Tuesday 30 July 2013

The Lord's Prayer - A Rubric for Life

The Lord's Prayer


Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your Kingdom come, 
your will be done, 
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins,
as we forgive those who sin against us. 
Lead us not into temptation, 
but deliver us from evil. 
For the kingdom, 
the power and the glory are yours. 
Now and for ever.
Amen.

'Lord, teach us how to pray.'

Sitting in my office earlier this week, I had one of those special moments teachers and school chaplains occasionally experience. In conversation with a student we were discussing what our purpose in life was. He looked at me and said, 'My purpose in life is to write my own purpose.' This was not a glib throw away line. It was a carefully thought out position by a self-aware young man (15 years old). He went on to explain that instead of spending time trying to find God's will and purpose for him, he was going to live the life he was given and in doing so, would write the purpose for his life as he went along. We explored how he came to that conclusion and the implications for the way he lives his life, and it was clear that this more than just a wish. It was a part of his life rule and practice.

Somewhere he had intuitively understood the dictum Brother Christian spoke about at Gethsemani, 'You become what you practice.' He is becoming, slowly but surely, his own purpose. His practice of living life as it is, right there in front of him, with gratitude and humility, is beginning to write itself on his life for others to see. He is not praying for a purpose, he is acting as one with a purpose.

In the chinese classic, the  Confucian text the Hsiao Ching, which is basic reading for the average Chinese school student, the writer outlines five basic relationships necessary for good relationships and good leadership. They are:

  • the relationship between father and son, which is justice;
  • the relationship between mother and son, which is compassion,
  • the relationship with the parents, which is filial love;     
  • the relationship between elder brother to younger brother, which is friendship;
  • the relationship between the younger brother and the elder brother, which is respect.

It is understood that if these relationships are developed and practiced then the community takes on a foundation of love. The Hsiao Ching says; ' He who really loves his parents will not be proud in a high position; he will not be insubordinate in an inferior position, and with equals he will not be contentious.' In other words, when you have these relationships right you are balanced at your centre. You know who you are and you do not need to belittle others, to grovel to others or to argue to be noticed and to ensure that others know you are there. You are at peace with yourself and your purpose in life, and you are able to help others as they write this purpose for themselves.

The disciples have noticed that the disciples of other rabbi's have a communal prayer which sums up the teaching and philosophy of their particular school of faith.  They want one too. But as usual, what they ask for is not necessarily what they get. Yes, Jesus gives them a prayer, and it's a 'nice' prayer. It's short, simple and easy to remember, always good for a school prayer. Yet it is more than just a prayer. It is a rubric for life. It is a compressed manual for writing our purpose.
                                                                 
This is a prayer of humility, of divine purpose, of sufficiency, of compassion, of attention. It reminds us that regardless of who we think we are as human beings, God remains forever at the centre of God's creation, that if we put this prayer into practice in the world in which we live, we will not only write our purpose, but we will write God's purpose. It's up to us.

A proper understanding of our relationship with God, with our world and with others will empower us to live life to the fullest and to open the space for others to live similarly.  We are not haughty and egotistic because we praise and worship God as the centre of all things. We understand that life is a mystery to us and only God knows what the kingdom of God looks like but if we write our purpose by staying in our lives we will play apart in bringing in the kingdom of God. We recognise that we don't need more than what is sufficient for our immediate needs and therefore will live in such a way that others have their daily bread. We recognise that we are not perfect and need compassion for our frailties and that others need us to treat them in same way, and we know that our frailties trip us and that we need to pay attention to our emotions, desires and prejudices so that we avoid disaster for ourselves and for others. It is rubric for living.

And the Lord's prayer is difficult.  It is not a prayer for us and those like us.  It is not just a prayer about our relationships with our family (although that is often hard enough) or with people who share our image and our values.  It is a prayer that asks to help those we fear, those that frighten us, those who are different to us, those who challenge our feeling of privilege and entitlement. It is a prayer that asks us to challenge the prevailing societal attitudes which victimises, discriminates, isolates and marginalises others such as the the voter ID law in some US states which will effectively stop minorities without photo id from voting, or the changes to the processing of immigrants arriving by boats in PNG and leaving them there. 

When Jesus gave his disciples this prayer he was laying down a rule for life which he went on to elaborate in his story of how prayer works. The neighbour gives the bread because of the persistent practice of asking and appealing to his sense of justice and compassion, not just because it was annoying, and it was annoying.  The world will only welcome in the kingdom of God if we are annoying, that is if we unceasingly practice the Lord's prayer as the means to write ours and God's purpose for the world.

And it's not just for Sunday or just now. Doing it once doesn't count.  It's for now and forever. And no matter how hard it may make life for us, we do not have permission to stop praying the Lords prayer. 

Saturday 20 July 2013

Abraham, Sarah & Trayvon Martin


 “The Lord appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day. He looked up and saw three men standing near him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent entrance to meet them and bowed down to the ground.” Genesis 18:1-10a 

One of the interesting things about staying in Brooklyn, New York, was that I was often the only white person on the subway, on the street or in the shops. The first time I hopped on the subway, it was more than a little confronting to realise that there was no one else in the carriage with the same colour skin as mine.

Standing on the corner of 116th St & 8th Ave (Frederick Douglas Boulevard) in Harlem was another very distinct experience of isolation and alienation. It was late afternoon, it was raining and I was huddled undercover with a number of people very different in appearance to myself.

I was alone, in the sense that I was not 'normal' for that environment. I was different.

My experience in Louisville was very different where, once again, I became part of 'normal' society. I looked the same as everybody else - white! Louisville seems to be a segregated city to me. Perhaps I'm wrong.

During my time in New York, the trial in the Trayvon Martin case was the dominant story. Dominant, not just because he was shot in the street by a stranger, but because of the colour of his skin. Trayvon Martin was African American, and regardless of what people have written and said about this case, the colour of his and his assailants skin was at the fulcrum around which it revolved.

When I commented that I had had no incident of 'Stop and Frisk', the much discussed New York police policy of stopping and frisking without cause, the answer was quick: 'Of course YOU wouldn't, you are not black.'

John Howard Griffin, a friend of Thomas Merton, wrote one of the most significant books of the 1960's.  It was called Black Like Me and chronicled his experiences when he changed his appearance from white to black and he went to live amongst the black people in the American South.

Here is a snippet of his experience:
'I was the last to leave the bus. An elderly white man, bald and square of build, dressed in worn blue work clothes peered intently at me. Then he crimped his face as though I was odious and snorted, "Phew!". His small blue eyes shone with repugnance, a look of such unreasoning contempt for my skin that it filled me with despair.
It was a little thing, but piled on all the other little things it broke something in me. Suddenly I had had enough. Suddenly I could stomach no more of this degradation - not of myself but of all men who were black like me.' (BLM, pp 153-4)

Much of the discussion about the Martin case, amongst the African American people, was how do we protect our children, particularly young men? How do we stop this happening again?

How do we move past colour as the first door into people's lives? Christopher Pramuk in his book Hope Sings, So Beautiful makes the case clearly and is well worth reading, not just to understand the race issue in America but the issue of privilege and poverty and it's roots in colour and race right around the world, including Australia.  He writes authoritatively as one who,with his wife, has adopted two Haitian children and has lived and worshipped within an African- American community.

Pramuk writes graphically of the long line of Haitian citizens who line up everyday, way before dawn, dressed in the Sunday best, to apply for a visa to 'the promised land'. They pay four hundred non-refundable US dollars just to apply, and of the 'tens of thousands who apply each year, less than 2 percent will be granted a visa.' (HSSB, p6) And you are only allowed to apply once!

The Genesis story of Abraham and Sarah's encounter with strangers suggests very clearly what we need to do and it is simple, like Abraham and Sarah we are to look at all others, legal or 'illegal' refugees, black or white, gay or straight, male or female, able bodied or disabled, as an opportunity to offer welcoming hospitality. It is to look, not for sameness or difference, but to see the person in all, and be open to the possibility of relationship, blessing and hope.

Abraham is sitting just inside his tent on in the middle of the day. Maybe it was a great spot to catch a breeze, maybe it was out of earshot of Sarah or maybe it was where he could get a good look at what is going on around him and his home. He was doing the equivalent of sitting on his veranda watching the world go by.

Each morning, when I walked down Winthrop Avenue, Brooklyn, on the way to the subway I was greeted by a cheery good morning from the two elderly ladies sitting on the stoop, the veranda, of their home which sort of fell into the street. A little further down was the elderly gentleman, occasionally further down was the young mum and her baby, each would say hello, comment on the weather and wish you a good day.

Like Abraham they were expecting and greeting those who passed by, strangers they did not know but welcomed into their lives by this little daily routine.  Sometimes they were there when I returned. Either way they were a joy in my life, people who connected me to my community, as it became while I was there.

They expected strangers and so did Abraham.  It was midday, it was hot, and people travelling at that time needed hospitality and a welcome. Abraham made sure he was there to care for those who were out in the midday sun. And so was Sarah – absent from the stoop but within calling distance if required to provide hospitality.

Notice when Abraham sees the strangers he does not hesitate. ‘When he saw them, he ran from the tent entrance to meet them and bowed down to the ground’. He didn’t wait to see if they had come through the right immigration channels, if they had their papers, if the colour of their skin was the same as his, if they were acceptable for someone like him to greet.  He made no assessment of character, no check on the geneology website, and made no attempt to see if they would rob or murder him and his family.

He simply welcomed them, not as strangers, but as guests and friends.  The hospitality wasn’t over the top. It was basic. It met their needs. They were cleansed, given something to eat and drink, and made welcome.  Abraham didn’t bring on entertainment or a feast fit for celebrities.  He simply welcomed and cared for them. Nothing more, and nothing less.

And Genesis says, ‘The Lord appeared to Abraham’. And a promise of a child was made again. Neither of which Abraham sought or desired when he welcomed the strangers.  He simply did the hospitable and the ordinary – he welcomed strangers without judgement, without fear, without question. And he received much more than he expected.

Standing under the awning in Harlem as the rain bucketed down, I was joined by a young African American boy, just a bit older than Trayvon. He was a solid young man and we exchanged greetings.  As the time went on, the sun went down and the street came to life, he stayed next to me, not talking just standing there, occasionally glancing my way. Just before I was to leave he looked at me and said, ‘Now, you take care’, and disappeared. It was then I realised he was my guardian angel, he had taken it on himself to stand beside this rather strange Australian who had obviously wandered into the ‘wrong’ part of town.

Like Abraham he welcomed the stranger and I entertained an angel. How differently life would have been for Trayvon, and could be for us, if only we could let go of our prejudices and entertain strangers as Abraham and Sarah did. It is simple, but seems never to be easy.

Monday 8 July 2013

Natural Beauty of New York City

I think I will just sit right here! Is that o.k. with you?

Why, helloo! I remember you from........

I know, we are beautiful!

Bubbles, bubbles, everywhere!

Well, go on, take my picture!

See, I'm a professional on the catwalk!


Don't shoot now, you fool! What will my fans think?

A vegetable garden in Battery Park

The vegetables
Now that's relaxing

My name's Fern and I'm on border control!

The Vietnam Veteran's Memorial. A must see!

Friday 5 July 2013

Baseball - at the NY Mets Thru An Aussie's Eyes!

Headed to the baseball for the Mets game and it was POURING DOWN! Thought for certain it would be off. Got there and it stopped, they took off the covers, drained the swimming pool sized ponds and the game started 2 hours late. Watched the Mets get beaten and left at 12.30, they were doing the fireworks after that! Wouldn't happen in Australia. Someone would complain about the noise! Not New York!. Got the crowded train home. It was a full house on a Wednesday night, 30,000 plus people.

Now the baseball. What happens? Nothing much for a long time, then something for a very short time, and then nothing. It's like a 16 yr old boy looking for a girlfriend; he takes a lot of swings, hits a lot of foul balls, strikes out most of the time, occasionally gets to first base, may get to second base, and only rarely, very rarely hits a home run! And when he does, the crowd goes wild!

Now having said that, it is difficult to hit that little white ball with a round stick when the bowl is travelling at 97 miles per hour and is thrown from around 20 yards away directly at you (less than a cricket pitch)! I admire the skill of those who can, such as the Mets captain David Wright who hit a home run last night. Their pitcher, Matt Harvey, throws at 96-97 mph consistently. His slow ball is in the mid to late 80's!

The crowd, the noise, the excitement and the hopeful expectation gets you in, and you find yourself yelling just as much as the die-hard fans when something great happens.

It was a great night out. Thankyou @Mets.