Author Archive: Craig

Cross Ways

On Wednesday May 29th protestors at UBC blocked the intersection of University Boulevard and Wesbrook Avenue. Their cries for Rafah filled the air. When I came by there were not many people present to listen. 

The UBC bound buses were lined up far off campus and folks were finding alternate routes to work and to class. More officers were present than anyone else to witness these cries resisting complicity in the suffering of the people of Gaza.

Upon being threatened with arrest if they didn’t exit the intersection, the protestors moved into campus. They settled under the Canadian Flag just south of the Rose Garden to seek the attention of recent UBC graduates and their families. The brilliant blue sky and a warming sun rested upon us all as the air was filled with the singsong chants of protest.

Most people seemed unfazed.

Last week I was in the Chan Centre for convocation. Two students unfurled banners reminding the audience that there are no universities left in Gaza. In this war with Hamas, Israel has destroyed them all. When these students stood banners spread wide with the UBC President for their graduation picture, the congregation clapped.

What were we applauding?

I’m not sure. There was only one worthy response in my mind: tears. But how can a people unversed in lament shed tears on a day of celebration? We are so impoverished. We reflexively congratulated everyone. The violence of enmity heard no clear voice of judgement and peace found no champions.

“My eyes fail from weeping, I am in torment within;
my heart is poured out on the ground
because my people are destroyed,
because children and infants faint
in the streets of the city.”
Lamentations 2:11

At some agreed upon moment the chorus under the flag decided to move on with bicycles and banners beside them. Slowly they marched up Main Mall, crying out “not in my name,” until they turned at the Martha Piper Plaza, past the fountain, down the hill, and past the Musqueam Post, where I suppose some returned to the encampment. 

I continued prayerfully down Main Mall to the Reconciliation Pole. I have made this walk many times. It’s part of what I call the Way of the Cross at UBC. 

One of the curious landscape features of the “university squeezed into the forest” is that it has been built up around a cross. Along the ridge of the hill traversed by the Musqueam people for generations is a double sidewalk cross, a remnant of the original Beaux Arts vision for the campus. The arms of the cross reach out west to Wreck Beach and east to the City of Vancouver. The centre pole extends from the Forestry field up to the Rose Garden overlooking the magnificent Straight of Georgia.

On this walk here are some of the turns in my reflections and prayers.

And they placed a crown of thorns on his head.”

In the years since 1915, UBC has been building alongside and around the cross. In recent years the cross has been animated with markers of spiritual significance to me. The Rose Garden at the “top” reminds me of the crown of the thorns marring the head of Jesus, who was present in the beginning as Creator. He came to His own but His own would not have Him.

… Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord… suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried… 

The power of government, the state, of empire was on display in the Cross of Christ as they carried out the crucifixion of a carpenter turned rabbi. Today the power of government is represented by the Flag waving brilliantly in the wind and clambering for supremacy in our affections. But here thankfully, the Maple Leaf, is also a marker of some human rights we cherish and that were on full display today. In the face of such power Jesus said, “Forgive them Father for they know not what they do.”

“Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” 

The fountain at the heart of campus reminds me of Jesus’ promise that all who believe in Him will have life flowing like a stream rising up from within them. To my left the small stream flowing down the hill at UBC reminds me of the heavenly vision in Revelation and our yearning for the healing of the nations. The protestors turned here but gave no pause to refresh themselves by contemplating these waters.

“But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” Romans 5:8

I do not turn with the protestors but continue prayerfully down Main Mall for it is the foot of the cross that beckons me. When I arrive at the Reconciliation Pole all is quiet. The growing sections of recently planted fireweed move gently in the breeze as a group of students listen attentively to learn the stories the Pole tells.

I recall the day the Pole was raised. The public had been invited to assist with the raising. I had watched the team of artists under the direction of Haida master carver, James Hart, continue to prepare the Pole after it was delivered from Haida Gwaii. I found it enlightening to see that an artistic process of several years was continuing “up to the last minute.” And so I recognized that the Pole we raised was not raised as a completed work of art, but as an ongoing participatory process much like reconciliation. 

My family had listened to speeches from elders and survivors of residential schools. These dear people now carried the trauma of degrading and dehumanizing abuse. The hands and tongues of men and women from several church societies had scarred the bodies and crushed the souls of so many children on behalf of the Canadian government. The 57,000 copper nails in the pole had been driven in as cathartic acts of remembrance. 

And then before I realized it, the Pole was standing tall and secure. It rises now like a nail on the horizon, in the feet of Jesus, anchoring the Cross to the ground at UBC. Around this Pole our interconnected lives tell the tales of complicity in much injustice against people in this world. In today’s global economies it is hard to escape being the beneficiary of injustices whether historic or ongoing.

I have taken shelter for my soul in the Kingdom of Jesus — which is not of this world — but that does not mean I am sheltered from the relationships and the realities of my neighbours. Reconciliation elevates and reconciliation humbles for there is only level ground at the foot of the Cross. I am reminded that we are all tempted to neglect the Creator’s ways for living well in relationship with Him, with self, with people, and with the wonderful stuff of earth.

Jesus’ death on the Cross shows me that reconciliation requires something: laying down my life. Jesus said His life was not taken from Him, but that He had authority to lay it down and to take it up again. This is how enemies are turned into friends. The Cross of Jesus is continuing to do it’s work in me, I die to self — that is — I am abandoning the pursuit of self-righteousness and am seeking to enter into the freedom of being loved by our Father in heaven. And once at ease in the freedom of being loved, one can love. 

Both the Cross of Christ and the Reconciliation Pole have hope built into my consideration of them. Jesus the Christ rose from the dead and the eagle on top of the Pole is poised to take flight above the two canoes making their way forward. Good futures are available to us.

But my true and lasting hope is in Jesus.

As I walk back up Main Mall I breath out this simple prayer for Gaza, for Israel, for us:

Κύριε, ἐλέησον.
Χριστέ, ἐλέησον.
Κύριε, ἐλέησον.

Lord have mercy.
Christ have mercy.
Lord have mercy 

On us all.

Prayer in the neighbourhood

I was glad to be included in the 2024 Lent Devotional, Finding Freedom — The World Turned Upside Down, published by the Union Gospel Mission here in Vancouver. Here is the entry for Day 24, Tuesday, March 12.

When I read the Acts 16 text I am drawn to the “places of prayer” almost as if they are another character in the story. Likewise, our places of prayer today are not centers of cultural and societal power. What would happen if we made a few more trips to and from these intangible places? What would happen if we actually looked and expected the activity of God on our way to and from them? And what could happen if we gathered some followers of Jesus to pray regularly in a neighbourhood?

A few years ago, while pastoring with Cityview Church in Vancouver, I moved our weekly prayer meeting out of the building and onto the sidewalks. We sent small groups out for prayer walks in the neighbourhood. Once in my group, the three of us paid attention to what was in the yards and homes we passed. We asked God to bless parents with wisdom, to open hearts to Jesus as Lord, to bless the gardeners with the same diligence for their souls as they had for their gardens, for the poor to have decent living spaces, and for Jesus to be known by the nations living in our neighbourhood.

On our way back to the church, I noticed a man standing in the middle of the sidewalk. As we approached, he did not turn aside or make room for us. Instead, he waited for us. When we were right in front of him, he asked,

“Where are you going?” “We are going to the church building.”

“Where have you been?” “We have been praying for the neighbours.” 

“Would you come in my house? My wife wants to know how to meet God.”

We were stunned. This had never happened to us before. We followed him into his house. We spoke with his wife about Jesus and a few months later she declared her allegiance to Jesus through testimony and baptism.

That day we were going and coming from our place of prayer in our neighbourhood — prayerfully. We rejoiced for days afterward because God had prepared us all for a divine encounter. We rejoiced because the Lord added to His family of believers.

God, we need a few more places of prayer. Help us see that You call us to be mobile prayer units. Help us create places of prayer everywhere.

Prayer of the People, 26 June 2023

Prayer of the People, 25 June 2023

Heavenly Father,

You have been our help – an anchor through storms wrecking our souls. Thank you for calming the storm. Thank you for carrying us through the storm. And even when the storm was of our own making you have restored our souls and given us rest. 

When shame weighed us down you have lifted us up. You put a new song in our hearts and raised our chins from the depths. You invite us to gaze on your glory and goodness. 

Who is like you?

You took our place at the Cross through Jesus Christ and have graciously poured your Spirit into us so we may enjoy life with you now and forever. This new birth delivers us from the destruction wrought by Satan, from guilt, from shame, and from fear. Now you usher us into the  peace, righteousness and joy of your Kingdom.

Thank you.

Lord you have empowered us to be neighbours to those who need one. We turn our faces with you to consider our campus, our city, and the countries of our day — give us your heart for people.

Raise up students who love you and grant them courage and wisdom to speak up with you.
Raise up men and women who will lead with loving kindness in their fields of work.
Raise us up as a generation that will follow Jesus.

Even here — we know —  powers and principalities prop themselves up against the knowledge of You. They seek to destroy people by denying their dignity and their worth as bearers of your image. 

Today as we look at our world with you: 

We lift up the Uyghurs in NorthWest China; 
We lift up to you the many people displaced by violence in Syria and Ukraine.
We lift up to you the troubles our brothers & sisters in Iran are facing. 

Oh Lord, Come quickly — please orchestrate release for the captives, homes for the displaced, and enduring peace for neighbours.

Please give our leaders humility and the wisdom that comes from Heaven.
We pray today as Jesus taught us — ( Join me in the Lord’s Prayer)

Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name,

your kingdom come,

your will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts,

as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from the evil one;

for yours is the kingdom,

and the power, and the glory, 

forever.  Amen.

When I’m Impatient for Growth

When I’m impatient for growth I’m likely to miss what is going on now.

This past week I was listening to a podcast on the Order of the Mustard Seed and was delighted to hear
Nina Schuurman Drenth from Canada talk about following Jesus and becoming comfortable with the space in-between from here to “there.” This is such a great line: “accept the anxiety of feeling yourself
in suspense and incomplete.”

She quoted Pierre Teilhard de Chardin’s poem Patient Trust and I was encouraged to keep trusting the Lord for transformation in my own life. I was also drawn to turn it into a prayer for so many of the people who are part of Origin Church. While it feels slow, as we surrender to Christ, we are daily being transformed to be like Jesus!

Here’s the poem.

Patient Trust

Above all, trust in the slow work of God.
We are quite naturally impatient in everything to reach the end without delay.
We should like to skip the intermediate stages.
We are impatient of being on the way to something unknown, something new.

And yet it is the law of all progress
that it is made by passing through some stages of instability—
and that it may take a very long time.

And so I think it is with you;
your ideas mature gradually—let them grow,
let them shape themselves, without undue haste.
Don’t try to force them on,
as though you could be today what time
(that is to say, grace and circumstances acting on your own good will)
will make of you tomorrow.

Only God could say what this new spirit
gradually forming within you will be.
Give Our Lord the benefit of believing
that his hand is leading you,
and accept the anxiety of feeling yourself
in suspense and incomplete.

—Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, SJ
excerpted from Hearts on Fire

Prayer of the People, 18 June 2023

Heavenly Father,

We enter into your communion — the communion of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit — through your amazing grace. Your Son has opened up the way for us through His own obedience, his own life and death, by laying down His own body. Now through his body we enter into the delights of relationship with you.

We know Christ Jesus came down. 

He came down from the throne. Praise you Lord.

He came down as a child. Praise you Lord.

He came down to the feet of sinners. Praise you Lord.

He came down to the cross. Praise you Lord.

He came down to the grave.    Praise you Lord.

Hallelujah. Death could not hold Him!

Oh Lord you lifted Him up and now though we are baptized into His death we are also baptized into His life. You have lifted us up with him. Though sin has brought us down, you have forgiven us and appointed us to your salvation.  Fill us with your new life and transform us through and through.

Lord we grieve for the many precious people who died off the shores of Greece this week as they sought refuge and a new life. Awaken the conscience of our world to the plight of many people on the journey for refuge. Renew our confidence in the abundance of your Creation.

Lord we pray for your peace in Metro Vancouver and particularly in the downtown Eastside of Vancouver. Recent fires and gun violence has set the community on edge. We ask for you to  intervene and to intercept the people who are intent on killing their so-called enemies. Bring justice and mercy to them for the glory of Jesus.

Lord we pray for Canada, where though we in Vancouver get lulled into the common gift of your rain, we know the rest of the ten provinces are in a drought. The fires are evidence of the dryness of the land. But what else is evident Lord? Perhaps the dryness of our souls? Come Lord Jesus and renew our hearts. Surely we do not need rain fires in our forests — we need your fresh fire in our hearts for you and your Kingdom.

So, we pray as Jesus teaches us: (Please join me in the Lord’s Prayer)

Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name,

your kingdom come,

your will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts,

as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from the evil one;

for yours is the kingdom,

and the power, and the glory, 

forever.  Amen.