Where do we live? Seems a silly question, the answer self-evident really. Yet again maybe it is not as simple as it first looks.
On the way to work up Frasers Drive is a sign for what I believe will be a new housing development – it’s slogan is ‘Aspire to New Heights’, it’s billboard says Altitude, and underneath is the word Aspire. A very grandiose promise for a humble housing development I would suggest, yet it says something about the world in which we live.
Ours is a world defined by what we possess, where we live, what we have achieved and where we have been. Where do you live is often the next question after what do you do in any casual social conversation. It is more than just fact finding, it is a means of identifying and defining who you are and whether you of a similar aspirational status as the one asking the question.
Our aspiratons define us. As we wander around the school we meet students whose aspirations are indeed grandiose and others more realistic and we engage in discussion about those aspirations. Encouraging, supporting and offering suggestions as appropriate. Aspirations are good and we need them but when they become unrealistic or simply inappropriate then they become a problem. Aspirations can be expectations, signs of entitlement and anything which gets in the way of that entitlement is deemed at the best negative and at the worst something to be destroyed. It is the reason why much of our society is affected by a form of depression which is best defined as disappointment because my aspirations, what I have aspired to, has failed to materialise.
Where do we live is then not a question of geographical but of attitudinal location – of where our head is at – what is important to us, how we see the world, where we stand in relation to God and others. It is about what reigns supreme in our lives This then defines what we live and strive for and how we do so.
One memorable moment in Borneo (there were many) occurred when we were walking along a bush track and were met by a wizened up, bent over toothless elderly lady. She was carrying a stick and some bags of groceries. There was nothing aspirational about her but she shone light into all of our lives as she shook hands and toothlessly smiled selemant pagi – good day. It was done with enthusiasm and sheer joy, so much so that it impacted one ach of us. Here was someone with so little in our terms who cherished the few moments of greeting in such a bountiful manner. It was unlike that which we may experience here.
At Paginatan there is a wonderful photograph of the Ring Lady standing with her hands together as I blessed the rocks for the new memorial. It is a picture of deep reverence and hope that is moving for its sheer simplicity.
For her and others that we met the mercy of God (or Allah) was such that each day was a day of abundance, of joy, of hope. There were no disappointments or a sense of entitlement, life was just life and lets enjoy it everyday. It is not a fatalistic approach to life but a life based on faith, hope and love. It is a life that is about simply getting on with what is there in front of you knowing that all that you do is hidden in the mercy of God.
Joel in his little book reminds the people of Israel that they are not in control. It is not their life. It is not about them. It is about God and he will provide all that they need and will bring in the ‘Day of the Lord” or in New Testament Terms, the kingdom of God. It is a promise of hope but also of judgement, it is not just all will be rosy but includes a need for repentance and forgiveness. And those unable to do that become the enemies of God and reap their rewards.
Paul reminds us clearly at the end of his life that living for God is about being poured out for others – a libation – a sense of complete giving not for ourselves but for others. It is a marathon race and it is to be struggled with all the way to the end. It is easy to be sidetracked and start to think about ourselves – what is in it for me? Yet there is no me in kingdom but it is the beginning of mercy. How we live is not for ourselves, how God sustains us is.
It is not about doing all the right things as the Pharisee in the Gospel reading thinks but like the tax collector it is all about the mercy of God. The Pharisee is the ultimate aspirational man. He lives in the world he has constructed for himself. It is “I-topia’ – my kingdom and he expects the rest of the world to accommodate him and his world view.
The publican is a little more realistic. He’s not a bad person, simply an ordinary garden-variety type eking out a living in the everyday and recognises his own ordinariness. His personal awareness is such that he knows he’s not the centre of the world, that he is not the sun around which all else revolves – he is simply who he is and he recognises God’s place in his world. God is the centre around which he revolves.
Where do we live? How life is defined is not by our aspirations or latitude but by our centre and our attitude. It is about what sits at our centre around which we revolve. If that centre is built on the sand of self then life can be precarious and fearful – the walls may fall at any time either by themselves or be pushed over by others, be that people or circumstance.
How do we keep our feet? By ensuring that our world is centred on the mercy and steadfastness of God.
Psalm 65 says it all and is a reminder that God is not only at the centre of our lives but of all creation and through his Son Jesus he is at the centre of his kingdom now and forever. As we share in the Eucharistic meal we are reminded in the great thanksgiving that God through his Son and then through his Spirit holds the world at all times in his hand – there is no place we can go to – physically, emotionally or spiritually – where God is not. And by participating in this meal we become God’s Kingdom in its entirety wherever we are.
Where do we live? You have to answer that for yourself and today is a good time to begin living in the centre of God.
Joel 2:23-32 Psalm 65, 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18,Luke 18:9-14)
Sunday 24 October 2010
Friday 15 October 2010
The Experience of A Lifetime
On September 27th 2010 I flew to Kota Kinabalu in Borneo to participate in retracing the footsteps of the Australian POW’s who, in 1945 undertook what is now known as the Sandakan – Ranau Death March.
I joined a team of students and ex-students, teachers and parents from Lindisfarne Anglican Grammar School, Tweed Heads, a group of local support staff and Lynette and Neil Silver. Our goal? To retrace the steps of the POW’s as they struggled through the jungle on an almost impossible journey.
What followed was not only a taxing physical experience but an emotional and spiritual one as well. Each was allotted a soldier to trek for and to commemorate at the point of their death. We visited what could only be called sacred sites from the Sandakan POW Camp site to Paginatan to Quailley’s Hill to Ranau and the Last camp. We laid stones for a new memorial, met the Ring Lady, said mass at the Last Camp, and visited Morokai Village School, which is adjacent to the track the soldiers took and so much more.
We were exhausted by our efforts physically, but more importantly, we were moved by the courage and spirit of ordinary men who simply wanted to survive. Men who kept on going when giving up would have been much easier. Men like Padre Wardale-Greenwood, Keith Botterill, Richie Murray, Ron Sullivan and Allan Quailley.
I have written he following poem which refers to the track and its emotional impact. Sandshoe Willie and other pro-POW supporters were tasked by to survey a track for the Japanese. Thinking it was for troop movements they made it as hard as possible. Unfortunately it was for moving the POW's. (A small book of poetry based on this trip is being prepared - please let me know if you would be interested in a copy.)
Sandshoe Willie
did you have to
this track you marked
was for us mate
what were you thinking
not about broken down men
loaded down with
mosquito nets and
the stuff they make you carry
while riddled with beriberi
dysentery
ulcers to the bone
no shoes
all skin and bone
breathing skeletons
of men.
Sandshoe Willie
this track is red
with mud
and blood
of men bayoneted
and shot
rolled over the edge
lent against a log
it gives no rest
no respite
from the pain
of rifle butts
and boots
no play to lay your head
rest your legs
take a breath.
Sandshoe Willie
this track
takes
me back
to when they walked
it first
I feel their hands
upon my shoulders
their breath on
my neck
I see the footsteps
one step ahead
and wait for the sound of
another farewell
it maybe years later
but I am back there
in the moment.
Sandshoe Willie
this track makes me cry.
Glenn Loughrey
I joined a team of students and ex-students, teachers and parents from Lindisfarne Anglican Grammar School, Tweed Heads, a group of local support staff and Lynette and Neil Silver. Our goal? To retrace the steps of the POW’s as they struggled through the jungle on an almost impossible journey.
What followed was not only a taxing physical experience but an emotional and spiritual one as well. Each was allotted a soldier to trek for and to commemorate at the point of their death. We visited what could only be called sacred sites from the Sandakan POW Camp site to Paginatan to Quailley’s Hill to Ranau and the Last camp. We laid stones for a new memorial, met the Ring Lady, said mass at the Last Camp, and visited Morokai Village School, which is adjacent to the track the soldiers took and so much more.
We were exhausted by our efforts physically, but more importantly, we were moved by the courage and spirit of ordinary men who simply wanted to survive. Men who kept on going when giving up would have been much easier. Men like Padre Wardale-Greenwood, Keith Botterill, Richie Murray, Ron Sullivan and Allan Quailley.
I have written he following poem which refers to the track and its emotional impact. Sandshoe Willie and other pro-POW supporters were tasked by to survey a track for the Japanese. Thinking it was for troop movements they made it as hard as possible. Unfortunately it was for moving the POW's. (A small book of poetry based on this trip is being prepared - please let me know if you would be interested in a copy.)
Sandshoe Willie
did you have to
this track you marked
was for us mate
what were you thinking
not about broken down men
loaded down with
mosquito nets and
the stuff they make you carry
while riddled with beriberi
dysentery
ulcers to the bone
no shoes
all skin and bone
breathing skeletons
of men.
Sandshoe Willie
this track is red
with mud
and blood
of men bayoneted
and shot
rolled over the edge
lent against a log
it gives no rest
no respite
from the pain
of rifle butts
and boots
no play to lay your head
rest your legs
take a breath.
Sandshoe Willie
this track
takes
me back
to when they walked
it first
I feel their hands
upon my shoulders
their breath on
my neck
I see the footsteps
one step ahead
and wait for the sound of
another farewell
it maybe years later
but I am back there
in the moment.
Sandshoe Willie
this track makes me cry.
Glenn Loughrey
Tuesday 28 September 2010
Kota Kinabalu
2nd day in Kota Kinabalu. Yesterday was very hard - really tired. This is a very dofferent place - sounds, smells and customs - but very friendly. Had a probllem with money and went to one of the local banks who were simply wonderful!
Today is a free day - probably won't do much.
We begin the trek tomorrow at 4.45am!
Will try and add some more later!
Today is a free day - probably won't do much.
We begin the trek tomorrow at 4.45am!
Will try and add some more later!
Sunday 26 September 2010
Sandakan Death March
AT 10 minutes to 1 on the 27th (tomorrow) I fly out with 2 students, an ex- student and a father to join 4 other students and a number of teachers and partners from Lindisfarne Anglican Grammar School to undertake the Sandakan Death March in Borneo.
This promises to be a challenging yet exciting event, tracing the footsteps of 2,500 soldiers of whom only 6 lived to tell their story. The rest died on the march between May and June 1945.
Students are walking on behalf of some of those who died. I am walking on behalf of the 5 Indigenous Australians who died their represented by Corporal John 'Jacky' Jackson who died of malaria at Sandakan.
I hope to blog my experience when technology allows, so watch this space.
This promises to be a challenging yet exciting event, tracing the footsteps of 2,500 soldiers of whom only 6 lived to tell their story. The rest died on the march between May and June 1945.
Students are walking on behalf of some of those who died. I am walking on behalf of the 5 Indigenous Australians who died their represented by Corporal John 'Jacky' Jackson who died of malaria at Sandakan.
I hope to blog my experience when technology allows, so watch this space.
Sunday 19 September 2010
Made in the Image of Your Desire. – Luke 16: 1-13
“And his master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly;”
I love this story. Like many of Jesus’ stories it makes no sense, no logical sense from where we sit. How can Jesus tell a story in which the hero is a conniving survivor who uses graft and corruption to build for himself social capital? A man who, when under pressure from the corporate watch dogs, does a deal with as many business connections as possible in such a way as those investigating applaud him for his business acumen. It doesn’t save his job but does maintain his income and his lifestyle.
Jesus was a good judge of human nature for we can all put names and faces to this man, people we have watched through the media be caught and yet miraculously comeback in the business world due to the deals they did with others which guaranteed them support when they needed it most.
A business acquaintance used to say to me that there ‘is no connection between personal ethics and business success, if you want to be successful leave your personal ethics right where they belong, in your personal life’, was his mantra.
In this story Jesus seems to give approval to the shrewd and calculating nature of the corrupt manager, as if that is something to be aspired to. What was Jesus saying and is it relevant in this modern age where greed is not only prevalent but often the only reason for people doing business, undertaking studies or pursuing goals? People are seeking instant success and will sacrifice their personal ethics for a shot at the big one.
I am an unusual person. I simply cannot stand reality TV and especially not talent shows or cooking shows like Master Chef. And Junior Master Chef – what is that all about? The exploitation of children for TV ratings, parent delayed gratification and some vague hope that success on a TV show at 11 will make you successful for life? Bizarre is the word and the only word I can use. Hasn’t anyone caught on – reality TV is about producers making money at the expense of others and has very little to do with valuing and developing human beings.
Why would parents allow their 10-11 year olds to step any where near a Master Chef kitchen? These are children, little children, not little adults. These are children who have yet to develop an understanding of themselves in relation to the world and need space to be children to do that. I am constantly amazed (and have been for some time – this is not a new phenomena) at the confusion caused by parents and society who pressure children to be adults, way before they are ready. Today they are treated as equals, they are not; they are given choices and access to resources such as the internet and mobile phones that they do not need nor are ready for; they are allowed to wear styles of clothing and facial jewelry that are inappropriate for their age; they are applauded, awarded and treated as fledgling superstars or geniuses when they are simply precocious with an over inflated sense of self-importance, sadly, not necessarily of their own making. And no one ever says no to them for fear it will do some ghastly damage to their fragile egos. (OOOPS! I do!)
What happens when these young people find their dreams and hopes were just wishful thinking and they are left having to wash dishes at McDonalds, play guitar in pub bands or simply be unemployed and forgotten. We have an endemic of depression amongst young people and the blame sits squarely at the feet of those who have set them up for a fall. Their form of depression often is the result of them not getting what they thought or have been lead to believe by the adults in their lives, was or is rightfully theirs. And we are all implicit in this for we are apart of that society.
Breanne Potter offers an insight into how we might respond better on behalf of the children in our lives. She says;
I’m a member of Gen X, and my generation has it’s own unique set of characteristics and challenges, but thank goodness my parents taught me the value of my actions. They taught me that in competition, there are winners and losers. Everyone doesn’t get a trophy, and we always kept score. They taught me that you must practice and give 100% to win as well. I wasn’t paid to get good grades. I got good grades because they expected and would tolerate nothing less of me. I was taught the consequences of my actions. If I left my bicycle outside and it was stolen, then I would have to save my allowance (which I received for doing chores) and buy a new one. My parents scolded me when I was wrong and praised me when I did well. They also taught me that presentation matters. I remember a heated debate over my signature on my college applications. According to my dad it was too sloppy and I would never get into college with that kind of first impression. I did in fact get into college, but the lesson was still an important one.
It’s all about what we value. Jesus’ shrewd manager reminds us that what we value is what we will do everything in our power to protect. For him it was wealth, position and respect. He wasn’t interested in the finer points of life such as ethical behavior, life affirming values or respecting others. He would do whatever was necessary, including graft and corruption and the manipulation of others to maintain his place, or as it turned out, to better his position in society. At the end of this even his former boss admires him for his ruthless business acumen.
Forget Gordon Grecko and greed is good, this man adds, ‘greed is good and stop at nothing to get it!’ But as my father is oft to say, “You can’t make a good man out of a bad one with money”. It is what we value that will define us and we cannot have a foot in two or more camps. It becomes very uncomfortable.
Jesus smiles and says:
3No slave can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”
Interesting choice of words – no slave – we are slaves to our values. What we value controls, owns, our life. We are what we believe in. We are slaves.
Jesus is clear when he seemingly congratulates the underhand activities of the wayward businessman. As Christians, we are to know what we believe, what we are slaves to, and to do everything in our power to turn that belief into a way of life which is rewarded both here and now and in heaven. We are either a part of the culture of our society or committed to the counter-cultural ethic of the gospel – we have to make a choice.
The prevailing attitude of our society is that the world owes us a living and we will manipulate it and others to achieve our goals. Unfortunately many Christians are unable to extricate themselves from this dilemma. Finding ways to interpret the Gospels to give respectability to greed, exploitation and bullying is at the very best a poor excuse for not making the choice.
It is not about us as individuals but us as a community, a community called to share at the well-laid table of Christ in what ever form that table may be laid. It is how we live out our allegiance to God’s creative compassion, which will distinguish us, not how materially well off or powerful we are. It is how we raise our children as children to be other focused adults, allowing them the time and the opportunity to become who and what they are meant to be and not what we want them to be – mini-me’s living out our missed opportunities. It is how we ensure we share whatever grace God has shared with us, with others.
Thomas Merton suggests:
“A life is either all spiritual or not spiritual at all. No man can serve two masters. Your life is shaped by the end you live for. You are made in the image of what you desire.”
Jesus says to you and I today to be shrewd in our how you live out what you believe for it is what you believe which will define how you live.
I love this story. Like many of Jesus’ stories it makes no sense, no logical sense from where we sit. How can Jesus tell a story in which the hero is a conniving survivor who uses graft and corruption to build for himself social capital? A man who, when under pressure from the corporate watch dogs, does a deal with as many business connections as possible in such a way as those investigating applaud him for his business acumen. It doesn’t save his job but does maintain his income and his lifestyle.
Jesus was a good judge of human nature for we can all put names and faces to this man, people we have watched through the media be caught and yet miraculously comeback in the business world due to the deals they did with others which guaranteed them support when they needed it most.
A business acquaintance used to say to me that there ‘is no connection between personal ethics and business success, if you want to be successful leave your personal ethics right where they belong, in your personal life’, was his mantra.
In this story Jesus seems to give approval to the shrewd and calculating nature of the corrupt manager, as if that is something to be aspired to. What was Jesus saying and is it relevant in this modern age where greed is not only prevalent but often the only reason for people doing business, undertaking studies or pursuing goals? People are seeking instant success and will sacrifice their personal ethics for a shot at the big one.
I am an unusual person. I simply cannot stand reality TV and especially not talent shows or cooking shows like Master Chef. And Junior Master Chef – what is that all about? The exploitation of children for TV ratings, parent delayed gratification and some vague hope that success on a TV show at 11 will make you successful for life? Bizarre is the word and the only word I can use. Hasn’t anyone caught on – reality TV is about producers making money at the expense of others and has very little to do with valuing and developing human beings.
Why would parents allow their 10-11 year olds to step any where near a Master Chef kitchen? These are children, little children, not little adults. These are children who have yet to develop an understanding of themselves in relation to the world and need space to be children to do that. I am constantly amazed (and have been for some time – this is not a new phenomena) at the confusion caused by parents and society who pressure children to be adults, way before they are ready. Today they are treated as equals, they are not; they are given choices and access to resources such as the internet and mobile phones that they do not need nor are ready for; they are allowed to wear styles of clothing and facial jewelry that are inappropriate for their age; they are applauded, awarded and treated as fledgling superstars or geniuses when they are simply precocious with an over inflated sense of self-importance, sadly, not necessarily of their own making. And no one ever says no to them for fear it will do some ghastly damage to their fragile egos. (OOOPS! I do!)
What happens when these young people find their dreams and hopes were just wishful thinking and they are left having to wash dishes at McDonalds, play guitar in pub bands or simply be unemployed and forgotten. We have an endemic of depression amongst young people and the blame sits squarely at the feet of those who have set them up for a fall. Their form of depression often is the result of them not getting what they thought or have been lead to believe by the adults in their lives, was or is rightfully theirs. And we are all implicit in this for we are apart of that society.
Breanne Potter offers an insight into how we might respond better on behalf of the children in our lives. She says;
I’m a member of Gen X, and my generation has it’s own unique set of characteristics and challenges, but thank goodness my parents taught me the value of my actions. They taught me that in competition, there are winners and losers. Everyone doesn’t get a trophy, and we always kept score. They taught me that you must practice and give 100% to win as well. I wasn’t paid to get good grades. I got good grades because they expected and would tolerate nothing less of me. I was taught the consequences of my actions. If I left my bicycle outside and it was stolen, then I would have to save my allowance (which I received for doing chores) and buy a new one. My parents scolded me when I was wrong and praised me when I did well. They also taught me that presentation matters. I remember a heated debate over my signature on my college applications. According to my dad it was too sloppy and I would never get into college with that kind of first impression. I did in fact get into college, but the lesson was still an important one.
It’s all about what we value. Jesus’ shrewd manager reminds us that what we value is what we will do everything in our power to protect. For him it was wealth, position and respect. He wasn’t interested in the finer points of life such as ethical behavior, life affirming values or respecting others. He would do whatever was necessary, including graft and corruption and the manipulation of others to maintain his place, or as it turned out, to better his position in society. At the end of this even his former boss admires him for his ruthless business acumen.
Forget Gordon Grecko and greed is good, this man adds, ‘greed is good and stop at nothing to get it!’ But as my father is oft to say, “You can’t make a good man out of a bad one with money”. It is what we value that will define us and we cannot have a foot in two or more camps. It becomes very uncomfortable.
Jesus smiles and says:
3No slave can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”
Interesting choice of words – no slave – we are slaves to our values. What we value controls, owns, our life. We are what we believe in. We are slaves.
Jesus is clear when he seemingly congratulates the underhand activities of the wayward businessman. As Christians, we are to know what we believe, what we are slaves to, and to do everything in our power to turn that belief into a way of life which is rewarded both here and now and in heaven. We are either a part of the culture of our society or committed to the counter-cultural ethic of the gospel – we have to make a choice.
The prevailing attitude of our society is that the world owes us a living and we will manipulate it and others to achieve our goals. Unfortunately many Christians are unable to extricate themselves from this dilemma. Finding ways to interpret the Gospels to give respectability to greed, exploitation and bullying is at the very best a poor excuse for not making the choice.
It is not about us as individuals but us as a community, a community called to share at the well-laid table of Christ in what ever form that table may be laid. It is how we live out our allegiance to God’s creative compassion, which will distinguish us, not how materially well off or powerful we are. It is how we raise our children as children to be other focused adults, allowing them the time and the opportunity to become who and what they are meant to be and not what we want them to be – mini-me’s living out our missed opportunities. It is how we ensure we share whatever grace God has shared with us, with others.
Thomas Merton suggests:
“A life is either all spiritual or not spiritual at all. No man can serve two masters. Your life is shaped by the end you live for. You are made in the image of what you desire.”
Jesus says to you and I today to be shrewd in our how you live out what you believe for it is what you believe which will define how you live.
Friday 17 September 2010
Year 8 Torquay students 'kill kangaroo on school camp'
Noticed this headline today - 'Year 8 Torquay students 'kill kangaroo on school camp'(see Herald Sun September 17, 2010). Herald Sun also ran the following headline today - 'Family's Facebook stalker was girl aged 12'.
Cruelty and violence seems to be on the rise and it is not just the boys who are involved. Girls are getting in on the act as well. Not only are the numbers reported appearing to increase so is the level of violence being used.
Alongside this is the failure of those involved to recognise the gravity of the situation when they are confronted with their actions. They appear not to understand the consequences for others, those they bully and their families, the community in which they live, nor for themselves. Whether it is because of the rapid pace of technological change, of the perceived shift in societal values or the rise of a narcissistic self absorbed paradigm in people lives, the facts seem to show that the world we have known is undergoing an earthquake like upheaval.
One thing we should not do is excuse it or to find excuses for such behaviour. Nor should we simply label it under one of the many burgeoning disorders being devised to cover the cracks in the ground. Violence, bullying, theft, stalking and cruelty are unacceptable crimes against others in what ever form they may be experienced.
This is happening and it is happening to and by our children. While we can point the finger at others, jump to defend our kids or simply deny they are involved, this is of little practical or long term help to them and the society in which they and we live.
It is time to stop, find the 5 second delay button and take a good long look at, not only what is happening, but how we might be contributing to it as well. What are our values, what drives our lives and what is most important to us? Are others of innate value to us or simply there to be used so that we can achieve our goals, outcomes or whims? Do we use violence and bullying in our close personal relationships? Are we able to separate our needs from the needs of others and find a way to support them, not just our immediate family, but those who are outside our family, often different to and unlike us? What do we model to our children? Do we hold them responsible for their behaviour? Do we say no and put a limit on what they can do, have or expect?
These are the questions we all need to tackle for ourselves and our children for without a serious and concerted effort by all involved with our children the future can seem to be a little uncertain, to say the least.
It is up to us.
Cruelty and violence seems to be on the rise and it is not just the boys who are involved. Girls are getting in on the act as well. Not only are the numbers reported appearing to increase so is the level of violence being used.
Alongside this is the failure of those involved to recognise the gravity of the situation when they are confronted with their actions. They appear not to understand the consequences for others, those they bully and their families, the community in which they live, nor for themselves. Whether it is because of the rapid pace of technological change, of the perceived shift in societal values or the rise of a narcissistic self absorbed paradigm in people lives, the facts seem to show that the world we have known is undergoing an earthquake like upheaval.
One thing we should not do is excuse it or to find excuses for such behaviour. Nor should we simply label it under one of the many burgeoning disorders being devised to cover the cracks in the ground. Violence, bullying, theft, stalking and cruelty are unacceptable crimes against others in what ever form they may be experienced.
This is happening and it is happening to and by our children. While we can point the finger at others, jump to defend our kids or simply deny they are involved, this is of little practical or long term help to them and the society in which they and we live.
It is time to stop, find the 5 second delay button and take a good long look at, not only what is happening, but how we might be contributing to it as well. What are our values, what drives our lives and what is most important to us? Are others of innate value to us or simply there to be used so that we can achieve our goals, outcomes or whims? Do we use violence and bullying in our close personal relationships? Are we able to separate our needs from the needs of others and find a way to support them, not just our immediate family, but those who are outside our family, often different to and unlike us? What do we model to our children? Do we hold them responsible for their behaviour? Do we say no and put a limit on what they can do, have or expect?
These are the questions we all need to tackle for ourselves and our children for without a serious and concerted effort by all involved with our children the future can seem to be a little uncertain, to say the least.
It is up to us.
Monday 13 September 2010
A Welcoming Table
(1 Timothy 1:12-17 - Luke 15:1-10)
Jesus critics commented: ‘This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them”. A criticism that is indeed the highest compliment. Jesus offers hospitality to all, not just those who are deemed respectable by dint of following a set of rules. Jesus does not welcome sinners to be perverse and difficult but because they are the ones who recognise his grace for what it is – unconditional hospitality. Hospitality without limits. No in crowd, no outsiders – no dividing the world into those who are favoured and those who are not.
It is a subtle way of saying to his critics, you are welcome too. A tough call for all who think that they are special, perfect, without need for God’s love and mercy. Those who have material wealth, great talent, who see themselves as being perfect in morals and values are also welcome for those perceptions confirm that they too are sinners.
John Coutis who was born without legs comments that: ‘All people have a disability, it’s just that you can see mine.” He goes on to remind us that our greatest disability is how we think about ourselves, it gets in the way of us fulfilling our potential, or in this case, of accepting the hospitality Jesus offers us.
Jesus holds out his hands, not for our formal handshake but for an embrace. For many of us the intimacy of an embrace is too much and we stand off and extend our hand in a way that says I recognise you but am not quite ready to share my personal space with you. Jesus does more than that. He offers the all-embracing welcome into his life. He touches others even when it makes him ritually unclean.
Gaye tells the story of going to visit a shut-in lady who was almost blind in Glebe in Sydney back when Glebe wasn’t a yuppie suburb. The lady makes a cup of tea and puts out the best china. She pours the tea into the cups, which because of her disability were not very clean. As the tea rose, so did the dust and dirt, right to the top of the cup. What was she to do? Drink the tea despite what it contained or hurt the feelings of this lady who was so excited to have a visitor. Gaye drank the tea.
Hospitality always moves swiftly to sharing the table together, regardless of who is present or what the meal may be like. Jesus makes no exceptions and sits down to eat in the holy ordinariness of the everyday. His table is spread for all and he shares in the table others spread for him.
When we were in Glebe as trainee Salvation Army officers we used to share a meal with the congregation after the Sunday service. This was an odd collection of homeless, mentally ill and poor people. They were responsible for preparing the meal which usually consisted of corn beef, potatoes and cabbage. One day as they were straining the cabbage it fell onto the less than hygienically clean floor. They quickly scooped it up, put in the dish and put it on the table. Some of the trainees complained to the training officer who simply said, “Eat.” We did but not necessarily with gusto. We cannot put limits on who we share our table with. Jesus didn’t and doesn’t.
Paul in his letter to Timothy says, ‘The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners – of whom I am the foremost.” Jesus is gracious because he is grace itself. He sees us and all he created as innocent and pure, as worthy of his presence, and he worthy of ours. We may feel we have a long way to go, but for Jesus we are already there.
Pau says that the grace he received was so that Jesus might show utmost patience with him as he remade into the example he was to be to others. Paul echoes’ a thought we shared at morning prayer this week, that each of us lives in this grace because we are not yet finished – God is creating us at this very movement. Chris suggested we wear T shirts with the slogan ‘Be patient with me – I am still under construction”!
I like the Idea that we are people on the move but always a people of the table, the two are unmistakeably linked. It is at table with each other and with the Triune God that we find the grace to become individually and as a community.
It has been suggested that for the Jewish people that the Sabbath meal is defines their faith. One Rabbi suggested that the Sabbath meal is their faith, they are a Sabbath people.
In the same way, as we move toward sharing the Eucharist, are we people of the table. Here we remember the welcome Christ gave us through the cross the ultimate example of hospitality. As we share the body and blood of Christ we are reminded of Christ’s embrace and challenged to show welcome and hospitality to the created world in all its forms.
Come, let’s eat.
Jesus critics commented: ‘This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them”. A criticism that is indeed the highest compliment. Jesus offers hospitality to all, not just those who are deemed respectable by dint of following a set of rules. Jesus does not welcome sinners to be perverse and difficult but because they are the ones who recognise his grace for what it is – unconditional hospitality. Hospitality without limits. No in crowd, no outsiders – no dividing the world into those who are favoured and those who are not.
It is a subtle way of saying to his critics, you are welcome too. A tough call for all who think that they are special, perfect, without need for God’s love and mercy. Those who have material wealth, great talent, who see themselves as being perfect in morals and values are also welcome for those perceptions confirm that they too are sinners.
John Coutis who was born without legs comments that: ‘All people have a disability, it’s just that you can see mine.” He goes on to remind us that our greatest disability is how we think about ourselves, it gets in the way of us fulfilling our potential, or in this case, of accepting the hospitality Jesus offers us.
Jesus holds out his hands, not for our formal handshake but for an embrace. For many of us the intimacy of an embrace is too much and we stand off and extend our hand in a way that says I recognise you but am not quite ready to share my personal space with you. Jesus does more than that. He offers the all-embracing welcome into his life. He touches others even when it makes him ritually unclean.
Gaye tells the story of going to visit a shut-in lady who was almost blind in Glebe in Sydney back when Glebe wasn’t a yuppie suburb. The lady makes a cup of tea and puts out the best china. She pours the tea into the cups, which because of her disability were not very clean. As the tea rose, so did the dust and dirt, right to the top of the cup. What was she to do? Drink the tea despite what it contained or hurt the feelings of this lady who was so excited to have a visitor. Gaye drank the tea.
Hospitality always moves swiftly to sharing the table together, regardless of who is present or what the meal may be like. Jesus makes no exceptions and sits down to eat in the holy ordinariness of the everyday. His table is spread for all and he shares in the table others spread for him.
When we were in Glebe as trainee Salvation Army officers we used to share a meal with the congregation after the Sunday service. This was an odd collection of homeless, mentally ill and poor people. They were responsible for preparing the meal which usually consisted of corn beef, potatoes and cabbage. One day as they were straining the cabbage it fell onto the less than hygienically clean floor. They quickly scooped it up, put in the dish and put it on the table. Some of the trainees complained to the training officer who simply said, “Eat.” We did but not necessarily with gusto. We cannot put limits on who we share our table with. Jesus didn’t and doesn’t.
Paul in his letter to Timothy says, ‘The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners – of whom I am the foremost.” Jesus is gracious because he is grace itself. He sees us and all he created as innocent and pure, as worthy of his presence, and he worthy of ours. We may feel we have a long way to go, but for Jesus we are already there.
Pau says that the grace he received was so that Jesus might show utmost patience with him as he remade into the example he was to be to others. Paul echoes’ a thought we shared at morning prayer this week, that each of us lives in this grace because we are not yet finished – God is creating us at this very movement. Chris suggested we wear T shirts with the slogan ‘Be patient with me – I am still under construction”!
I like the Idea that we are people on the move but always a people of the table, the two are unmistakeably linked. It is at table with each other and with the Triune God that we find the grace to become individually and as a community.
It has been suggested that for the Jewish people that the Sabbath meal is defines their faith. One Rabbi suggested that the Sabbath meal is their faith, they are a Sabbath people.
In the same way, as we move toward sharing the Eucharist, are we people of the table. Here we remember the welcome Christ gave us through the cross the ultimate example of hospitality. As we share the body and blood of Christ we are reminded of Christ’s embrace and challenged to show welcome and hospitality to the created world in all its forms.
Come, let’s eat.
Wednesday 18 August 2010
Be the Change You Want To See In This Election Year
This week we go to the polls to elect our government for the next 3 years. Somewhere in the midst of the electioneering an important fact has gone missing. This is not about the individual who is our Prime Minister, it is not even about who the party is that's in power. It is about the common good, i.e. what is good for all who inhabit this country and the country itself.
Lucy from Charlie Brown suggested, 'Don't vote it only encourages them.' I am not suggesting you don't vote but what Lucy is pointing to is that our individual vote is misinterpreted as a vote for another individual and their wellbeing. She also suggested that 'It doesn't matter who you vote for, you always get a politician.'
Regardless of who wins, the outcome is up to us, and I am not talking about Saturday's poll. I am talking about the changes we want to see. If we want a fairer, more just, more humane country, and hope for the future, then we vote on that every day in how we live, the decisions we make and the examples we give to our children. Very little is achieved by political power especially when that power relies on our ticking the right boxes.
Jesus reminds us that we do, in fact hold the power for change in our lives (see Matthew chapter 5-7 - the Sermon on the Mount) and our school motto (taken from that sermon) reminds us 'To let our light shine".
Voting for the common good, not a political party, in the way we live everyday will make a difference.
Lucy from Charlie Brown suggested, 'Don't vote it only encourages them.' I am not suggesting you don't vote but what Lucy is pointing to is that our individual vote is misinterpreted as a vote for another individual and their wellbeing. She also suggested that 'It doesn't matter who you vote for, you always get a politician.'
Regardless of who wins, the outcome is up to us, and I am not talking about Saturday's poll. I am talking about the changes we want to see. If we want a fairer, more just, more humane country, and hope for the future, then we vote on that every day in how we live, the decisions we make and the examples we give to our children. Very little is achieved by political power especially when that power relies on our ticking the right boxes.
Jesus reminds us that we do, in fact hold the power for change in our lives (see Matthew chapter 5-7 - the Sermon on the Mount) and our school motto (taken from that sermon) reminds us 'To let our light shine".
Voting for the common good, not a political party, in the way we live everyday will make a difference.
Saturday 7 August 2010
Covenanted People
Jeremiah 31:27-34, 2 Timothy 3:10-45, Luke 18:1-4, Psalm 119:97-40
In the 1991 comedy “City Slickers”, weathered trail boss Curly (Jack Palance) offers 39 year old city slicker Mitch Robbins (Billy Crystal) some sage prairie advice. Holding up his index finger, Curly poses the ultimate cowboy question: “Do you know what the secret of life is? This.” Mitch quips, “Your finger?” With real cowboy authority Curly responds, “One thing. Just one thing. You stick to that and the rest don’t mean anything.” The city slicker asks, “But what is the ‘one thing’ The trail boss leaves Mitch hanging with a smile: “That’s what you have to find out.”
And the truth is we spend a lifetime finding out, forgetting and rediscovering what that one thing is. When we think we have found it, it seems to disappear from sight, get lost in the stuff of life and we have to go in search of it all over again.
For the Hebrews that is the story of the Old Testament. A story of searching, discovering, losing their way and starting all over again. It is the human story we all play a part in. Man, as a species, was created in the image of God and we all have, like sheep, gone astray from that image, individually and collectively within our own story.
I was interested to hear that a family got them selves lost following their GPS when it was visibly obvious there was something wrong. How far will travelers blindly follow a GPS device? According to The Sydney Morning Herald, an Australian family of four (and their poor pup) followed directions given by their GPS onto a road closed by heavy rainfall and became stranded for three nights in a ute. The family, believe it or not, ignored posted warning signs and turned onto the Darling River Road while traveling between Brisbane and Perth in the northwest part of the continent. The truck promptly became bogged down in the thick mud, leaving the family stuck in the middle of the bush, far from civilization. They called police immediately, but since conditions were so poor, it took authorities three nights to finally reach the foolish travelers on Sunday. Ignoring a closed city street sign is one thing, but driving right past a warning sign in the middle of Australia's wilderness just because your GPS device tells you to is another thing all together.
The common theme of today’s readings is that despite our inability to stay on track, God does not go missing. He is steadfast and faithful – that is his promise, his covenant with humanity wherever they encounter him. God does not get lost even though we may feel he is sometimes missing.
This covenant was the one thing the Hebrew people clung to and is the focus of services such as the Shabbat or Sabbath service. They are constantly reminded of and constantly remind God that he has a responsibility to care for them, that is the deal and they will remind him whenever they perceive that may not be the case.
Yet this covenant is not simply a one-sided agreement. There are two sides to this agreement. God’s people have a responsibility as well. And that is to worship, praise or recognise whom God is and to bring about his kingdom in their daily lives – to hallow his name as Jesus taught his disciples.
The Psalms speak to us clearly of this relationship. The general structure of the Psalms involves recognition of the circumstances people find themselves in, a recognition of and reminder to God of his past faithfulness to his people and a commitment to praise and worship God, not if he saves them, but because there is no doubt that he will.
And in essence that is the law, which is spoken of in the readings of today, the undeniable relationship between God and his people that allows a sure and confident future for all. It is interesting that the interaction between the Hebrews and God in the Psalms speaks clearly of a full and frank discussion, simply because the foundation of that relationship was unshakeable.
Yet that relationship between God and man was to change and to take on a deeper and more significant meaning. Jeremiah points clearly to a new covenant that would not rely on external practices but be written in the heart, the spirit, the soul of man. It would be indelibly apart of us.
Paul encourages remembering the acts and promises of God so that we are not lead astray by the wicked, those who desire to take us away from or to doubt the covenant God has made for us through the obedient love of Jesus. Jesus trusted implicitly in the hesed or steadfastness of God all the way to the Cross and did so that we may have the opportunity to put it to the test for ourselves.
Jesus reveals the proper understanding essential to the fulfilment of the covenant in the parable of the Pharisee and publican. Here are two people who separate themselves from those praying in the temple. One, because he saw himself as better than the others, and the other who saw himself as unworthy.
Yet the prayer of the second is significant – “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” A similar prayer to the criminal on the cross next to Jesus. A prayer that recognises who God is and who the individual is, yet reminds God clearly of his promised steadfast faithfulness or mercy – his hesed. It is not a desperate plea but a statement of faith reminding God of the covenant.
The challenge for us as we come to participate in the Eucharist where we clearly remember and remind God of the story of his mercy is to find ways to live out our covenant with him. To praise God, not curse God when we find life not to our liking; to remember God’s goodness for the holy ordinariness of life, and not to forget God’s past and ongoing faithfulness to us; to recognise the importance not only of acknowledging God, but of praising God for everything from the simple fact of life to the more obvious and dramatic intervention in our lives.
At this table we hear the story of God’s steadfast faithfulness and pledge ourselves to live our lives so that they are our perpetual praise to God, every day.
As the Buddhist would say, “Before the enlightenment, the laundry; after enlightenment, the laundry” yet we live in that covenanted place which makes all ordinary tasks and therefore this ordinary life enlightened, for God is steadfastly faithful in the midst of our lives, contrary to what our circumstances maybe.
To answer Curly’s question, ‘That is the one thing.’
In the 1991 comedy “City Slickers”, weathered trail boss Curly (Jack Palance) offers 39 year old city slicker Mitch Robbins (Billy Crystal) some sage prairie advice. Holding up his index finger, Curly poses the ultimate cowboy question: “Do you know what the secret of life is? This.” Mitch quips, “Your finger?” With real cowboy authority Curly responds, “One thing. Just one thing. You stick to that and the rest don’t mean anything.” The city slicker asks, “But what is the ‘one thing’ The trail boss leaves Mitch hanging with a smile: “That’s what you have to find out.”
And the truth is we spend a lifetime finding out, forgetting and rediscovering what that one thing is. When we think we have found it, it seems to disappear from sight, get lost in the stuff of life and we have to go in search of it all over again.
For the Hebrews that is the story of the Old Testament. A story of searching, discovering, losing their way and starting all over again. It is the human story we all play a part in. Man, as a species, was created in the image of God and we all have, like sheep, gone astray from that image, individually and collectively within our own story.
I was interested to hear that a family got them selves lost following their GPS when it was visibly obvious there was something wrong. How far will travelers blindly follow a GPS device? According to The Sydney Morning Herald, an Australian family of four (and their poor pup) followed directions given by their GPS onto a road closed by heavy rainfall and became stranded for three nights in a ute. The family, believe it or not, ignored posted warning signs and turned onto the Darling River Road while traveling between Brisbane and Perth in the northwest part of the continent. The truck promptly became bogged down in the thick mud, leaving the family stuck in the middle of the bush, far from civilization. They called police immediately, but since conditions were so poor, it took authorities three nights to finally reach the foolish travelers on Sunday. Ignoring a closed city street sign is one thing, but driving right past a warning sign in the middle of Australia's wilderness just because your GPS device tells you to is another thing all together.
The common theme of today’s readings is that despite our inability to stay on track, God does not go missing. He is steadfast and faithful – that is his promise, his covenant with humanity wherever they encounter him. God does not get lost even though we may feel he is sometimes missing.
This covenant was the one thing the Hebrew people clung to and is the focus of services such as the Shabbat or Sabbath service. They are constantly reminded of and constantly remind God that he has a responsibility to care for them, that is the deal and they will remind him whenever they perceive that may not be the case.
Yet this covenant is not simply a one-sided agreement. There are two sides to this agreement. God’s people have a responsibility as well. And that is to worship, praise or recognise whom God is and to bring about his kingdom in their daily lives – to hallow his name as Jesus taught his disciples.
The Psalms speak to us clearly of this relationship. The general structure of the Psalms involves recognition of the circumstances people find themselves in, a recognition of and reminder to God of his past faithfulness to his people and a commitment to praise and worship God, not if he saves them, but because there is no doubt that he will.
And in essence that is the law, which is spoken of in the readings of today, the undeniable relationship between God and his people that allows a sure and confident future for all. It is interesting that the interaction between the Hebrews and God in the Psalms speaks clearly of a full and frank discussion, simply because the foundation of that relationship was unshakeable.
Yet that relationship between God and man was to change and to take on a deeper and more significant meaning. Jeremiah points clearly to a new covenant that would not rely on external practices but be written in the heart, the spirit, the soul of man. It would be indelibly apart of us.
Paul encourages remembering the acts and promises of God so that we are not lead astray by the wicked, those who desire to take us away from or to doubt the covenant God has made for us through the obedient love of Jesus. Jesus trusted implicitly in the hesed or steadfastness of God all the way to the Cross and did so that we may have the opportunity to put it to the test for ourselves.
Jesus reveals the proper understanding essential to the fulfilment of the covenant in the parable of the Pharisee and publican. Here are two people who separate themselves from those praying in the temple. One, because he saw himself as better than the others, and the other who saw himself as unworthy.
Yet the prayer of the second is significant – “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” A similar prayer to the criminal on the cross next to Jesus. A prayer that recognises who God is and who the individual is, yet reminds God clearly of his promised steadfast faithfulness or mercy – his hesed. It is not a desperate plea but a statement of faith reminding God of the covenant.
The challenge for us as we come to participate in the Eucharist where we clearly remember and remind God of the story of his mercy is to find ways to live out our covenant with him. To praise God, not curse God when we find life not to our liking; to remember God’s goodness for the holy ordinariness of life, and not to forget God’s past and ongoing faithfulness to us; to recognise the importance not only of acknowledging God, but of praising God for everything from the simple fact of life to the more obvious and dramatic intervention in our lives.
At this table we hear the story of God’s steadfast faithfulness and pledge ourselves to live our lives so that they are our perpetual praise to God, every day.
As the Buddhist would say, “Before the enlightenment, the laundry; after enlightenment, the laundry” yet we live in that covenanted place which makes all ordinary tasks and therefore this ordinary life enlightened, for God is steadfastly faithful in the midst of our lives, contrary to what our circumstances maybe.
To answer Curly’s question, ‘That is the one thing.’
Tuesday 13 July 2010
Another Australian soldier dies in Afghanistan
Another Australian soldier dies in Afghanistan
Jane Bardon reported this story on Saturday, July 10, 2010 08:26:00
I was there the day Benny went to war
over there
I wasn’t sure where over there was
or what we were fighting for
I doubt that Benny knew either
yet they said go so go he did
saying little more than see ya mate
full of nervous energy like a grand final footballer
on the first Saturday in September.
Benny was the scrawny kid in grade 3
I was new to the school he was my class buddy
sharing a lifetime of moments
we tackled growing up together
I laid awake at night imagining him
over there
dodging danger in the same irrepressible way
marking our progress by where we were
on the first Saturday in September.
Got a couple of emails from him
from over there
Never said much suppose he couldn’t
Except it was dusty and dirty
and the locals were unfriendly
reading between the lines
it was no church picnic
he hinted he couldn’t wait to be home
sometime before the first Saturday in September.
I was there the day Benny came home
from over there
The band played all solemn like
as the plane rolled to a halt
we all stood still lost in our memories
As the flag-draped coffin was lowered down
and slow marched to the waiting hearse
somebody spoke of heroes and bravery and the Anzac spirit
And Benny’s mum cried for all of us
sometime before the first Saturday in September.
Glenn Loughrey July 2010
Jane Bardon reported this story on Saturday, July 10, 2010 08:26:00
I was there the day Benny went to war
over there
I wasn’t sure where over there was
or what we were fighting for
I doubt that Benny knew either
yet they said go so go he did
saying little more than see ya mate
full of nervous energy like a grand final footballer
on the first Saturday in September.
Benny was the scrawny kid in grade 3
I was new to the school he was my class buddy
sharing a lifetime of moments
we tackled growing up together
I laid awake at night imagining him
over there
dodging danger in the same irrepressible way
marking our progress by where we were
on the first Saturday in September.
Got a couple of emails from him
from over there
Never said much suppose he couldn’t
Except it was dusty and dirty
and the locals were unfriendly
reading between the lines
it was no church picnic
he hinted he couldn’t wait to be home
sometime before the first Saturday in September.
I was there the day Benny came home
from over there
The band played all solemn like
as the plane rolled to a halt
we all stood still lost in our memories
As the flag-draped coffin was lowered down
and slow marched to the waiting hearse
somebody spoke of heroes and bravery and the Anzac spirit
And Benny’s mum cried for all of us
sometime before the first Saturday in September.
Glenn Loughrey July 2010
Sunday 4 July 2010
Simplicity in Small Hands
An education system or institution, which is unresponsive to the voice of the young, is doomed to failure.
Naaman was a powerful man. (2 Kings 5:1-17). What he wanted he got and I am sure that he had sought out all the latest knowledge and information regarding his illness, yet nothing had worked. His leprosy remained and he saw himself as less than a complete man. Despite all his success, and he was indeed extremely successful, he was still a leper.
I would also suggest he was a good man. Not just those who benefited from his prowess but also those who had suffered by it, held him in esteem. In his own home not just his family respected him but by those who served him – slaves accrued through his many victorious campaigns.
His desperation for healing was known by all, including the little house girl who served his wife. She had heard the discussions, arguments and despair, and felt for them both.
She had also heard the stories coming from the homeland about Elisha the prophet and how he was a proficient healer. She had never lost her faith in the God of her heritage and knew that if only Naaman would go there he would be healed.
One has to marvel at her courage. She spoke up and shared her simple faith and her special knowledge. That was courage. She was in a foreign country, under the control of a superior culture in every sense, and yet she spoke up about what may have been seen as a superstition, or at best, a substandard understanding of the world.
And yet not only did her mistress listen and pass the knowledge onto her husband, Naaman seems to have taken it seriously enough to take it to his king and ask permission to seek out this prophet. And the King agreed.
Naaman goes off and encounters Elisha. Elisha does not act as Naaman expected him to. He didn’t come out and greet the great man and he did not suggest the type of grandiose healing event Naaman thought his situation deserved. He was simply asked to go and wash in a dirty, insipid river, the Jordan, unlike any of the great rivers where he lived.
Naaman may have been desperate, but not that desperate. It takes the input of his servants once again to remind him that if he had been asked to undertake some great feat would he have done it? Of course. Then why not just do as you are asked and see what happens?
Grumpily he did, and he was healed.
This story is about simplicity – the simplicity of a child. It is this simplicity that we must appropriate in our relationship with those we teach and serve in this and other schools.
Many times over in my life I have watched and experienced the simplicity in which children challenge, learn, explore and grow.
Daniel O’Leary says: ‘Maybe only children and saints want to be nobody else’. Like the roses in our garden they are simply content to be themselves and, out of that security of being, ask much of us if we could but hear them. St Francis said when once looking at a rose, ‘I hear you. Stop shouting.’
It is this simplicity which was heard by Naaman and resulted in his healing. He nearly stuffed it up as we often do. We revert to our program, our way of teaching, our role as teacher and miss the learning inherent in the people, places and things around us.
Here we witness simplicity in 3 ways:
Simplicity of the servant girls’ wisdom – she understood what was possible for her Master and shared that simple information. It wasn’t fancy. She hadn’t been educated or studied under some great teacher. It was obvious – Elisha healed people and could do so here.
Simplicity of the ordinary acts of life. Naaman was asked to take on the simple faith of the young girl and partake in seemingly absurd acts way below his station as a leader, as an educated person or as a wealthy property owner. Yet all the trappings of success and education was of little help. He had to become as a little child to be healed.
Simplicity of the faith of a child. Keep it simple stupid seems to be one of God’s favourite adages. Yet for us humans simple is not something we do well. Faith is also not something we do well either. To trust another, in this case Elisha’s directions or to trust in God to care for us, as in the Gospel reading, seems just too illogical, too hard for our reasoning brains. Instead of saying yes, we like Naaman argue with God and those who represent him in the circumstances of our lives. Often we simply ignore those who bring us good information, like the young people we teach.
I learnt long ago that the one who challenges me is my friend, my teacher and my guide. So over the years I have learnt much of what I know from my challenging those who taught me and from those who in turn have challenged me, directly or indirectly.
In the Salvation Army Training College Commissioner Hubert Scotney an esteemed biblical and doctrine scholar, endured hours of questioning and debate from myself. I challenged almost everything he said and wanted to know, if this is so, why? He was an amazing man who was well into his 70’s when I studied under him, he never wearied, and through this vigorous debate taught me more than I would have learnt if he simply reverted to his role as the all knowing teacher.
All the programs I have developed for working with youth and children have come primarily from those I was commissioned to work with. It was their stories, their needs, their questioning which resulted in the shape, colour and style of programs we ran.
My understanding of the depth of racism and race equality was taught to me by a young indigenous boy who at the age of ten filled up a tub with bleach and sat in it so that he could be the same colour as the other kids and get a fair go at school and from the police. It didn’t work.
My understanding of the hopelessness of poverty for children came from a 7 year old girl who has dirty, unkempt and difficult, but who went home of a night time and cooked meals for her family. One day a teacher threatened to refer her to the authorities, she put both hands on hips and said, “That’s right, put me the too hard basket and let some else deal with me.” We didn’t.
Just recently a student came to me with an A4 page of queries, questions and criticisms about the role of religion and church in the world and in the school. We spent an exciting and invigorating hour or so working through her list. It was wonderful, for she asked me for evidence of my faith and my understanding of that faith in a way few others could. It wasn’t ideological, it was simple, honest exploration of her journey, and it challenged what and how I believed as well. It left neither of us unchanged. It was education at its very best.
The challenge for us, and this educational institution, is how we listen not speak, how we learn not teach, how we model rightbehaviour not demand it, and how we open ourselves to those we engage everyday. It is how we give away the power to those around us to explore their journey in reason and faith which is so important.
e.e.cummings wrote:
“…..you open always petal by petal myself as Spring opens
(touching skilfully, mysteriously) her first rose….
…nobody, not even the rain has such small hands.”
It is our light touch they need so we will recognise their light touch when it brushes up against us.
And that’s the challenge of simplicity in life long learning for all of us.
Naaman was a powerful man. (2 Kings 5:1-17). What he wanted he got and I am sure that he had sought out all the latest knowledge and information regarding his illness, yet nothing had worked. His leprosy remained and he saw himself as less than a complete man. Despite all his success, and he was indeed extremely successful, he was still a leper.
I would also suggest he was a good man. Not just those who benefited from his prowess but also those who had suffered by it, held him in esteem. In his own home not just his family respected him but by those who served him – slaves accrued through his many victorious campaigns.
His desperation for healing was known by all, including the little house girl who served his wife. She had heard the discussions, arguments and despair, and felt for them both.
She had also heard the stories coming from the homeland about Elisha the prophet and how he was a proficient healer. She had never lost her faith in the God of her heritage and knew that if only Naaman would go there he would be healed.
One has to marvel at her courage. She spoke up and shared her simple faith and her special knowledge. That was courage. She was in a foreign country, under the control of a superior culture in every sense, and yet she spoke up about what may have been seen as a superstition, or at best, a substandard understanding of the world.
And yet not only did her mistress listen and pass the knowledge onto her husband, Naaman seems to have taken it seriously enough to take it to his king and ask permission to seek out this prophet. And the King agreed.
Naaman goes off and encounters Elisha. Elisha does not act as Naaman expected him to. He didn’t come out and greet the great man and he did not suggest the type of grandiose healing event Naaman thought his situation deserved. He was simply asked to go and wash in a dirty, insipid river, the Jordan, unlike any of the great rivers where he lived.
Naaman may have been desperate, but not that desperate. It takes the input of his servants once again to remind him that if he had been asked to undertake some great feat would he have done it? Of course. Then why not just do as you are asked and see what happens?
Grumpily he did, and he was healed.
This story is about simplicity – the simplicity of a child. It is this simplicity that we must appropriate in our relationship with those we teach and serve in this and other schools.
Many times over in my life I have watched and experienced the simplicity in which children challenge, learn, explore and grow.
Daniel O’Leary says: ‘Maybe only children and saints want to be nobody else’. Like the roses in our garden they are simply content to be themselves and, out of that security of being, ask much of us if we could but hear them. St Francis said when once looking at a rose, ‘I hear you. Stop shouting.’
It is this simplicity which was heard by Naaman and resulted in his healing. He nearly stuffed it up as we often do. We revert to our program, our way of teaching, our role as teacher and miss the learning inherent in the people, places and things around us.
Here we witness simplicity in 3 ways:
Simplicity of the servant girls’ wisdom – she understood what was possible for her Master and shared that simple information. It wasn’t fancy. She hadn’t been educated or studied under some great teacher. It was obvious – Elisha healed people and could do so here.
Simplicity of the ordinary acts of life. Naaman was asked to take on the simple faith of the young girl and partake in seemingly absurd acts way below his station as a leader, as an educated person or as a wealthy property owner. Yet all the trappings of success and education was of little help. He had to become as a little child to be healed.
Simplicity of the faith of a child. Keep it simple stupid seems to be one of God’s favourite adages. Yet for us humans simple is not something we do well. Faith is also not something we do well either. To trust another, in this case Elisha’s directions or to trust in God to care for us, as in the Gospel reading, seems just too illogical, too hard for our reasoning brains. Instead of saying yes, we like Naaman argue with God and those who represent him in the circumstances of our lives. Often we simply ignore those who bring us good information, like the young people we teach.
I learnt long ago that the one who challenges me is my friend, my teacher and my guide. So over the years I have learnt much of what I know from my challenging those who taught me and from those who in turn have challenged me, directly or indirectly.
In the Salvation Army Training College Commissioner Hubert Scotney an esteemed biblical and doctrine scholar, endured hours of questioning and debate from myself. I challenged almost everything he said and wanted to know, if this is so, why? He was an amazing man who was well into his 70’s when I studied under him, he never wearied, and through this vigorous debate taught me more than I would have learnt if he simply reverted to his role as the all knowing teacher.
All the programs I have developed for working with youth and children have come primarily from those I was commissioned to work with. It was their stories, their needs, their questioning which resulted in the shape, colour and style of programs we ran.
My understanding of the depth of racism and race equality was taught to me by a young indigenous boy who at the age of ten filled up a tub with bleach and sat in it so that he could be the same colour as the other kids and get a fair go at school and from the police. It didn’t work.
My understanding of the hopelessness of poverty for children came from a 7 year old girl who has dirty, unkempt and difficult, but who went home of a night time and cooked meals for her family. One day a teacher threatened to refer her to the authorities, she put both hands on hips and said, “That’s right, put me the too hard basket and let some else deal with me.” We didn’t.
Just recently a student came to me with an A4 page of queries, questions and criticisms about the role of religion and church in the world and in the school. We spent an exciting and invigorating hour or so working through her list. It was wonderful, for she asked me for evidence of my faith and my understanding of that faith in a way few others could. It wasn’t ideological, it was simple, honest exploration of her journey, and it challenged what and how I believed as well. It left neither of us unchanged. It was education at its very best.
The challenge for us, and this educational institution, is how we listen not speak, how we learn not teach, how we model rightbehaviour not demand it, and how we open ourselves to those we engage everyday. It is how we give away the power to those around us to explore their journey in reason and faith which is so important.
e.e.cummings wrote:
“…..you open always petal by petal myself as Spring opens
(touching skilfully, mysteriously) her first rose….
…nobody, not even the rain has such small hands.”
It is our light touch they need so we will recognise their light touch when it brushes up against us.
And that’s the challenge of simplicity in life long learning for all of us.
Saturday 26 June 2010
Whose Values?
Today’s readings (2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14, Galatians 5:1, 13-25, Luke 9:51-62) are hard readings – readings which sit uncomfortably with the world in which we live – a world which is designed to mollycoddle and protect the individual as sacrosanct.
In 1957 Thomas Merton said:
‘The inner basic metaphysical defilement of fallen man is his profound and illusory conviction that he is a god and that the universe is centred on him…….we seek what we may call relative omnipotence: the power to have everything we want, to enjoy everything we desire, to demand that all our wishes be satisfied and our will should never be frustrated or opposed.”
We have just witnessed a number of events highlighting this issue:
The forced resignation of Mark McInnes allegedly for his inappropriate behaviour (and it appears that his actions were unacceptable), but it baffles me that it took the board so long to catch on to what was going on, if as reported, all the staff knew. Perhaps they acted because his behaviour was about to impact on the company and they moved to preserve self – individually and corporately.
The bloodless coup in Canberra. It was a political coup, no different from all those we abhor in other countries – the move of individual will, not the democratic will of the people – but somehow no blood makes it ok - (duh!) It was, as one commentator said, all about parliamentarians moving to protect their jobs, it was about disloyalty and the Ides of March, it was about self – political and individual power. As one Parliamentarian noted at a function to me; ‘If any politician says they are not in it for power, they are lying.”
(Interesting aside here – women played a prominent role in both these events – there was one women on the DJ’S board and our new prime minister who played a key role in the coup is a woman – so much for a softer more gentler world. Interesting, because one of the key players in the suffragette movement, Dorothy Day, spoke of this danger in 1917.)
The dismissal of General McChrystal by President Obama for allegedly saying ‘not nice’ things about him and his political advisors. Perhaps the forum in which it was said may have been more suitable but what was said is said everyday in the halls of the military power brokers and no-one is sacked. It was about protecting image and self – once again individually and corporately - from the prophetic words of one who would know the truth. From personal experience I am glad the powers to be in this country were not as sensitive or I would now be cooling my heels in some out of the way establishment because of comments I have made directly to those in power in our military!
Saying the Uncomfortable Word:
Elisha takes on the mantle of Elijah – not something I would have done to quickly – if the story of Elijah and his run in with the rulers of society are anything to go by. Here was a man who, empowered by God and the Spirit, spoke up about the ways of the world – the accepted values and mores of his society – and was hounded almost to his death by those in charge. In last weeks reading Jezeebel vows to kill him! Elisha, his loyal follower, puts his hand up to take on the very same role.
We first meet Elisha when Elijah sees him plowing in the field. He walks up to him and throws his mantle, his outer cloak, over him including Elisha in his world as his disciple. Elisha followed his master everywhere. He witnessed Elijah do amazing things. He heard him denounce kings at the peril of his own life. Things he could not even imagine doing on his own.
But the day finally came for Elijah to leave him. His master asked him what last thing he could do for him before he left. Elisha said, “Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit.” Elijah’s shoes were big ones to fill and Elisha needed all the help he could get.
Elijah says to do so Elisha must witness his leaving. He does so and he picks up the mantle. He parts the waters with it just like his master did. He begins to lead. He takes on the responsibility of Elijah and went on to be just as outspoken and critical of his society as his master was.
We are challenged to pick up the mantle of Jesus our master and do the same.
Living Counter-Culturally:
Recently I heard a theological scholar comment that the strength of the Anglican Church is that it listens to society and follows its lead. To support his argument he quoted issues such as slavery, women priests, human rights, abortion, and rights for gay people, refugees and more. I was astounded that he thought that was a strength. How did it come to this, that the church has been reduced to being a follower of society’s values and not an upholder of the core values of the Christian faith, which include these and more, and have done so since Jesus was born, delivered the Sermon on the Mount and died for every single human being?
Paul, in Galatians, says simply, we are to be counter-cultural – to live at odds with the values of our world.
If the values noted in the events of this week, and highlighted by Merton, are the world’s values, then they are not for us. One of the most disturbing developments over the last 20 years has been this move to values (used in every conversation, press release and corporate mission statement like salt – just to sound more palatable), not to mention values based education. NRL and the AFL, as did David Jones, has values about inclusivity and even their senior players can’t get it right.
Whose values and why are they important? What are the values of society and where do we see them?
Paul says its not only secular values but also religious values we need to challenge by counter cultural living. I had a conversation with a senior student this week about this (she presented a typed A4 page of questions for me to answer – wonderful stuff) – how, in her perception, the so-called values of the church simply don’t add up in reality. Is the church now obsolete? Our kids see this stuff and challenge us. How do we answer?
In the case in Galatians it is not just about circumcision, which is the sign of the Jewish people as God’s chosen, but of maintaining all that is involved with being that people, the law and ritual, which no longer applies. Jesus has turned that culture on its head and asks his followers to live by one countercultural concept - love – love for God which reveals itself in faith and love or compassion for the neighbour – it is not all about me and my desires.
Being a Living Sacrifice:
In the Gospel reading Jesus ups the ante. A would be follower hesitates because he pleads to be let bury his father. The man does NOT mean that his father has died already and that he needs a day or two to make funeral arrangements. He is saying that he has a duty as a son to care for his father in old age, to see that he has what he needs while he's alive and that he gets an honorable burial once he does die. And Jesus tells this man to "follow me, and let the dead bury the dead." Jesus instructs a man to abandon his family and the values of his society. How counter cultural is that?
It is about becoming a living sacrifice, relinquishing our desires for our self only, instead taking on responsibility for the world, not of the world. It is not that the man’s wish is evil, or selfish or unusual – he was fulfilling the cultural values of his society. Jesus says simply, by reason of your faith and your desire to follow me – all has changed. You have become a member of the kingdom of God, a kingdom with different values – values that place God and those created in his image (people, places and things) before what society says are your rights.
So What Now?
Somebody has said that the reason why people dismiss Christianity (and for that matter all major faiths) is, not that it is too easy, a cop out, but that it is too hard. Simple yes – love God and neighbour – but too hard and they give up before they start.
When we say at the end of the Eucharist :
Father,
we offer ourselves to you as a living sacrifice
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Send us out in the power of your Spirit
to live and work to your praise and glory,
we are saying, it is no longer about me, it is about the Other and others.
I walk away from my culturally and religiously embedded values and rights and commit myself solely to the values and responsibilities of the Kingdom.
Wow!
In 1957 Thomas Merton said:
‘The inner basic metaphysical defilement of fallen man is his profound and illusory conviction that he is a god and that the universe is centred on him…….we seek what we may call relative omnipotence: the power to have everything we want, to enjoy everything we desire, to demand that all our wishes be satisfied and our will should never be frustrated or opposed.”
We have just witnessed a number of events highlighting this issue:
The forced resignation of Mark McInnes allegedly for his inappropriate behaviour (and it appears that his actions were unacceptable), but it baffles me that it took the board so long to catch on to what was going on, if as reported, all the staff knew. Perhaps they acted because his behaviour was about to impact on the company and they moved to preserve self – individually and corporately.
The bloodless coup in Canberra. It was a political coup, no different from all those we abhor in other countries – the move of individual will, not the democratic will of the people – but somehow no blood makes it ok - (duh!) It was, as one commentator said, all about parliamentarians moving to protect their jobs, it was about disloyalty and the Ides of March, it was about self – political and individual power. As one Parliamentarian noted at a function to me; ‘If any politician says they are not in it for power, they are lying.”
(Interesting aside here – women played a prominent role in both these events – there was one women on the DJ’S board and our new prime minister who played a key role in the coup is a woman – so much for a softer more gentler world. Interesting, because one of the key players in the suffragette movement, Dorothy Day, spoke of this danger in 1917.)
The dismissal of General McChrystal by President Obama for allegedly saying ‘not nice’ things about him and his political advisors. Perhaps the forum in which it was said may have been more suitable but what was said is said everyday in the halls of the military power brokers and no-one is sacked. It was about protecting image and self – once again individually and corporately - from the prophetic words of one who would know the truth. From personal experience I am glad the powers to be in this country were not as sensitive or I would now be cooling my heels in some out of the way establishment because of comments I have made directly to those in power in our military!
Saying the Uncomfortable Word:
Elisha takes on the mantle of Elijah – not something I would have done to quickly – if the story of Elijah and his run in with the rulers of society are anything to go by. Here was a man who, empowered by God and the Spirit, spoke up about the ways of the world – the accepted values and mores of his society – and was hounded almost to his death by those in charge. In last weeks reading Jezeebel vows to kill him! Elisha, his loyal follower, puts his hand up to take on the very same role.
We first meet Elisha when Elijah sees him plowing in the field. He walks up to him and throws his mantle, his outer cloak, over him including Elisha in his world as his disciple. Elisha followed his master everywhere. He witnessed Elijah do amazing things. He heard him denounce kings at the peril of his own life. Things he could not even imagine doing on his own.
But the day finally came for Elijah to leave him. His master asked him what last thing he could do for him before he left. Elisha said, “Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit.” Elijah’s shoes were big ones to fill and Elisha needed all the help he could get.
Elijah says to do so Elisha must witness his leaving. He does so and he picks up the mantle. He parts the waters with it just like his master did. He begins to lead. He takes on the responsibility of Elijah and went on to be just as outspoken and critical of his society as his master was.
We are challenged to pick up the mantle of Jesus our master and do the same.
Living Counter-Culturally:
Recently I heard a theological scholar comment that the strength of the Anglican Church is that it listens to society and follows its lead. To support his argument he quoted issues such as slavery, women priests, human rights, abortion, and rights for gay people, refugees and more. I was astounded that he thought that was a strength. How did it come to this, that the church has been reduced to being a follower of society’s values and not an upholder of the core values of the Christian faith, which include these and more, and have done so since Jesus was born, delivered the Sermon on the Mount and died for every single human being?
Paul, in Galatians, says simply, we are to be counter-cultural – to live at odds with the values of our world.
If the values noted in the events of this week, and highlighted by Merton, are the world’s values, then they are not for us. One of the most disturbing developments over the last 20 years has been this move to values (used in every conversation, press release and corporate mission statement like salt – just to sound more palatable), not to mention values based education. NRL and the AFL, as did David Jones, has values about inclusivity and even their senior players can’t get it right.
Whose values and why are they important? What are the values of society and where do we see them?
Paul says its not only secular values but also religious values we need to challenge by counter cultural living. I had a conversation with a senior student this week about this (she presented a typed A4 page of questions for me to answer – wonderful stuff) – how, in her perception, the so-called values of the church simply don’t add up in reality. Is the church now obsolete? Our kids see this stuff and challenge us. How do we answer?
In the case in Galatians it is not just about circumcision, which is the sign of the Jewish people as God’s chosen, but of maintaining all that is involved with being that people, the law and ritual, which no longer applies. Jesus has turned that culture on its head and asks his followers to live by one countercultural concept - love – love for God which reveals itself in faith and love or compassion for the neighbour – it is not all about me and my desires.
Being a Living Sacrifice:
In the Gospel reading Jesus ups the ante. A would be follower hesitates because he pleads to be let bury his father. The man does NOT mean that his father has died already and that he needs a day or two to make funeral arrangements. He is saying that he has a duty as a son to care for his father in old age, to see that he has what he needs while he's alive and that he gets an honorable burial once he does die. And Jesus tells this man to "follow me, and let the dead bury the dead." Jesus instructs a man to abandon his family and the values of his society. How counter cultural is that?
It is about becoming a living sacrifice, relinquishing our desires for our self only, instead taking on responsibility for the world, not of the world. It is not that the man’s wish is evil, or selfish or unusual – he was fulfilling the cultural values of his society. Jesus says simply, by reason of your faith and your desire to follow me – all has changed. You have become a member of the kingdom of God, a kingdom with different values – values that place God and those created in his image (people, places and things) before what society says are your rights.
So What Now?
Somebody has said that the reason why people dismiss Christianity (and for that matter all major faiths) is, not that it is too easy, a cop out, but that it is too hard. Simple yes – love God and neighbour – but too hard and they give up before they start.
When we say at the end of the Eucharist :
Father,
we offer ourselves to you as a living sacrifice
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Send us out in the power of your Spirit
to live and work to your praise and glory,
we are saying, it is no longer about me, it is about the Other and others.
I walk away from my culturally and religiously embedded values and rights and commit myself solely to the values and responsibilities of the Kingdom.
Wow!
Friday 18 June 2010
Humans Behaving Badly
Looking at this weeks headlines I wonder what is happening in our world including:
Mark McInnes (CEO of David Jones)resigns over inappropriate behaviour (with female staff member).
Andrew Johns, Robert DiPierdomenico and Mal Brown inappropriate racial statements.
The verbal bullying between Government and mining industry.
Revenge murder of the mother of a driver involved in a car accident resulting in death.
Violence during the state of origin footy match which went unpunished by the officials and applauded by others.
And thats without looking at what is going on in the international arena.
And more.
No wonder we have a problem with bullying and inappropriate behaviour from our children.
The big question for all the big people (I mean adults) in the world is: what are you doing to arrest this problem? How do you model behaviour? What is it that your children see and hear every day they are with you?
How do you speak about others, deal with authority, understand difference and diversity and exemplify the type of behaviour you want your children to have?
If there are school rules, road rules, accepted standards of behaviour required by society, do you uphold these and support those who are responsible for them?
In a conversation with a group of boys the other day I asked: "Is it o.k. to disrespect others?", they predictably answered yes. I repeated the question three times, the last time they stood still and said nothing. It was then I said, "I think the answer is yes because your behaviour says loudly I do not respect you, so it is obviously o.k. to disrespect others."
And despite our willingness to blame every thing from computer games, movies, music and 'them' (who ever they are), the buck stops with those of us who has responsibility for them: not just parents but parents in the first instance (it's part of the job description), but all adults who have some influence over their lives.
It's time to look into the mirror and do something about what we see.
Mark McInnes (CEO of David Jones)resigns over inappropriate behaviour (with female staff member).
Andrew Johns, Robert DiPierdomenico and Mal Brown inappropriate racial statements.
The verbal bullying between Government and mining industry.
Revenge murder of the mother of a driver involved in a car accident resulting in death.
Violence during the state of origin footy match which went unpunished by the officials and applauded by others.
And thats without looking at what is going on in the international arena.
And more.
No wonder we have a problem with bullying and inappropriate behaviour from our children.
The big question for all the big people (I mean adults) in the world is: what are you doing to arrest this problem? How do you model behaviour? What is it that your children see and hear every day they are with you?
How do you speak about others, deal with authority, understand difference and diversity and exemplify the type of behaviour you want your children to have?
If there are school rules, road rules, accepted standards of behaviour required by society, do you uphold these and support those who are responsible for them?
In a conversation with a group of boys the other day I asked: "Is it o.k. to disrespect others?", they predictably answered yes. I repeated the question three times, the last time they stood still and said nothing. It was then I said, "I think the answer is yes because your behaviour says loudly I do not respect you, so it is obviously o.k. to disrespect others."
And despite our willingness to blame every thing from computer games, movies, music and 'them' (who ever they are), the buck stops with those of us who has responsibility for them: not just parents but parents in the first instance (it's part of the job description), but all adults who have some influence over their lives.
It's time to look into the mirror and do something about what we see.
Monday 14 June 2010
Holding Up The Mirror
Today’s Gospel reading (Luke 7:36 - 8:3) is a well known and oft heard reading. We know it all too well; the nasty Pharisee gets his comeuppance and the poor prostitute is vindicated. Once again Jesus saves the poor and downtrodden and puts the hypocrites in their place! Yay Jesus……. End of sermon and we all nod knowingly.
This scenario plays out in real life everyday, especially when we want to expose others as being worse than us. When someone is caught out in whatever manner, the media exposes it in such a way as to mark them as less tham those of us sitting on the sideline. In actual fact, we often find ourselves sitting on the couch, like the Pharisee, and saying, “I always knew they (she, he) was different to me. ” (Then, to ourselves, I am not like that)
Here we have an outsider, a prostitute whose business was such that she earned enough for expensive perfume (obviously not all the well-to-do Jews present were perfect!), she gatecrashes an invite only party (there would be no way she got an official invite given who she was).
On the couch is the Pharisee, a respectable religious and civic leader, who’s position and well-being was well earned and above reproach. Undoubtedly the other guests at the table were of a similar ilk, and regardless of their opinion of Jesus, he too was seen as a respectable, well-educated Jewish rabbi, otherwise he wouldn’t have been there.
Yet Jesus was a fool, a clown, in truth a Holy Fool – he was what he was but he was also not what he was. He saw the world through different eyes and held up to the world a mirror which said loudly and clearly, “See you self first!” He wasn’t the first nor the last such Holy Fool, the Old Testament and religious writings of other world faiths and philosophies are full of them. As are the histories of all traditions – Anglicanism has modern people such as Desmond Tutu, Catholic tradition has people like Mother Theresa, Buddhism the Dalai Lama and Thicht Nhat Hahn for example. And there are many more like them in Islam, Hinduism and other world faiths.
People who stand still, and without pointing, make their point. Our world needs to hear their stories to counteract the beigeness of thought, ideas and practice we so easily embrace from our popular media and information sources. Our world needs to hear this Gospel story again, remembering it is a foolish story, a mirror held up for all of us to see what we see in the mirror.
The Pharisee and his hospitality
The Pharisees were often found at dinner with Jesus. These dinners were normal social events for the entire community. Jewish society was and still is a communal society; the community shared their life and their table as a normal part of life. This wasn’t necessarily a way to show off, although I am sure that occurred, but it was accepted as normal to open your house to all those in your community. Although only invited guests ate, anyone was welcome to come and listen to the table conversation.
The Jews of the first century did not use tables and chair as the Persians did (cf. Esther 1:6; 7:8) and some Egyptians. Typically they would recline on their left elbow on pillows spread around horseshoe-shaped tables, usually three on a side. Uninvited guests stood around the walls behind the couches and listened to the conversation, gossiped or simply yawned as the conversation became mundane and boring.
We get a glimpse of Simon (a popular name) and his motivation for inviting Jesus when he says to himself: “If this man was a prophet”. His motivation for inviting Jesus may have been more for sport than intellectual stimulation, but he got more than he bargained for. Jesus later hints that he had noted this some time earlier, when the host had failed to provide the normal courtesies of foot washing, kiss of peace or any form of anointing. He knew he was being set up and the form of Simon’s musing shows that he did not believe Jesus was a prophet. This is a unique Greek construction which would be understood as “if this man were a prophet, which he is not, he would know who and what sort of person this woman is who is touching him, but he does not.” This Pharisee totally misunderstood Jesus and His motives, purposes, and actions.
The prostitute and the perfume
Somewhere on the streets the word had come down that a dinner was being held in Simon the Pharisees house and Jesus the Teacher would be present. For what ever reason this lady, described as a sinner by some and as a prostitute by others, got it into her head to be present and to do something, deemed by others to be at the very least eccentric, that would stop the conversation, although to her it seemed a natural thing to do.
She used her earnings, probably almost all of them to purchase an alabaster jar (the jar itself was significant) of perfume. She positioned herself at the back of the couch to the right of Jesus and when he was reclining his feet were right there in front of her. Impulsively perhaps, perhaps calculatingly she bent over, poured the ointment on his feet and wiped it with her hair.
Her motivation, we are not sure. It is more than showing up the Pharisee for his lack of hospitality, but that was part of it. It was more than love for a religious teacher, she saw more than that. She, in her own way, was a holy fool, providing the act which Jesus turned into an object lesson for all who were there, invited or not.
Jesus and his compassion
And then there was Jesus – deep and mystical – a true Holy Fool who grasped the opportunity when the gasping and gossiping had quietened down to tell a story, and to point Simon and his visitors toward the mirror. Did the young lady know of her sinfulness deeply or was it simply the rejection of society she felt? It doesn’t matter, for Jesus intimates that the societal view of sin was the problem and she, in a sacramental way, was showing and receiving love on their behalf.
This foolish woman stood in their place and showed what giving and receiving love was all about. And Jesus in that foolish compassion that was and is his alone, the foolish compassion which stopped the funeral bier in last Sunday’s reading, now rewards this sacramental act with love. He once again stands beside the outsiders and says directly to respectable society, ‘Here’s the mirror, have another look! What do you see now?”
Yes today’s reading is popular and well known, but it in no way a comfortable reading. It is designed, like all Jesus’ pericopes, to disturb. Mirrors usually do.
This scenario plays out in real life everyday, especially when we want to expose others as being worse than us. When someone is caught out in whatever manner, the media exposes it in such a way as to mark them as less tham those of us sitting on the sideline. In actual fact, we often find ourselves sitting on the couch, like the Pharisee, and saying, “I always knew they (she, he) was different to me. ” (Then, to ourselves, I am not like that)
Here we have an outsider, a prostitute whose business was such that she earned enough for expensive perfume (obviously not all the well-to-do Jews present were perfect!), she gatecrashes an invite only party (there would be no way she got an official invite given who she was).
On the couch is the Pharisee, a respectable religious and civic leader, who’s position and well-being was well earned and above reproach. Undoubtedly the other guests at the table were of a similar ilk, and regardless of their opinion of Jesus, he too was seen as a respectable, well-educated Jewish rabbi, otherwise he wouldn’t have been there.
Yet Jesus was a fool, a clown, in truth a Holy Fool – he was what he was but he was also not what he was. He saw the world through different eyes and held up to the world a mirror which said loudly and clearly, “See you self first!” He wasn’t the first nor the last such Holy Fool, the Old Testament and religious writings of other world faiths and philosophies are full of them. As are the histories of all traditions – Anglicanism has modern people such as Desmond Tutu, Catholic tradition has people like Mother Theresa, Buddhism the Dalai Lama and Thicht Nhat Hahn for example. And there are many more like them in Islam, Hinduism and other world faiths.
People who stand still, and without pointing, make their point. Our world needs to hear their stories to counteract the beigeness of thought, ideas and practice we so easily embrace from our popular media and information sources. Our world needs to hear this Gospel story again, remembering it is a foolish story, a mirror held up for all of us to see what we see in the mirror.
The Pharisee and his hospitality
The Pharisees were often found at dinner with Jesus. These dinners were normal social events for the entire community. Jewish society was and still is a communal society; the community shared their life and their table as a normal part of life. This wasn’t necessarily a way to show off, although I am sure that occurred, but it was accepted as normal to open your house to all those in your community. Although only invited guests ate, anyone was welcome to come and listen to the table conversation.
The Jews of the first century did not use tables and chair as the Persians did (cf. Esther 1:6; 7:8) and some Egyptians. Typically they would recline on their left elbow on pillows spread around horseshoe-shaped tables, usually three on a side. Uninvited guests stood around the walls behind the couches and listened to the conversation, gossiped or simply yawned as the conversation became mundane and boring.
We get a glimpse of Simon (a popular name) and his motivation for inviting Jesus when he says to himself: “If this man was a prophet”. His motivation for inviting Jesus may have been more for sport than intellectual stimulation, but he got more than he bargained for. Jesus later hints that he had noted this some time earlier, when the host had failed to provide the normal courtesies of foot washing, kiss of peace or any form of anointing. He knew he was being set up and the form of Simon’s musing shows that he did not believe Jesus was a prophet. This is a unique Greek construction which would be understood as “if this man were a prophet, which he is not, he would know who and what sort of person this woman is who is touching him, but he does not.” This Pharisee totally misunderstood Jesus and His motives, purposes, and actions.
The prostitute and the perfume
Somewhere on the streets the word had come down that a dinner was being held in Simon the Pharisees house and Jesus the Teacher would be present. For what ever reason this lady, described as a sinner by some and as a prostitute by others, got it into her head to be present and to do something, deemed by others to be at the very least eccentric, that would stop the conversation, although to her it seemed a natural thing to do.
She used her earnings, probably almost all of them to purchase an alabaster jar (the jar itself was significant) of perfume. She positioned herself at the back of the couch to the right of Jesus and when he was reclining his feet were right there in front of her. Impulsively perhaps, perhaps calculatingly she bent over, poured the ointment on his feet and wiped it with her hair.
Her motivation, we are not sure. It is more than showing up the Pharisee for his lack of hospitality, but that was part of it. It was more than love for a religious teacher, she saw more than that. She, in her own way, was a holy fool, providing the act which Jesus turned into an object lesson for all who were there, invited or not.
Jesus and his compassion
And then there was Jesus – deep and mystical – a true Holy Fool who grasped the opportunity when the gasping and gossiping had quietened down to tell a story, and to point Simon and his visitors toward the mirror. Did the young lady know of her sinfulness deeply or was it simply the rejection of society she felt? It doesn’t matter, for Jesus intimates that the societal view of sin was the problem and she, in a sacramental way, was showing and receiving love on their behalf.
This foolish woman stood in their place and showed what giving and receiving love was all about. And Jesus in that foolish compassion that was and is his alone, the foolish compassion which stopped the funeral bier in last Sunday’s reading, now rewards this sacramental act with love. He once again stands beside the outsiders and says directly to respectable society, ‘Here’s the mirror, have another look! What do you see now?”
Yes today’s reading is popular and well known, but it in no way a comfortable reading. It is designed, like all Jesus’ pericopes, to disturb. Mirrors usually do.
Saturday 5 June 2010
The Power of Living Non-Violence
Luke 7:14
14Then he came forward and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, rise!”
The Tank Man of Tiananmen Square June 5, 1989 held up 4 powerful Chinese army tanks by simply standing in the way. Nothing extraordinary about what he did at one level, at another it was extraordinary.
Extraordinary because he defied the culture and the custom of the autocratic society in which he lived. Extraordinary because from the beginning of the student uprisings 14th April 1989, somewhere between 4,000 and 10, 000 people died and some 30,000 injured. He stood out by standing up – it wasn’t anything he said, just what he did. He confronted death, and became a symbol for life.
While it received international focus, most Chinese students didn’t and still don’t know about it. It is suggested that both the Tank Man and the Tank Driver were executed the former for his defiance, the second for failing to drive over the Tank man, but their feate is unsure.
Here we were faced with the type of non-violent response to violence, both rare and desperately needed in our society.
Readings: (1 Kings 17:8-24, Galatians 1:11-24, Luke 7:11-24)
In our readings we are reminded of the intricate relationship between death and life and how that is played out in the lives of those who have little in the way of resources and resistance to the forces responsible for death – poverty. In these readings Elijah and Jesus exemplify the power of non-violence to overcome the violence of death and those who promote death as a way of life for others.
Elijah obeys God and is confronted by the inevitability of poverty (the widow only has enough for her son and herself). Despite sharing her last meal with the prophet she faces the inevitability of death connected to a life of poverty – it is stark and real. Despite doing the right things in God’s name, both the widow and her son, and Elijah cannot avoid the reality of life.
Jesus re-enacts this scene, although in a slightly different environment, not one of drought and famine, but of the colonial (Romans in power) and cultural (the religious law) oppression that continued to impact on the poorest of the poor – widows and their families.
"The stories of Elisha and Elijah and Jesus suggest that radical change requires (non-violent) passion and compassion for our political and personal and religious enemies. (This type of) compassion isn’t formulaic or predictable or tidy or even rational—yet it is perhaps the only thing that can save us." Debbie Blue
Jesus crossed path with a funeral procession and this very ordinary event touched Jesus. It seems Jesus was deeply affected by death. In a violent society he had not become inured to it and felt it deeply. He confronted it in others and was aware of the consequences he himself would face as a result of the style of life he was living and exemplifying. –
He touched the bier. "In the midst of the complexity of human need is hope and the possibility of renewal and life." William Loader
Jesus’ act fulfils Loaders call in three ways:
• It was a non-violent protest that was powerful.
Jesus reached out almost casually but with purpose and love. Almost immediately, the procession stopped, stopped in its tracks. All present turned their focus on this teacher who had dared to touch the funeral bier.
And the procession buzzed with:
‘What is about to happen?’
‘Why would a religious teacher purposefully make himself unclean?”
“What is he going to do now!”
His act, so innocuous and ordinary, was anything but. He made himself ritually unclean by the every act of touching. He placed himself outside the religious respectable and became an outsider, as poor and as broken as the widow herself. He broke the religious rules to show that love gives life.
He was not interested in the myth of an anaemic popular form of love prevalent in our society, but a deep compassionate love that stops a funeral bier at great personal cost and sends a clear and undeniable message to the political and religious powers within his society.
• It was an act where the ordinary met the extraordinary
Death is the prevalent image in our society as it was in Jesus’ time. Fo those in Jesus time colonial and religious oppression brought with it death by separating those who were righteous from those who were not and, for those who were placed on the outside, this hastened death
In our culture we only have to look at:
Television programming:
Murder and murder investigation shows
Reality shows which are little more than a profitable way to publicly humiliate and destroy others in the name of entertainment (and money)
TV news and documentaries
Computer games
Modern music
Government policies on issues such as indigenous, refugee, gender or environmental issues which focus on political expediency as against justice and compassion. Death is our dominant fear and preoccupation.
Jesus confronts the fear of death by touching the bier. By doing so he is saying death is not to be feared, death is in fact just another face of life and, if embraced as part of life, leads to renewal. Luke is also saying boldly that Jesus is more than just a prophet by placing him in the tradition of Elisha and Elijah as one who has life giving power over death, a fact that is confirmed by his death and resurrection.
• It was an act that asks us to get our hands dirty.
Compassion speaks of being at one with another, having a love which sees the other as yourself and by doing so being prepared to meet the other in their pain and poverty. It is the whole meaning of the good news of Jesus – God became man to know what it means to be human. Jesus acts and indentifies fully by becoming ritually unclean, overcoming death through compassion.
‘He was his mother’s only son, and she was a widow; and with her was a large crowd from the town. 13When the Lord saw her, he had compassion for her’
Compassion for the widow who was now all alone – outcast – destined to a life of poverty. Compassion included the son, but not as the initiator of the compassion. That was the identification with the one who was now poorer than poor.
For a religious teacher who had a reputation for being confronting, this ups the ante. It was no longer simply good enough to be good, you can’t hide behind it at all. Like the Good Samaritan story Jesus acts foolishly with his compassion, risking his life and his reputation, and asks us to do the same.
Unfortunately like most of Jesus’ teaching this is not formulaic – it isn’t a clear and precise set of actions we can know and follow. How and where we show this non-violent form of love, compassion, is not spelt out for us, except that it is to be how we live our ordinary life within the ordinary events of human life.
Like the Tank Man of Tiannamen Square, Elijah in the famine and Jesus on the road, it will be seen how we respond to others in everything we do. For Jesus Compassion, love, is the hardest commandment, to love God yourself and others is all that matters.
14Then he came forward and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, rise!”
The Tank Man of Tiananmen Square June 5, 1989 held up 4 powerful Chinese army tanks by simply standing in the way. Nothing extraordinary about what he did at one level, at another it was extraordinary.
Extraordinary because he defied the culture and the custom of the autocratic society in which he lived. Extraordinary because from the beginning of the student uprisings 14th April 1989, somewhere between 4,000 and 10, 000 people died and some 30,000 injured. He stood out by standing up – it wasn’t anything he said, just what he did. He confronted death, and became a symbol for life.
While it received international focus, most Chinese students didn’t and still don’t know about it. It is suggested that both the Tank Man and the Tank Driver were executed the former for his defiance, the second for failing to drive over the Tank man, but their feate is unsure.
Here we were faced with the type of non-violent response to violence, both rare and desperately needed in our society.
Readings: (1 Kings 17:8-24, Galatians 1:11-24, Luke 7:11-24)
In our readings we are reminded of the intricate relationship between death and life and how that is played out in the lives of those who have little in the way of resources and resistance to the forces responsible for death – poverty. In these readings Elijah and Jesus exemplify the power of non-violence to overcome the violence of death and those who promote death as a way of life for others.
Elijah obeys God and is confronted by the inevitability of poverty (the widow only has enough for her son and herself). Despite sharing her last meal with the prophet she faces the inevitability of death connected to a life of poverty – it is stark and real. Despite doing the right things in God’s name, both the widow and her son, and Elijah cannot avoid the reality of life.
Jesus re-enacts this scene, although in a slightly different environment, not one of drought and famine, but of the colonial (Romans in power) and cultural (the religious law) oppression that continued to impact on the poorest of the poor – widows and their families.
"The stories of Elisha and Elijah and Jesus suggest that radical change requires (non-violent) passion and compassion for our political and personal and religious enemies. (This type of) compassion isn’t formulaic or predictable or tidy or even rational—yet it is perhaps the only thing that can save us." Debbie Blue
Jesus crossed path with a funeral procession and this very ordinary event touched Jesus. It seems Jesus was deeply affected by death. In a violent society he had not become inured to it and felt it deeply. He confronted it in others and was aware of the consequences he himself would face as a result of the style of life he was living and exemplifying. –
He touched the bier. "In the midst of the complexity of human need is hope and the possibility of renewal and life." William Loader
Jesus’ act fulfils Loaders call in three ways:
• It was a non-violent protest that was powerful.
Jesus reached out almost casually but with purpose and love. Almost immediately, the procession stopped, stopped in its tracks. All present turned their focus on this teacher who had dared to touch the funeral bier.
And the procession buzzed with:
‘What is about to happen?’
‘Why would a religious teacher purposefully make himself unclean?”
“What is he going to do now!”
His act, so innocuous and ordinary, was anything but. He made himself ritually unclean by the every act of touching. He placed himself outside the religious respectable and became an outsider, as poor and as broken as the widow herself. He broke the religious rules to show that love gives life.
He was not interested in the myth of an anaemic popular form of love prevalent in our society, but a deep compassionate love that stops a funeral bier at great personal cost and sends a clear and undeniable message to the political and religious powers within his society.
• It was an act where the ordinary met the extraordinary
Death is the prevalent image in our society as it was in Jesus’ time. Fo those in Jesus time colonial and religious oppression brought with it death by separating those who were righteous from those who were not and, for those who were placed on the outside, this hastened death
In our culture we only have to look at:
Television programming:
Murder and murder investigation shows
Reality shows which are little more than a profitable way to publicly humiliate and destroy others in the name of entertainment (and money)
TV news and documentaries
Computer games
Modern music
Government policies on issues such as indigenous, refugee, gender or environmental issues which focus on political expediency as against justice and compassion. Death is our dominant fear and preoccupation.
Jesus confronts the fear of death by touching the bier. By doing so he is saying death is not to be feared, death is in fact just another face of life and, if embraced as part of life, leads to renewal. Luke is also saying boldly that Jesus is more than just a prophet by placing him in the tradition of Elisha and Elijah as one who has life giving power over death, a fact that is confirmed by his death and resurrection.
• It was an act that asks us to get our hands dirty.
Compassion speaks of being at one with another, having a love which sees the other as yourself and by doing so being prepared to meet the other in their pain and poverty. It is the whole meaning of the good news of Jesus – God became man to know what it means to be human. Jesus acts and indentifies fully by becoming ritually unclean, overcoming death through compassion.
‘He was his mother’s only son, and she was a widow; and with her was a large crowd from the town. 13When the Lord saw her, he had compassion for her’
Compassion for the widow who was now all alone – outcast – destined to a life of poverty. Compassion included the son, but not as the initiator of the compassion. That was the identification with the one who was now poorer than poor.
For a religious teacher who had a reputation for being confronting, this ups the ante. It was no longer simply good enough to be good, you can’t hide behind it at all. Like the Good Samaritan story Jesus acts foolishly with his compassion, risking his life and his reputation, and asks us to do the same.
Unfortunately like most of Jesus’ teaching this is not formulaic – it isn’t a clear and precise set of actions we can know and follow. How and where we show this non-violent form of love, compassion, is not spelt out for us, except that it is to be how we live our ordinary life within the ordinary events of human life.
Like the Tank Man of Tiannamen Square, Elijah in the famine and Jesus on the road, it will be seen how we respond to others in everything we do. For Jesus Compassion, love, is the hardest commandment, to love God yourself and others is all that matters.
Sunday 30 May 2010
Being in the mystery
"Being in the know is the booby prize. Being in the mystery is the grand prize", says quantum physics scientist Fred Alan Wolf.
Life is a mystery. What happens next will always surprise us and when we think we have it under control it turns out to be not so. Wolf suggests that when we embrace mystery as the normal shape of existence then we open ourselves up to an exciting and interesting life. But if we settle for what we know, and try and fit life into that narrow and limited understanding of the world, we settle for less. By settling for less we condemn ourselves to always be disappointed and looking for answers.
Wolf challenges us to sit in the mystery of life, to resist the temptation to find easy and comfortable answers and to avoid embracing the modern myths of safety, happiness and solutions through consumerism. All around us we are asked to accept the answers of others, often others with knowledge and power, governments, drug companies, advertisers, multi-nationals, institutions and more. Some how the way we see the world as an ordinary person is discarded for that of those who are deemed to 'being in the know'. Even the church is not immune to this form of consumerism, knowledge and power with some within it claiming to 'being in the know', knowing the will of God for all and having the definitive answers to the problems we face each day.
Yet, the last two Sundays - Pentecost and Trinity - asks us to be open to 'being in the mystery' of creation, redemption and the spirit. To be open to the surprising God whose ways are not the same as ours and whose answers are unlike those we seek. God asks us to empty ourselves of 'being in the know' and be filled with the emptiness of 'being in mystery'. A life of unknowing which, paradoxically, fills us with the knowledge which saves us - the redemptive knowledge of love and truth experienced in the mystery of being alive in this world.
So I agree with Wolf - "Being in the know is the booby prize. Being in the mystery is the grand prize." But some times it is uncomfortable.....
Life is a mystery. What happens next will always surprise us and when we think we have it under control it turns out to be not so. Wolf suggests that when we embrace mystery as the normal shape of existence then we open ourselves up to an exciting and interesting life. But if we settle for what we know, and try and fit life into that narrow and limited understanding of the world, we settle for less. By settling for less we condemn ourselves to always be disappointed and looking for answers.
Wolf challenges us to sit in the mystery of life, to resist the temptation to find easy and comfortable answers and to avoid embracing the modern myths of safety, happiness and solutions through consumerism. All around us we are asked to accept the answers of others, often others with knowledge and power, governments, drug companies, advertisers, multi-nationals, institutions and more. Some how the way we see the world as an ordinary person is discarded for that of those who are deemed to 'being in the know'. Even the church is not immune to this form of consumerism, knowledge and power with some within it claiming to 'being in the know', knowing the will of God for all and having the definitive answers to the problems we face each day.
Yet, the last two Sundays - Pentecost and Trinity - asks us to be open to 'being in the mystery' of creation, redemption and the spirit. To be open to the surprising God whose ways are not the same as ours and whose answers are unlike those we seek. God asks us to empty ourselves of 'being in the know' and be filled with the emptiness of 'being in mystery'. A life of unknowing which, paradoxically, fills us with the knowledge which saves us - the redemptive knowledge of love and truth experienced in the mystery of being alive in this world.
So I agree with Wolf - "Being in the know is the booby prize. Being in the mystery is the grand prize." But some times it is uncomfortable.....
Monday 17 May 2010
Corroboree
'Luke 24:50-53/Acts 1:10-11'
“Why do you stand there looking up”?
This is an image that lives in my memory as a regular childhood occurrence. Living out in the bush on our farm we had few visitors and when visitors came their visit was welcome. We would stand on the front verandah or lean on the fence looking for the dusty evidence of their arrival, running like excited puppies yelping “They’re here, they’re here!’ as the barely visible car bounced up the track to the house.
And when the visit was over we would stand watching as the car disappeared and became just a wisp of dust on the horizon. We would kick the dirt and go on about our chores with a sense of the joy of being visited and of despondence at the sense of loss. What to do next?
“Why do you stand there looking up?”
Jesus has gone, where we are not sure. For us post-modern people who no longer view the world in terms of a three level cosmology – heaven is up, hell down and the world in between- the ascension can be very puzzling.
It is interesting that many of the ancient religions situated their gods in the earth and had no place for heaven or hell. What was important was the interaction between what was under their feet with what was in front of them. Indigenous peoples acted from this world view and remained completely connected to their environment in a holistic way.
It wasn’t until western Christians with their 3 tiered cosmology occupied their lands did these older religions become disconnected from the earth as they were converted to western Christianity. How much different our world would be if we had understood the truth of their world view, perhaps we would have treated our planet better.
What really happened here? Where did Jesus go? And does it matter? Sometimes we can be so heavenly minded to be of no earthly use. And that is the challenge of the two young men in white robes to the disciples. It doesn’t matter where Jesus went, he had promised to return, interestingly according to the young men, in the same way ‘you saw him go, in mystery and presence’.
The cloud metaphor here is important. Jesus disappears into a cloud. Is it a physical cloud or simply the fact that the Disciples are unable to process what is happening? They are in a cloud of unknowing, of not being able to process what is happening, of “I don’t understand.’
This happens to me a lot – I get that vague look on my face, my mind feels like cotton wool and I want to find a place to process what is happening. I open the box in my head called AFL (awaiting further light) and let what I don’t get, in. And then I wait.
At the most unexpected moments the cloud is lifted and some of th things in the AFL box disappear and I know something I didn’t know before, I see things in colour instead of black and white, I hear in surround sound, not mono, and little is a little changed.
I think that’s what happened to the disciples.
Eventually the disciples move, they leave this spot taking their unknowing, their wondering, their perplexities with them and they gather together, as Luke says in 24:52 ‘And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy; and they were continually in the temple blessing God’.
Despite not understanding what had happened they hold onto what they knew of Jesus and worshipped him. Worship is the act of adoration even, especially, in the midst of confusion and doubt. In that worship they find joy, not in their confusion but in their experience of Jesus and the God who was his father. Worship and joy have little or nothing to do with how we feel or what we can prove. It is always about faith in the midst of doubt and will never be any different.
The other thing they did which prepared them for the experience of the Spirits coming (Pentecost) was they ‘were continually in the temple’ reading the scriptures, telling stories about their experiences of Jesus and building up in each other the salvation story which would firstly prepare them for the return of Jesus as the spirit but secondly sustain the growing community of believers through those most difficult of days.
It wasn’t until they took time out, sat still, told yarns and corroboreed that they were ready for the power of Jesus to live within them at Pentecost. In our busy post-modern world where all is defined by its function, time out and yarning, corroboree, is little valued.
Many a night in my childhood I would sit on the outside of the group and listen to the adults in my family and community sit around a pot of tea and yarn – telling stories about their past, our past, growing sleepy to stories which embedded themselves in my being to be recalled at the most unusual of times.
Perhaps the words of the young men in Acts account are prophetic, not just for the disciples, but for us today. If we are going to sustain our lives and sustain the lives of others we have influence over, perhaps we should stop looking up for escape and salvation and sit still with others, tell our stories and wait. In waiting our stories will be validated and when the time is right they will become powerful, for us and for others.
“Why do you stand there looking up”?
The young men challenge us to change our perspective and look around. Engage the stories of others, not only those who believe like you but especially those who don’t, not only those who are the same as you but especially those who are not, and when you have made those stories your own you will find the power of the indwelling Christ and you will move freely, unencumbered through the world resisting the tendency to look up for escape or salvation. You will find that here and now, especially here in the midst of the cloud which sometimes clouds the wonder and beauty that is all around us each day.
“Why do you stand there looking up”?
This is an image that lives in my memory as a regular childhood occurrence. Living out in the bush on our farm we had few visitors and when visitors came their visit was welcome. We would stand on the front verandah or lean on the fence looking for the dusty evidence of their arrival, running like excited puppies yelping “They’re here, they’re here!’ as the barely visible car bounced up the track to the house.
And when the visit was over we would stand watching as the car disappeared and became just a wisp of dust on the horizon. We would kick the dirt and go on about our chores with a sense of the joy of being visited and of despondence at the sense of loss. What to do next?
“Why do you stand there looking up?”
Jesus has gone, where we are not sure. For us post-modern people who no longer view the world in terms of a three level cosmology – heaven is up, hell down and the world in between- the ascension can be very puzzling.
It is interesting that many of the ancient religions situated their gods in the earth and had no place for heaven or hell. What was important was the interaction between what was under their feet with what was in front of them. Indigenous peoples acted from this world view and remained completely connected to their environment in a holistic way.
It wasn’t until western Christians with their 3 tiered cosmology occupied their lands did these older religions become disconnected from the earth as they were converted to western Christianity. How much different our world would be if we had understood the truth of their world view, perhaps we would have treated our planet better.
What really happened here? Where did Jesus go? And does it matter? Sometimes we can be so heavenly minded to be of no earthly use. And that is the challenge of the two young men in white robes to the disciples. It doesn’t matter where Jesus went, he had promised to return, interestingly according to the young men, in the same way ‘you saw him go, in mystery and presence’.
The cloud metaphor here is important. Jesus disappears into a cloud. Is it a physical cloud or simply the fact that the Disciples are unable to process what is happening? They are in a cloud of unknowing, of not being able to process what is happening, of “I don’t understand.’
This happens to me a lot – I get that vague look on my face, my mind feels like cotton wool and I want to find a place to process what is happening. I open the box in my head called AFL (awaiting further light) and let what I don’t get, in. And then I wait.
At the most unexpected moments the cloud is lifted and some of th things in the AFL box disappear and I know something I didn’t know before, I see things in colour instead of black and white, I hear in surround sound, not mono, and little is a little changed.
I think that’s what happened to the disciples.
Eventually the disciples move, they leave this spot taking their unknowing, their wondering, their perplexities with them and they gather together, as Luke says in 24:52 ‘And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy; and they were continually in the temple blessing God’.
Despite not understanding what had happened they hold onto what they knew of Jesus and worshipped him. Worship is the act of adoration even, especially, in the midst of confusion and doubt. In that worship they find joy, not in their confusion but in their experience of Jesus and the God who was his father. Worship and joy have little or nothing to do with how we feel or what we can prove. It is always about faith in the midst of doubt and will never be any different.
The other thing they did which prepared them for the experience of the Spirits coming (Pentecost) was they ‘were continually in the temple’ reading the scriptures, telling stories about their experiences of Jesus and building up in each other the salvation story which would firstly prepare them for the return of Jesus as the spirit but secondly sustain the growing community of believers through those most difficult of days.
It wasn’t until they took time out, sat still, told yarns and corroboreed that they were ready for the power of Jesus to live within them at Pentecost. In our busy post-modern world where all is defined by its function, time out and yarning, corroboree, is little valued.
Many a night in my childhood I would sit on the outside of the group and listen to the adults in my family and community sit around a pot of tea and yarn – telling stories about their past, our past, growing sleepy to stories which embedded themselves in my being to be recalled at the most unusual of times.
Perhaps the words of the young men in Acts account are prophetic, not just for the disciples, but for us today. If we are going to sustain our lives and sustain the lives of others we have influence over, perhaps we should stop looking up for escape and salvation and sit still with others, tell our stories and wait. In waiting our stories will be validated and when the time is right they will become powerful, for us and for others.
“Why do you stand there looking up”?
The young men challenge us to change our perspective and look around. Engage the stories of others, not only those who believe like you but especially those who don’t, not only those who are the same as you but especially those who are not, and when you have made those stories your own you will find the power of the indwelling Christ and you will move freely, unencumbered through the world resisting the tendency to look up for escape or salvation. You will find that here and now, especially here in the midst of the cloud which sometimes clouds the wonder and beauty that is all around us each day.
Monday 10 May 2010
ON THE LOOSE, UNENCUMBERED AND READY
Paul had a vision. Over the years I have had my difficulties with this crusty, hard line lawyer-come-apostle. Reading quickly through his books, it has always seemed that he was more concerned with how we behave morally than spiritually. As time has gone on, I have softened in my stance and began to open up to the mystic contemplative who lives just under surface of his life.
Paul appears to be a person with thin boundaries comfortable in the liminal space of change and challenge. By thin boundaried I mean some one who is able to transit the normally perceived world and connect with the transcendent reality which is always present but rarely experienced by the ordinary person. This is the domain of contemplative prayer or contemplation.
It is not meditation, even Christian meditation; it is not stillness or solitude, it is not private prayer. It is openness to both the immanence and transcendence of God at the very same time. Of knowing that I live in, amongst and with God every moment of life and that he is breaking in on me in ways that startle, energise and direct me; when I am open to him.
Contemplative prayer is simply the awareness of being connected to God at every breathing moment, and that his realm is not out there somewhere or something I can only encounter fully in heaven after death. Heaven is here today, and I encounter him now.
A little boy with multiple illnesses, which restricted his life greatly, approached a Christian speaker after a seminar and asked: “What is heaven like?” He was told that it was wonderful, something to behold. Incredulously he asked: “Better than here? That’s not possible.” As the speaker looked at the broken little body in front of him, the boy explained: “It can’t be better than here. Here we have everything we need and a life of opportunity. This is heaven.” The little boy went away shaking his head.
Thomas Merton says:
“The only way to get rid of misconceptions about contemplation is to experience it. One who does not actually know, in his own life, the nature of this breakthrough and this awakening to a new level of reality cannot help being misled by most of the things that are said about it. For contemplation cannot be taught. It cannot even be clearly explained. It can only be hinted at, suggested, pointed to, symbolized. The more objectively and scientifically one tries to analyze it, the more he empties it of its real content, for this experience is beyond the reach of verbalization and of rationalization”.
Paul surely had experienced it. He either had personal experience of it or had benefited from the outcomes of contemplative prayer experienced by others.
Acts 9:3-4 - His conversion
Now as he was going along and approaching Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”
Acts 9:10 – The one who was to teach him
10Now there was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” He answered, “Here I am, Lord.”
Acts 18:9
9One night the Lord said to Paul in a vision, “Do not be afraid, but speak and do not be silent; 10for I am with you, and no one will lay a hand on you to harm you, for there are many in this city who are my people.”
Acts 22:17
17“After I had returned to Jerusalem and while I was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance 18and saw Jesus saying to me, ‘Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’
Acts 27:23
23For last night there stood by me an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship, 24and he said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before the emperor; and indeed, God has granted safety to all those who are sailing with you.’
It is probable that there were many other such experiences that Luke the writer of the book of Acts leaves out, but there is enough evidence that Paul, the workaholic apostle, spent much time in contemplation where he encountered directly the person of the transcendent God.
These experiences occurred in the midst of his ordinary everyday life.The examples above identify that when he was at his weakest that’s when he encountered God. When we are humble and broken, unsure of our own power and sense of right, that is when God can reach us.
Part of the task of contemplative prayer is this sense of emptying ourselves of our ego and self-assurance, and paring our inner selves back to total reliance on God. It is about humility, something I once though Paul had little of, but have come to see in him.
Merton goes on:
"A humble man can do great things with an uncommon perfection because he is no longer concerned about incidentals, like his own interests and his own reputation, and therefore he no longer needs to waste his efforts in defending them.
For a humble man is not afraid of failure. In fact, he is not afraid of anything, even of himself, since perfect humility implies perfect confidence in the power of God before Whom no other power has any meaning and for Whom there is no such thing as an obstacle.”
Brueggeman says of this passage:
“Here is a narrative in which a vision leads to a new practical beginning. Paul was ready for a vision. He was seeking a way of ministry “out of no way.” That new way was given “in a vision,” a perception of reality outside the ordinary and beyond all conventionalism. This “chief apostle” is “on the loose,” unencumbered and ready for what is given by God—not a bad characterization of the church and its ministry when that ministry is not imprisoned in old thought categories or paralyzed by its traditions (or its property).”
Neither is this concept of being “on the loose, unencumbered and ready for what is given by God”, not a bad characterization of contemplative prayer. When all barriers are down and we are free to embrace whatever experience God brings our way we will see visions just as Paul did.
When I travel overseas in particular, I have developed a way of being which is a little different. I avoid as far as possible the typical tourist spots and attractions and cut myself loose from the accepted way of being abroad. It started in Paris in 2005. I simply step out into the street and walk with out any plan or preconceived idea of what I want to see. I simply want to see the city. I am on the loose, unencumbered and ready for what ever the city brings. I let the city surprise me. And it does.
Paul, the contemplative, let’s God surprise him, and he does.
The challenge is to empty our minds of the mechanical and technological knowledge of our world, the preconceived understandings of the world around us (and God as well), and to open ourselves up to the mystery of the Creator God who seeks to do miracles in our every day lives.
New ways will break in upon us when we are least expecting them, when we are empty, humble or simply “on the loose, unencumbered and ready for what is given by God”
Acts 16:9-15
Paul appears to be a person with thin boundaries comfortable in the liminal space of change and challenge. By thin boundaried I mean some one who is able to transit the normally perceived world and connect with the transcendent reality which is always present but rarely experienced by the ordinary person. This is the domain of contemplative prayer or contemplation.
It is not meditation, even Christian meditation; it is not stillness or solitude, it is not private prayer. It is openness to both the immanence and transcendence of God at the very same time. Of knowing that I live in, amongst and with God every moment of life and that he is breaking in on me in ways that startle, energise and direct me; when I am open to him.
Contemplative prayer is simply the awareness of being connected to God at every breathing moment, and that his realm is not out there somewhere or something I can only encounter fully in heaven after death. Heaven is here today, and I encounter him now.
A little boy with multiple illnesses, which restricted his life greatly, approached a Christian speaker after a seminar and asked: “What is heaven like?” He was told that it was wonderful, something to behold. Incredulously he asked: “Better than here? That’s not possible.” As the speaker looked at the broken little body in front of him, the boy explained: “It can’t be better than here. Here we have everything we need and a life of opportunity. This is heaven.” The little boy went away shaking his head.
Thomas Merton says:
“The only way to get rid of misconceptions about contemplation is to experience it. One who does not actually know, in his own life, the nature of this breakthrough and this awakening to a new level of reality cannot help being misled by most of the things that are said about it. For contemplation cannot be taught. It cannot even be clearly explained. It can only be hinted at, suggested, pointed to, symbolized. The more objectively and scientifically one tries to analyze it, the more he empties it of its real content, for this experience is beyond the reach of verbalization and of rationalization”.
Paul surely had experienced it. He either had personal experience of it or had benefited from the outcomes of contemplative prayer experienced by others.
Acts 9:3-4 - His conversion
Now as he was going along and approaching Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”
Acts 9:10 – The one who was to teach him
10Now there was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” He answered, “Here I am, Lord.”
Acts 18:9
9One night the Lord said to Paul in a vision, “Do not be afraid, but speak and do not be silent; 10for I am with you, and no one will lay a hand on you to harm you, for there are many in this city who are my people.”
Acts 22:17
17“After I had returned to Jerusalem and while I was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance 18and saw Jesus saying to me, ‘Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’
Acts 27:23
23For last night there stood by me an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship, 24and he said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before the emperor; and indeed, God has granted safety to all those who are sailing with you.’
It is probable that there were many other such experiences that Luke the writer of the book of Acts leaves out, but there is enough evidence that Paul, the workaholic apostle, spent much time in contemplation where he encountered directly the person of the transcendent God.
These experiences occurred in the midst of his ordinary everyday life.The examples above identify that when he was at his weakest that’s when he encountered God. When we are humble and broken, unsure of our own power and sense of right, that is when God can reach us.
Part of the task of contemplative prayer is this sense of emptying ourselves of our ego and self-assurance, and paring our inner selves back to total reliance on God. It is about humility, something I once though Paul had little of, but have come to see in him.
Merton goes on:
"A humble man can do great things with an uncommon perfection because he is no longer concerned about incidentals, like his own interests and his own reputation, and therefore he no longer needs to waste his efforts in defending them.
For a humble man is not afraid of failure. In fact, he is not afraid of anything, even of himself, since perfect humility implies perfect confidence in the power of God before Whom no other power has any meaning and for Whom there is no such thing as an obstacle.”
Brueggeman says of this passage:
“Here is a narrative in which a vision leads to a new practical beginning. Paul was ready for a vision. He was seeking a way of ministry “out of no way.” That new way was given “in a vision,” a perception of reality outside the ordinary and beyond all conventionalism. This “chief apostle” is “on the loose,” unencumbered and ready for what is given by God—not a bad characterization of the church and its ministry when that ministry is not imprisoned in old thought categories or paralyzed by its traditions (or its property).”
Neither is this concept of being “on the loose, unencumbered and ready for what is given by God”, not a bad characterization of contemplative prayer. When all barriers are down and we are free to embrace whatever experience God brings our way we will see visions just as Paul did.
When I travel overseas in particular, I have developed a way of being which is a little different. I avoid as far as possible the typical tourist spots and attractions and cut myself loose from the accepted way of being abroad. It started in Paris in 2005. I simply step out into the street and walk with out any plan or preconceived idea of what I want to see. I simply want to see the city. I am on the loose, unencumbered and ready for what ever the city brings. I let the city surprise me. And it does.
Paul, the contemplative, let’s God surprise him, and he does.
The challenge is to empty our minds of the mechanical and technological knowledge of our world, the preconceived understandings of the world around us (and God as well), and to open ourselves up to the mystery of the Creator God who seeks to do miracles in our every day lives.
New ways will break in upon us when we are least expecting them, when we are empty, humble or simply “on the loose, unencumbered and ready for what is given by God”
Acts 16:9-15
Wednesday 5 May 2010
People Have Names
Watching the local NBN News in Tweed Heads last night, I noticed something disturbing. A picture of the beautiful local model Samantha Harris was shown followed by the newsreader saying, "Is this the first indigenous supermodel?' (I do not have a transcript unfortunately). They then broke for an advertisement.
What is wrong with "this" you may ask? Almost everything. We were not looking at an object but a young lady with a name, full of aspirations and hopes who has, it seems to me, worked very hard to achieve her goals. Samantha is not a 'this', an object like a flower or a rock but a person, a subject the same as myself and the newsreader.
Here lies a major stumbling block for a society raised on analytical and rational thinking, a society which reduces all its constituents to objects so they can simply be discarded without concern at the most expedient time. It is the violence we do to others who are, for what ever reason, different to ourselves and the accepted norms of our group.
Think for a moment of all those who may have been watching last night who are different and who have not achieved the heights Samantha has. Perhaps they were thinking, "If that's how they treat someone who is successful, what do they think of me?"
Our language is important for it is the tool we use most often to build up or pull down, to change stereotypes or to maintain them, to encourage or discourage others.
For those of us who work with young people or have young people of our own, it is a timely reminder to mind our language, whether we are talking to or about the children in our care is irrelevant. What we say reflects what we think and what we think can and does change the world for others. Let that change be positive.
What is wrong with "this" you may ask? Almost everything. We were not looking at an object but a young lady with a name, full of aspirations and hopes who has, it seems to me, worked very hard to achieve her goals. Samantha is not a 'this', an object like a flower or a rock but a person, a subject the same as myself and the newsreader.
Here lies a major stumbling block for a society raised on analytical and rational thinking, a society which reduces all its constituents to objects so they can simply be discarded without concern at the most expedient time. It is the violence we do to others who are, for what ever reason, different to ourselves and the accepted norms of our group.
Think for a moment of all those who may have been watching last night who are different and who have not achieved the heights Samantha has. Perhaps they were thinking, "If that's how they treat someone who is successful, what do they think of me?"
Our language is important for it is the tool we use most often to build up or pull down, to change stereotypes or to maintain them, to encourage or discourage others.
For those of us who work with young people or have young people of our own, it is a timely reminder to mind our language, whether we are talking to or about the children in our care is irrelevant. What we say reflects what we think and what we think can and does change the world for others. Let that change be positive.
Tuesday 4 May 2010
And God Breathed and Laughed
Taking life too seriously is a health risk. Laughing is a lost art, especially the ability to laugh at your self.
Last weekend my wife and I were in Sydney. On Saturday night we shared a meal with one of Gayes' very best friends. Over a great meal and a nice bottle of wine we chatted, told stories and laughed, loudly!
When Gaye spoke to her yesterday and asked how she was, she replied "My sides still hurt!"
When was the last time you, your partner and/or your children laughed so much your sides hurt? There is something extremely liberating and freeing about laughter, perhaps it is the way we breathe down deep as we exhale in guffaws which is so therapeutic.
Breathing is essential to our being. In Genesis God breathes and the world including man comes into being. In the beginning of John's gospel we are reminded of the breath of God in the form of Jesus who is breathed into our world. The last act of Jesus on the Cross was to breathe out. At Pentecost the Spirit of God is breathed on humanity as the empowering act of God.
In the midst of all this God laughs for the breath of God confounds those who take themselves seriously. And God is still laughing. When we laugh deeply from the centre of our being we join the breath of God creating, saving and resurrecting our world.
Last weekend my wife and I were in Sydney. On Saturday night we shared a meal with one of Gayes' very best friends. Over a great meal and a nice bottle of wine we chatted, told stories and laughed, loudly!
When Gaye spoke to her yesterday and asked how she was, she replied "My sides still hurt!"
When was the last time you, your partner and/or your children laughed so much your sides hurt? There is something extremely liberating and freeing about laughter, perhaps it is the way we breathe down deep as we exhale in guffaws which is so therapeutic.
Breathing is essential to our being. In Genesis God breathes and the world including man comes into being. In the beginning of John's gospel we are reminded of the breath of God in the form of Jesus who is breathed into our world. The last act of Jesus on the Cross was to breathe out. At Pentecost the Spirit of God is breathed on humanity as the empowering act of God.
In the midst of all this God laughs for the breath of God confounds those who take themselves seriously. And God is still laughing. When we laugh deeply from the centre of our being we join the breath of God creating, saving and resurrecting our world.
Friday 23 April 2010
ANZAC DAY - LEST WE FORGET
On ANZAC DAY 1986 the Vietnam veterans took part in ANZAC Day in large numbers for the very first time. As an officer in the Salvation Army I was tasked with leading them on that march down the streets of Brisbane. As we formed up the emotion was palpable for these not so old returned soldiers. Unlike their predecessors from other wars they received no warm welcome home, they knew about the protests against the Vietnam war and were devastated by the lack of support. When they came home people avoided them.
Battered minds and bodies stood tall and marched with purpose and assurance, yet I knew inside each one was a 19 year old boy who had experienced the deep sense of loss, not just of mates killed in war, but the loss of a sense of belonging to a country who was proud of him. Yes they might be cheering this day, but they didn’t when it counted.
After the march and we stood around chatting I asked one digger what it felt like and his reply has chilled me ever since, “Good mate, but too bloody late!’
And it's not just Vietnam Vets who are affected by the war they fought. I have spent a lot of time with sailors and soldiers who have participated in recent theatres of war and those who simply have seen tragic events in so called peace times. The effects of the experiences stay with them long after the battle or the event.
As we get ready for ANZAC Day let us remember clearly who and what we are commemorating. We are commemorating the ordinary young men and women trying to stay alive in horrendous conditions as a result of others decisions. We are commemorating the heroic acts that they participated in, and still do. We do not commemorate war and the horror embedded within it.
They deserve to be honoured by our memory and our efforts to avoid war at all costs. That is now our duty.
PS
At the school ANZAC Day service the legend of ANZAC was evident. A group of students who are also Army and Air Force Cadets participated. They had no CO to marshall them, so one young man took on the role. He took the cadets, some of whom had only be in uniform since the end of last term, and turned them into a competent and confident troop. The slow march was a credit to them. It was something special in itself. The ANZAC Spirit lives on.
Battered minds and bodies stood tall and marched with purpose and assurance, yet I knew inside each one was a 19 year old boy who had experienced the deep sense of loss, not just of mates killed in war, but the loss of a sense of belonging to a country who was proud of him. Yes they might be cheering this day, but they didn’t when it counted.
After the march and we stood around chatting I asked one digger what it felt like and his reply has chilled me ever since, “Good mate, but too bloody late!’
And it's not just Vietnam Vets who are affected by the war they fought. I have spent a lot of time with sailors and soldiers who have participated in recent theatres of war and those who simply have seen tragic events in so called peace times. The effects of the experiences stay with them long after the battle or the event.
As we get ready for ANZAC Day let us remember clearly who and what we are commemorating. We are commemorating the ordinary young men and women trying to stay alive in horrendous conditions as a result of others decisions. We are commemorating the heroic acts that they participated in, and still do. We do not commemorate war and the horror embedded within it.
They deserve to be honoured by our memory and our efforts to avoid war at all costs. That is now our duty.
PS
At the school ANZAC Day service the legend of ANZAC was evident. A group of students who are also Army and Air Force Cadets participated. They had no CO to marshall them, so one young man took on the role. He took the cadets, some of whom had only be in uniform since the end of last term, and turned them into a competent and confident troop. The slow march was a credit to them. It was something special in itself. The ANZAC Spirit lives on.
Friday 16 April 2010
What It Means To Be A Priest Part 2
Yesterday we had a phone call from some friends to join them for lunch at the Chinderah Tavern. Being school holidays meant that I had the freedom and could escape school for a couple of hours, so I went. My wife went from home and I joined them there.
I roared in on the Harley in my checked clergy shirt, red cross and red Squires boots. As I stepped onto the verandah my friend announced me with 'Hello Father Glenn!" Everybody on the verandah turned to have a look. I smiled and ordered a beer and sat down to order lunch.
A little later I went to wash my hands and as I walked through the bar I heard one old barfly say to another, "That's the bloke with red boots", with a nod in my direction. His mate replied, "Yeh, read about him in the paper."
While we were eating lunch, the lady at the next table came over and asked which church I belonged to. I said, "Anglican". She said, "Catholic", and went on to talk about how hard it is to be a Catholic in an area (she was a visitor) where just that day a long running child abuse case surfaced again. She wondered out loud how to handle the criticism. I made some suggestions which seemed to help her, she put her hand on my shoulder and thanked me.
Later my wife noted that during that conversation there was little or no sound on the verandah, everybody was watching and listening to our exchange. It was a 'woman at the well' experience and one that keeps occurring for me.
Being a priest in the model of Christ, our high priest, is to be available in the ordinary stuff of life to the ordinary stuff in others lives. It is putting flesh and breath in to the Sacraments and being open to the real presence of Christ in every aspect of being fully human, fully alive.
A priest is a symbol in a secular world. While people may no longer practice institutional religion as they once did, they are still looking for someone, something which allows them to encounter the spiritual in their everyday. A priest does that whether in church, with those of their flock or with those in the parish area to which they are appointed.
it is important to remember that a priest is not appointed to a church but to a parish area. And while parish areas may now be deemed to be arbitrary, it is the symbolism of that appointment that matters most. A priest is appointed to all people in a geographical area and his priestly role, bringing alive the love of God sacramentally is an all day, everyday encounter with people, wherever they are to be found.
I roared in on the Harley in my checked clergy shirt, red cross and red Squires boots. As I stepped onto the verandah my friend announced me with 'Hello Father Glenn!" Everybody on the verandah turned to have a look. I smiled and ordered a beer and sat down to order lunch.
A little later I went to wash my hands and as I walked through the bar I heard one old barfly say to another, "That's the bloke with red boots", with a nod in my direction. His mate replied, "Yeh, read about him in the paper."
While we were eating lunch, the lady at the next table came over and asked which church I belonged to. I said, "Anglican". She said, "Catholic", and went on to talk about how hard it is to be a Catholic in an area (she was a visitor) where just that day a long running child abuse case surfaced again. She wondered out loud how to handle the criticism. I made some suggestions which seemed to help her, she put her hand on my shoulder and thanked me.
Later my wife noted that during that conversation there was little or no sound on the verandah, everybody was watching and listening to our exchange. It was a 'woman at the well' experience and one that keeps occurring for me.
Being a priest in the model of Christ, our high priest, is to be available in the ordinary stuff of life to the ordinary stuff in others lives. It is putting flesh and breath in to the Sacraments and being open to the real presence of Christ in every aspect of being fully human, fully alive.
A priest is a symbol in a secular world. While people may no longer practice institutional religion as they once did, they are still looking for someone, something which allows them to encounter the spiritual in their everyday. A priest does that whether in church, with those of their flock or with those in the parish area to which they are appointed.
it is important to remember that a priest is not appointed to a church but to a parish area. And while parish areas may now be deemed to be arbitrary, it is the symbolism of that appointment that matters most. A priest is appointed to all people in a geographical area and his priestly role, bringing alive the love of God sacramentally is an all day, everyday encounter with people, wherever they are to be found.
Wednesday 14 April 2010
What Does It Mean To Be A Priest?
"Life consists in learning to live on one’s own, spontaneous, freewheeling: to do this one must recognize what is one’s own—be familiar and at home with oneself. This means basically learning who one is, and learning what one has to offer to the contemporary world, and then learning how to make that offering valid." Thomas Merton from "Living and Loving"
Some one asked what it meant for me to be a priest and how did I validate that experience in my daily life? Well, the words of Merton encapsulate it for me, but let me tell you what happened to me today to be it in perspective.
I had decided that my haircut no longer fitted my military expectations so I went to the barbers. Unfortunately my normal barber was busy, and as I only had limited time I couldn't wait, so I went in search of another barber.
Around the corner I found one and took a seat. The young man was cutting the hair of an elderly man with dementia and was doing so with great care and love. I noticed the young man had an unconventional hair cut and I wondered about who he was and what he was thinking.
It soon came my turn and I plopped down into the chair. He looked me up and down (red checked clergy shirt and red Squires boots)and commented: "You must raise some eyebrows with the way your dressed for a priest?' I laughed and said "Sometimes". The conversation continued and I discovered he was ex-Army so I shared about my role with Navy.
What started out as general conversation moved quickly into listening deeply as this young man talked about his experiences, how he lost friends in aircraft accidents on flights he was scheduled to go on but was pulled from at the last minute, the trauma he experienced and how he copes with the sleepless nights. 'I sleep with one eye open", he said. He also said, "I am working through it all, and working on forgiving and forgetting."
Having heard what he said, I commented that experiences like that can be worked through but they will never be forgotten. The conversation went on as I got my $10 haircut.
As I left I shook his hand and looked deeply into his eyes and we both said 'God bless you' at exactly the same time.
God took a freewheeling moment in my life and my availability allowed a special God encounter to occur for both of us. Priestly stuff happens when you are most yourself, present to the moment, fully alive as a human being and open to the movement of the Spirit. Being fully alive as a human being and as a priest means that all ordinary moments are priestly moments.
There are no ordinary moments. All moments are invested with the divine and as a priest I live for those ordinary moments.
Some one asked what it meant for me to be a priest and how did I validate that experience in my daily life? Well, the words of Merton encapsulate it for me, but let me tell you what happened to me today to be it in perspective.
I had decided that my haircut no longer fitted my military expectations so I went to the barbers. Unfortunately my normal barber was busy, and as I only had limited time I couldn't wait, so I went in search of another barber.
Around the corner I found one and took a seat. The young man was cutting the hair of an elderly man with dementia and was doing so with great care and love. I noticed the young man had an unconventional hair cut and I wondered about who he was and what he was thinking.
It soon came my turn and I plopped down into the chair. He looked me up and down (red checked clergy shirt and red Squires boots)and commented: "You must raise some eyebrows with the way your dressed for a priest?' I laughed and said "Sometimes". The conversation continued and I discovered he was ex-Army so I shared about my role with Navy.
What started out as general conversation moved quickly into listening deeply as this young man talked about his experiences, how he lost friends in aircraft accidents on flights he was scheduled to go on but was pulled from at the last minute, the trauma he experienced and how he copes with the sleepless nights. 'I sleep with one eye open", he said. He also said, "I am working through it all, and working on forgiving and forgetting."
Having heard what he said, I commented that experiences like that can be worked through but they will never be forgotten. The conversation went on as I got my $10 haircut.
As I left I shook his hand and looked deeply into his eyes and we both said 'God bless you' at exactly the same time.
God took a freewheeling moment in my life and my availability allowed a special God encounter to occur for both of us. Priestly stuff happens when you are most yourself, present to the moment, fully alive as a human being and open to the movement of the Spirit. Being fully alive as a human being and as a priest means that all ordinary moments are priestly moments.
There are no ordinary moments. All moments are invested with the divine and as a priest I live for those ordinary moments.
Thursday 8 April 2010
Silence
"In silence we face and admit the gap between the depth of our being, which we consistently ignore, and the surface which is untrue to our own reality. We recognize the need to be at home with ourselves in order that we may go out to meet others, not just with a mask of affability, but with real commitment and authentic love.
That is the reason for choosing silence."
Merton, Thomas. Love & Living. Naomi Burton Stone and Br. Patrick Hart, Editors. New York: Harcourt. 1979, p. 41.
That is the reason for choosing silence."
Merton, Thomas. Love & Living. Naomi Burton Stone and Br. Patrick Hart, Editors. New York: Harcourt. 1979, p. 41.
Wednesday 7 April 2010
The Eyes Have It!
Had a revelation last night, about 1am. Seems normal. The idea was very simple and came in the words, "we only hear the voice over, we really see the face."
When was the last time you really, and I mean really, looked at the face in the mirror, whenever you may do that. And when you did so, did you look deeply into the eyes of the person your saw there? Honestly!
If you were asked to draw your face, describe its features, comment on the shade of your eyes etc., could you do it?
You see I have this theory that the person we know the less is ourselves because we actually pay less time to who we really are than we do to the stuff we do everyday. As a result we are less able to engage others honestly because we have little idea about ourselves.
We hear the voice over, the noise of who project to the world, yet we do not see the face we hide behind. If the eyes are indeed the window of the soul, and I believe they are, then we need to pay attention to the windows of our own soul before looking into the eyes of others.
Perhaps we avoid doing so because we fear we won't like what we see, but the truth is we can only live in the world if we are in tune with our inner world. It is this inner world where we engage the transcendent Lord of Life, find that the very God who contains us is contained within, that everything we need to be who we were created to be is, and has always been, within us if only we could see it. Or perhaps if only we took the time to look and cease from our searching and simply relax in solitude and silence.
As the old Zen saying says (and Psalm 42:10) "Be still, be very very still, and above all else do not wobble." Turn your eyes inward and you will discover the questions of life hand in hand with their answers and the whole world will slip into harmony with you, or should I say, you will be in harmony with creation for you will, once again, be one with it.
When was the last time you really, and I mean really, looked at the face in the mirror, whenever you may do that. And when you did so, did you look deeply into the eyes of the person your saw there? Honestly!
If you were asked to draw your face, describe its features, comment on the shade of your eyes etc., could you do it?
You see I have this theory that the person we know the less is ourselves because we actually pay less time to who we really are than we do to the stuff we do everyday. As a result we are less able to engage others honestly because we have little idea about ourselves.
We hear the voice over, the noise of who project to the world, yet we do not see the face we hide behind. If the eyes are indeed the window of the soul, and I believe they are, then we need to pay attention to the windows of our own soul before looking into the eyes of others.
Perhaps we avoid doing so because we fear we won't like what we see, but the truth is we can only live in the world if we are in tune with our inner world. It is this inner world where we engage the transcendent Lord of Life, find that the very God who contains us is contained within, that everything we need to be who we were created to be is, and has always been, within us if only we could see it. Or perhaps if only we took the time to look and cease from our searching and simply relax in solitude and silence.
As the old Zen saying says (and Psalm 42:10) "Be still, be very very still, and above all else do not wobble." Turn your eyes inward and you will discover the questions of life hand in hand with their answers and the whole world will slip into harmony with you, or should I say, you will be in harmony with creation for you will, once again, be one with it.
Thursday 1 April 2010
Through The Eyes of a Child
Yesterday we held our Easter story chapel service and it was incredible. 150 year 5 & 6 students took part in the presentation of the Easter story from Palm Sunday to Good Friday, and the result was spellbinding.
It had everything from a female Judas in one scene to a female Jesus in another. Each class prepared a section of the Easter story and presented it in their own style. All were connected by an excellent narrator and, as a result, became an effective whole. Each scene comprised a new group of actors who picked up where the last scene finished and continued the story.
It climaxed with a subtle but very moving crucifixion scene. And there was hardly a dry eye in the place, which was amazing since the audience manly comprised year 9 -12 students. Parents left the room afterwards moved by the 45 minute production.
It had everything good education should have: imagination, wonder, mystery and surprise. it captured people's attention right where they were. It was soul food, full of enchantment and holy innocence and made an incredible impact on all, including myself.
It was an example of how the student teaches the teacher while the teacher thinks they are teaching the student. It was about how our children are much more than the familiar kids we live and work with and contain a depth and insight we often fail to see. Education, as life, is a partnership and this was one of those moments when we learnt from them.
It was the first such passion play. It won't be the last.
A wonderful Easter surprise!
It had everything from a female Judas in one scene to a female Jesus in another. Each class prepared a section of the Easter story and presented it in their own style. All were connected by an excellent narrator and, as a result, became an effective whole. Each scene comprised a new group of actors who picked up where the last scene finished and continued the story.
It climaxed with a subtle but very moving crucifixion scene. And there was hardly a dry eye in the place, which was amazing since the audience manly comprised year 9 -12 students. Parents left the room afterwards moved by the 45 minute production.
It had everything good education should have: imagination, wonder, mystery and surprise. it captured people's attention right where they were. It was soul food, full of enchantment and holy innocence and made an incredible impact on all, including myself.
It was an example of how the student teaches the teacher while the teacher thinks they are teaching the student. It was about how our children are much more than the familiar kids we live and work with and contain a depth and insight we often fail to see. Education, as life, is a partnership and this was one of those moments when we learnt from them.
It was the first such passion play. It won't be the last.
A wonderful Easter surprise!
Friday 26 March 2010
Slow Food Week
On Monday I took part in a seminar on silence and solitude. As i turned onto the highway near my house I was immediately confronted by two signs put up by council road workers. The first was, "Slow down", followed closely by "Prepare to stop." I recognised the irony of these signs on two accounts, firstly as they were right at the entry of a freeway on which people showed no desire to slow down or stop! The second was that I was going to a seminar on silence an hour or so away and I had to be home to catch a connecting flight to Sydney later that day. So while I sought silence and solitude, I was caught up in the busyness of ordinary life.
One of the sessions at the seminar involved us partaking in a 'slow food" experience. A plate of fruit was passed around and we were invited to notice the colours, textures, aromas and finally the sensation of taste and eating. It was all to be done slowly and with great attention and focus. Comments ranged from how much more pleasurable the experience was, how eating slowly would mean we would eat less, to simply, I enjoyed the time I took to eat the food.
It took me back to the days of my youth when we used to sit around a dining room table as a family and partake in a meal. It wasn't rushed. People didn't have to be any where. We ate slowly and talked a lot. We listened and remembered, spoke and were heard, saw how to respond to others and how they would respond to us, and much more.
In an age of fast food, and even faster lives, there is a need to recover slow food and the intensity of attention it brings into our lives.
It also reminded me, as we begin another Holy Week leading up to Easter, that this week is a slow food week. A time when we stop and digest Jesus the Christ, his life, his death and his resurrection; his intensity of attention to being fully engaged in ordinary life and in his relationship with God.
May we not only "slow down" and not only 'prepare to stop' but actually stop and pay full attention to this pivotal festival of our Christian year.
One of the sessions at the seminar involved us partaking in a 'slow food" experience. A plate of fruit was passed around and we were invited to notice the colours, textures, aromas and finally the sensation of taste and eating. It was all to be done slowly and with great attention and focus. Comments ranged from how much more pleasurable the experience was, how eating slowly would mean we would eat less, to simply, I enjoyed the time I took to eat the food.
It took me back to the days of my youth when we used to sit around a dining room table as a family and partake in a meal. It wasn't rushed. People didn't have to be any where. We ate slowly and talked a lot. We listened and remembered, spoke and were heard, saw how to respond to others and how they would respond to us, and much more.
In an age of fast food, and even faster lives, there is a need to recover slow food and the intensity of attention it brings into our lives.
It also reminded me, as we begin another Holy Week leading up to Easter, that this week is a slow food week. A time when we stop and digest Jesus the Christ, his life, his death and his resurrection; his intensity of attention to being fully engaged in ordinary life and in his relationship with God.
May we not only "slow down" and not only 'prepare to stop' but actually stop and pay full attention to this pivotal festival of our Christian year.
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