Excerpts From: The Messenger |
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“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”
(Matthew 7:7)
People on a plane and people on a pew have a lot in common. We all are on a journey. Most are well-behaved and presentable. Some doze, and others gaze out the window. For many, the mark of a good flight and the mark of a good worship assembly are the same. "Nice," we like to say. "It was a nice flight/It was a nice worship service."
A few, however, are not content with nice. They long for something more. The boy who just passed me did. I heard him before I saw him. On a flight from Toronto to Regina several years ago, I was already in my seat, when he asked, "Will they really let me meet the pilot?" The question floated into the cockpit, causing the pilot to lean out. "Well, come on in." was the response. (mind you this was before the September 11 attacks in the United States).
With a nod from his mother, the youngster entered the cockpit's world of controls and gauges and emerged minutes later with eyes wide. "Wow!" he exclaimed. "I'm so glad to be on this plane!" No one else's face showed such wonder. I studied the faces of the other passengers but found no such enthu-siasm. I mostly saw contentment: travelers content to be on the plane, content to be closer to their destination, content to be out of the airport, content to sit and stare and say little.
As we flew near Winnipeg I asked a stewardess if it was possible see the cockpit (it was an Airbus). She spoke to the captain and I was allowed in, I too came out amazed.
Do you see why I say that people on a plane and people on a pew have a lot in common? Enter a church sanctuary and look at the faces. Content to be there. Content to sit and look straight ahead and leave when the service is over. "Seek and you will find," Jesus promised (Matt. 7:7). And since a nice service is what we seek, a nice service is usually what we find.
A few, however, seek more. A few come with the childlike enthusiasm of the boy. And those few leave as he did, wide-eyed with the wonder of having stood in the presence of the pilot himself. Our worship should be more than “It was a nice worship service.” God wants more of us in worship, thus when we leave the sanctuary, we leave with a sense of God’s presence as we face the days ahead.
Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find;knock and the door will be opened to you.”
Your friend and pastor,
Pastor Samuel K King-Kabu.
Pastor@st-ansgars-montreal.ca
I was extremely fortunate this summer to have had 20 days of road-cycling, although my wife, Sheryl, has warned me not to take this as a precedent.
-At the end of May, I took a 10 day trip by myself to Lac St. Jean and back. I went there by train, cycled around the lake, and then home via La Tuque.
-At the end of June, while my wife was attending a conference, I cycled south from near Boston and across Rhode Island, to Connecticut.
-In early July, while Sheryl was attending a course near Collingwood, Ontario, I spend 7 days cycling down the 'West Coast' of Ontario: The Lake Huron shore, the St. Clair River, Lake St. Clair, the Detroit River, and along Lake Erie to Point Pelee. We met at Leamington (The home of Heinz Ketchup) and spent a day cycling together on Pelee Island, the southernmost point in Canada. We then meandered back home along the back roads of Ontario, checking out antique stores and used book stores.
I planned the Lac St. Jean trip early in the year, having visited the area once by car a few years ago, noting the 'Veloroute des Bleuets' bike trail, and being left with a strong desire to return. I was lucky to have some days free at the end of May, but Sheryl, alas, had to work because of the schedule disruptions caused by the student strikes of the Spring. I discovered that there was a train from Montreal to Jonquière, an experience in itself! It was too early in the season to camp out, so I treated myself to Bed & Breakfasts each night (which in Lac St. Jean, and off-season, were quite reasonable.) It was a marvelous experience to meet the people of the region.
The train was like something from another era. It would take over twelve hours, oftentimes rambling along the twisty tracks through the mountains at speeds of about 20 mph! Leaving Montreal, there were two separate 'trains' coupled together, each with their own conductors, stewards, etc. Both trains were nearly empty. They divided just past Shawinigan, the one heading west towards La Tuque and Senneterre, the other to Lac St. Jean. Still the train was nearly empty.
We pulled into a small town north of Quebec City to find dozens of families waiting on the platform, each clustered around a mountain of belongings and each separated by about ten meters from the other. As we walked about, the open baggage car was advanced slowly to each cluster, and the people loaded their belongings onto the train. When the train left that station, it was nearly standing room only. All along through the mountains then, the train proceeded to stop at isolated cottages, where a family and their belongings would get off. There were no roads! Many cottages have front yard walkways, which led from the front door straight to the tracks.
It was late evening and raining when I got off at Jonquière. Luckily, there was a roof over the platform, as I changed modes from train passenger to cyclist, repacking all my gear onto my bicycle. I set off to find my first B & B, a small house overlooking the tiny river that runs through the old section of Jonquière. The next day I would begin my ride...
(The story will be continued in subsequent editions of the Messenger. Accounts of earlier bike rides can be found at http://rogerkenner.ca/Bike/Bike.html)
Roger Kenner
Web Page prepared by:
Roger Kenner
& Jette Blair.
Content-New Topics Last Updated: 2005/11/09
St. Ansgar's Lutheran Church - Montreal