Monday 24 December 2012

A Christmas Card



When the white stars talk together like sisters 
And when the winter hills
 
Raise their grand semblance in the freezing night,
 
Somewhere one window
 
Bleeds like the brown eye of an open force.

Hills, stars, 
White stars that stand above the eastern stable.

Look down and offer Him. 
The dim adoring light of your belief.
Whose small Heart bleeds with infinite fire.

Shall not this Child 
(When we shall hear the bells of His amazing voice)
 
Conquer the winter of our hateful century?

And when His Lady Mother leans upon the crib, 
Lo, with what rapiers
 
Those two loves fence and flame their brilliancy!

Here in this straw lie planned the fires 
That will melt all our sufferings:
 
He is our Lamb, our holocaust!

And one by one the shepherds, with their snowy feet, 
Stamp and shake out their hats upon the stable dirt,
 
And one by one kneel down to look upon their Life.

Sunday 23 December 2012

Mary - Refugee & Prophet


My favourite restaurant is a Vietnamese restaurant that does the best rice paper spring rolls in the world; well, maybe just in Australia, but they rock. The restaurant was started in the late '70's by a Vietnamese refugee who came to Australia with his family as boat people after the end of the Vietnam war. In conversations he has related the horror and anguish of that trip as he sought to give his family a new start, something he is forever grateful to Australia for. And so am I. The food is great.

Yet our country remains preoccupied with refugees, especially with those who wish to come to this country for a new start and are brought here by the so called 'people smugglers', 'entrepreneurs' who make their living by exploiting peoples' aspirations and hope for something better, a fairly popular way of making a quick buck in the first world as well.

"Of the 11,491 people seeking asylum in Australia in the period of 2010-11, 6,316 arrived by air. This means less than half arrived by boat. In fact, asylum seekers arriving by boat make up just 2.7% of the total migrant intake into Australia yet their perceived threat to the community is greatly exaggerated, with 72% of Australians concerned about asylum seekers coming to Australia by boat."(2)  This year 220 boats and just over 13,500 people have arrived.(2) If these figures are to be trusted, then the increase in numbers this year still equates to less than 8% of the total migrant intake to our country.

Not only have these people been exploited by the smugglers, they have also been exploited by the political parties, lobbyists and mainstream media for a range of dubious reasons, appealing to the fear, misunderstanding and disinterest of the average Australian. The various programs used to house and process them are less than humane, tent villages on remote islands while waiting a lengthy period to be processed, are to be condemned by fair minded people. 

We may at this time be marvelling at the inability of the American people to deal with the gun crisis in their country, but our phobia towards the ordinary people we call refugees is just as illogical and unnecessary.

Mary knew all about being a refugee.The moment she discovers she is pregnant she seeks refuge outside her village. She left her home and stayed away for 3 months in the home of Elizabeth in a hill town up and away from Nazareth.  It wasn't she was in mortal danger if she stayed in the village, but there would have been gossip, innuendo and a sense of fear if she did.  It was safer to be some where else until the smoke cleared and Joseph had had a chance to smooth things over with the families etc. She did go back, but not straight away.

If Mary knew about being a refugee, then so did Jesus. Even before he was born, Jesus was on the move to avoid controversy and bigotry. His was no romantic conception or birth.  Everything about Jesus conception and birth was clothed in the spectre of violence and rejection. Mary feared rejection and escaped to Elizabeth.  Later Mary and Joseph feared that Jesus would die in Bethlehem, (they hadn't gone home to Nazareth), under Herod's decree which saw a number of children, possibly related to them,die needlessly. Jesus was born with loss and grief, and grew up moving in its' shadow.

Yet when Mary meets with Elizabeth, Elizabeth (v. 41 - 45)  recognises the baby Mary is carrying is the promised Messiah. It can be suggested that Luke reports this meeting so as to connect John with Jesus by suggesting that John, in Elizabeth's womb, recognises the unborn Jesus as the Messiah. Regardless, this is the moment when both become aware of the mystical nature of the situation and develop an unbreakable bond as they give voice to the mystery within Mary.

Mary gives voice to her wonder in the words we call the Magnificat where Mary says,
‘My soul magnifies the Lord, 
   and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour, 
for he has looked with favour on the lowliness of his servant.
   Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; 
for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
   and holy is his name. 
His mercy is for those who fear him
   from generation to generation. 
He has shown strength with his arm;
   he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. 
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
   and lifted up the lowly; 
he has filled the hungry with good things,
   and sent the rich away empty. 
He has helped his servant Israel,
   in remembrance of his mercy, 
according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
   to Abraham and to his descendants for ever.’ 

In response to Elizabeth's acclamation of her faith, Mary announces the New covenant in her song of praise which makes clear the following:

v. 50 - the mercy of God
v.48  -  has become real to
v. 51 - reverse the hierarchy of power
v. 52 -  with a preference for the poor and the oppressed.

These words echo the intent of the Old Covenant found right throughout what we call the Old Testament (the texts which are a testament to the arrangement between God and his people before Jesus' birth).  Mary's song clearly marks the point in which the old has been fulfilled, and the new is here.  When, at the beginning of his ministry Jesus stands in the synagogue in Luke 4, he takes the words of Isaiah and uses words similar to those his mother had used at his conception:
‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
   because he has anointed me
     to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
   and recovery of sight to the blind,
     to let the oppressed go free, 
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.’ (Luke 4:18-19)

In the eyes and wisdom of Mary and Elizabeth, the covenant is alive and well!(v. 55)  God has not forgotten them, in fact, he has come to dwell among them in the form of Mary's boy child. It is true to say that the story of Israel owes much to the spirituality and mystical wisdom of women and this is another example. In the vision and subsequent example of Jesus, he lives up to his mother's insight and fulfils the promises made about him.

Mary speaks the truth in an incredibly difficult situation. And she returns to live out of that truth in the circumstances she found her self in. The challenge Mary gives to us is to take the words of her Song to be what they are, the full expression of the unbroken covenant between God and his people which we are to live out every day in memory of Christ, who instituted the new covenant with his body and his blood. Amen


Let us pray:

Lord;
As we come to this Christmas, 
let us celebrate the courage and fortitude,
Mary and women throughout the centuries have displayed.  
Let us not put barriers in their way.  
Let us embrace the mothers 
who today are mourning the loss of their children
in tragedies such as Sandy Hook 
and other forms of meaningless violence  - 
wars, bigotry, fear and misinformation.  
Let us recognise the difficulties of being a mother 
in a world where women are yet to be equal. 
Let us grasp the insight of Mary 
when she recognised the possibilities 
her unborn child brought to the world; 
and let us work to ensure that 
all have the chance to live to their full potential 
in our world, even here in Australia. Amen


Friday 14 December 2012

One Prank Phone Call


Over the last couple of weeks, our society has been challenged by one prank phone call.  Now I will declare my hand early here – I do not like practical jokes. I am uncomfortable with the idea of exploit someone for the benefits of others.I  avoided them in school, although I was often the butt of such jokes, I didn’t return the favour. It always felt like bullying to me, and still does.

The much publicised phone call to the London hospital where Catherine was recuperating, and the subsequent tragic death of one of the key players, has created a media storm and backlash which has exceeded all imagination. We all have an opinion on this, but I caution some reflection before we launch to hotly onto our soapboxes.

What was the sin the radio station committed? Did it break the law? Did it follow procedure? It is of little consequence if they did or didn’t, for following the law and due process often only sanctions immoral, or at best, amoral actions. Being inside the law or diligently in the process doesn’t mean it is right, true or moral.

The radio station sinned (we will use that word for that is what it is) by seeing those involved simply as a means to an end. They were objects to be manipulated for humour, advertising and ratings. The station never at any point saw the objects as people with feelings, emotions, frailities and flaws.  They were there to be used.

Their cynical use of the young announcers on a merry-go-round of tv interviews demonstrates a 'spin it faster than a Simpson washing machine' crisis management media policy and a disregard for the welfare of even their own people. Everybody involved in this deserves better, but better is not possible if you see every one as a means to an end – as an object for your to use as you please.

It saddened me to listen to a local FM station the day after the tv interviews was aired, to here the breakfast crew calling for people to ring in and ‘dob-in’ the mother who has been breast feeding their child the longest. It was the same network responsible for the prank phone call.

Paul in his letter to the Phillipians counters this idea of treating all things and peoples a objects by asking those he writes to to:
4Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved. 2I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. 3Yes, and I ask you also, my loyal companion, help these women, for they have struggled beside me in the work of the gospel, together with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life. 4Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. 5Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. 6Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.


  •  ‘5Let your gentleness be known to everyone.’
o   How are we to treat others – gently! The two women he refers to appears to have been estranged for some reason. They are good women but something comes between them. Paul says encourage them, be gentle and celebrate them and all that they have done.  Don't take sides and don't use this situation for your benefit.


  • ‘The Lord is near.’
o   Why? Because we will be called to account. The judgement of God is not reserved for judgement day. Judgement does happen now. Our actions, attitudes and desires have consequences/judgements which become present in real time, as the radio station has discovered. We are judged by the consequences of what we do and how we think. If we objectify others we do them violence, and those who live by the sword are judged in the same way.


  •  ‘8Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.’
o   How do we get it right more times than not? By how we think, by what we concentrate on, what drives our thinking and our desires.  Paul antidote is simple.  Put the good stuff in and the good stuff will come out. Clean up how you think about others, about yourself and about your world by majoring on the ‘whatever is’ in Paul’s letter – honourable, just, pure, pleasing, commendable, excellence and praiseworthy.


  • ‘7And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.’
o   Peace of heart and mind is a rare commodity – sought by many, found by few, for few can think in the way Paul asks on their own.  On our own we lose heart and start to find the negative, to manipulate people to feel better, to shift the blame to others and more.  We are left with no space for peace for peace needs space to abound. We fill the space with anger, frustration, malice and greed and then wonder why we are full of unrest and anxiety.

o   Peace comes from thinking about the 'whatever’s' Paul introduces us to because these are the mind of Christ. If we can hold those at the forefront of our heart and mind, we begin to think and become like Jesus who was always other-centric – always thought of others. We are often self-centric, that is why tragedies such as the radio stunt gone wrong occurs. 

o   Peace comes when we are other-centric and find ways to include all within our compassion and care, even those who have made terrible mistakes, including those involved in this prank. Do we add to the violence by objectifying them as 'bad', 'irresponsible', giving voice to our anger, or do we open up ways of redemption for them?  Can we be gentle with them and remember they are human beings who, like us are flawed and 'sinful', and deserve the opportunity to redeem themselves? If we are other-centric, that is what we will do.

As we move through this Advent period and waiting for the coming judgement of the world in the shape of the Messiah, let us think on whatever is and search our own hearts for space to embrace the mind of Christ and the peace it brings. 

Tuesday 27 November 2012

Schoolies


We are in the midst of schoolies and we have watched the hedonistic behaviour of young people and the unfortunate consequences. I am led to ask the question, when did this become acceptable, to send away barely legal young people on mass without parental supervision. In fact, often funded and approved by parents. When did we decide that young people who can't keep their rooms clean, do the washing up or mow the lawn, relay on mum to do the shopping, cook their meals and drive them to sport and school are ok to be left alone in a place we recognise and accept is seedy by night, even at its best? 

The question is not so much when, but who said it was ok? Who was the king that decreed this was now 'a right of passage' (albeit for simply doing something we all have had to do - finish school)? The answer - corporate consumerism. Schoolies is a construct of the tourism industry, to fill beds, hotels, restaurants, airlines etc. It has even spurned a new group of surrogate parents, 'the Red Frogs' , and a new family circle, schoolies hub. The result is, in a consumer driven society, parents are conditioned to say yes when everythng within them is screaming, no, this is not right. 

At Ballina on Friday, in the local newsagency, I met 2 fathers who have been asking the same questions as me and are committed to saying no. It lifted my spirits. But parents who want to say no receive no help from the institutions within society who should be leading the way - the church, the governments, local civic leaders - they  simpy allow it because they too have succumbed to corporate conumerism.

Like the frog in the slowly boiling water we have become not a part of the Kingdom of heaven, but a part of the kingdom of hell - a place where what I want rules supreme.

Thursday 15 November 2012

A Beautiful One


Last weekend a group of boys,  a fellow teacher and myself went away on a silent walking weekend.  The first day's walk was 20 kilometres in the rain.  It was beautiful and silent.  There was no talking for about 6 hours.  The boys, aged 13 – 17, coped wonderfully with the challenge and walked resolutely in the silence and the wet.

The next morning we walked down to a cave area below Binna Burra.  Still in silence.  On the way, a small wallaby sat by the track grazing as we went by, undisturbed.  Behind us was a family with small children.  We ushered the boy whose name was Davey, a bit over 3 years, to a spot to get a good look at the wallaby.  (Unfortunately his photo was a little fuzzy so not here.) His comment was astonishing.

He simply said, ' A beautiful one.'

Astonishing because it was a statement of pure delight, without a judgement, without naming, without assessment.  He saw what was there and nothing more. 'A beautiful one'. His words echo's God in Genesis when God looked at all that had been created and said, 'It is good'.

This little boy saw through the eye's of God and challenges us to do the same. To see all around us, all that has been created, and to recognise, 'A beautiful one'.  To see things just as they are.

Try it at home, at work and at play.  It will change you.

Wednesday 7 November 2012

The Widow's Mite - Have We Got It Right?


Help!

In preparation for Sunday's Lectionary readings, I would value your comments on on the following reading and what you think might be Jesus's attitude to what he sees.  The story is often called the Widow's Mite and used to suggest that no matter how poor you are you should give what you can.  Is that what this is about?  Read the story below and go to http://wallwisher.com/wall/udjxwt8ok2  and post your comments (160 letters only)


Mark 12:38-44
"As he taught, he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets! They devour widows’ houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”

He sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny. Then he called his disciples and said to them, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. For all of them have contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”


Love to know what you think!

Saturday 27 October 2012

What Do You Want For Your Children?


Four young boys sit on the side of a river in the Borneo jungle washing their school uniforms after a morning at school.  The white sneakers are the cleanest pair of shoes I think I have ever seen.  There is no washing machine, it's not mum's job to wash their clothes and they out of sight of house and mother.  Their joy for life is obvious for all who see them.  There is no designer labels, no electronic gadgets and no adult watching to keep them safe.

Yet they are content with their lot in life.  As one of the young men with us said as he witnessed the one room,weather-beaten cottage another family of four smiling children lived in, 'They live there.  And they are happy.' I think he got it.
Contentment is your feet in the water.
What do you want for your children?  The popular answer seems to be I want them to be happy, safe and my friends.  This always strikes me as a 'me first' response and not focussed on our children and their needs if they are to grow up into adults and not children masquerading as adults.  We have too many of those now.

So let's see why I think this way. A definition for happiness is, according to Princeton University, the 'state of well-being characterised by emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy'.  This seems as far as possible from the 'me first' feelings that is promoted as happiness as possible.  It is about a state of well-being - of all being well with my world regardless of what is happening.  It is the state of being able to do the daily round of life without seeking a short term hit of 'happiness' which fades and needs renewal. The range is from 'well, this is the way it is and that's ok' through to 'wow, this amazing and that's ok, too'.  But it is the capacity to find joy in life regardless of what that life maybe.

In terms of being safe, Merriam-Webster suggests it is 'the condition of being safe from undergoing or causing hurt, injury, or loss'. If this is what we want for our children, not only does it seem an impossible quest for human beings, it seems to designed to keep them as children.  Without risk and the possibility of harming and being harmed, how do we grow and learn what ours and others boundaries are? Without people stepping outside the boundaries of safe, little of the things and experiences we enjoy would exist.  I doubt that we take this idea of keeping our children safe seriously when we put them on a terrifying ride at a theme park, tie them into a bungey harness, give them a motorcycle at five, or teach them to ride a pushbike.  These all have risks, but we seem to think they are o.k.  Life has risks and we can not keep our children safe, simply teach them how to make good decisions in the light of circumstances, peers and options. On the way to that place, they will take risks, get hurt and hurt, but that's o.k. for thats how we become adults living in an adult world.

Lastly, we want them to be our friends. There is something concerning when parents say their nine year old, or even scarier, heir fourteen year old is their best friend.  Parents are parents and their children are their responsibility.  Parents must parent and not be friends, they have enough friends, they do not need an adult acting as one. (Wow, did I really say that?)  

What they need are parents who set boundaries, set the example for acceptable behaviour and who are consistent.  This starts from the day they are born and goes on until they have families of their own. They respect that. And it's respect you need when they are still your children.  There is time enough to be friends when they have grown up and become adults.  Now they are looking to you for wisdom, direction and discipline, by discipline I don't mean punishment, I mean the discipline to remain an adult and a parent and not to cross the line and become a geriatric teenager in the hope you can stop them growing up.

And that is why being a parent is not just about having children, it is about staying in relationship with them as the parent, guide and mentor.  If you do this, you will be their friend.

(For more photos like this go to http://sandakan-deathmarch.com/ and click on gallery)

Thursday 25 October 2012

Rhinoceritis



Watching the evening news it is easy to become immune to the noise, violence, inhumanity and injustice, and to act as if there is nothing that can be done.  Specifically, not a thing that I can do to resolve the issues in the world.

We are bombarded with the noisy chatter of negative to such an extent that we too can become as negative as those around us and become just like them.  The constant belittling and personal attacks of politics, reality shows like Big Brother and the numerous so-called talent shows, the senseless violence of movies, language and sport leaves us numb to what is happening all around us. 

It is interesting to hear the students response to the drugs in cycling fiasco.  Almost all see little wrong with it because everyone was doing it, and if you wanted to win then it was ok to do the same.  When quizzed about Tiger Woods 'cheating', that too seemed to be ok because it was his personal life and didn't affect his professional capabilities. This was reflected across years 7 -10 and, although not unanimous, it was the majority view.

Eugene Ionesco, a playwright from the theatre of the absurd wrote a play called Rhinoceros in 1959. Over the course of three acts, the inhabitants of a small, provincial French town turn into rhinoceroses; ultimately the only human who does not succumb to this mass metamorphosis is the central character, Bérenger, a flustered everyman figure who is often criticized throughout the play for his drinking and tardiness. The play is often read as a response and criticism to the sudden upsurge of Communism, Fascism and Nazism during the events preceding World War II, and explores the themes of conformity, culture, mass movements, philosophy and morality.

Thomas Merton coined the word, ‘rhinoceritis’ in 'Rain and the Rhinoceros'  to describe what he say happening in the world of the 1960’s, a world of the threat of a nuclear war, the Vietnam war, civil rights violence in America and the rise of technology which was dehumanising  people.  He saw that it had become so easy for people to live as individuals inside the dehumanising collective mass of people who simply gave up and followed.  He challenge society to move a way from individualism as a an option and to move towards community and responsibility for self and others.

The collective mass, in his view, was easily lead by the promises of advertising, technology and security, because it simply was to hard to take a stand.  Comfort and safety and security came from not making a decision. Like the protagonists in Ionesco’s play, people were simply following the herd.

Has anything changed?  Have we heard the call to step out of the crowd and to take a stand?

What do you think?  Love to to hear you thoughts.  Comments welcome.

Thursday 11 October 2012

Polio Victim Walks the Sandakan to Ranau Death March

In the shadow of Mt Kinabalu dominating the Sabah skyline, I and small group of young people, parents and teachers, walked some 90 k's in the footsteps of the Australian soldiers who perished on the Sandakan to Ranau death marches at the end of WWII.

This is the second time I have taken part in this trek(walked in 2010) but the first time I completed the march as a polio victim, the first such person to do so. That is strange, you may say to yourself, surely you haven't just contracted polio in the last 2 years?

No, I haven't. But the answer is I only just realised I had polio as a child and no one told me that I did. Unbelievable? No. There are many others like me for whom this is their experience. I will tell you my story.

In July I had a fall and broke 2 ribs.  Walking down 2 steps, my left leg gave way and I fell. This was not the first time this had happened. It had been happening a lot especially when I was tired, running or changing directions.

A week later it happened again. This time I was carrying my cup and plate back in a coffee shop when I went down, smashing everything I was carrying. The next day I went to a boot maker to get some new red boots made.  I said to her that I had a dodgy leg due to a sporting accident and that's why my leg was 'odd'.  She replied, 'It is not your accident but your disability which is the problem.'

I said nothing but thought, 'What disability?'

On the way home I began thinking and remembered a story about my mother finding me outside unable to walk. Apparently I was bedridden for sometime before getting back on my feet.

When I spoke to my parents and questioned them, my father said, 'We didn't talk about it much, but yes, you had polio, spent sometime in hospital.' Mum said I always walked funny and fell over a lot when I played sport.

Then I spoke to my best friend from school who also said I walked funny, and when he asked his sister her first comment was, 'Yes, did he have polio?'

It appears I was the last to know. Some 53 years later I found out. By accident.

One could get angry about not knowing, yet if I had would I have walked the track, gone to sea on warships, played grade cricket, hockey and football?  Would I have travelled around the world and believed all was possible? Would I have studied at the Marcel Marceau school of mime in Paris?Probably not.

Yet the consequences of not knowing is that I have not known the reason for the incredible tiredness, sleep apnoea, muscle soreness, 'blue feet', sore fingers and toes and more, such as the anxiety attacks and depression. Perhaps I would have been a little kinder to my self and not tried to be 'normal'. Perhaps I would have known why I was a type A personality. Perhaps I would have avoided the bullying I suffered at school. Who knows?

What I do know, now I know, that I can still do 'stuff', but just a little slower, a little gentler and with a little more awareness of my body's needs.

In Borneo I walked at my pace, was often the last one in to rest breaks, felt no need to keep up with the others, rested when I needed to, went to bed early, ate sensibly, drank lots of water and generally cared for myself in a way I have not done before.  And I walked the gruelling 90 odd k's.  It hurt and it was hard, but I did it.

For more information on post polio syndrome go to www.polioaustralia.org.au




Sunday 23 September 2012

'Engaging teenagers from a non-religious background in the spiritual journey'.


Just got back from speaking at the Australian Ecumenical Council for Spiritual Directors Conference at Xavier College, Melbourne.

Presented a workshop on 'Engaging teenagers from a non-religious background in the spiritual journey'. 

An enthusiastic audience who wanted to hear more about technology free silent retreats, innovative meditation, Monty the dog the meditation mentor, pilgrimage in the footsteps of heroes, rediscovering the guru and more.

Thank you to the AECSD for the opportunity.

Thursday 20 September 2012

Sandakan - Ranau Death March

On Sunday, myself and 12 others head to Sabah, Borneo to retrace the steps of Australian soldiers who were forced to walk from Sandakan to Ranau at the end of World War II.  All but six who escaped died, over 2,400 Australian diggers were lost in the single greatest Australian military tragedy.

While much of the track has been lost to palm plantations and other uses, some 96 kilometres is still available. This is our second time there and while one can never understand what it was like for the soldiers who were weak, undernourished, beaten and sick, it does give you some idea of the courage, character and sense of hope they possessed to keep going under appalling conditions.

For more information go to: http://sandakan-deathmarch.com

Friday 14 September 2012

Life is a Journey

I apologise to all for the lack of posts.  Life has been hectic at the home of redshoewalking lately.  Family illnesses have taken time away from blogging!

How quickly the years come around!  We are now at the end of another senior school graduating class and I am left wondering where the time went.  I know they are.

For some it is a very interesting time, especially those who have spent the last 13 years at school, almost all their remembered life.  Friendships, achievements, failures, shared tragedies, exciting times and more have been wrapped up in one place, one group of friends, one culture - the school.

What happens now?  Now when the familiar falls away and they are exposed to a world which is unfamiliar, challenging, strange and unknown. Where they are the unknown not the known, the new person finding their way not the experienced one who knows' how everything works, the person without friends having lost touch with those they went to school with but a few weeks ago, and more.

Life is a journey not a destination, and these young people  are discovering this, often with mixed emotions, feelings of trepidation and excitement. We wish them well, knowing from our own experience some where off in the past, that while it feels like the end, it isn't, while it feels like a new beginning, it isn't. It is a continuation of theirs and our becoming who we are meant to be, discovering where we belong and learning what we offer to our world.

It is just another step in a journey we began before we were born, and will go on living long after we are born again.



Friday 20 July 2012

Solitude


Solitude - flying alone, seeing everything for the first time!
(Click on picture to see full size)

Monday 16 July 2012

Resurrection!


On the last day of the silent retreats, we get up early to watch the sun rise.  After 3 days of silence, watching the sun rise reminds us of the new day dawning in our lives.  After a time of self-reflection and the struggles which often accompany it, we step into the resurrection occurring in our own lives, symbolised by the rising sun.

In the shadow of the cross we partake in the Eucharist and commit ourselves to living our lives to the full.

Thursday 21 June 2012

Silent Retreat Opportunity

Theme: Ancient Wisdom for a Modern World
Date: 29th June - 2nd July

Where: Santa Teresa Retreat Centre, Ormiston, Brisbane

Cost: $375 all inclusive (private room and facilities)

Rule: No technology (mobile phones, ipods, ipads or laptops)

Opportunity for spiritual direction over the 3 days (included).

Program includes daily eucharist, 3 short input sessions and lots of silence.

If interested, email Fr Glenn Loughrey on redshoeswalking@bigpond.com

Thursday 17 May 2012

The Pursuit of Happiness and the Consolation of Joy


A New York City Taxi driver wrote:
 
I arrived at the address and honked the horn. After waiting a few minutes I honked again. Since this was going to be my last ride of my shift I thought about just driving away, but instead I put the car in park and walked up to the door and knocked. 'Just a minute', answered a frail, elderly voice. I could hear something being dragged across the floor.
 
After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in her 90's stood before me. She was wearing a print dress and a pillbox hat with a veil pinned on it, like somebody out of a 1940's movie.
 
By her side was a small nylon suitcase. The apartment looked as if no one had lived in it for years. All the furniture was covered with sheets.
 
There were no clocks on the walls, no knickknacks or utensils on the counters. In the corner was a cardboard box filled with photos and glassware.
 
'Would you carry my bag out to the car?' she said. I took the suitcase to the cab, then returned to assist the woman.
 
She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the curb.
 
She kept thanking me for my kindness. 'It's nothing', I told her.. 'I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother to be treated.'
 
'Oh, you're such a good boy, she said. When we got in the cab, she gave me an address and then asked, 'Could you drive through downtown?'
 
'It's not the shortest way,' I answered quickly..
 
'Oh, I don't mind,' she said. 'I'm in no hurry. I'm on my way to a hospice.
 
I looked in the rear-view mirror. Her eyes were glistening. 'I don't have any family left,' she continued in a soft voice. 'The doctor says I don't have very long.' I quietly reached over and shut off the meter.
 
'What route would you like me to take?' I asked.
 
For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked as an elevator operator.
 
We drove through the neighbourhood where she and her husband had lived when they were newlyweds She had me pull up in front of a furniture warehouse that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl.
 
Sometimes she'd ask me to slow in front of a particular building or corner and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.
 
As the first hint of sun was creasing the horizon, she suddenly said, 'I'm tired. Let's go now'.
 
We drove in silence to the address she had given me. It was a low building, like a small convalescent home, with a driveway that passed under a portico.
 
Two orderlies came out to the cab as soon as we pulled up. They were solicitous and intent, watching her every move.
 
They must have been expecting her.
 
I opened the trunk and took the small suitcase to the door. The woman was already seated in a wheelchair.
 
'How much do I owe you?' She asked, reaching into her purse.
 
'Nothing,' I said
 
'You have to make a living,' she answered.
 
'There are other passengers,' I responded.
 
Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug. She held onto me tightly.
 
'You gave an old woman a little moment of joy,' she said. 'Thank you.'
 
I squeezed her hand, and then walked into the dim morning light. Behind me, a door shut. It was the sound of the closing of a life.
 
I didn't pick up any more passengers that shift. I drove aimlessly lost in thought. For the rest of that day, I could hardly talk. What if that woman had gotten an angry driver, or one who was impatient to end his shift? What if I had refused to take the run, or had honked once, then driven away?
 
On a quick review, I don't think that I have done anything more important in my life.
 
We're conditioned to think that our lives, our happiness, revolve around great moments.
 
But great moments often catch us unaware-beautifully wrapped in what others may consider a small one.
 
Happiness is a mental or emotional state of well-being characterized by positive or pleasant emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy.[1] A variety of biological, psychological, religious, and philosophical approaches have striven to define happiness and identify its sources.
 
Various research groups, including Positive psychology, endeavor to apply the scientific method to answer questions about what "happiness" is, and how we might attain it.
 
Philosophers and religious thinkers often define happiness in terms of living a good life, or flourishing, rather than simply as an emotion.

John 15: 9 -17: "I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete."

Emily Rustad · North Central MN suggests, 'Joy is different from happiness in that the word "happy" comes from the same root word as "happen": "hap." "Hap" means chance or fate. The feeling of happiness comes from what happens to a person by chance, but joy is a source of delight. It is what lies underneath all emotions, no matter what happens to a person.'
  • Happiness has become a goal, a possession, an object to be gained, a right to be claimed, personal and private (my happiness) – a state I come to possess and be possessed by. Usually tied to property, wellbeing, wealth, success, privacy, wellness. 
  • Joy is a welling up within, a reflection of mystery and surprise, a sense of belonging to all, a response to experience of being alive. Joy is breath – the essence of being – usually unaffected by property, wellbeing, wealth, success, privacy or wellness – it just is. 
Joy is:
  • Attached to love – the love that is shared around without limit – The Fathers love, the Sons love, the disciples love.
  • The product of love – not emotional love – deep respect and compassion for another.
  • The fountain of love – if we love with the love of God we see the potential, the hope and the dignity of every single element of creation (even snakes). 
Do joy and happiness ever collide? I think so and when it doess it bubbles over into every element of life.  I’ll let Fiona tell you all about it! 

Go here to see the story http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnYRhanK3XA


Sunday 6 May 2012

On Becoming

Text:
John 15:8:- "My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples."

Definition:
“Old English: discipul (fem. discipula), 
Biblical borrowing from Latin discipulus "pupil," from *discipere "to grasp intellectually, analyze thoroughly," from dis- "apart" (see dis-) + capere "take" (see capable).”

Become my disciple –Become someone who grasps thoroughly who I am and what I have told you, and who will always be my pupil. It is a contractual, contingent and continuing relationship. 

A disciple is one who goes on learning. The fruit of such learning is transformative intellectually, emotionally, spiritually and physically. The fruit is found through an intimate and imaginative connection to the truth being taught.

 It is experienced and lived
 It is thought and processed
 It is embraced and judged
 It is mystery and surprise to be held in question 

On going learning: Jesus had a grasp of the lifelong learner long before it became educational speak. You do not just become a disciple, you are always becoming a disciple.  Each new learning is unlearnt and learnt again, in a new and surprising way so that you can never be comfortable in your relationship with God. That was the experience of Peter, Thomas and Paul, just a few examples.
 
Where do you learn to be a disciple:
Bible ​​​- from the canon of texts
Life ​​​- from the canon of experience
Others ​​- from the canon of relationship
Self ​​​- from the canon of reflection and self awareness
Engagement​​- from the  canon of compassion
Education ​​- from the canon of intellectual endeavor and critique
Abandonment ​- from the canon of faith – Job.
 
Eucharist as the act of a disciple:
Learning through the story
Learning through the elements
Learning through the act

Wednesday 25 April 2012

ANZAC DAWN SERVICE ADDRESS



This Dawn Service has its origins in a military routine which is still followed by the Australian Army. During battle, the half-light of dawn was one of the most favoured times for an attack. Soldiers in defensive positions were woken in the dark before dawn, so by the time first light crept across the battlefield they were awake, alert, and manning their weapons; this is still known as the 'stand-to'. As dusk is equally favourable for attacks, the stand-to was repeated at sunset.

After the First World War, returned soldiers sought the comradeship they had felt in those quiet, peaceful moments before dawn. A dawn vigil, recalling the wartime front line practice of the dawn 'stand-to', became the basis of a form of commemoration in several places after the war.

Today we come to share this moment with returned service men and women and I have been pondering why? What gets us out of bed before sunup to come and stand here and remember something that happened on a far shore in different century?

It's so long ago and so far away and for many of us it is just a story, albeit a gripping and tragic one.Yet we come, young and old, of all nationalities and faiths, to stand at this place and pay our respects for those who paid the ultimate price in a war which extracted an unmeasurable cost from the countries involved.

Why do we come? 
Do we come to remember the horror that is war? Perhaps. 
Do we come to worship heroes? They did many extraordinary acts but they would deny they were heroes and reject being worshipped as such. They were simply men and women doing what had to be done. 
Do we come out of a sense of national pride? Perhaps, but it is best we treat this emotion with great care as it can soon transform into nationalism, and in war, we have had enough of that.
Why do we come? Why do we stand to? I suspect it is out of gratitude - we are grateful for the sacrifice made by all service men and women in what ever war or conflict they served in, because by doing so they saved us from having to, they protected our lifestyle, they provided us with the freedom to be who we are today.

When we look around us and see what we have, what we have the freedom to be and do, what opportunities are there for us we are grateful for those who made it possible, for those who gave us our identity, ensured our culture and traditions and left us a legacy others are envious of.

What do they ask in return? 
That we stand to and practice gratitude in all of our relationships, contacts and dealings with others, those we share this country with regardless of where they came from or why they came here.
That we stand to and do all that we do at home, at school, at work everyday with an attitude that is grateful for the opportunity to do so; 
That we stand to and offer the opportunity for others to share in our gratitude by opening our country and hearts to those whose countries are unable to do so;
That we stand to and use every tool at our disposal to avoid war at all costs.

Why do we come? We come to say thanks digger,  thanks for having the courage to face the horror in your present moment and make room for our future. Thanks.

Lest we forget.

Sunday 22 April 2012

Living Into The Resurrection

Last week an 8 year old boy walked into his classroom in a school in the US prepared for show and tell. When his turn came he produced his fathers coat. He put his hands in the pockets and produced 50 small plastic bags containing drugs. It was a surprise for his teacher but an even bigger surprise for his father when he came to collect his coat!

Show and tell is always a surprise as Thomas found out - yet Thomas's experience came from his questionning of the claims of his fellow disciples.  The claims of Jesus' resurrection were not so much unbelievable for Thomas but required him to have an encounter with Jesus. When this happens he doesn't do what he said he needed to do - touch and feel the wounds on Jesus body - being shown the present Jesus was enough for him to see.

In discussion with a patient re treatment and drugs a doctor recently said,'do not give any drug or doctor the power over your life. See for yourself and decide.' Important words in a world where science has become the most powerful good news and where people give away responsibility to others - primaily through diagnosis - hallelujah, I have an excuse for my behaviour.

Thomas did not give his power to live into the ressurrection story away to others who had seen Jesus.  He retained the right to move into the resurrection experience at his own time and space. Interestingly Jesus honours that and makes it possible for him to do so. One little meeting was all it took to kickstart Thomas' into a new man, but it was accomplished at his pace.

The resurrection is key to our faith. The possibility of hope and light after the dark night of the soul which was Good Friday and the subsequent Saturday transforms the life of those with Jesus, and has the possibility of transforming ours. Yet it is more than the physical resurrection story of Jesus. It is how we see the world, the circumstances of our lives and where we are now.

I fear too many Christians are locked into a world view that is Good Friday - their life is dark, of little hope and they cannot or do not see the green shoots of resurrection rising under their feet. While they know the world has changed, and they need to embrace that change, they are locked into failed mindsets, pointless ideological positions and structures which prevent them doing so. Perhaps they are locked in Saturday, the inbetween space betweeen despair and hope unable to make the move into full blown possibility. They can see clearly what has happened, the world has changed, yet they can't see what is coming, so they stay where they are, waiting for some certainty before they move forward, before they embrace the green shoots of hope that is the resurrection.

Living in the resurrection is a dangerous place. It asks us to leave behind old paradigms and ways of doing things and of being in the world, and to embrace risk, ridicule and failure. It asks us to see for ourselves the possibilities and to seek after them with all our being. It asks to see what is all around us - life, hope and adventure - it asks us not to give away our power to others, to the what if's,  to the looming disaster and the perceived certainty of failure. It says too us all things are possible, it says to us go on, step out and discover the excitement of being alive when you where once dead, trapped in fear, locked in Good Friday or Saturday.

In the movie the best exotic marigold hotel the Indian proprietor of the hotel says, 'Everything will work out in the end; if it hasn't worked out, it's not the end.' If you haven't seen the movie, please do so. It is a movie about the resurrection, those who choose to embrace and those who choose not to, who want what they had, not what is there for them now. The characters embrace, slowly the possibility of the future and in doing so discover themselves. Each grows into the idea and experience in their own way and time, some, alas, do not.

And that is the truth about resurrection and being resurrection people - it is something we grow into. We grow into a changed viewpoint, a new perspective on the world. We see it differently and we do life differently.  We take control, we push the boundaries, we explore new posssibilities and take enormous risks, aware that if it doesn't work out this time, it's not the end. The resurrection is our life now and it's our choice whether to live it or not. Choose to be a resurrection adventurer and go for the ride of your life. It will challenge and scare you, but it will always be full of surprises and new experiences. Go on, I dare you!

Monday 16 April 2012

Good Friday - Crossing the Yellow Lines

A few nights ago on tv, we watched a pavement painter create a 3-d drawing of a waterfall. As he was working people walked back and forward across the emerging artwork, some pushing prams, others on their mobiles, still others on their mobiles and pushing prams.

The next door I walked out of Tweed Centro through the undercover carpark where a worker was painting yellow lines on the edge of the foot path. I asked him if anybody had walked across his painting, he answered no, not yet. I recalled for him the tv show and the painters experience. He said, it will happen, people are in their own world and just don't see. We laughed and I moved to cross the road. As I did I was passed by an older gentleman. As I crossed I turned just in time to see the older gentleman walk right across the freshly painted foot path. I caught the eye of the painter and we chuckled.

In our own world is a fair comment on our lives and the experience of Mary outside the time.
Mary saw the empty tomb and was overcome by her personal grief.

Mary was engrossed in her loss, her beloved Rabbi was not only dead, but now his body was missing.

So much so that Mary failed to see possibility of the new day dawning.

Good Friday and Easter Sunday are both a clarion call to widen our worldview, to look wider than ourselves and how we individually and personally feel about what is happening to us, and see others, not as objects, competitors or oppostion, but as ourselves. To recognise that the pain we experience is not special, it is not restricted just to me, it is the pain that every other feels in their own particular way.

Good Friday is the day Jesus joined humanity to share our pain; Easter day is the day when Jesus, calling our names as he did to Mary, calls us to see the new shoots of life, to see that life only ever rises out of pain, and we can only experience life with others if we first share their pain.

Tuesday 6 March 2012

How Time Flies!

How time flies! It seems like only yesterday we returned to school and here we are fast approaching Easter and the end of term 1! How does that happen?

Perhaps it is because we live in a world where we can have it all and have it all at the same time and therefore there are no seasons, no down times, no respite from the relentless nature of a consumer driven world. We can buy whatever fruit we like, whenever we like, regardless of whether it is in season in our country. It is in season somewhere. We can shop everyday of the week, go to the gym at 3 in the morning and but hot cross buns the day after Australia Day.

It never stops and neither do we. Lent is a good time to do just that. To stop, look around and assess what our overly full lifestyle is doing to us, and take the time to smell the roses.

Psalm 47:10 reminds us to ‘Be still and remember that I am God’.

Friday 24 February 2012

How to Ruin Your Life In 14 Minutes on Facebook

We all have those moments of impulsiveness when we do things we regret later. The moment of bad temper that passes as quickly as it came, the extra bar of chocolate when no-ones looking or the discreet smirk when someone says something ridiculous. The good thing is that, generally, no-one else finds out about it.

But, when it comes to Facebook and the 'stuff' we post, be it bad photographs, a vile rant, or saying what we think about someone, despite our best efforts, everyone out there gets to know. And it's not only Facebook, what about a Youtube video you later regret? They don't go away. They are there, not just for the rest of your life, but for the rest of eternity.

Check out what happened to 2 two teenage girls who posted a Youtube video and how to ensure it doesn't happen to you.

http://thoughtcatalog.com/2012/how-to-ruin-your-life-in-14-minutes-or-why-we-need-a-serious-conversation-about-the-ethics-of-social-media/

Sunday 5 February 2012

Dealing with Difficult People

I noticed the following topic on a conference agenda, 'How to deal with difficult people' and it got me thinking, what if the difficult person is you?

It seems to me that I am the most difficult person I have to deal with. Whenever I find myself in conflict with others and take the time to be still and reflect, I usually discover that I have had more to do with creating the problem than I would care to admit publicly.

You see we spend a lifetime creating our image and story and because that is the case, we believe it to be infallibly true. So, whenever something happens to challenge that sory we resort to attack as the best form of defence, blaming others or anything but ourselves.

Yet, I fear that we fib to ourselves quite a lot, and we spend a lot of time in that Egytian river, denial. If we could but be honest with ourselves we would discover that we are high maintenance and needy, so much so that we use others to fulfil our needs, evenif we do so in a nice way. It takes a lot of courage to face ourselves and commit to deconstructing the story we have taken a lifetime to build aand begn to buld again.

But that is the core of our journey in life, being brave enough to face the most difficult person in our life, ourselves, and having the courage to renew ourselves each time it happens.