Don Veitch

Dear Friends,

My mom died when I was three. I guess the “blessing” (if there is one) is that, at that age, one does not retain specific memories. But I do suppose that feelings of anger, sadness, isolation and abandonment during her last days– she died at home of colon cancer—and my feelings of loss and separation, during the years that followed, did likely color my formative years and beyond.

The Lesson and the Gospel for this day both suggest similar feelings or thoughts for Moses and for Peter as they each anticipated life without God present in their lives.

In the Lesson from Exodus (33:18-23), Moses and God are having a “chat.” Moses is reluctant to follow God’s directive to move on if he cannot be assured of God’s presence with them on their journey. Moses reacts to this separation anxiety by questioning God’s love. How can He profess to love them, if God won’t promise to always be “there.”

In the Gospel Reading (John 21: 19b-24), Peter and Jesus are having a chat about Jesus’s “leaving” and his death. Jesus gives Peter the simple directive about how to proceed after he is gone: “Follow me.” Peter’s response is to redirect the focus of the conversation. “Well, what about this guy behind us?” Jesus responds, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?” Apparently, either Peter or the other disciple must have gotten the message a bit twisted because the word got around that the other disciple would live forever.

So, this seems to be how Peter dealt with his separation from his Lord. Redirect the focus; mis-represent the facts.

The psalm for this day, Psalm 92 offers some insight into how we are to think about separations like these. This psalm says that it is right and good to give thanks to the Lord at all times.

In other words, one should recognize that God’s love is always there and is evident in the world we live in, evident through the beauty of that world and the lushness of nature which we enjoy even when God’s presence seems thin.

We learned through Advent formation that the poet ee cummings celebrates our God as an unimaginable amazing being and good and loving. Humans in our presumptive doubt of God make a royal mess of almost all that God has created. See “i thank You God for most this amazing day.”

Peace,

—Don