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A friend of mine was recently in Greece.  Not to see historic sites or ancient wonders.  He was there to see present day treasures washed ashore.

The refugee stream from war-torn and oppressive regimes has become ancient news.  We are almost immune to the tragedy.  We are oversaturated with information.

My friend felt the fear and the thankfulness face-to-face.  The little that he was able to provide in way of humanitarian aid was eagerly accepted.

We come with fear to the refugee crisis.  We wonder if terrorism will enter our shores if we bring refugees here.  We disguise our fear by saying that we cannot possibly accommodate an influx of people, nor can we possibly assimilate that kind of workforce in an already beleaguered economy.

We miss thankfulness that comes with a refugee crisis.  A refugee, by definition is looking for a refuge, a safe place, a harbour from storm.  Their joy in living in safety is contagious.  Their eagerness to build up the foundations of their adopted society is unrelenting.

My friend spoke to both my understanding of our society’s fears and missing of joy.  He took me into the Christian Holy Week that is now upon us.  He related that Jesus joyfully washed the dirty, path torn feet of Judas.

His betrayer. 

A terrorist to the safety of Jesus’ community.

That community has survived and thrived.  And we are worried about our small patch of dirt?

Charity art auction last night for the Kerrobert Courtroom gallery as they raise funds to, amongst other things, repaint the gallery. 

What a great place!

The auctioneer is standing on the Judge’s dias.  He kept the crowd entertained with  his musical rendition of “Hey, 50,50,50,50,50, who’s gonna bid, 50,50,50,50”. 

Beside him was the producer of the auction, giving us background on each art item and some biographical information.

I love to see the behind the scenes people who work the auction.  The scanners were the most interesting.   One of them stood next to me.  His arms were just slightly held out from his body.  One hand twitched, awaiting the first bid.  When the bidder was sighted, the arm jettisoned upwards, pointing to the bidder and his voice was yelling some version of “yes”.  He then continued to scan the crowd to see if another bid would arise.

Prior to the auction, the scanner was just one of the crowd – quietly circulating, not much of a talker.  But when the gavel fell to begin, his body came alive, his eyes were focused and he was all business.

I go to auctions to watch people.  The gathering had the quiet bidders, shyly and slyly nodding and twitching their eyebrows.  Other bidders raised their hands with purpose.  And other bidders were cajoled into considering a bid by an auctioneer who knew the crowd.

Do you want a few hours of free great entertainment (as long as you don’t become one of those bidders!)?  Find an auction, station yourself to be able to see the happenings, stand back and enjoy!

Winter is usually a hibernation time.  Bears love it – of course, they are asleep, so maybe their recollection of the season is somewhat minimal!

Our house renovation had a bit of a lull over winter as well.  Gradual work was done and those who haven’t visited us in a while will find distinct changes.  But to say all our renovations are completed would be a little past the white lie stage!!

Yesterday we continued on.  The weather was nice enough we were even able to use a table saw outside (versus other tools that have been used inside with the subsequent requirement of dust floating around the house!).

When I say “we”, I mean that I helped out.  My wife is the primary agent in this renovation, I am the secondary assistant.

We put in some cabinets and are awaiting a plumber to come next week to complete some hook-ups for sinks, toilet and shower. 

Then . . .

A season is often both a matter of chronology and of sensitivity.

We have labelled child development and adult development as transitions in life.  We have labelled the later years as senior moments.  Within each season of life, there are predictable phases.

Then there are those times within a season that intensity increases.

For youth, suicide is often a way of dealing with the depth of emotions that most youth experience as a matter of normal life.  In the middle years, tensions in family and work situations increase heart failure.  As the senior years emerge, the body deteriorates – quite rapidly with the stress of the loss of mobility and loved ones.

Perhaps, like our community, you have been experiencing a dying season this year.  Exacerbated by a downturn in the economy and an uncertain political climate, each death seems to expand into a global catastrophe.

Shrink that globe back into your living room, your back yard, into small groups, and large groups enjoying each other.   Give each person a reason to find hope in this life and for the next life.