As this post is being written, we are less than 24-hours into the imposition of tariffs here in Canada. I have lots of feelings about this.
For me, at the heart of those feelings is a concern that our neighbours are not loving us as themselves. And, that we will respond in kind: failing to love our neighbours as ourselves. I don’t want to live like that. Hopefully, neither do you.
Perhaps your responses and feelings are vastly different from mine. This study hopes to create a safe space to look at different feelings and responses - together.
Noticing Our Responses - Experiencing:
Today’s study begins with the practice of noticing our responses to something simple and harmless - a story. You are invited to notice your responses while listening or reading the post, Mango Time (read by clicking here).
As you listen, make note of where you feel contracted or resistant to what you are hearing (eg it makes you shake your head, curse inwardly or under your breath, makes you feel fearful, angry or other negative feelings).
Make note also of where you feel expansive and resonant with what you are hearing (eg it makes you smile, chuckle, warms your heart, or makes you nod in agreement, gives you positive feelings).
Once we have listened and noted our inner responses, we will have a time of sharing our experiences together.
What are your experiences of enjoying “illegal immigrant foods”?
What are your experiences (if any), personally or in your family history, of migration to Turtle Island?
If you have Canadian, UK or US citizenship, was it a provision of birthright? What are your feelings about birthright citizenship being provided or denied?
Next - Experiencing from other contexts:
Consider this list of common foods - do you enjoy any of these? Can you remember a favourite time of enjoying any of these foods? Maybe at a summer barbecue, on a picnic, or at a family or community meal?
beef of any kind (tacos, barbecue, steak, roast, other….)
pork of any kind (ribs, bacon, sausages, barbecue, other …)
chicken of any kind (fingers - wait, do chicken have fingers?? baked, roasted, rotisserie, other …)
Apples, peaches, pears, cherries
Wheat, barley, oats, rye
Soybeans and Soy products, eggplants.
When we gather on zoom, we will discuss our experience of these food groups in relation to the story, Mango Time. This entire list of foods, common to our Canadian and North American diet now, are all “illegal immigrants”.
Take a bit of time to notice: what came up for you as you thought about your enjoyment of these foods. What memories, what pleasures, what connections?
Connecting our Responses with Scripture:
Matthew 6:25-34 says:
“If you decide for God, living a life of God-worship, it follows that you don’t fuss about what’s on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds.
Has anyone by fussing in front of the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? All this time and money wasted on fashion—do you think it makes that much difference? Instead of looking at the fashions, walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never primp or shop, but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them.
If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don’t you think he’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I’m trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.
Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.”
Philippians 4:19-20 says “You can be sure that God will take care of everything you need, his generosity exceeding even yours in the glory that pours from Jesus. Our God and Father abounds in glory that just pours out into eternity. Yes.” (both scripture quotes taken from The Message Translation).
Is there a pattern of God’s provisioning in these scriptures? What are the main points about how God provides?
What requires clarification from these scriptures?
How does this scripture speak to your experiences of resistance / contraction or resonance / expansion when you hear terms like: colonization, illegal immigration, birthright citizenship, gifts from God?
How do:
the Mango Time story
the reality of our own common diet here
your experiences of resistance or resonance fit together & why?
How can we use our experience and learning from this exercise to live more faithfully and fearlessly in the world we currently occupy?
What are some tangible actions of resistance we might take, to the things which are generating fear within us?
How do community and conversation factor into resisting fear and contraction?
The process of this post will be used for discussion in our Lenten Study Group for Monday March 10, 7pm on Zoom and Wednesday March 12, 2pm (blended format of Zoom and in-person in Wiarton at 441 Brown Street, St Peter’s Lutheran & Trinity Anglican and in-person at Tobermory United Church).
If you would like to receive the Zoom link, please email me at janakibandara@diohuron.org
Photo by Karl Callwood on Unsplash
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