March 31, 2023

 

 

Chief Mountain Alberta 

Be redeemed of what hurts you and blessed by what makes you whole. Let  old memories of sorrow drift away onto the gray waters and watch green  life rise out of the ancient ground of love. Turn away from fear and walk  toward the light that makes all things clear. Stand against the wrong and  embrace what is right, knowing that death will never prevail when life  enters the sanctuary of your heart. -Steven Charleston, Author, Native  American Elder Choctaw Nation, Indigenous Episcopal Bishop 

John 10:31-42 First Nations Version 

The tribal leaders became furious and picked up stones to kill him. Creator Sets Free  (Jesus) stood his ground and said to them, “I have done many good things, representing  my Father. For which of these do you mean to stone me?” They answered, “not for any  good thing you have done, but for speaking lies against the Great Spirit. How can you, a  weak human being, represent yourself as the Great Spirit?” Creator Sets Free answered  them. “In your tribal law, it says you are powerful spiritual beings. If Creator’s word,  which came to you, says you are powerful spiritual beings, and the Sacred Teachings are  clear and cannot be changed, then how can you say that the one the Father has set  apart and sent into the world is speaking against the Great Spirit when he says,’ I am the Son of the Great Spirit? “If I am not doing what my Father does, then do not believe me.  But even if you do not believe me, then at least believe in the powerful things I do. Then  you will see clearly that I am in the Father, and He is in me.” The tribal leaders moved  toward him to take him by force, but he slipped through their hands and walked away.  

Creator Sets Free decided it was time to leave Village of Peace (Jerusalem) again. He  went to the place on the east side of the river Flowing Down (Jordan), where Gift of  Goodwill (John) first performed the purification ceremony (baptism). He and his  followers remained there for a time. Many people from the area came to hear him, and  after seeing Creator Sets Free teach, tell his stories, heal the sick, and force out evil 

spirits, the people were saying, “Gift of Goodwill never performed a miracle or did any  powerful signs, but what he told us about this man is true.” And so many of the people  there believed in him that he was the Chosen One. 

Our journey through the Lenten Season invites us to meditate on several essential aspects of  our life and faith: our relationship with our Creator, with Jesus, and with the Holy Spirit; our  relationship with, as Randy Woodley refers to it, ‘the whole community of Creation,’ which  includes our shared humanity; and the inescapable reality of our mortality. 

As anyone who has ever been soothed by nature knows, there are places on the land we go to  heal and be renewed. The photo above is of Chief Mountain, Nínaiistáko in Blackfoot, sacred for  many nations and tribes on both sides of what is now the US/Canada border. It has been a site  of ceremony for the First Peoples since ancient times.  

The music selection I have included is the artist’s statement. William Prince of Peguis First  Nation in Manitoba, my homeland, speaks about his album Gospel First Nation. His music  reveals the land's beauty and the gospel's long history among the people.  

In the passage from John for today’s reading, Jesus and his followers find rest at the east side of  the Jordan river, where John the Baptist had preached and baptized. In the verses just before  this, the tribal leaders are provoked into rage when Jesus reveals to them that he and the Father  are one, that he does the will of the Father, and that all who know him, those who recognize his  voice, are safe in his hands and are given the life of the world to come. After ongoing tensions  with the tribal authorities and the threat of being stoned for blasphemy, Jesus retreats  temporarily to a friendlier place. 

He and his followers remained ‘for a time’ along the Jordan, where John the Baptist proclaimed the coming Messiah. It is where Jesus was baptized and began his ministry, where the Holy  Spirit descended upon him like a dove, and God the Father called him Son. Jesus and his  followers are welcome in this area, and through his teachings and healing, many come to  believe he is the Chosen One. 

It is a much-needed, joyous, and relaxing time. Soon Jesus will ‘set his face to go to Jerusalem’ for his final journey there. He will endure extreme violence and hatred and accomplish the work  of redemption that he came to do.  

At this precious moment, though, Scripture invites us into this sacred place with Jesus and the  community of people who know his voice and follow him. Amid the injustices we see around us and the challenges we face, we know that Jesus has conquered the power of sin and death and  continually invites us to allow life to enter the sanctuary of our hearts. 

- The Ven. Jacqui Durand