Matthew, Mark, Luke and Susan
We’re glad you’re here!
Welcome to the weekly blog for Burlington East Presbyterian Church.
First things first: feel free to fill in your name instead of Susan. John might already be taken.
Here, you’ll find a weekly reflection which I hope will give you an opportunity to stop for a few minutes, to see yourself in God’s story of our own lives, of the community, and of creation. We’ll be thinking about what it means to live in God’s love for each of us, to grow as disciples and to follow Christ. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to email me at [email protected].
Looking forward to journeying with you.
Peace in Christ,
Susan
February 12, 2025
The rebels
Something to think about: Matthew 7:24-25
There they are. Surrounded by green, standing out like something that shouldn’t be there at all. But there they are.
They were created as giant snowpeople in the neighbourhood park late one night during the snowfall before Christmas. Tall sentinels with solid bases that couldn’t be knocked down–the base was too strong and the snowmen too big. Even when the temperatures started to rise, they stayed, and lasted until the next snowfall because they had been built well.
The neighbourhood kids are waiting for the next snowstorm to build more.
In our lives as Chrsitians, there are a lot of things we need to speak up for, a lot of places that need to hear about the love of Christ in situations where that love is not present. We need to be the snowpeople in the green field. Standing where we’re not supposed to. Standing out, standing up. Standing with. Speaking out when we see places where there is injustice, inequity, and people not living the words “Love the Lord with all your heart, soul strength and mind, and your neighbour as yourself” (Mark 12: 31).
It’s not easy to be a snowperson in a green field when the temperature is rising. We stand and bear witness to God’s love because we know what we’re made of, and what our strength is. How do we do that? Reading some of the Bible each day, practicing sharing our story, seeking God in the small moments and the big ones, prayer, talking with each other about faith and faith questions and journeys all help us to have a foundation that can’t be melted when our environment shifts. Like these snow giants, the growth and foundation aren’t there instantly, It takes work, and practice and day to day learning to build that foundation.
When the temperature rises, we might not look like perfect snowpeople any longer. But we are still there. Still present. Still changing the landscape. We will have the foundation to last and stand out when we need to until the next snowstorm comes around.
And perhaps, just perhaps, we will stand out so much that those around us will want to be like us too.
May you find blessing and strength in your conversations with God this week–strength that will give you the foundation to be a witness for Jesus in everything.
Peace in Christ,
Rev. Susan Photo and content © Susan Kerr 2025. May not be reproduced or circulated without permission of the author.
February 4, 2025
Whisper
Something to think about: I Kings 19 :1 -13
In this story, Elijah is not comfortable. Far from it.
Darkness surrounds. Sounds overwhelm and blast off rocks, stone shatters, winds howl, all of the noises flood Elijah’s senses and he covers his face because he’s just run from a king who wants him dead, and a massacre that happened and he’s hurting and hungry (even though God has provided) and scared. The voices that cry hate and hurt are overwhelming. The threats of the king bring terror. Is God going to speak in the same way that Elijah’s pursuers do? Is God going to amplify the terror?
No. God chose another way. God turned off the noise around Elijah and whispered.
I love this story in the Old Testament. There are a lot of stories in the Bible where God comes to people in visions, in pillars of fire, where there are big miracles. But there are also times when God chooses not to engage people in the same ways that bring fear or trauma. In this case, God doesn’t speak through the noise of storms and earthquakes and ‘mighty wonders’. God comes in a whisper, because that’s what Elijah needs not only to hear the message, but to be comforted.
There are times when God’s guiding messages don’t need to be yelled out.
A holy whisper that lets you take a breath when the yelling and noise around us gets too much. God knows when we’re overloaded with sound bytes, news reports, even threats and worries, and those things are screaming for our attention. God says, listen differently. I’m here. I always have been. For you.
Have we ever stopped and considered how we listen to a whisper? What do our bodies do? What does our heart do?
We hold still. We might even hold our breath. We lean in. There is an intimacy in a whisper that means we trust the other person enough to let them get close to us.
God asks Elijah to be still. To take a breath. To lean in, because God’s already leaning into the conversation. God wants to be close to Elijah, to give him a message that’s just for him. Elijah needed that. Needed to know he was protected and what to do next. There are times for joyful noise, like there are in the Psalms. In God’s wisdom, this isn’t one of them. God in Jesus Christ loves us individually, and God knows that joyful noise is not what Elijah needs right now. What Elijah does need is know he was loved individually, in that moment, in the middle of his fear….
….and that the God who could make earthquakes and storms just wanted to talk to him. Just him.
God does the same for us. When we pray, we might be hoping for big answers and power that shows up. Sometimes, and when we need it most, God speaks in the whispers that keep us going and comfort us at the same time. The powerful contrast to the yelling that happens in the world and the quiet promise of God is blatant. Yelling keeps people distant from one another. God leans in. Even if it means that God will get so close to us that God might get hurt.
May our ears be open to holy whispers that show us what the next steps are in a world of noise. May you know God’s promised presence for you in the middle of all that is going on. I hope you have a blessed week.
Peace in Christ,
Rev. Susan
Photo and content © Susan Kerr 2025. May not be reproduced or circulated without permission of the author