image by Daniel Bonnell

1) Brueggemann describes the servant as being summoned out of exile to other work. Was there a time, past or present, when some purpose greater than yourself called you out of self-preoccupation? 

In 2012, I was in the middle of enjoying a Winnipeg Fringe Festival play in 2012 when I received an urgent phone call from Alberta. My dad was in a coma in hospital and he wasn’t expected to make it. Suddenly my preoccupation of summer activities was put on hold. I went home to pack and found myself on the next flight west that evening. There was a laser focus ‘gear’ I found as I had to put aside my ambivalent emotions about my dad and family aside, and enter this critical period with a relatively open mind and heart. It ended up being seven long days, yet meaningful and sometimes stressful ones. There was a purpose higher than myself — saying goodbye to my dad, then planning and participating in his funeral. So many conflicted feelings came up, yet I was glad to be present enough to be there for others. And I found new appreciations for my family members, and friends of my dad. Spending a night in my dad’s hospital room was a fitting way of saying goodbye, something I didn’t expect to happen. And I enjoyed writing a tribute that I gave at the funeral. Looking back, maybe my greatest regret was him not hearing it before he passed.

- Lyle

Before the pandemic, when I went to visit my friends at the personal care home, it always called out something better in me. I always left feeling connected and delivered from self-preoccupation. I’m also reminded of our time singing at open mike night at the Strong Badger Coffeehouse. Entering into that space and being with that community felt like coming home out of a colder, more random world. We felt so connected to the music and through the music to each other. We joined in, but didn't construct it.  

Its always worth it to live in the Spirit. Our times together at Watershed always deliver me into a presence, and calls out gifts from each other and myself. It’s not of my own construal. A lot of the time, I live out of a grayer, more constricted experience.

- Marilyn

2) Identify some examples of suffering servants in modern-day history. What was it about those people that made them servants? In what ways did they suffer? (Remember that suffering is not just physical.)

When I think of a modern day servant my first thought was of Greta Thunberg, the Swedish climate change activist who has made it her mission to seek justice for the planet. As someone on the autism spectrum,  she must struggle with the disruption to her routine and the sheer noise of all of her public gatherings. She took it upon herself first to protest in front of the Swedish Parliament and then to devote a year of her life to travel the world and speak truth to people in positions of power. She has faced a lot of criticism for her stance as some see her as naive and foolish but I respect her decision to try and make people aware of climate change. 

- Cal

The first modern-day servant that came to mind was Jane Goodall. Against resistance that becoming a chimp researcher and environmental activist was not the 'proper thing' for a woman to do when she started in the 50’s and 60’s, she has been a servant in enlarging our human understanding of our chimpanzee brothers and sisters. Her patience and care in attending to science, and being a global ambassador for the animal world, I find extraordinary. 

Another example that came to mind is Dr. Anthony Fauci. After watching his ’60 Minutes’ interview on October 28, 2020, it’s clear that he has incredible integrity as both a scientist and as a person. He has been making science-based assertions that are unpopular to many, including his ‘bosses’, and maintaining a high profile despite threats of violence, including death, of himself and of his family. All in the hopes of saving as many lives as possible. 

There are many other servants to mention I would suspect. But I have to include a servant-like poem that CNN’s Chris Cuomo mentioned recently on his program. He was responding to Trump’s infuriating habit to chastise, ignore, alienate, divide and demonize people; Chris was having none of it. He said it was a poem that his father gave him years ago. It speaks to the servant’s goal of creating justice at a level beyond the ordinary, day-to-day reality.

OUTWITTED

“He drew a circle that shut me out
Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout.
But love and I had the wit to win:
We drew a circle that took him in!” (Edwin Markham)

- Lyle

One example that came to mind was Franklin Delano Roosevelt. He was born into a wealthy family but contracted polio as a young man. I think his struggle with the disease got him in touch with common folk and he worked tirelessly to help Americans out of the depression through public works programs, the New Deal and many other initiatives. He seemed to have a heart for ordinary people and put in many policies that favoured the working class. He was one of the rare presidents who was elected for 4 consecutive terms, 1932-1944. He died shortly after getting elected the fourth time, during WWII. He has a famous speech that contains the line “We have nothing to fear but fear itself,” which I’m sure galvanized many people through the dust bowl and then the suffering of the war.

- Linda 

3) Isaiah 42:1 says that God delights in the servant, chooses him and puts his spirit in him. When we are depleted in energy and our vocation feels more burden than joy, what gets us in touch with the delight of God and the source of our discipleship?

What gets me in touch with joy in my discipleship is usually a change in perspective. God seems to speak to me in a thousand different ways from a comment in a podcast, or during our Watershed studies, or a book, or a friend, or an insight received in prayer. It can also be a new perspective brought about by a reflection on nature or a glimpse of beauty. In all these ways God reminds me of God’s presence and His love and I end up encouraged and empowered for the next steps of my discipleship.

- Cal

Vocation isn’t always tied to tasks, but sometimes tasks can be a means of grace. I know working on the website is one way for me to get in touch with how gracious God has been to me and to Watershed. Curating our life together online often evokes gratitude which restores my energy. As a means of grace, it’s a place where I show up and God meets me there.

Vocation isn’t always tied to tasks, but sometimes tasks can be a means of grace. I know working on the website is one way for me to get in touch with how gracious God has been to me and to Watershed. Curating our life together online often evokes gratitude which restores my energy. As a means of grace, it’s a place where I show up and God meets me there. 

- Linda

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