Hold Fast

As I write, it’s election night in the US and I know that many fellow Canadians are glued to the coverage on tv or online. I think that I’ll be relieved when the final votes are tallied. US politics and the constant drama of the last four years have often overtaken our own.

Tension and anxiety are high. Regardless of what the outcome.is there will be repercussions south of the border and an impact on life in Canada. Covid-19 is making life stressful enough with the constant updates and shifting restrictions depending on where you live. People are worried about accessing health care, schooling for their kids, their jobs, the economy, and anti-mask protesters and others taking matters into their own hands. There have been a number of suspicious fires in my region over the last several days, including churches and homes. Then there is the additional tension with our Indigenous Peoples which has never really gone away but has flared up again because of many unresolved issues.

As I started seriously planning for Advent, I was inspired by the theme for the Advent materials from Illustrated Children’s Ministry for this year - Don’t Be Afraid. It could hardly be more appropriate. There is so much people are feeling anxious and fearful about right now. For me, it’s re-opening church and all that goes with that or not re-opening church and all that goes with that. There are consequences for either choice, a choice I ultimately don’t get to make but need to help explain and lead. The anxiety of the people in our churches feeds into our own and we have to continually try to be the voice of calm and reason even if we ourselves are struggling.

As I considered the major players in the Advent narrative (Zechariah, Elizabeth, Mary, Gabriel, Joseph) as well as the wise words long pre-dating them from the prophets, “Don’t be afraid” comes up again and again. Over and over God speaks through messengers reassuring humble people that they’re going to be okay, that God is with them and has not forgotten them and has a plan. They are reassured in remembering God’s faithfulness (well, except for poor Zechariah who doesn’t believe Gabriel and ends up mute for Elizabeth’s whole pregnancy with John the Baptist) and they take on the plan God has laid out for them. Despite incredible hurdles God’s vision comes into being.

We may be anxious and afraid right now, and we may be numb from having been in that state on some level for a really long time. However, God has no plans to abandon us just as God had no plans to abandon these humble people of first century Palestine or their ancestors. When we are feeling out of control, or that the world around us is chaotic, we can ground ourselves in things that we know for sure. For me, that is that God’s Word and story offers comfort and stability and life, and that I’m loved by God. No matter the craziness happening outside of me, I can seek to be still and know that God is God (Psalm 46). No one else is qualified or can take God’s place.

People need hope in these times. No matter what the election results are, no matter how much longer we are in lock-down and having to wear masks, no matter what happens to us financially or physically, we can know that God is God. We are not random, our uniqueness is no accident, our gifts and calling no ordinary thing but reflective of God’s plan. God is God, and God is God with us.

May we all be able to find the eye of the storm sheltered from the swirling around us and to put God’s awesome power and grace in its proper perspective from our human fumblings and efforts. And may we be reminded that God is so trustworthy, safe and secure, that in that stillness in the eye of the storm we can draw others in to find their own quiet centre of resilience. I invite you to listen to this song, He Will Hold Me Fast sung by Keith and Kristyn Getty to help you recover your own sense of stability in this ongoing storm if you need it.