Pam Driedger

One of the things my mother told me repeatedly when I was growing up was, “just because I compliment your sister, does not mean I am criticizing you!”  It is not surprising that a seven-year-old with a really cute younger sister might need to be told this, but as a parent of three adult children, I should no longer need to hear these words.  Yet, not long ago I caught myself feeling slighted when I was told that a colleague ...

“Beware of the scribes, who like to … be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have the best seats … and places of honour … They devour widows’ houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers.”   For years I’ve heard this passage as a warning against hypocrisy and a condemnation of those who pretend to be loving and charitable when others are looking, but who are really only “in it for themselves.”  I have been comfortable ...

A verse from a song that I learned in Religious Education many years ago has been echoing in my head ever since I read this week’s scripture passages.

I saw Christ in wind and thunder.
Joy is tried by storm.
Christ asleep within my boat,
whipped by wind yet still afloat.
Joy is tried by storm.

Whether we are talking about the personal storms that I see each day in the hospital, the current global storms such as the pandemic and climate change, or the ...

The days are getting longer and warmer. We have had flocks of evening grosbeaks and redpolls at our feeders.  Spring is here!  It is a time of hope, of excitement, of possibility … And yet, the dominant emotions that I am seeing and hearing all around me are discouragement, sorrow and frustration.  It is hard for many of us to see what we have because we are so acutely aware of what we are missing.  Even Easter seemed to fall ...

Hearts, flowers, chocolate, wine, jewelry, poetry, love songs, romantic movies … today is Valentines’ Day and all around us attention is focused on love. But even when our attention is on love, even when we are contemplating extravagant acts of devotion, we often neglect the expressions of love to which today’s readings call us. Perhaps that’s because they point us toward sacrificial love rather than reciprocal love. Today’s scripture readings aren’t about the kind of extravagant Valentines’ Day love that ...

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me. He has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.”

This year, I hear these words in a new way.  They are not just words that set the stage for Jesus’ earthly mission.  They are not simply a prelude to the ...

Today’s gospel passage is one that used to really bother me.  The king sees a wedding guest who is not wearing the proper clothing and has him bound hand and foot and thrown into the outer darkness.  I understood that the wedding garments had been provided for the guests and failure to wear the wedding garment was a sign of disrespect, but I was still uncomfortable with what I thought was an emphasis on wearing the “right” clothes.  Today, I ...

“Owe no one anything, except to love one another, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.”

I was halfway through writing this week’s reflection when I received word that my Aunt had died, and somehow the words that I had been going to write seemed irrelevant. I thought about the last time that I spoke with my aunt. She had recently been told that cancer would take her life, but it was the loneliness of her current situation that she found unbearable. Because ...

“Remember the long way that the Lord your God has led you these 40 years in the wilderness …” These words from today’s reading from Deuteronomy struck me in a particular way this week.  I have driven across the Sinai Peninsula; even walking in family groups, you would need to go “the long way” in order to take 40 years to make the trip!  We are told that God chose this long way in order to humble the people and test what was in their hearts. ...

I have listened to the story of Mary Magdalene’s arrival at the empty tomb every Easter Sunday for my entire life. But this year two aspects of the story are resonating in a new way.  The first is the image of Mary weeping as she looks into the tomb and sees two angels in white.  She does not pause to marvel at the angels or wonder why they are there.  Her grief and sense of powerlessness are all consuming:  “They have taken my Lord, and I do ...