10 Trinity Sq
Toronto, ON
M5G 1B1
416-598-4521
416-598-1432 (fax)
map
Rental space available
Weddings at Holy Trinity
weekly services
Sun. 10:30 am, 2:00pm;
Wed. 12:15 pm
email:
the church
the webmaster
parish staff
|
reflections and sermons posted here are the work of individual members of Holy Trinity. Opinions expressed are those of the writer or preacher and do not necessarily reflect an official or even popular opinion within the parish.
A Week to Pay Attention
SARA BOYLES
I saw a picture of tulips this morning but it didn't warm my heart. Images from, "The Wind that Shakes the Barley", a film about the growth of the IRA in just before the Irish Civil War of the early 1920s flit across my brain. I think of all the people worldwide, past and present who live through/in the midst of conditions foreign to me, a middle class, white Canadian.
Yet we hope, some in ways we call realistic and others in ways that lead to fanaticism or transformation. The quality of our vision, and the side we are on leads us to call some martyrs and some terrorists, some chilling and others inspiring. What I find in myself is a desire to weep. Black and white turns to murky gray. Bravery and goodness are found on both sides. Atrocities and loss are common to all families.
Where would I have stood this Holy Week had I been walking with Jesus? Would I be a disciple, pleading in my heart of hearts for a less political solution to the encounters Jesus was having with the religious and state authorities? Would I be on side and supportive of his actions? Maybe I would skulk around and attempt to make a deal. I might have cowered in the corner, shaking my head in disbelief, hoping I could go unnoticed. However, it is not a week the disciples went unnoticed. Their foibles, fears and humanity glare out in story after story. Their shadow sides are brought into bright daylight and I see myself in every turn of the page.
It is a week to pay attention. For all that we are not will be shown to be of value. Our very weaknesses become our strengths, our lacks, the fertile ground of rebirth. We know the ending. Easter is coming. Resurrection is the possibility for all.
Sara November 30, 1999 |
