20-22 Covid-19 Daily Reflections

  A few years ago, when a baker refused to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple due to his religious conviction, some people would cry 'discrimination'. In 2018 the US Supreme Court ruled in his favor. So not making a cake can be seen as an act of discrimination when tons of other bakers would be happy to provide the service. There was no hardship here. Obviously, the plaintiffs, in this case, had some other reasons to do so because if I was in their shoes, I just went to somebody else for what I needed. No one has cried discrimination and violation of free speech when Google, Facebook, and Twitter have decided to shut some people's accounts down because of their political or sociopolitical views. What next? Can our moral and religious convictions be on the chopping board next? By the way, who has granted these Internet or Social Media services the moral authority to decide what is true or not? Are they self-appointed authors of the absolute truth? Personally, I am off...

It is always dangerous and unhealthy for leaders to surround themselves with 'yes people'. It doesn't help them with their blind spots. It is like driving a very long semi without good side mirrors. Leaders can let the power and the adoration of their followers screw up their heads. They end up believing in their own songs instead of what God has to say about how they should lead. We have seen evidence of such leadership both in governments and religious bodies. It tends to open the door for corruption. Leaderships that don't encourage dialogues from various perspectives are not leaderships. These are masqueraded forms of dictatorships. Leaderships that don't have meaningful accountability tend to lead to abuse and manipulation. If nothing earth-shattering is going to happen in the next few weeks, we will see a new Presidency in the US. For some people, it will be a solemn day. For others, it will be the day they have been waiting for a while. I don't think the...

  First, I want to be clear that I will never take a political position with my blog. Politics comes and goes. God remains the same forever.  That doesn't mean that I won't comment on events that are troubling to me.  We all know the infamous opening prayer by Emanuel Cleaver for the 117th Congress. He ended the prayer with "Amen and a woman" He said later on during a TV interview that it was a lighthearted pun considering the great number of women elected to Congress. Has Mr. Cleaver realized that showing a lack of reverence in prayer and misusing the word Amen in that context might offend many congresswomen in the house that day? It tells us the lack of discernment and wisdom on his part. There ought to be a more respectful way to acknowledge the presence of many women in Congress. He then went on and said that he wished people would pay more attention to his prayer. Rev. Cleaver, you are a minister. You should wage every word you have carefully out of respect for y...

I read recently that both Seattle and Portland have experienced an unprecedented high number of police officers who decided to retire early or quit. These former officers are from different racial and ethnic groups as well. The data I read also tells us that the response time from the police is slower than usual. After a long summer of many protests that demanded to de-fund the police force in these two cities, the people of Portland and Seattle just got what they want, I guess. We just lost an officer on New Year's Eve in our city when someone decided not to stop for a traffic stop and ran over him. He was a man who gave much of his life for the service of his country. He served in the military before joining the Calgary Police Service. His partner is expecting their first child. As I pray for him and his family, God reminds me that Sargeant Andrew Harnett died to keep us safe. Yesterday, it was a beautiful show of support to him, his family, and the Calgary Police Service as many...

  I went for a walk in a park yesterday afternoon and hope that I have some time to think about what I had heard during that day. It was an intense day as I listened to people and what they experienced during the holidays. Relationship problems, struggles with anxiety, dealing with rejection, caring for elderly grandparents with dementia, loss of work, death of a friend were part of my conversations within the first 5 hours of the day. The walk was not as relaxing as I hoped. Some people seemed to forget that they needed to pick up after their dogs. I had to pay attention to where I was walking, and that was not therapeutic. Honestly, I was a bit irritated. Don't get me wrong. I like dogs, but I will be a happier camper if people bag their dog's poop on these walking trails.  In some ways, that might be how most of us get ourselves into trouble. We believe that we deserve all of the pleasure of life while we don't have the moral fortitude to take responsibility for "sh...

Greetings to you on this first Monday of 2021! I saw a cartoon of "Back to the Future" (1989) when Dr. Emmett Brown tells young Marty McFly don't even want to think about programming for 2020. So what are we looking for in 2021? Praying without fear: we need to pray with the conviction that God is quite interested in our daily life. He is also quite aware of what we are confronting and wants to have our attention. The future depends on whether we learn how to involve Him. We then can live without fear because we pray fearlessly. Be a student of the current culture and issues of our time. The message of hope remains the same. However, people have learned to look for hope somewhere else. We need to aim to bring about healing amid our differences. Being a student is having the willingness to walk with people in their pain and anger. We cannot dismiss that if we care for them. Have a voice of reasons when confusion dominates the day. We have learned from recent events in the ...

  I am not sure I understand why the press has given the politicians who decided to travel for personal reasons such a hard time. First, I do not believe that they broke any law. The statements from the federal government and provincial ones are that people are advised not to travel for non-essential reasons. It is a travel advisory. So whoever decided to do so, do it with his or her risks. Indeed, the optic is not good because elected officials are supposed to provide leadership and example to their people. I prefer to leave the decision to their constituency when the next election comes around to decide whether they can still want these folks to represent them. Calling for resignation for that is absurd. The press seems to have a short-term or selected memory when dealing with politicians who abuse the public trust. What happens to the "WE" scandal and our PM (in Canada)? Why don't we hear them calling for his resignation? Can it be true that we are now living in a time...