As Good as Gold

But knowing their hypocrisy, [Jesus] said to them, “Why are you putting me to the test? Bring me a denarius and let me see it.” And they brought one. Then he said to them, “Whose head is this and whose title?” They answered, “Caesar’s.”  Jesus said to them, “Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were utterly amazed at him.

    Mark 12 15-17 NRSVue

 When Peter said, “From others,” Jesus said to him, “Then the children are free.  However, so that we do not give offense to them, go to the sea and cast a hook; take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth you will find a coin; take that and give it to them for you and me.”

    Matthew 17: 26--27 NRSVue

I'm definitely showing my age when I admit that as a kid finding a nickel or a dime meant sugary treasure at the corner store. In the early 60s even a penny bought three black balls. Did we like black balls? It didn't really matter because they cost so little.

Children of that era figured out quickly that coins were valuable and paper money was wealth. When the one-dollar "loonie" was introduced almost 40 years ago it felt that we were going backward initially, then we all got accustomed to both loonies and toonies. We have moved ever closer to a cashless society anyway, using cards and devices to make our payments in even the remotest of settings. Our eleven-year-old entrepreneur granddaughter accepts e-transfers for her crocheted creations although she still hits up Grandpa for folding money from time to time. 

I'm intrigued by a new exhibit called As Good as Gold outlining the history of money in this country. According to the Globe and Mail article: 

Most of us don’t carry a lot of cash in our wallets these days, given the ubiquity of credit and debit transactions. Change feels like a dead weight. But an exhibit by Toronto-Dominion Bank, which features currency used over the past 230 years, offers a rare historical glimpse into a world that is slipping away. 

As Good As Gold: The TD Bank Currency Collection is an exhibit held in – where else? – a steel-reinforced vault at the bank’s headquarters in Toronto. It includes early pre-Confederation promissory notes from merchants, grocery stores and lumber companies, dating as far back as 1790.

The first Canadian currency arrives in 1851, when each dollar was backed by gold. From there, paper notes become increasingly ornate to reflect their nation-building role in establishing trade, trust and commerce.

Cool. As I read about the exhibit I wondered about money in the New Testament and realized that even though peasant cultures tend to be barter based there are a fair number of money and cash references, including the warning above.

We do depend on moolah to make our societies function and some amass staggering amounts they will never actually see while others beg on street corners or play instruments  behind open instrument cases for cash. Churches may be heavenly minded but they are down to earth in seeking financial support and, yes, many have made generosity easier in a number of ways. And we're told that God loves a cheerful giver!

The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully  will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

                         2 Corinthians 9: 6-7 NRSVue

 Then one of the twelve, whose name was Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?” And they paid him thirty pieces of silver.  And from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray him.

                          Matthew 14: 14-16 NRSVue 

                                           Elon Musk becomes a trillionaire (briefly) earlier this month 

Embracing Church of the Wild

 

1 Teach me, God, to wonder, teach me, God, to see;

let your world of beauty capture me.

Praise to you be given, love for you be lived,

life be celebrated, joy you give.

                                                                Voices United 299

church

1. a building for public Christian worship.

2. public Christian worship of God; a Christian religious service.

Early yesterday morning we headed out in our kayaks onto the Bay of Quinte, an arm of Lake Ontario. We checked that the wind speeds were low, the temperature was perfect, and it was simply a glorious summer day. We paddled for just over an hour before the bay became busier with motorboats and fisherfolk, enjoying a stretch of shoreline with only a handful of residences. We saw plenty of creatures including blue herons, ospreys, egrets, a green heron, kingfishers, a beaver, a deer, and turtles. We love it along here and the risk of being out on bigger water is moderate.

As regular readers will know, we consider spending time in the natural world as sacred and we do so as often as possible in every season. We have done so over the course of 50+ years and we hope to continue doing so as long as our general health and the grace of the Creator allow us to do so. My aged joints grumble a lot more now getting into the cockpit of my boat than they once did but I'm not prepared to stop just yet.

Is this "church"? Some would say no, emphatically, and certainly the congregation was small in terms of humans, although "For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.” Matthew 20:18. There was a heavenly, watery host when other species were counted in. We often offer praise, perhaps a recalled verse from a Creation hymn, and we have a brief physical ritual of acknowledgement of the Creator we engage in. There is no building but each space is a templum, using the definition of dedicated to a deity, place of divine worship, sanctuary, shrine, temple. 

                                                                          Photo: Ruth Mundy

There is a book Church of the Wild: How Nature Invites Us into the Sacred. The author,  Victoria Loorz, is passionate and persuasive in speaking about the formation and  transformation which unfold in the natural world. She is a founder of the Wild Church Network with a growing number of wild churches, committed to worshipping en plein air. 

The natural world -- that world where we already belong -- is an alluring invitation into the sacred, into a relationship with something larger. And that very sacred presence invites us into the wild. The whole process is holy. It is a dynamic, a reciprocity, a loving conversation, a relationship -- one that includes me and you and God and the whole wild, alive world. 

I love inspirational church architecture, old and new, but more and more I chafe at supposedly sacred spaces that don't even give a hint of the glory of Creation. How did we ever get to the place where it became either/or for our worship gatherings and we shut out the outside world with stained glass windows? Some modern church structures have no windows at all. 

This morning we attended worship 10:30 at Trenton United and it was a meaningful service. Before we did so we drove to North Beach Provincial Park and were there for the opening at 8 AM. In the solitude we went for a swim and listened to a loon calling from across the bay. Both experiences fed our souls. 

                                                                     Photo: Ruth Mundy

Sublime Twelve

The Mission of the Twelve

 These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not take a road leading to gentiles, and do not enter a Samaritan town,  but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.  As you go, proclaim the good news, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ Cure the sick; raise the dead; cleanse those with a skin disease; cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment.     Matthew 10: 5-8 NRSVue

Twelve. Did you know that the number 12 is considered a sublime number? I didn't either but a few days ago I got up at the ridiculous hour of 5 AM (a regular occurrence) only to discover that I had misread the clock and it was in fact 4 -- arrghh!

I listened to a CBC Radio Ideas episode at that ungodly hour with the title 12 is Sublime. Here is the description of the show: 

The decimal — or base 10 — system that we use for all our numbering needs comes to us so naturally we barely notice it. But in the past, there have been other contenders, among them: 60, 20 and, perhaps most promisingly, 12. Why was 12 so promising? 

Twelve is a “friendly” number because it is so highly divisible compared to 10. But there is so much more that makes the humble dozen extraordinary. It is one of only two numbers ever discovered to be “sublime.” And that description has nothing to do with the fact that 12 is a number highly significant to Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism — and even Hellenism. Still need convincing of 12’s perfection and indispensability? Check your watch.

Within the first few minutes the twelve tribes of Israel, the twelve disciples came to mind, as well as the 12 Days of Christmas came to my mind. Sure enough, all of these were explored as was the 144,000 elect from the book of Revelation -- 12 times 12 thousand. The 12 Days of Christmas were the bridge between East and West in the celebration of Christmas in the Roman Empire. 

I was surprised a while later when the daily gospel reading was titled The Mission of the Twelve (from Matthew 10, not 12). 

This is an interesting episode at any hour and you might want to seek it out as a podcast. 

The Tragedy of Camp Mystic

 

                                  Camp Mystic Texas cabin after the flood of July 4, 2025

Almost exactly a year ago heavy rains and catastrophic flooding occurred in Texas Hill Country. This was one of the deadliest storms in US history and nearly 140 people died . 

Amongst those who perished were 28 campers and staff members from Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp which would have celebrated its 100th anniversary this year. The meandering Guadalupe River turned into a raging torrent and swept away many of the young girls in the lower lying cabins. 

In April there were hearings into what went wrong at Camp Mystic and last week a report from the Texas Legislature concluded that the camp did not have written emergency ​evacuation ⁠plans and poorly trained its staff, Some of the parents of children who died testified in April and called for the closure of Camp Mystic and this week the camp filed for bankruptcy.

                                                               Camp Mystic in a happier time 

I have followed this story to a degree, perhaps because I worked at Christian camps in my youth and our children and grandchildren have attended them. We know what joyful, formative places they can be, including for faith. 

I have yet to hear anything about climate change as an intensifier of the storm. I don't know whether those who owned and supported the camp actually "believe" in climate change in a state where so many are deniers, including lots of conservative Christians.

There is a term "an act of God" to describe natural disasters but there is strong scientific consensus that climate change is disrupting weather patterns and that belief, one way or another has nothing to do with it. It is the scientific reality of human-caused climate chaos.

What happened at Camp Mystic was a tragedy and the families of the children who died deserve prayerful support. Perhaps closing the camp was the only possible outcome, bankruptcy or not. 

 It's hard to know if this will be a wake-up call regarding what we are doing to our planetary home. We can pray that politicians everywhere including here in Canada will come to their senses about the threat we face. God the Creator, help us all. 

"I Trust You" Prayer

 

“When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard because of their many words.  Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

Matthew 6:7-8 NRSVue -- Jesus of Nazareth

Last evening I watched a short video that popped up in a social media featuring an aging woman I'd never heard of before. She was observing that she's spent a lifetime praying, often lengthy and earnest. In recent years she's realized that she's been telling God things she/he/they already knows, so why go into such detail? In this season of her life a three word prayer has become her go-to, "I trust you." The wisdom of this simple prayer really hit home.

This morning I cycled to visit two elderly people son Isaac asked me to see just once when he was away for few days because they are in Belleville hospital. I've continued to drop by over the past month or so because they're nearby, their stays have been extended, and I just like both of them. One is struggling with health complications, the other is on the way to a new home in another city nearer family. I shared the "I trust you" prayer with them and they both really like it. I began our concluding prayers with the words "we trust you" although I added some condiments particular to their situations.

As I was leaving I encountered the lovely midlife daughter of one of these persons who drives an hour each way to support her parent. I could tell she feels the weight of doing the right things in her role and so I shared this little prayer with her -- what did I have to lose? Her face lit up and she said "is that enough?" She commented that on her drive she prays but isn't always sure what to ask for or express. I told her that this prayer works for me and she said that she's going to start using it. 

We do make prayer complicated at times, or even give up praying because we are tongue-tied or weary or feel that we aren't being heard. We can certainly chose to offer more, but when we're tangled in life's weeds, a simple expression of trust may be sufficient. We have a lot of challenging circumstances in our lives at the moment so "I trust you" is going to get a regular workout. 

"Out of the Closet", Faithfully

 

This is Pride Month in Canada, an opportunity to acknowledge the challenges and accomplishments of the LGBTQ2S+ community across the country. We attended the regional event in Picton, a town in Prince Edward County and somewhat to our surprise there was a big turnout and a really celebratory vibe. I saw a long lineup of really...colourful...individuals at a food venue where the vendors were a Syrian once-refugee family we know, the two women dressed in black hijabs. I had to smile, proud that this is the Canada I want to celebrate, one where there is broad acceptance and inclusion. 

I caught a glimpse of a former parishioner from a congregation I served and I sought him out through the crowd. He was there as part of a group sponsoring LGBTQ2S+ refugees from countries where their orientation is shunned and decried, often led by religious groups. In some of those countries their orientation is illegal and even punishable by death.

We caught up on our lives and he told me that his partner had died, a source of deep sadness. I assumed that he was a gay man but he never spoke of his orientation and he never acknowledged he had a same-gender partner even though we had several LGBTQ2S+ staff members in the congregation. 

Looking back through 37 years of pastoral ministry I can identify a number of LGBTQ2S+ members in the various congregations I served who never "came out of the closet" during my time, or only did so with considerable caution and with the assumption that I wouldn't share this reality with others. They didn't want the drama or possible rejection and in some situations they were not "out" to family or even spouses. Closeted is an older but apt term because they too often were in a stiflingly enclosed place psychologically and spiritually. And think about it, heterosexuals don't have to identify their orientation in any public way.

A couple of weeks after I began ministry in 1980 in outport Newfoundland a boy of 16 took his own life. He walked past his family watching television, took a rifle out of a cupboard, and went  into the backyard where he shot himself. The traumatized family called the paramedics, police, and the new minister. Because the first two were nearly an hour away I arrived first to the chaotic scene and went to the body in the dark. There is no seminary preparation for this sort of pastoral situation and I was 25-years-old. 

It was decades before it occurred to me that this bright young man, passionate about the arts and theatre, may have been gay and quietly in despair. While this may be stereotyping on my part, his interests were certainly uncharacteristic for guys his age in that culture. Derogatory jokes and nasty terms for gay people were still very much in use at that time. 

We have come a long way in our society but we need to continue on a path of affirmation and love in Christ's name. God give us the grace and courage to lead the way, faithfully. 

The SBC, Untruth, and Disunity

 

The men take themselves so seriously

with their coats and votes,
while Spirit laughs, plants trees, grows fruit.
The Southern Baptist Convention
said women cannot preach and lead.
So silly. Like standing on a bank
yelling at the river to stop flowing.
Like ordering dawn to become night.
Like scolding the tide from the shore.
Like expecting Spirit to ask permission
before descending where She will.
Women will keep preaching
because a voice older than any vote i HAV IN
keeps saying: Yes, her. She’s the one.

                                     Samantha Bise 

Not long ago I wrote about the impending creepy and misogynistic motion at the Southern Baptist Convention to deepen its ban on women preaching, including commenting online about sermons. The measure, sponsored by Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President Albert Mohler, is known as the "Truth and Unity Amendment". In the end the vote wasn't even close with 75% of the "messengers" supporting the amendment. This is supposedly biblical, ignoring the Easter story in John's gospel in which Mary is the first witness to the Resurrection.  

It's part of the relentless efforts by male leaders in the SBC to silence women in expressing their God-given faith. Some congregations and high profile women have been kicked out, harassed out, or left in frustration. This is about power and control, not the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

There are some great cartoons out there including one where the Risen Christ speaks to Mary Magdalene on Easter morning:

Jesus: Go and tell the men I have risen!

Mary: Crap, This is gonna sound crazy but I can't. In 2026 the SBC voted to silence me.

Jesus: What's the SBC? 

I wish I could share the image with you but it isn't accessible. 

I have included the powerful poem, above. "So silly. Like standing on a bank yelling at the river to stop flowing."