the bad things that we do to each other.

And help us to be more like Jesus, embracing our good and our bad, loving all as he loved. 

Always help us to fight for justice, and to walk humbly in this world. Amen.

Mini Reflection for January 29, 2021
 
This week, we’re looking at the story of Cain and Abel. 
 
You can read the full story here:  https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%204%3A1-16&version=GNT
 
This week we’ve looked at the story and considered what an offering of thanks to God looks like for us.  We’ve also looked at the idea of jealousy and how to understand it. And if the hard things we have to deal with in life are punishments from God or if they are something else.
 
Today, I want us to think about “Am I my brother’s keeper”. 
 
We live in a very massive and diverse world where there are people we will  never meet in our lifetime.  We may meet people we might never would have met if we never traveled, if we never went to this school or that store or visited this place, or (insert other scenario you can come up with here).
 
For Cain and Abel, they were connected as brothers.  They had the same mother and father and siblings.  They had a familial routine, norms, morals and other expectations.  However, even as they were of the same family and upbringing, they were two very different people with different skills and abilities and callings.  They may not have agreed on everything, but they existed, together, in the same family.
 
But Cain took this too far.  He let the anger and jealousy take over what God put deep inside him.  And ironically, when God asks him where Abel is, he replies, “I don’t know. Am I my brother’s keeper?”
 
What would you think God’s response would be?  My guess would be, “Well… yes!  You were created to care for all of creation, so your brother’s in that equation too.”
 
But what does it look like to care for others?  I think it’s easy to answer when it’s someone we agree with, maybe easiest when they are a beloved friend or family member.  But how do we care for someone when we have a bitterness inside of us against them?  How do we “keep” them? 
 
When I have someone in my life that I don’t see eye-to-eye with, for whatever reason, I often go to God.  “God, who is this person and why are they in my life.  What is it that they will teach me?  What is it that I will teach them?  How can I share myself when I am blocked in some way.  Help me, O God, to be open, to be kind and compassionate, to be empathetic and to hear you within them.  And God, if my humanity takes over and my emotions run high in a negative way, whisper in my ear… help me to breathe, to see, to glean your wisdom and strength.  Amen.”
 
I think one of the hardest things we have to do in life is to learn to co-exist.  It’s easy to help people when we don’t know them, their story, their past and their present… we don’t have time or knowledge to make judgments.  However, once we know someone and they ask for help, we might form opinions and judgments that may prevent us from helping or caring.  So if we do our best to move forward, knowing God is in the other, working within them in some mysteriously divine way, we might be able to see something new. We might be able to judge less and to care more.  We may be able begin to understand the other in some kind of way.
 
Forbes published an article on October 2, 2017 titled, “12 Ways Successful People Deal with People They Dislike”.  Here’s a link to the article: https://www.forbes.com/sites/deeppatel/2017/10/02/12-ways-successful-people-deal-with-people-they-dislike/?sh=4b1df9407f2b 
A couple of pieces I agree with are #6 (Be mindful of your emotions), #8 (Find common ground), #9 (Recognize the value in differing opinions) and #10 (Take a good look in the mirror).
 
I wonder if Cain stepped away from his emotions for a little while, to stop and pause and go to God, if the story would be different.  Or is the crux of the story in how Abel didn’t respond when their offerings were complete?  Hmmmm…
 
Here’s a video that warmed my heart and thought we could all use a little of this today, especially as it’s near Bell Let’s Talk Day.  This is “What is caring?” put out by Parkway Schools
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UeAv4Be55F8
 
A prayer for us today:
Creating and loving God, continue to be in our hearts and to stir our emotions if they are stuck in a negative cycle.  Help us to not be naïve, but to see the good and you, God, in others.  Help us to search out how you are working in their lives and around them.  And if we begin to feel emotions like jealousy, find a way to stop us and to tell us to reflect in the moment, to discover what it is within us that is triggered and why.  But help us, O God, to be keepers of this world, of ourselves and each other, knowing you are with us throughout all our lives.  In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Mini Reflection for January 25, 2021
 
This week, we’re looking at the story of Cain and Abel. 
 
You can read the full story here:  https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%204%3A1-16&version=GNT
 
Adam and Eve had children including two sons, Cain and Abel.  Can was a farmer and offered God some of his crops.  Abel was a shepherd and offered God a lamb.  God accepted Abel’s offering and turned away Cain’s offering.  Cain was jealous, the brothers argued, and Cain killed Abel.
 
Not the most heartwarming of stories, for sure.  What I want to think about is how or what we think about offerings to God look like today.  In the Bible, a long long time ago, sacrifices were made of things that were of worth to those making the offering.  They often would give the best of what they had to God, a way of saying thanks and a way of recognizing that all good things come from God.
 
We read that Abel gave a lamb and sacrificed all the best parts of it.  So what could have been a nice little feast, was given to God.  We read that Cain gave up some of his harvest.  I wonder how much time and energy it took for both of them to prepare their sacrifice.  I wonder how much it ‘hurt’ them, how deep it impacted their lives to give up what they sacrificed. 
 
Our own offerings to God are different in today’s society.  It can be challenging to know what God wants us to offer and how to offer up a gift of thanksgiving.   We mostly give our time, talents and treasures to organizations who serve those in need or we give directly.  And how much of all of these things do we give?  These are things for us to reflect on, personally, as our contexts vary.
 
Today, think about how we can return thanks to God, how we can show our appreciation for God’s presence in our lives, for the gifts and opportunities we are given and for the eternal love shown to us. You can donate to a church, knowing that God’s work is done through them or to a non-profit organization who is doing great works in our communities.  If you can, today, donate to a place that is helping to change our world and say a prayer of thanks.  They can really use our support and what a great blessing we can be to those who also are servants of God in our world.
 
A song for you today, “Magic Penny”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bk_7wUR2Wdg
 
A prayer for us today:
Creating God of great love, we give thanks for all we have been gifted with and ask you to continue blessing with us the gifts of this life – of time, talents, treasure, and especially for energy, passion and compassion.  Help us to give thanks to you by helping others in our midst.  May we be a blessing to others as you bless us.  Amen.

This week in our online reflections, we think about the story of Adam and Eve. (Genesis 2:4 & chapter 3)
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+2%2C+3&version=GNT
 
We thought about the garden and all that we need is close at hand for us. Water, companionship, food, air and space to live, work and play.
 
We thought about the snake and the temptations we have in life.
 
We thought about how God has created all that is good in the world and that no matter what, God never leaves us.
 
So today, let’s think about Adam and Eve.  Considering these two starring roles is even more crucial as we live out our days in this pandemic.  Here we have Adam.  A person created by God.  Here we have Eve. A person created by God.  They could easily be you and I. 
 
Now, we have a script.  In the link above, the version has this section titled “Human Disobedience” but what if we removed that title and simply read the text.
 
There’s a talking snake… who basically has Eve re-stating the rules to him.  “We may eat the fruit of any tree in the garden, except the tree in the middle of it. God told us not to eat the fruit of that tree or even touch it; if we do, we will die.”
 
Then the snake replies, “That’s not true; you will not die. God said that because he knows that when you eat it, you will be like God and know what is good and what is bad.”
 
And in the next sentence, it says “she thought how wonderful it would be to become wise.”
 
What if this section was titled “Humans choose wisdom”?  With any choice we make, there’s always a consequence.  The consequence of wisdom is the revelation of good and evil.  The consequence of listening to a snake over God, from what is written here, is pain and suffering.  No wonder people think they have done something wrong when their life gets harder.  It all comes back to this.  And yet we should realize it’s not what God gives us. It’s not what God wants.  In the story of Adam and Eve, it’s merely the beginning of humanity.  In our own stories, including the pandemic, it’s merely a part of living in this universe. There will always be natural disasters, illness and disease, pain and suffering, good and evil.  Our earth, bodies, minds and souls have to fight off things in the world that come at us. 
 
So what can we do with it all?  Well Adam and Eve didn’t just go off sobbing into a new world, deeply regretting what they had done and wishing they could go back.  They lived. They moved forward.  They accepted what was and I hope they knew God was still with them.
 
The question I pose today, regardless of the consequences that are laid out in our reading, would you choose wisdom and eat from the tree?  Would you have resisted?  What would be your choice?  Why?
 
A song for you today “God is Love” posted by Ali Auburn
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWhrzbcHcnI
 
A prayer for your day:
God, I give thanks that you give us choices in this life.  Help us to always be mindful that each choice we make, good and bad, has consequences.  But we ask that the choices we make in life help us to strengthen our relationship with you in some way.  Be it in learning from mistakes or being reassured that we did the right thing.  Help us to pause and come to you before we make a decision, so that we can hear your calling within it.  Be with us, O God, in our world today, tomorrow, and always.  Amen.

Mini-Reflection for January 18, 2021
 
This week in our online reflections, we think about the story of Adam and Eve.
 
Read Genesis 2:4 and chapter 3
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+2%2C+3&version=GNT
 
The story of Adam and Eve are often tied in with month of September during the season of Creation.  We read about a beautiful garden, of the creation of man, and the creation of woman.  We also read about the snake and how they lied to God.
 
Today, let’s think about the beautiful garden and the beautiful creation of humans.  My favourite part of this is when God took some soil from the ground and breathed life into it and boom… there was man. The imagery is unimaginable and yet beautiful.  And God recognized that one person should not live alone and tried and tried to create a perfect companion, but human’s companion wouldn’t be the birds and the animals.  And so, God took a rib from Adam and formed another human being, a woman (I like to say “woah ma’am” when I retell this to children). 
 
There are days where I long for a euphoric image of this beautiful garden and the harmony of humanity.  Where we take care of each other, the land, the animals, without discourse.  And then I wonder if it could ever be a reality.  Our world includes such diverse thoughts and opinions, trusts and mis-trusts, egos and agendas. 
 
So today I wonder… if we took one small step toward that kind of harmonious world, what might the first step look like?  What needs to change?  What do we need to do?  Share your thoughts!
 
I thought I would take you back… to a time before my birth, and share a song some of you will remember: “Adam and Eve” by Paul Anka
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OC5PZAvXqqc
 
A prayer for your day:
God of beauty and delight, thank you for creating humanity in your likeness.  Thank you for providing us with all that we need, and for trusting in us to care for all of creation.  Help us to hear you calling us in this time to be in this time and how to make the world a more harmonious place.  Gift us with creativity, ingenuity, and an eagerness to risk asking questions and trying things out.  Bless us this day and all the days to come.  Amen.

As we look at the story of creation (https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=genesis+1%3A1-2%3A3&version=GNT)
 
As I think about what God has created for our world, from creatures to elements, lights and smells and colours, today I think about what the world God has created… and is creating.
 
Today, we might think about something at the forefront – the creation of vaccines to help us live with the reality of COVID-19 in our world.  We give thanks that God created each of us in unique ways, giving us skills and desires, passions and creativity, critical thinking and minds that think outside the box.
 
I’m grateful for the creation of lightbulbs, ovens, washers and dryers, showers and vehicles, and especially for calculators… because math is hard.
 
I’m grateful for people who create beautiful music and who can perform it, who create beautiful pieces of art that hang on walls around the world, for those who create beautiful and yummy food and share their recipes, who create fashion and clothes that can be worn in different seasons of weather and life, who help people grieve, who listen when someone is crying, who hold a hand when someone is dying, who help bring babies into the world, who help heal us, who can make hard decisions and apologize when they were wrong, and so much more.
 
Today’s pondering is: what are you most grateful for in creation?  What is the best thing you’ve ever created? What do you still hope to create before the end of your time on earth?
 
Here’s a cool song for your day:  “With My Own Two Hands” by Playing for Change
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sc8t6BZUSJs
 
A prayer for your day:
God who creates and loves all that is created, continue to be in us as we create in your world.  Let us remember that we were created in your image and that you continue to create even in the here and now.  May we be mindful of the ongoing needs of our world that never seem to go away, such as homelessness, poverty, equity, racism and more and help us to be co-creators for a better world. Be with us as we navigate a time of social isolation as we do to keep each other safe and embrace us in however we are.  We pray this in the name of the one who continues to save us, teach us and lead us, Amen.

This week in our online reflections, we think about the Creation Story.
 
Read Genesis 1:1 to 2:3
(https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=genesis+1%3A1-2%3A3&version=GNT)
 
The story of Creation often is retold in the church in the month of September (during the liturgical season of Creation).  It’s a time to remember that all that was created is intentional.  Yes, even the snakes and the spiders, the mosquitos and the black flies, the cats and the dogs, the elephants and the gorillas, and even you and me.
 
Though the story of creation is separated into seven days, it is quite general in what was created, such as “so the earth produced all kinds of plants”.
 
I wonder… how long did it take to truly create one species of animal, one body of water, one flower, one plant.  How did it come to be that God decided some water should be salt water?  That some plants should have colour? And I wonder if God was the artist or if the task was delegated in some way.  What are your thoughts?  What are your questions?
 
And if everything God created was specific and intentional, what would you say are the greatest things God created in you are?  What makes you uniquely you?
 
Video link for the day: Hymn – “For the Beauty of the Earth”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zy7t2Uasqe8
 
A prayer for your day:
Creating God, thank you for creating us as unique as we are. Thank you for birthing us into this time and place, for challenging us to be good and kind especially in this crazy time we're living in.  May you help us to see you in all of creation today.  Be with us in our hearts, our minds and our thoughts.  And may we shine your light brightly wherever we go and with whomever we encounter. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.