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It’s All The Same To Me
For those new to Creekwood, each Advent we invite a mixture of staff and laity of all ages to bless us with their devotional thoughts to a specific question. You’ll notice we are starting at “Day 2” because Day 1 was Sunday, and the message can be experienced in worship (in person and online). I hope these devotionals bless you each day, and help you envision the presence of Christ fully into your life.
The question this year:
“What do you think of when you hear the expression ‘Kingdom of God'”
On 9/11, 38 jetliners bound for United States were forced to land at Gander International airport. Gander, a town of 10,000 welcomed and cared for 6,595 passengers and 405 crew members. The hospitality, compassion, and care of the people touched the lives of so many that it was never forgotten and inspired a book “The day the world came to town “by Jim Defede, and a Broadway show, “Come from afar” The passengers were not treated like refugees’ but long-lost relatives.
In Jim Defede’s book he quotes Werner Baldessarine, chairperson of Hugo Boss who was a passenger on one of the planes that landed. He says “Coming from an environment as cutthroat as the fashion industry, Baldessarini realized this was not a feeling to ignore or casually dismiss. This was something to be relished. And given everything that was going wrong in the world, it was reassuring to see that right now, right here, in one small corner of the planet, something was going right.”
“There was no hatred. No anger. No fear in Gander. Only the spirit of the community. Here, everyone was equal, everyone was treated the same. Here the basic human of man wasn’t just surviving but thriving. And Baldessarini understood that he was a witness to it, and it was affecting him in ways he’s never imagined.”
My father is from a small town in Newfoundland called Fortune. My Aunts who still live there were part of the story in Gander. You see small villages and towns all over Newfoundland brought food and clothing and toys for the passengers. My Aunt and friends made over 1000 loaves of bread. None of these people are wealthy. Many lives are tough as fishermen. My grandfather (poppy) was a fisherman and when they docked at home. He never came home alone there were always 6-8 young men that would be fed warm homemade soup and homemade bread. My Nanny was always knitting wool socks for young men my Poppy would bring home. So as Jim Defede says, and I quote “They always ask why we did it. They can’t figure it out. And I tell them that for us, it’s normal. I’m still not sure what all the fuss is about.”
When I was 10 years old, we were driving to the airport from Fortune to St. Johns. It is a five-hour drive along the TransCanada highway. A snowstorm came up and with the gale winds hit us hard causing whiteouts where my father driving could not see the road any longer and the highway was quickly becoming massive snow walls that you could not get through. We got stuck and my dad pulled the car over. There was my mom, my two brothers, and my two sisters, the youngest, my brother, who was 9 months old. It was cold!!! My dad was not worried at all. He said someone would come and help. Sure, enough through the blinding snow we saw these headlights of a skidoo. The stranger told my dad the snowplow would not be coming through until early in the morning hours. He piled us on his ski- doo and took us to his home where we were fed amazing homemade food. He called the country store and asked him to open it so he could get us some “pop” (soda drinks) to make us ice cream floats as a treat. And formula for my baby brother. The next day when the snowplow came a bunch of men helped my dad dig out the car and we were on our way never to see that family again. I imagine many more families stranded would feel that family’s hospitality.
This to me is a glimpse of heaven on earth. This too me, is what the Kingdom of God will be. No separation, fairness, no politics, equality, pure compassion, mercy, kindness, and love. No angle, no what is in it for me, No strings attached, no payback. The lens that we will be looking through, we will see no difference, all will be the same. I believe heaven will be as what God intended for us from the very beginning in the Garden of Eden before we separated ourselves from God by sin, I think God smiled that day in Gander when he saw people bringing the kingdom of heaven to earth. That is what Jesus did during his whole ministry. And that is what he asks us to do.” Your kingdom come. You will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:9-10).” Just imagine!! Maybe it looks like Gander on 9/11.
Wendy McConney
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