Notes
…from the Denominational Minister

Henry Paetkau

The Irrational Season

The Advent and Christmas season has been described in many ways. One of the most striking and thought-provoking for me is expressed in the words of Madeline L’Engle:

This is the irrational season
When love blooms bright and wild;
Had Mary been filled with reason
There’d have been no room for the child.

There is much that is “irrational” about the Incarnation. The words of the prophets resound with images and promises that don’t make rational sense. For example, Zephaniah 3:14-15:

Sing aloud, O daughter Zion; shout, O Israel!
Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter
Jerusalem! The LORD has taken away the judgments against you,
he has turned away your enemies.
The king of Israel is in your midst;
you shall fear disaster no more.

These words not only drip with emotion, they fairly gush with irony! They were, after all, spoken after the death in battle of King Josiah, and some time during Judah’s subjugation by Egypt just prior to her occupation by Babylon. They are, in effect, the cry of a nation in chaos, in the December of her political independence and religious freedom. They are irrational utterances on behalf of a people in despair and disarray.

The words are irrational because they exude confidence, assurance and joy. A carnival-like atmosphere permeates the scene, much like that of Exodus 15 in which Israel celebrates her deliverance from Egypt through the Red Sea. Suddenly God, the victorious warrior, joins the parade and the prophet announces, “he will rejoice over you with gladness, he will renew you in his love; he will exult over you with loud singing as on a day of festival.”

Now, this doesn’t make any sense at all - a day of feasting in a time of occupation? A season of mourning would be more appropriate. But the prophet Zephaniah calls his people to recognize that “The LORD, your God, is in your midst.” He’s inviting them to transpose a post-exilic mood into their pre-exilic experience, to live as if their promised deliverance had already occurred, even before they were deported. Entirely irrational!

Like hope. Hope, the Czech playwright and president Vaclav Havel wrote while in prison, “is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out.” It is, in other words, irrational.

Christmas is an irrational season. It is about a virgin who gives birth and angels who serenade shepherds. “If I had been out on the hills of Bethlehem on the night of the birth of Christ…,” Canadian writer Northrop Frye confesses, “I think that I should not have heard any angels singing. The reason why I think so is that I do not hear them now, and there is no reason to suppose that they have stopped.”

These days there is disarray, despair, and hopelessness in much of our world. There is conflict and chaos in parts of the church, perhaps even in our own lives. And sometimes, when we try to make sense of the situation, we don’t leave enough room for the irrational intervention of God. This is, after all, the irrational season. May love bloom bright and wild!

A few additional notes

Many of our congregations and/or pastors have Internet access and are connected by email. And many have discovered, and are using, some of the numerous resources available online. A good number are free! But it’s always a matter of sorting and sifting through what’s there to find the few that are truly useful for you. What are the best sites you’ve found, and would recommend to others? Send your comments, along with the web address, to this office and we’ll try to find a way to share them.

Here are a few that come to my inbox regularly, or are flagged as “Favorites”:

Sacred Space

http://www.jesuit.ie/prayer is an online prayer and meditation site. It invites users to “make a ‘Sacred Space’ in your day and spend 10 minutes praying at the computer.” Daily Scripture readings accompany the suggested prayers. If you’re feeling hurried and harried and tied to the computer, go to Sacred Space for a few minutes for a change of pace and space.

Rumors

Rumors is “Ralph Milton’s E-zine for people of faith with a sense of humour.” Milton’s free weekly column, which arrives every Sunday morning, includes humour, book reviews, reflections on life and faith, as well as a very brief commentary on the lectionary texts for the following week. You’ll find it via “Ralph Milton’s Site” at http://www.joinhands.com – a site that offers an array of other resources, most for a fee.

To the Point

This is a biweekly email column from Arrow Leadership Ministries intended “to equip and encourage leaders.” While not addressed directly to pastors, it speaks to issues of leadership and self-care of interest and value to church leaders. It is concise and inspirational as well as educational. To subscribe go to http://www.arrowleadership.org

The Connection

This is only one of a long list of online materials available from Christianity Today and will appear in your mailbox weekly by subscription. Check it out at http://christianitytoday.com. On that site you’ll also find links to feature articles from their extensive family of magazines.

Finally

This is my last formal communication with you from this office. My last day of work here is Friday, December 13th! In February 2003, Sven Eriksson will move to Winnipeg to assume the role of Denominational Minister. I commend Sven to you and invite your prayers on his behalf during this time of transition. His email address will be seriksson@mennonitechurch.ca In the meantime, Gina Loewen, administrative assistant to this office, will attend to matters requiring immediate attention.

Thank you for the opportunity to serve the church together with you! I have been truly enriched and blessed.

Shalom,

Henry Paetkau, Denominational Minister