Peace Is Our Responsibility

Luke 3:1-6

 

In 1962 Thomas Merton wrote the following an an essay in the Commonweal journal entitled ‘Nuclear War and the Christian":

 “We are no longer living in a Christian world……..Today a non-Christian world still retains a few vestiges of Christian morality, a few formulas and clichés, which serve on appropriate occasions to adorn indignant editorials and speeches. But otherwise we witness deliberate campaigns to eliminate all education in Christian truth and morality. The Christian ethic of love tends to be discredited as phony and sentimental. It is therefore a serious error to imagine that because the West was once largely Christian, the cause of the Western nations is now to be identified, without further qualification, with the cause of God. The incentive to wipe out Bolshevism may well be one of the apocalyptic temptations of twentieth-century Christendom. It may indeed be the most effective way of destroying Christendom, even though man may survive. For who imagines that the Asians and Africans will respect Christianity and  embrace it after it has apparently triggered  mass-murder  and destruction of cosmic proportions?  It is pure madness to think that Christianity can defend itself with nuclear weapons. The mere fact that we now seem to accept nuclear war as reasonable is a universal scandal.”

 

Last week, at the Church of England Synod in England, the church accepted that armed intervention is inevitable in the Middle East refugee crisis. The Guardian reports:

“The Church of England has effectively backed military intervention by the UK government in Syria by unanimously passing a motion which implied support for the use of armed force in establishing safe routes for refugees, with the personal endorsement of the archbishop of Canterbury.

Armed action was “almost inevitable” in response to the crisis in Syria, Welby said. The forces that were driving people to become refugees needed to be confronted, he added.

The motion, proposed by the bishop of Durham, Paul Butler, called on the government “to work with international partners in Europe and elsewhere to help establish safe and legal routes to places of safety, including this country, for refugees who are vulnerable and at severe risk”.

Welby told the church assembly that it needed to recognise the implications of the clause. “Let us support the motion, but do so utterly realistically about its implications,” he said.

The motion – passed by 333 votes, with none opposed and three abstentions”

 

And now Britain is at war with ISIS.

In todays Gospel Luke introduces John the Baptist and his call for repentance and Baptism. This Old Testament style prophet, a ‘replica’ of Isaiah’, recognises the crisis his world was facing and calls for radical action to be taken. What was that radical action? Personal accountability for the state of relationships in the world.

 

Luke makes it clear just how dysfunctional the world was by taking care to meticulously detail the time (In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius,), the key players who were recognised for the manipulation and brutality of each other and those under them (when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene,) and the complicity of the Jewish hierarchy ( ²during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas).

He then places John as a prophet, an outsider, who is not in cohorts with the world, but is aware of God and the role God wants each of us to play in bringing peace to the world, as the spokesman for the new world order - (the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. )

Peace in the world is not a world without unrest, but a world in which unrest first finds its answer in our unwillingness to maintain or feed the violence, thus ensuring it continues. If we continue to feed it, the crooked ways of humanity, even the crooked ways within ourselves, will continue to wind there way into the hills and high places of violence, war and hatred.

Peace in the world is not the sole task of God. John continues the voice of the prophets, institutes a radical pattern of repentance and baptism, putting the responsibility on all humans (flesh) in the world and points to The Way (Jesus) this will be achieved.

Peace is not the sole responsibility of Jesus, his birth, life, death and resurrection. Peace is what we do with that. Unfortunately while the church continues to be embroiled in scandals or in visible and damaging conflict and in-fighting at the local level, we do not contribute to peace, but to unrest.

Peace is found in actions bringing down those in high places, unwinding the corruption and power of those committed to violence in all its forms. These actions are to be peace bringing and non-violent. No where does Jesus advocate a violence response, that would simply have ensured violence continued.

Peace requires we seek and find ways to personally untangle ourselves from the patterns and structures which are committed to maintaining unrest in the world – political parties, big business, the weapons industry and more. Perhaps finding out how businesses operate, where they source their products, how  they make their money, where is you retirement money invested and more. We then can make decisions on who we support through our purchases for example.

The announcement this week that the founder of Facebook and his wife are giving 99% of his fortune to charity over his lifetime has been applauded. Yet it comes with strings attached and carrying much baggage as Devon Maloney of The Guardian website points out:

 

Simply by creating and overseeing the world’s largest social network and one of the most influential corporations on Earth – by gathering and selling untold amounts of data under the protection of inscrutable legal jargon, by implementing shaky harassment and reporting policies that permit certain kinds of abuse, by employing 68% men and fewer than 50 black people in a company of more than 10,000 employees (to say nothing of the unholy spectre of gentrification) – Mark Zuckerberg himself continues to reproduce the inequality he and his wife are taking aim at with their pledge.

 

John the Baptist, and Luke the Gospel writer, make it very plain. What we are waiting for is not a baby but the Way and the Way requires that we engage in deep self reflection, shed our baggage through repentance and become baptised in an active role in building a new world for all. While the repentance is personal, the Baptism is communal and unless we begin to walk this Way, peace will always remain elusive.

 

Thomas Merton warned in 1962 we were sowing the seeds of future war by our actions in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. We are now reaping what we have sown. It is time to “‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.” To ensure “⁵Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill made low, and the crooked made straight, and the rough ways made smooth;” so “⁶all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’”

 May Christmas 2015 see the beginning of such peace in our world. 

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/

Facebook underage signups grow thanks to parents

November 2nd, 2011 at 8:28 am - Author
Slyvia
A new study which was part funded by Microsoft shows that children under 13 are signing up for Facebook, which breaches the federal laws in America, to protect children’s online privacy.

According to the report, there are millions of underage kids signing up for Facebook, and many parents are helping their children to lie, getting them online.

The findings show that 7 out of 10 parents said they helped their children set up accounts, violating the companies terms of service rules.

Danah Boyd, the co author of ‘Why Parents Helps Their Children Lie to Facebook about Age’ said “There has been outrage about under-aged children being on Facebook. And as it turns out, many parents are not only okay with it — they are helping their children set up accounts.”


The above comment found on the web and seen in the papers over the last week has fuelled the discussion about what age children should be allowed to be on Facebook. It is obvious that many parents deem their children are capable of handling both the complex Facebook privacy settings and the intricacies of friending and posting unseen as young as 8.

For me the issue is a little more complex than that. In fact, that is not the primary concern we should be discussing. The issue has to do with entitlement – I am entitled to participate in this technology and any rules set to regulate it do not apply to my children or me.

We live in a world where there are rules that govern our behaviour, our interactions with and our responsibilities to others. Without these rules we would have anarchy. Despite the fact that we may not like all of the rules, we are not entitled to believe they do not apply to us.

Travelling down the highway from Brisbane with my cruise control on the speed limit, I wondered if I was in a foreign land where 110 meant 120 as car after car, p-platers and all, sped past. Apparently they are entitled to travel faster than the law allows.

The message we are giving our children when we allow or assist them to break rules or break rules in front of them, is that rules, acceptable limits, do not apply to them. If they want to they will, becomes their mantra, and when the rules are applied, they will be shocked and dismayed that someone dares to say no to them. Unfortunately when that happens, their parents are similarly dismayed and come to their aid blaming all others.

A parent was complaining that their daughter was being bullied and harassed on Facebook. She was 10. She wanted to know what to do. Simple – it’s against the rules for her to be on Facebook. If she weren’t on there she wouldn’t be being bullied. Get her off.

This not a rant against technology, just pointing out that the argument about age is the wrong one. It’s about responsibility and setting the example. It’s about realizing, as both parents and children, that we are in fact entitled to little in this life, and any such entitlement comes with responsibility and respect for the acceptable limits that maintains society as we know it.

When is the right time for children to be on Facebook, I’m not sure, but I know the rules say it’s not 8 or 10 or 12 – you must be 13!

Staring Down Facebook!

One of the most challenging tasks human beings face is to define their identity – who they are and how they fit into the world. While we adults may be comfortable with who we are, our young people face a more difficult task than the one we faced at their age.

Why?

Social media in all its forms from Facebook to Twitter has changed the game. Growing up in the ‘60’s and finding out whom we were and where we fitted involved defining ourselves in, at the most 2 places, home and school. We may have had one identity at home and one at school but those identities were relatively stable and secure. We were who we were and we had no need to change except if we moved town or school.

Today, our children face a much more difficult task courtesy of social media. Not only do they have to define themselves in the home or in their school but also they are under constant pressure to define and redefine themselves each time they log on. Once they place themselves on platforms such as Facebook, they discover that they have to constantly reinvent themselves in response to the comments they find on their wall. If they are going to stay relevant and have any chance of being apart of the ‘in-crowd’, they need to respond to what people say, be it positive or negative comment.

The result of this constant need to reassess and reinvent themselves is that they become fragmented and disconnected from who they are. The more often they have to do this, the more fragmented their understanding of themselves becomes. In the end they simply do not know who they are which can have a major impact on their lives.

Unfortunately Facebook does not regulate what is posted on its pages. The only people who can assist your young people and protect them are you, their parents. It is important that access to social networking platforms are restricted and monitored, that the use of smart-phones and media players such as iPod are similarly monitored and restricted.

The issues that need to be addressed include:
•Does my child need a smart-phone or would an ordinary phone suffice?
•If a smart-phone is provided, you can restrict access through the various settings on the phone before handing it over.
•Set an administrators code on both phones and computers before handing it over so that you can access data as required.
•Restrict the phone/internet plan attached to that phone.
•Ensure that no child under 13 is on Facebook (you may not be aware but it is illegal for under 13s to be on Facebook).
•Limit use of Facebook by setting time limits and restricting the computers on which it can be accessed.
•Have all computers in a place where they can be visibly monitored.
•Restrict use of computers in bedrooms to homework only or for a limited period but not directly before bedtime.
•Have a space where all electronic tools are deposited in a common area prior to bedtime, i.e. no phones or computers in bedrooms after bedtime and this includes adults as well as children.

The above suggestions are not designed to make you popular but to keep your children safe. My experience in other places, and at school, tells me that our children are at risk despite the ongoing education and information they receive on the dangers of social media. They need us to take a stand on their behalf and the task is not an easy one, but one we need to tackle head on.

If you would like to comment on this or ask further questions, you can do so by going on to Father Glenn’s blog on the schools homepage and posting a comment, in which I will respond. Monty will also be raising the issue on his Facebook page in the coming weeks: www.facebook.com/montythespoodle.

NEWSFLASH! Monty is on Facebook

Wow, that dog is something!

Got his own Facebook page now so he can talk to all his fans! I wondered what he was doing on the Macbook yesterday, tapping away with his little paws ...

Become a fan of Monty the Spoodle on his personal Facebook page:

Monty the Spoodle Facebook Page

He can be contacted through his Facebook page or his email address (yes, he insisted he be contactable) montythespoodle@gmail.com