When we are Jesus for each other

A sign on a church in our community read “when we are Jesus for each other.”  I saw it as I drove home from the grocery store one day and it made me think, When am I Christ for someone else? I know when I’m not, and yet there are times that I do feel I act as a good neighbour ought, not expecting the same thing in return.

How about you? Have you given something with no expectation of return favours? Our friends will often do things for us in exchange, but perhaps there’s a time when even they need to be the receiver, especially when it’s hard.

In the middle of January, a woman came from Mauritius, a tropical country where it can be cool in evenings, but never cold enough to snow. Zareen was coming to work for a year with a regional organization, and she would land in the middle of our Canadian winter. She’d been here in the fall and had an idea of our autumn weather, but not snow. And they do not sell winter wear on that island.

I contacted a friend who’d also met Zareen when she came to our Toastmasters club during her previous work session. We hatched a plan to take Zareen shopping, the day after she landed, for winter clothing, warm coat, boots, mittens and hat. Zareen was excited when I told her. 

As it turned out, the weather got very cold the evening Zareen arrived. She felt that winter chill. The next morning the snow started coming, with cold icy wind. And all she had on her feet was a pair of canvas sneakers. As was also fortunate, my friend had a coat and boots that had been her mother’s and were still like new.

Delighted with her new coat and boots, that fit her well, we headed for the mall to fill in a few other gaps. We not only had a positive outcome, but our guest would also be warm and cozy. We even got a photo of her clearing snow off the car in the parking lot. 

That felt like being Christ. She would be dressed appropriately for our winter weather. And we all enjoyed our time together. Well maybe not driving in those conditions so much, but we travelled safely and slowly that day.

Your act could be buying a bag of potatoes for a food blitz for a local shelter, or sending good used clothing that you don't need anymore to an organization that helps the working poor. Or it could be helping to plant trees in a local park that needs extra hands to do the job.

I don’t know what it will be for you. Taking soup to a friend who’s just had surgery and must rest. It could be calling someone when you get the ‘feeling’ they need to hear from you. A 'God moment' for them and for you. And maybe some day, it will be you who needs the help. Be willing to accept as well, for that's the way gifts work.

We still have to take care of our family and manage our finances well, so we can pay our own bills. Being Christ for someone else may not always be a monetary act. How will your “being Christ” look?

Carolyn Wilker is an author, editor and storyteller based in southwestern Ontario. Learn more about her here.  She also writes a blog called Storygal.

CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien: the Power of a Difficult Friendship - HIRD

By the Rev.  Dr. Ed & Janice Hird

-an article previously published in the January 2020 Light Magazine

Have you ever had a difficult colleague who profoundly impacted your life?  C.S. Lewis and JRR Tolkien, two of the most famous and versatile English writers, had that kind of bond.  The companionship between Lewis and the man he called “Tollers” inspired the chapter on friendship (philea) in Lewis’ book The Four Loves.

For much of his life, Lewis, the son of a solicitor and of an Anglican clergyman’s daughter, was a convinced atheist. Lewis encountered Tolkien at a 1926 faculty meeting. In his diary, Lewis wrote about Tolkien as "a smooth, pale fluent little chap—no harm in him: only needs a smack or so." They had much in common, as both had been traumatized by the premature death of their mothers and by the horrors of trench warfare in World War I.

At age 10, Lewis saw his mother dying of cancer.  “With my mother’s death”, said Lewis, “all that was tranquil and reliable, disappeared from my life.” Tolkien experienced the double loss of both his father at age 3 and his mother at age 12. His strong desire for friendship/fellowship, as with Frodo, Sam, Merry & Pippin, came from Tolkien’s loss of his three best friends in the trenches.  Referring to trench warfare, CS Lewis commented: “Through the winter, weariness and water were our chief enemies. I have gone to sleep marching and woken again and found myself marching still.” Lewis vividly remembered “the frights, the cold,…  the horribly smashed men still moving like half-crushed beetles, the sitting or standing corpses, the landscape of sheer earth without a blade of grass, the boots worn day  and night until they seemed to grow to your feet…”

About four years into their friendship, Lewis and Tolkien formed an ‘Inklings’ group, meeting in the Rabbit Room of the Eagle and Child pub.  Lewis’ brother Warren said that at the Inklings, “the fun would be riotous with Jack at the top of his form and enjoying every minute…an outpouring of wit, nonsense, whimsy, dialectical swordplay, and pungent judgement such as I have rarely heard equaled…”

Both CS Lewis and Tolkien loved the history of the English language, especially as expressed in the ancient tales like Beowulf. CS Lewis commented: “When I began teaching for the English Faculty, I made two  other friends, both Christians (those queer people seemed to pop up on  every side) who were later to give me much help in getting over the last  stile/steps. They were HVD Dyson and JRR Tolkien. Friendship with the latter marked the breakdown of two old prejudices…” Lewis said to Tolkien that tales or myths are ‘lies and therefore worthless, even though breathed through silver’. ‘No’, said Tolkien, ‘they are not lies’. Tolkien went on to explain to Lewis that in Jesus Christ, the ancient stories or myths of a dying and rising God entered history and became fact. Twelve days later, Lewis wrote to another friend Arthur Greeves: “I have just passed on from believing in God to definitely believing in Christ – in Christianity. I will try to explain this another time. My long night talk with Dyson and Tolkien had a good deal to do with it”.

CS Lewis recalls going by motorcycle with his brother Warren to Whipsnade Zoo, about thirty miles east of Oxford. “When we set out, I did not believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and when we reached the zoo, I did”. In his autobiography Surprised by Joy, Lewis commented: “In the Trinity term of 1929 I gave in, and admitted that God was God…perhaps the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England”.

When Lewis turned to Christ, he was surprised to find the skies bluer and the grass greener.  “Today”, Lewis wrote, “I got such a sudden intense feeling of delight that it sort of stopped me in my walk and spun me round. Indeed, the sweetness was so great, and seemed so to affect the whole body as well as the mind, that it gave me pause.”

In their Inklings group, they vigorously critiqued each other’s unpublished manuscripts like Narnia Tales and Lord of the Rings. Tolkien wrote in a letter "The unpayable debt that I owe to [Lewis] was not 'influence' as it is ordinarily understood but sheer encouragement.  He was for long my only audience. Only from him did I ever get the idea that my 'stuff' could be more than a private hobby. But for his interest and unceasing eagerness for more, I should never have brought The Lord of the Rings to a conclusion." In October 1933, Tolkien wrote in his diary that friendship with Lewis ‘besides giving constant pleasure and comfort, has done me much good from the contact with a man at once honest, brave, intellectual – a scholar, a poet, and a philosopher – and a lover, at least after a long pilgrimage, of our Lord’.   

When Tolkien first shared his ‘Lord of the Rings’ manuscript at the Inklings group, CS Lewis said: ‘This book is a lightning from a clear sky. Not content to create his own story, he creates with an almost insolent prodigality the whole world in which it is to move; with its own theology, myths, geography, history, paleography, languages and order of beings.’ Without the Inklings fellowship of Tolkien and Lewis, neither the Narnia Tales nor the Lord of the Rings might have ever seen the light of day. In a letter to Sir Stanley Unwin, Lewis wrote "I would willingly do all in my power to secure for Tolkien's great book the recognition it deserves."

While Lewis loved Lord of the Rings, Tolkien disliked the Narnia Tales.  He called Lewis’ writing creaking, stiff-jointed, and unoriginal. Tolkien, who took seventeen years rewriting Lord of The Rings, resented the ease at which Lewis kept producing new books.  Tolkien, being very private, resented fellow Inklngs Charles Williams’ intrusion into their friendship.  Lewis’ marriage to a divorced American Joy Davidman also strained their relationship.  On October 27th 1949, no one turned up for the final Inklings meeting.

Shortly before his death, C.S. Lewis wrote to his estranged friend J.R.R. Tolkien: “All my philosophy of history hangs upon a sentence of your own, ‘Deeds were done which were not wholly in vain,’ ” Four days after Lewis's death on Nov 22nd 1963,  Tolkien wrote to his daughter Priscilla "So far I have felt the normal feelings of a man of my age—like an old tree that is losing all its leaves one by one: This feels like an axe-blow near the roots.  Very sad that we should have been so separated in the last years; but our time of close communion endured in memory for both of us."

I thank God for the complicated friendship of two literary firestarters.

Rev Dr Ed & Janice Hird

Co-authors of the novel Blue Sky

Candid Cathy — Breaking New Ground

Candid Cathy*? By the word candid I mean transparent, open and honest. 

Credit: UpTo

King of Kings Elementary Scl

Following a brief introduction, she ascended the several steps to the platform and then took her place behind the podium. Her face appeared relaxed and her eyes bright. As is characteristic of her, a smile played around her mouth, raising her cheeks. She began to speak.

My friend Cathy abandoned the faith of her childhood for several decades. During those years she experienced two failed marriages, the second of which included the sting of her husband’s unfaithfulness and the disappearance and murder of her step-daughter, and also two episodes with cancer that necessitated surgery and treatments. Following her father’s death, Cathy recommitted her life to Christ.

I first met her during her recovery from yet a third bout of cancer, which required further surgery and debilitating treatments. Severe hardships, disappointments and set-backs have come Cathy’s way, yet she has continued to grow, tackling fresh challenges and aiming at new horizons in  serving others in Jesus’ name.  

[Sorry, I don't have a photo of Cathy,
but the girl to my right has occasionally
preached in my behalf over the years.]

Several weeks ago, at the first of this year’s six inter-denominational Lenten services in my community, this intrepid lady, Cathy,  – now in her late sixties – broke new ground.

She is at ease in organizing children’s programs and teaching and communicating with kids; however, preaching a homily on an assigned topic to adults from across the age and theological spectrum in the crowded sanctuary of another church, was something new.

After introducing her message with a humorous, but relevant, anecdote, she then connected with the Scripture and gave a beautifully-crafted, well-presented presentation of Jesus’ divinity. Her text verse was John 1:1 – “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”  She linked this up with other Scriptures, such as in first chapter of the Hebrews letter.

In well-paced steps she showed why it was necessary that God Himself should provide for the salvation and redemption of humanity from the curse of sin, through His sacrificial death. 

And so, the living, eternal Word – the perfect and exact substance and expression of God Himself – came into the world in the person of Jesus, to live and love, suffer and die. Verse 14 is one of my favourites: “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. . . .” (John 1:14a NIV). (Not to forget His resurrection, of course, for that part was to come later in the season.) 

Cathy’s presentation was clear and cogent. My word – you’d think she’d been preaching for decades! I thought.

I enjoy sketching elements of individuals’ lives – especially of people I know or have known personally. But why?

When my mental, emotional and spiritual gaze gets raised in appreciation, gratitude and wonder, at admirable qualities and actions that inspire and reflect God’s love and grace, I hope and pray that others will experience these blessings, too.

In her public preaching debut Cathy broke new ground. 

She continues to inspire others and raise their gaze –

including mine.

~~+~~

* Pseudonym to protect privacy.

~~+~~

Peter A. Black is a retired pastor – well, sort of retired – and lives in Southwestern Ontario. He writes a weekly inspirational newspaper column, P-Pep! and is author of Raise Your Gaze ... Mindful Musings of a Grateful Heart, and Parables from the Pond -- a children's / family book. ~~+~~

My Love/Dislike Relationship With Christmas-by Heidi McLaughlin

I’m not a Scrooge. If you drive by my house you will see the Christmas swag on my front door and planters filled with decorations. I love sitting in a beautifully decorated restaurant and sharing stories and a meal with friends. I gasp with delight at the festive city streets canopied with twinkling lights and banners.  Then at dusk you will see my house blazing with outside Christmas lights.

What you won’t see is me walking through the mall laden with bags and boxes.  I haven’t bought wrapping paper or bows for umpteen years because our family keeps re-using and re-gifting.  That is the part of Christmas that hurts my heart and I’m trying not to dislike. The money and time spent to buy the perfect present that says: “I love you.”  Or the extravagant guilt gift that says: “Sorry, I didn't take you to Mexico with me.”

I’ve been trying to simplify Christmas for years, and even though it gets a little better each year, I still want to put a smile on someone’s face on Christmas morning. But after spending two weeks in Romania my heart has once again been wrecked, yearning for simplicity. The landscape and poverty of Romania took me back to my growing up years in Prince George.  Christmas was about going to church on Christmas Eve and hoping for the brown paper that held the classic mandarin orange,  candy cane and the hard rock candies. Waiting for a pair of skates to show up under the Christmas tree was all I could think about for weeks.If Santa didn’t bring it I would never have it.  Those were the years where things we needed came in a box with simple paper and a bow.

Having both my husbands die before Christmas also takes the holly, jolly out of the season.  It’s hard to sing, “Rudolph the red nosed reindeer” when all I want to sing is “Silent Night, all is calm all is bright.” I want to take time to reflect what actually happened that “silent night” to bring forth a Christ child that would change our lives and world forever.  Have we lost Him in our hurried distractions and endless lists to create the perfect Christmas? 

Yes, Christmas is the most magical time of the year. With the softly falling snow, twinkling lights and candy cane lattes, expectations are high for the perfect Christmas morning. But lets not get jaded when the t-shirt is too small, the ear buds are not right, or the Star War figure is the wrong one.   After all Christmas is not about the perfect gift or Bűche de Noël, it’s about the simplest and hardest gift ever given…Love.  How will you wrap up love this Christmas?

I’m still trying to find my place in Christmas.  After being in Romania and still grieving my beloved Jack, I am so grateful for the love of my family.  I’ll be sitting and sipping by the fire with my children and grandchildren.  Putting together a 1000 piece puzzle and playing Apples to Apples is our family’s default button.  This year we will be in Montana where the snow is magical and sledding is free. I hope in the midst of the wonderful noise and clutter, I will be able to find all that is “calm and bright” and receive the free gift and love of Christ. My heart is full of wonderful expectation.

Heidi McLaughlin lives in the beautiful vineyards of the Okanagan Valley in Kelowna, British Columbia. Heidi has been widowed twice. She is a mom and step mom of a wonderful, eclectic blended family of 5 children and 12 grandchildren. When Heidi is not working, she loves to curl up with a great book, or golf and laugh with her family and special friends.

Her latest book RESTLESS FOR MORE: Fulfillment in Unexpected Places (Including a FREE downloadable Study Guide) is now available at Amazon.ca; Amazon.com, Goodreads.com or her website: www.heartconnection.ca