If the Answer is 42, What was the question?

Free Book Giveaway

2009-03-13T22:25:00.000+10:30

Bible Study Magazine and Mars Hill are giving away 20 copies of Mark Driscoll’s new book, Vintage Church. Not only that, but they are also giving away five subscriptions to Bible Study Magazine and a copy of their Bible Study Library software! Enter to win on the Bible Study Magazine Mark Driscoll page, then take a look at all the cool tools they have to take your Bible study to the next level!

Under the Unpredictable Plant

2008-10-20T15:47:00.002+10:30

This year I have been reading some books by Eugene H. Peterson (yes, the guy who wrote 'The Message' version of the bible). "Shaping the Angles" was first which was great, and now I am working through "Under the Unpredictable Plant," which as title suggests uses the story of Jonah to explore the pastoral vocation. What follows are some quotes which I pulled out of Section III "In the Belly of the Fish" which resonated with me as I seek to journey with a congregation in a local church setting.

“...We assume that because people want more religion, they want more of the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. WE assume that when they gather in our congregations and ask us to lead them in prayer, they want us to lead them before the throne of a Holy God. Nothing could be further from the truth.
The people in our congregations are, in fact, out shopping for idols. They enter our churches with the same mind-set in which they go to the shopping mall, to get something that will please them or satisfy an appetite or need....Congregations commonly see the pastor as the quality control engineer in the factory....They want God, in a way, but certainly not a ‘jealous God,’ not the ‘God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.’ Mostly they want to be their own god and stay in control but have ancillary idol assistance for the hard parts, which the pastor can show them how to get.”p 80-81

“...it is characteristic of post-Eden human beings to try to be or get their own gods and that this characteristic is persistent, subtle and relentless.” p81

[After a congregation had developed and grown during the construction of the church building, and then had begun to decline, he writes)”I learned to my dismay that nothing at all was wrong, it was just that there was nothing now to do....I had suddenly awakened to the fact that what we can get our hands on is idols. I thought that we were there to worship God and love our neighbours, living into a holy mystery.”p83

“It turned out that far more people that I would have guessed had helped to develop and build the new church because it was a religious project, an idol that gave meaning and focus in the context of something worthwhile and suggestive of transcendence. They were not interested in God. Worshiping God was not emotionally exciting. Loving neighbours was not ego-satisfying. They drifted away and went on to get involved in other community projects.” P 83-84

“While everyone has a hunger for God, deep and insatiable, none of us has any great desire for him. What we really want is to be our own gods and to have whatever other gods that are around to help us in our work. We are trained from an early age to be discriminating consumers on our way to higher standards of living. It should be no great surprise to pastors when congregations expect us to collaborate in this enterprise.” P 84-85

Signposts on Matthew 20:1-16

2008-09-17T15:41:00.000+09:30

Click here for the Text

Often called “The Labourers in the Vineyard” but a better title would be “The Generous Landowner” in the same way that “The Prodigal Son” is better titled “The Welcoming Father.”

First Questions:
- Who are the hired workers? Are we ‘ministers’ the hired workers? Are all Christians? Are all who point others towards God?
- I empathise with the workers who were hired first – as I do with the Elder son (Luke 15:11-32). What does that say about me?
- Greek text is fine – with a Class C question hanging over ‘Or’ (ή) at the beginning of Verse 15 which most modern translations now omit. Other than that it is clean.

Malina and Rohrbaugh remind us that “no-one goes looking for work. As befits honourable men, even peasants have to be approached and asked to work”[i] which fits in with what we can fathom about first century Mediterranean culture. Likewise we are reminded of the way that verse 15 have been ‘cleaned’ up by the modern translations in that it should read “Or is your eye evil because I am good?” so in preaching on this text we need to ensure that the idea of greed/envy/coveting are feelings that come from within – and the place of the ‘evil eye’ in Mediterranean culture – even today.[ii]

Schnackenburg reminds us that this parable “...is solely oriented to the conduct of God, and is an advertisement calling people to understand God in terms of goodness and mercy. God’s goodness ought to lead to a different relationship with one’s fellow human beings.”[iii]

In Sacra Pagina Commentary by Harrington, he raises some interesting questions that remain un answered by the text, including “Why did the householder not hire a full complement of workers? Why did he need more workers so late in the day? Was it because the work was so pressing or because the first workers were not working efficiently?.”[iv] He also goes on to implore the exegete to interpret the text in light of the eschatological implications, he writes that “With its vineyard (Israel)and harvest (last judgement) symbolism the parable of “the good employer” concerns the last judgement and should be so interpreted. The issue treated in the parable is why the latecomers receive the same reward as those who came earlier to work. The answer is that the kingdom of God’s gift to give and we must not begrudge God his generosity [as]...there is a balance between God’s justice and God’s mercy. Those who were hired received a just reward, one to which they had already agreed. The fact that the latecomers received the same reward can be credited to God’s mercy.”[v]

Australian theologian Brendan Byrne remarks that it is only natural that we share in the expectation of a greater reward and this the resentment when it is not forthcoming – which is comforting considering my earlier question. He goes on to explore the justice element of this text, “Does justice mean being paid the exact amount agreed upon? Or does it mean being paid what others are paid for the same amount of work?”[vi] A question that is easily answered by today’s standards of industrial relations (I wonder how we would have answered if Work Choices had continued??), but what of the biblical-kingdom answer that flies in the face of our culture? But then again, to be a Jesus follower is to be counter-cultural. Byrne concludes his reflections by saying “In the long run God gives salvation as an unmerited free gift. Whether human beings have ‘worked’ long or little for it is not ultimately decisive – which is a comfort for those worried about the ultimate fate of loved ones whose pattern of life has shown no outward sign of virtue or respectability.”[vii]

My favourite commentary series, which often provides the hook upon which to hang a sermon, reminded me that “the first group of workings is hired on the basis of an oral contract for the normal amount; the later groups are promised ‘whatever is right,’ thus raising, but not answering, the question of what is ‘right.’(δίκαιος)”[viii] Boring goes on to say that “when they (the workers hired first) receive the just fulfilment of their contract, they object not to what they have in fact received, but that others have been made ‘equal’ to them. They have what they have by justice; others have been made equal by grace [however] the parable, while affirming the sovereign grace of God, rejects presuming on grace. Grace is always amazing grace. Grace that can be calculated and expected (v.10) is no longer grace (cf. 22:11-14).”[ix]

Which begs the question on this Wednesday afternoon – where is God leading me in this sermon? I cannot wait to see how it all comes together.

[i] Bruce J. Malina and Richard L. Rohrbaugh Social-Science Commentary on the Synoptic Gospels (Fortress Press, Minneapolis, MN 2003) p101

[ii] Malina and Rohrbaugh Social-Science Commentary on the Synoptic Gospels 2003 p101-102 & 357-359

[iii] Rudolf Schnackenburg The Gospel of Matthew (Williams B Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, MN 2002) p193

[iv] Daniel J. Harrington S.J. The Gospel of Matthew. Volume 1 Sacra Pagina (The Liturgical Press, Collegeville, MS 1991) p 283

[v] Harrington The Gospel of Matthew. 1991 p 284-285

[vi] Brendan Byrne S.J. Lifting the Burden – Reading Matthew’s Gospel in the Church Today (The Liturgical Press, Collegeville, MS. 2004) p 153

[vii]Byrne Lifting the Burden 2004 p 154

[viii] M. Eugene Boring “The Gospel of Matthew” in Volume VIII New Interpreter’s Bible Commentary (Abingdon Press, Nashville TN 1995) p393

[ix] Boring Volume VIII New Interpreter’s Bible Commentary p394

A Magnificent Minister

2008-07-07T15:23:00.002+09:30

I'm now over six months into my first solo ministry and I have been reflecting on - with the help of a friend and colleague, and Eugene Peterson - what makes a good minister. In my research I came across this quote in my 'ye olde logos' software:

After years of research, the profile of the “perfect pastor” has been developed. The perfect pastor preaches exactly fifteen minutes. He condemns sin, but never embarrasses anyone. He works from 8:00 A.M. until midnight and is also the church janitor. He makes $60 a week, wears good clothes, drives a new car, and gives $50 a week to the poor. He is twenty-eight years old and has been preaching for twenty-five years, is wonderfully gentle and handsome, loves to work with teenagers, and spends countless hours with senior citizens. He makes fifteen calls daily on parish families, shut-ins, and hospital patients, and he is always in his office when needed.
If your pastor does not measure up to this profile of the perfect pastor, simply send this description to six other churches that are tired of their pastor. Then bundle up your pastor and send him to the church at the top of the list. In one week you will receive 1,643 pastors. One of them should be perfect.

I wonder how many churches have tried this after the honeymoon period??

Sacred Irony

2008-06-23T17:03:00.003+09:30

Only being new to full-time local church based ministry, I have come to learn of the premium import that ‘space’ is, in the busy-ness (certainly not business, in our societies way of understanding that word) of ministering alongside a community of sojourners. What appealed to me initially about this retreat was its frame, “Finding Sacred Space” because finding the odd bit of space here and there in a busy week for God is doable – morning prayers and study, chinks of times prayers throughout the day, Chris Tomlin via i-Tunes, but not all those spaces maintain their sacredity[new word] amidst the phone calls, emails and cups of tea. After a deep and meaningful, close to three hour journey – filled with 80’s big haired rock, caffeine and theology, it became apparent that the frame of this retreat was laced with profound irony – perhaps some tongue in cheek, because upon exiting the vehicle it was clear that we had entered sacred space.
The air was filled with the sounds of birds celebrating their flight (I can only assume), and the smell of fermenting sugars while our vision was dominated by the vision of buildings and shrines dedicated to God, that have with stood the test of time – not a phone ring, SMS sound, or truck exhaust brake to be heard. Perhaps it was this kind of place (minus the Church, the shrines and the winery) to which Jesus and his disciples retreated too (Mark 6:30-31) for a chance to renew and refresh, and become once again human beings – not human doings. This retreat provided for me the space to reconnect with God in deep and meaningful ways, by having ‘free’ time to be with God, through optional guided prayer in the lectio divina tradition and spiritual direction with no distractions other that the sounds of nature, and communal meals. There is a profound connectedness in being on a solo semi-silent retreat (sorry Keith) amidst friends and colleagues. I am not sure whether to celebrate that there were only two ministers who attended this retreat because our other colleagues have ‘sacred space’ in their weekly lives, or to mourn that our colleagues do not see the need to “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.”

Of Sheep and Mozies

2008-04-14T15:53:00.001+09:30

I have always thought that the suggestion that we are like sheep was a bit offensive. I always thought that the metaphor was a cheap shot at us, because I – probably like most people – always considered sheep to be a particularly dim witted animal. That is, until very recently.

Do not ask me why, but not too long ago I read an article where scientists had tested – and I cannot begin to imagine why, or how – but they tested the IQ of sheep, and it turns out that in the intelligent stakes, they are on par with cattle, and only slightly lower than Pigs. Anyway, what led to sheep being tested in the first place was that there was a flock in Yorkshire, England which over time developed problem solving abilities.

Do you all know what I mean when I talk about a cattle grid? Well these are those metal grids that are placed in the ground in place of a gate. The principle behind the grid is simple – the metal bars are placed far enough apart so that a the leg of an animal with hooves such as a cow or a sheep, would fall between the grids – the animals learn pretty quickly that this is not wise, and thus avoid them. They have been used all over the world to keep animals in certain boundaries – on the road to Alice Springs, which is where that photograph was taken, grids cross the highway to keep the cattle together. So back to this flock of sheep in Yorkshire; they worked out that if they rolled on their backs over the grid, that they could escape the paddock.[i] They could be set free from their fleeced, grass eating bondage. I imagine the situation to be somewhat like a Wallace and Grommet episode; the flock of sheep, under the cover of darkness, with dark lines painted under their eyes, approach the grid, crouching down in the dust, and one by one, on the given signal, roll their way to freedom, accompanied by the leader sheep whistling the theme music to ‘The Great Escape.’ All of a sudden, being compared to a sheep isn’t so bad.

In this day and age, the concept of Jesus being a Shepherd carries with it an entirely different meaning from the one implied in the text of John’s Gospel. Today, a shepherd, more often than not, is a generalist farmer – with sheep being but one of the many facets of the farm’s produce that keeps it all ticking over. Farmer’s these days drive dual cab four wheel drives, or ride off road motorbikes to keep an eye on their flock. We’ve all seen no doubt the expert farmers, with their highly trained sheep dogs, who can move a flock of sheep through gates, and around obstacles with a simple whistle and command. Although not riveting viewing, a well paired and practiced team of shepherd and sheep dog, moving a flock in harmony, is still a unique sight to behold. But that, with the exception of the sheep, has nothing to do with the concept of Jesus being a shepherd.

In the ancient middle-east, shepherds had a very hard life, since they endured and faced all the hardships of the tough landscape through which they herded their flock. They literally ate, slept and spent all their time with their flock – it was their life. They faced head on, all the dangers and difficulties that the flock faced, and they were just as vulnerable – to the extreme heat of the day, the bitter cold at night, and to the many predators, both animal and human that haunted their paths. I am sure that shepherds lived with the reality of sleeping with one eye open. When they could sleep, without the fear of predators, they slept in the same location as their flock, and were therefore seen as poor prospects as husbands and fathers, since they had to leave families alone and vulnerable at night. If a shepherd were to be lucky enough to have found a wife, due to their being away from home, and being unable to protect the honour of their household they were considered to be dishonourable men – little more than common thieves. In terms of a career path being a shepherd, was right up there in Jewish society with being a ass driver, a tanner, a sailor, a butcher, or a camel driver – basically you were perpetually unclean and unfit for a relationship with God, which meant you were unfit for a place in general society, which meant you were literally a nobody. And yet this is who Jesus identifies himself with. Because that is the life Jesus lives for and with us.

Having been one of the most vulnerable, Jesus journeys with societies most vulnerable and takes on all of their vulnerabilities. He knows what it is like to be out in the cold. Jesus knows what he is saying when he calls people to leave their homes and villages, and even their families, since he had done the same himself. He knows what it is like to have people think less of you, or think you’re crazy or irresponsible because of what you leave behind and let go of, because people have said and still say those things about him and hopefully, his followers.

It is no coincidence that in Luke’s Gospel, God chose shepherds in the field, watching their flocks by night as the first to receive the Good News of the birth of the Messiah. As an expectant father myself, my guess is that you want to tell everyone of the birth of your child, yet God chose specifically who would be the first to know. These men, who were considered to be dishonourable, social outcasts, were the first to be told the Good News, because the coming of the Messiah was the best news to the vulnerable of society. This new king, this shepherd king would make for an upside down kingdom - a place where the first shall be last, and the last shall be first – the shepherds, who were the least in the kingdom of men, would be among the first in the kingdom of God.

All through the story of God’s revelation to humanity – all throughout the scriptures we find displayed in action, word and deed God’s heart for the vulnerable. The widow, the orphan and the stranger are the trinity of God’s concern for creation, because it was these three groups of people who were the most vulnerable in a society which was structured around the family unit. Without a family who would stand by you in solidarity, in the ancient word, you were nothing. The shepherd, who likewise was often without family connections, could identify must more easily with the orphan, the widow and the alien.

As sheep we will recognise the shepherd’s voice and follow him where ever he leads. Through the dangers, toils and snares of life, on the well trodden paths and the narrow sheep tracks of life, we are called to follow. Will it be safe, following this shepherd? Not all the time – with bandits and thieves at the ready – following the shepherd who calls us by name, means taking up our cross daily, and following his lead through this life.

However, this other life – this crazy life of being on societies outer – of not making sense to the rank and file of the world – this life of the shepherd, that he calls his sheep by name to follow is not an ‘other life’ – it is the call to ‘life.’ It is the life of modern society, of economics and investments, or globalisation and rationalisation that is the other life – the life that Jesus calls us to, is the abundant life – life live following the shepherd, in loving, caring relationship with God, with each other’s needs ahead of our own – that is the life of Jesus, the abundant life to which we’re called.

Last Sunday morning, I challenged us all to going into the week to share our stories of the ordinary of life, seeking for God in all things, and breaking bread as a sign of the Risen Jesus. Well, I did not know it then, but the very next day – bright and early in the morning, I was breaking bread with colleagues in the city. At very late notice, I was invited to attend a World Vision Church Leader’s breakfast with the Rev. Tim Costello and Professor Dr. David Batstone. The breakfast was held to launch World Vision’s latest campaign, called ‘Don’t Trade Lives.

Who here saw ‘Amazing Grace’ when it was released last year? Who will admit to the fact that they teared up at the end, when William Wilberforce was told that his bill to end slavery had finally been passed, and that it was now only a matter of time before slavery was abolished? Wasn’t that a moving moment? Did you think to yourself in that moment, as I did, isn’t it a great thing that this evil blight is no more, and that it was brought about by a man’s firm belief in the Kingdom of God? This was the church, in certain parts, being as a shepherd to standing with the most vulnerable and walking them to safety.

The call is upon the church to once again stand in solidarity and give a voice to the most vulnerable in our world. More than 200 years have past since Christian reformer Wilberforce successfully campaigned for the end of state-sanctioned slavery, yet slavery still exists today. Today, slavery is referred to as ‘Human Trafficking’ and the estimates believe that their could be as many as 27 Million people bonded in this way. What that means, is that if those numbers are even remotely accurate, that there are most slaves in the world today, then there was in the entire 400 years of the trans-Atlantic slave trade.

We were told, just in passing on Monday morning, that of the estimated 27 million slaves in the world today that four out of five are women, and three out of five are aged under 16 years. As it did for William Wilberforce many years ago, the modern slave trade of human trafficking calls us again to a gospel which is not just about what happens when we die nor how close we feel to Jesus in our worship; it is a gospel which seeks salvation from the systems of the world which would dehumanise people and promote an ever growing gap between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots.’ It is a gospel where our own salvation should be so rich and freeing – so abundant in life – that we are provoked into action. It is a gospel call to do justice, show mercy and walk humbly with our God. It is a gospel call to a new way of living, an abundant way of living which can change everything.

A primary focus of World Vision’s “Don’t Trade Lives” campaign is on the coffee and chocolate industries. To use the words of Tim Costello, “Chocolate is a luxury item that adds to our waistline and often makes us feel guilty. Yet if we were aware of the exploitation and dangers children in the cocoa fields of West Africa are forced to ensure, chocolate would also make us feel sick.” 70% of the world’s cocoa, which is the basis for the chocolate we enjoy, comes from the Western African Nations of Ivory Coast and Ghana, and there are over 600,000 children working in these Cocoa fields. The vast majority of these children will not be paid for their work, and over half will never attend a school. There are claims that in the worst cases children as young as six are being forced to work 80-100 hours a week. Evidence suggests that up to 12,000 children have been trafficked into West Africa to work in the Cocoa fields. Recently, Police in the Ivory Coast liberated 200 children from a farm, while capturing a convoy of fake ambulances which was being used to fool authorities to smuggle perfectly health stolen children into the country so become slave.

The Chocolate industry is worth countless billions of dollars annually to the world economies, and most of the profits are earned off the back of these children. The CEO of Mars alone is worth $10 billion. However, in 2001 after a great media furore, the head of the major chocolate manufacturers, agreed to a voluntary protocol which aimed to establish credible standards of public certification that ensured cocoa production was free of the worst forms of child labour practices and slavery in Ivory Coast and Ghana. This process was meant to be complete by July 2005. They failed to meet this deadline. In truth, they failed to even begin this process. They gave themselves a new deadline of July 2008 – a deadline which will go sailing past again, with no signs of the industry adhering to their protocol. And why would they, if people like us do not know what is going on, why would we care how the chocolate comes to us?

As sheep who follow in the well worn foot marks of the Good Shepherd, the Shepherd who came to preach Good News to the poor, and liberation to the oppressed and life abundant. What can be our response to this tragedy? Hopefully, I can hear you asking, “But what can we do, in the face of all this money, power and apathy?” We can do plenty. Never believe for one second, that one voice cannot make a difference. As the Dalai Lama is quoted as saying, “"If you think you are too small to make a difference - try sleeping with a Mosquito".

World Vision have a four fold strategy for confronting this problem, and they would like us, as followers of the Good Shepherd to join in at what ever level we feel called, and are able

We must implore Local governments, particularly in Africa, but elsewhere around the world, to must enforce domestic and international laws which prohibit child exploitation and trafficking. They must also tackle corruption.

Big Chocolate manufacturers and exporters bear a lot of the responsibility in tackling this issue. We need to demand that they:

· Reassess their supply chains so that the products we buy are child labour- and human trafficking-free and guarantee farmers a fair price for their cocoa

· Publicly outline a time-bound Plan of Action to ensure their products are free of human exploitation. We call on them to do this by Christmas 2008 and to engage a wide group of stakeholders in the development of this plan.

Retailers should stock ethical, or what is called “Fair Trade” chocolate. Retailers should convey to manufacturers that the Australian public will not tolerate buying goods made by exploiting children.
You and I should not boycott our favourite chocolates, since this only hurts poor farming families even more. Instead, we should use our voices to demand ethical chocolate from manufacturers, and our purchasing power to support Fair Trade Chocolates and Coffee.

I have not given this sermon in order to make us all feel guilty, nor to make a political statement. Buying chocolate is such an innocuous thing in this country and I always feel guilty about indulging because it adds inches to my waist line, and only harms myself. But the simple facts are, that buying and consuming chocolate does not just affect me, it seriously and dangerously affects the lives of countless children in Africa.

The Good Shepherd knew what it was to stand with the world’s most vulnerable people. And as a response to his leading, as a response to his voice, the voice of the Good Shepherd that calls his sheep, that calls us to have and share abundant life and to love our neighbour as ourselves, how will we respond when children, the most vulnerable of our world are being exploited for love of money and chocolate. Will we be like the traditional sheep and follow the leader, follow the crowd who shops without a second thought or will we be more like those smart cattle grid rolling sheep and consider the impact of our day to day living on the most vulnerable of the Good Shepherd’s sheep?

[i] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheep#Behavior_and_intelligence

ROLLING the STONES away.

2008-03-25T18:45:00.003+10:30

Following is my first draft of Sunday's Easter Message.

How can you not be moved with emotion when you hear this resurrection story from Mary Magdalene’s perspective? Despite the bad press she has received over the years, we really know very little about Mary – however, what we do know is that she was part of Jesus inner circle of followers – some would even say that she was a disciple. From Matthew, Luke and the longer ending of Mark, and then following on from our readings at the Good Friday service, Mary Magdalene was consistently the first person to discover the truth of the empty tomb, and to share the news of the resurrected Jesus. But can you imagine the emotions she would have gone through? On Thursday night the man, who we are told in Luke’s Gospel exorcised her of 7 demons, was arrested for no apparent reason. On Friday, she was witness to a travesty of Jewish and Roman justice as her friend, teacher and mentor, was condemned to death, and then we are told, that she was at the cross for the duration as her Lord hung there, was mocked, suffered and died.

Who knows how she, and the other women spent their Friday evening and Saturday. We can assume that she would have been in a daze – a mind and senses numbing daze – her grief would have been overwhelming – it was easier not to think about it – the pain was too much. But the ever practical Jewish Mary, would have been mindful that the body of Jesus probably still needed to be embalmed correctly, or at least checked that it has been done the proper way because she was confident that Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus wouldn’t have done it right – never trust a man to do those sort of jobs right the first time! So, early in the morning, on the first day of the week – Sunday – she heads off to the tomb, where only 2 days earlier her world had been destroyed, to find that the new stone that covered the tomb, not yet covered with moss because it was so new, had been rolled away. Without actually going into the tomb to look for herself she raced back to the disciples to tell Simon Peter and the disciple whom Jesus loved what she had seen.

This revelation jolts the boys into action, and they ran together towards the tomb. The faster of the two, Jesus closest disciple arrived first, stuck his head in to the empty tomb saw the burial clothes, but no body – then Simon Peter, no doubt puffing from the early morning exertion of energy, bursts – in try true Peter style – into the tomb and feels the emptiness – a feeling he had no doubt been experiencing since his denial on Friday – and he sees the grave clothes lying there. The other disciple enters, sees and believes – then they returned home – which for me, is an odd response.

Mary who had followed, was left all alone – now over come with grief again – and she wept openly at the empty tomb – when all of a sudden she sees two angels sitting where the body once lay. “Woman, why are you weeping they ask?” to which she responds with her suspicions about grave vandalism. During her response she most likely sensed movement behind, and turns around to find a fairly agricultural looking bloke, who asks her the same question as the now absent men in white. Her response, to a man whom she believes to be the gardener, is at the same time part accusation and part pleading for understanding, but when he spoke to her again, when he said her name – her eyes were opened to the truth. The Good Shepherd spoke, and one of his closest and dearest sheep heard and recognised his voice.

“Rab boū̕ nī!” she exclaims. Can you see the tears filling her eyes? Can you see all her worries evaporating? She had thought things were always going to be different now that Jesus has died – but he isn’t dead – he’s back! The one that we had lost is now found! Our lives can continue as they were – our relationships, our journey, our lives as disciples – it can all go on – Jesus is back. I wonder whether Mary’s future life flashed before her eyes – she could see the disciples and the followers travelling around Judea, preaching, teaching, healing – but now with more impetus – because Jesus is back – but it is so good that Jesus is back! Oh happy day!

“Rab boū̕ nī!” she exclaims. Which means much more than simply teacher – the word Rabbi means teacher - “Rab boū̕ nī!” means Greatest One. Then Jesus said to her, “Do not hold on to me.”

One of my favourite quotes, comes from the 20^th century philosopher Jagger, who is remembered often and in many ways as saying, “You can’t always get what you want.” You may be more familiar with his work as lead singer of The Rolling Stones. I bet you never thought you’d see the day when a sermon would contain a reference to Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones – but I am going somewhere with all this – trust me. There is another saying, which although we can’t directly attribute it to Mick Jagger, it has always reminds me of him and his group of mates – the quote is ‘A Rolling Stone Gathers No Moss.’

Are you lost? Here is the connection – Jesus said to Mary, “Do not hold on to me” and what does Moss do to a rock? It holds on. But in its holding on to the rock, it begins to break it down. Its roots grow into the tiny fissures, which allow water to enter, which with changes in temperature expand and contracts, beginning the process that will inevitably destroy something that was once strong, and slowly over many, many years it will turn the stone into dust.

Jesus said to Mary – “Do no hold on to me” – I’m different, you’re different – what has come before, cannot be again – we cannot go back to the way things were – do not hold on to me.

If we hold on too tightly to a living thing, it will die – those of you who remember reading George Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, will only remember this too truly. If we hold on to tight to Smartie, it will melt in our hand – and despite the advertising about M&Ms, they will melt in your hand if you hold on to them long enough. If you hold on to the edge of the swimming pool – sure you’ll be safe, but you’ll never experience the thrill and freedom of swimming. If we hold on to tightly to a belief, we may miss exposure to a new truth. If we hold on to tightly to what we know, we may never find out how much we have yet to learn. If we allow moss to hold on to tightly, it will break it all down into dust.

Jesus said to Mary, “Do not hold on to me – I am alive, but am going back to the Father – you go and tell the others what you have seen and heard – do not hold on to me” Jesus calls Mary to go and bring others along on the journey.

Do not hold on to your petty differences, or squabbles – do not hold on to your need to always be right – do not hold on to the way things have always been done – do not hold on to what you think you know about me – do not hold on to your belief that you have nothing left to learn. Do not hold on to where you are, and allow comfort and familiarity cover you like moss covers a stone – slowly, and surely, breaking it down into dust – to be blown away with the first breath of wind. Do not hold on – let go, and get out there. Do not let Moss, be the end.

And that is a big part of the Easter message – Jesus is far too big for us to hold on to, and keep safely for ourselves. Often, we are more inclined to hold on to the edge of the pool – stay in the safety of the church, a place where we feel we have a good handle on who this Jesus character is, and what he is always on about – But Jesus says to us, “Do not hold on to me” – get out there, where the rubber hits the road, explore with each other and with your neighbours around you – who perhaps do not know anything about me, what it means to be a disciple – and love others as much as you love yourself.

I think Jesus knew the danger that faced Mary, and the disciples and us – she had found her Lord and Saviour again. No longer was the body missing, no longer did she need to face a future of tending a grave of a loved one, she had Jesus back – she had her life back – but Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me – go and share with others what you have seen and heard” In the immortal words of that 20^th century philosopher, “You can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you might find, you get what you need.”

Jesus said to the disciples earlier, that “I have come that you may have life and have it more abundantly.” The resurrection is all about new life, new opportunities – it is a time to stop holding on to the past, and take that first step out into the future, following the Risen Lord Jesus towards the heart of God. We serve a Risen Saviour who is in the world today – let’s make sure that everyone we come into contact with, knows – without us even having to say a world, they know by our actions, and by our attitude that we have heard the words of Jesus, we’re not a group of people covered in moss, stuck in our ways we are the people of God, the people of the Risen Jesus and are no longer holding on – but we are venturing out into the great unknown as humble disciples.

New Transmission

2008-03-25T18:37:00.002+10:30

Sorry for the lack of blogging. This past two months have been a blur of dizzying heights from an extraordinarily steep learning curve. But a sense of normality is beginning to creep into my existence, so with that in mind what you read above (makes more sense to say "what follows" - but you and I both know that this will get posted first and will find its way down towards the bottom of the page, rather than being at the top - which is where it could be if I was smart enough, and had thought through what I was about to do before launching into this massive pre-blurb, but you know what they say...what is they? and why are they always saying things make more sense that what I say?....now where was I?).....is pretty much - with the exception of where I went off on a spirit lead tangent, which happens sometimes, and considering that this sermon was given four hours after my first Easter service for the day....where was I again? - Part of the Easter Sermon. Tell me what you think - that is if you even bothered to read the drivel above that finally lead to this full stop. I know, I certainly wouldn't have bothered reading it, as it seemed pretty clear from the opening statement that this was going to be one of those non existant blog - a clayton's blog - the blog you have when you're not having a blog - you know, just some random thoughts typed without much thought to syntax, or income tax or any kind of tax for that matter....end transmission.

Whose Sin? Both Sin? How Sin? Why Sin? by Dr Suess

2008-02-27T16:59:00.000+10:30

In preparing for preaching this Sunday on John 9:1-41, I discovered something which I had never seen before – with thanks to the New Interpreter’s Bible Commentary on John, written by Gail. R O’Day, and that is in relation to sin. If I have seen it before and never took it in, or forgot it (somehow) then my apologies to MK.

It seems, at least according to a particular reading of John’s Gospel, that sin it not a moral category – not a result of a lax in morals, but is rather a theological category – and what’s more, sin is generally couched in relationship to Jesus. It appears that sin is defined not by what one does (moral) but almost exclusively by how one relates to Jesus, and more to the point, by whether one believes that God is present in Jesus.

If we take John 9 as a point in case. A man who is born blind (disciples explore theodicy by placing a blame vs result notion on sin – as was tradition) is healed by Jesus, and through his journey of discipleship and awakening Christology; firstly he is a man who healed him, then he is a prophet, the he is his master, and then he is from God and does God’s will; he comes to sight – both physical and spiritual. Then we have the Pharisees who profess to sin, but through exposure to and disbelief in Jesus through this miracle, find themselves in darkness and sin. Sin only occurs in response to Jesus. If the Pharisees had not been given the opportunity to see, then they would not be blind – v41 Jesus said to them, ‘If you were blind, you would not have sin (ie. had not been exposed to Jesus). But now that you say, “We see”, you sin remains. Sin is a conscious decision not to believe in Jesus, rather than a physical decision based on a moral super code, of which the failure to uphold said code is death – excepting for the fact that Jesus died in lieu of our need to pay….

The Johannine understanding of sin opens up to a very different understanding of the salvific function of Jesus’ death. Salvation from sin is primarily a result of Jesus’ life, not his death, because it is the very life of Jesus as God’s Son and incarnate Word that makes it possible for people to move from sin to external life. Sin is fundamentally about one’s relationship with God, and for the Fourth evangelist, the decisive measure of one’s relationship with God is one’s faith in Jesus. From the Johannine perspective, it is not the Christian community’s responsibility, just as it was not the Pharisees’, to judge anyone’s sins, because the determination of sin rests with God and Jesus, and the individual and is determined by faith, not actions. John’s Gospel is therefore the most radical example of salvation by grace, than anywhere else in the New Testament.

How much would the expression of Christian community change is this was the predominant understanding of sin and salvation, rather than the present dominant death and atonement theology?

I’m still wrestling with this idea….what is your impression?

SORRY

2008-02-13T08:46:00.000+10:30

Today I join with the Australian Prime Minister and the present Government of Australia in saying Sorry to the 'Stolen Generation' and their families.
In Vanuatu culture, an expression of sorrow - saying sorry - means that you are standing in solidarity with that person - it is not an admission of blame, or guilt, but rather - I feel your pain, and know that if things could be changed by me, I would - but I can't - so I'll stand with you in the pain, and be sorry.

I am sorry.

WHY WILDERNESS?

2008-02-11T17:07:00.000+10:30

The following is an excerpt from last Sunday's Sermon. The Text was Matthew 4:1-11

Why did the Spirit lead Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted? Could he not have been tempted at home, or in the local synagogue, or sitting in a little café in Jerusalem, drinking a macchiato with is mates? What is it about the Wilderness that is so significant in the Judeo-Christian [the history of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian New Testament] tradition? What can we learn, and how does a wilderness experience continue to form us?

When reflecting on the notion of Wilderness, the first thought that developed was the great reverberating narrative of the Hebrew bible – The Exodus - the great escape from Egypt which culminated in a 40 year sojourn in the wilderness. Those of you who are familiar with the story, know that it took all of about 5 minutes for the people to start thinking that perhaps they were better off with the Egyptians than they were in the wilderness. There they lacked security, they lacked comfort, they lacked food, and they lacked identity. They were not longer sure about who they were, or what they were on about. Deuteronomy 8:2 tells us the reason God send the nation into the wilderness situation, it reads: “Remember the long way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, in order to humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commandments.” And we know from reading the story that the Israelites failed to keep all of God’s commandments in their wilderness experience, whilst Jesus kept them all. I remember reading or hearing once that “It only took 4 weeks to get the Israelites out of Egypt, but it took God 40 years to get Egypt out of the Israelites.”

In the Book of the Prophet Hosea, we read again about the Wilderness. In Chapter 2, we read an inditement against the nation Israel from the Lord, via the Prophet. Here the nation is likened to an unfaithful wife, who the Lord needs to woo back to the relationship, back to the covenant that had commenced their relationship. In verse 14 we read:

¹⁴ “Therefore, behold, I will allure her,
Bring her into the wilderness
And speak kindly to her.
¹⁵ “Then I will give her her vineyards from there,
And the valley of Achor as a door of hope.
And she will sing there as in the days of her youth,
As in the day when she came up from the land of Egypt.

²³ “I will sow her for Myself in the land.
I will also have compassion on her who had not obtained compassion,
And I will say to those who were not My people,
‘You are My people!’
And they will say, ‘You are my God!’”

The people had become full of themselves – they had let ego rule the day – considering what is best for me, not what is best for the community. They had ignored the fine details of the covenant; sure they worshipped God in the temple on the Sabbath – but where was the compassion and the mercy shown towards their neighbour, the widow, the refugee? God sought to take them back to the wilderness – to reconnect with them, to remind them of who they were without all the distractions. In the same way that God took the Israelites out of Egypt into the wilderness to get the Egyptian influence out of them, God continues to desire that his people retreat to the wilderness to remember.

In the wilderness you go without. You do not take everything and the kitchen sink when you go camping - when you retreat to the wilderness you leave things behind. You travel light. You strip yourselves of the things that distract you, and have held you back.

Sometimes in our lives, we go through a period where it seems like we have lost all that we held dear. Whether it be a person who has died, or a job that was lost, or a long held belief – we can enter a time where it seems as though God is distant – a period of wandering in the wilderness. You may find this ironic, but for me – my first couple of years at College were very much a wilderness time for me. The long held beliefs of childhood – of my early years of being a Christian had to be left behind, so I could grow, develop and be formed into something else. I was in a period of wilderness, where what I knew was no longer there and it felt like I had nothing that I knew – like I was clutching at straws – like God was somehow distant. Do you know what I mean? Do you remember a time in your life when you have felt something similar? It was a hard, but it was a period in your life that God was able to use to develop you as a disciple, as a human being, as a member of God’s kingdom. These are our wilderness experiences.

On Wednesday last week – Ash Wednesday – we began the season of Lent, which is the forty days before Easter. Lent is a season of preparation of your mind and body for the Easter period. Lent is a season of soul-searching and repentance. It is a season for reflection and taking stock. It is the season for looking at who you are, and where you are. It is an opportunity for refocussing on God, and God’s desire for your life and the life of your community.

Lent originated in the very earliest days of the Church as a preparatory time for Easter, when the faithful rededicated themselves and when converts were instructed in the faith and prepared for a baptism that would occur en-mass on Easter Sunday. By observing the forty days of Lent, the individual Christian imitates Jesus’ withdrawal into the wilderness for forty days.[1] Traditionally people have given something up for the season of lent. Something that perhaps has taken control a bit in their lives, something that perhaps is taking time and focus away from the things of God, perhaps something which by giving it up, can help not only yourself but others. A friend of mine, last year gave up his computer for the season of Lent – it almost killed him – which just shows the power it had in his life, and this year a colleague has given up the use of his car for the 40 days of lent – choosing to use his legs, or his bike or public transport to travel around. He is giving up his dependency on fossil fuels, his freedom to act on whim and drive his car, and he is doing a small bit for the environment.

Traditionally, the season of Lent is about reflection, soul-searching and repentance – but it is also about release from what had held you captive, and freedom to be as God created you to be. The wilderness tends not to be a destination, but rather a stage on our journey – a place that we may find ourselves in a number of times, but a place we can move through on our way to someplace else. For the Israelites after the wilderness came the Promised Land, and for Jesus after the wilderness came Angels who waited upon him. In this wilderness time, in preparation for Easter and in this season of Lent – is there something in your life that needs to be released? Is there something from which you need freedom? Bring it before the Lord this Lent.

[1] http://www.kencollins.com/holy-04.htm

The Lord's Acceptance - Induction

2008-02-02T22:14:00.000+10:30

If you are coming to the induction service tomorrow (3rd February) then do not read on. However, now that I have locked the sermon away (baring a move of the Spirit) I thought I'd post it, and open it up to comment (he says with knees knocking). So, here it is - please receive it in the spirit it was intended.

Text: Luke 4:16-30

When I was in high school back in the dim darkness of last century, I decided to study History as part of my final few subjects of years 11 and 12 SACE. I do not know that I could have told you there and then, why I wanted to study history – perhaps it was because it was seen as easy as opposed to your pure Maths and Sciences – it was not – perhaps it was because of the classic Split Enz song, History Never Repeats – which incidentally, it seems that it does – however, for whatever reason in those final years of high school I became, a fan of history. I was very fortunate in my decision, because our history teacher in year 11 offered our class the opportunity to collectively decide what particular epoch of history we studied. He gave us a number of historical eras from which to choose, each accompanied by a piece of oration – a quote from an important speech or declaration, which defined the age. Amongst other times, we were offered Medieval Europe and the Dark Ages, including the Kings, Queens and many battles of England, the French or Russian Revolutions, either of the World Wars, or the Cold War Arms Race. I distinctly recall hearing my teacher quote from the various kings and queens of England, France and Russia, and a few political leaders around World War 1 – but then when he came to those events that occurred during the dawn of audio technology, he let the voices of the era speak for themselves.

We heard Winston Churchill in his opening speech as Prime Minister tell the House of Commons, that he had “nothing to offer them but blood, toil, tears and sweat” and then later the same year we heard him say, “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many, to so few.” We heard John F. Kennedy in his inauguration speech request of his fellow Americans, that they “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world, ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.” We then heard a snippet from Martin Luther King Jnr’s unforgettable speech, “I have a Dream.” Our imaginations were stirred by these very familiar words, spoken by the people who possibly wrote them, but at the very least loaded them with their accepted meaning and inaugurated themselves into a future direction and impetus. Their words are remembered as being great, as age definitive and has having a profound influence on not only their time and their context, but on future generations who were inspired by their words to take up the call.

The words that we heard this morning from the Gospel of Luke have followed a similar course down through history. Some scholars have called Jesus first recorded sermon in Luke’s Gospel as being where he launches his campaign, announces his manifesto, inaugurates God’s mission with humanity.

So in Luke’s account we find Jesus, who was of course a good Jewish boy from Nazareth, back home in his local synagogue on the Sabbath – as it seems, was his tradition to do. Before his home coming, so to speak, Jesus had been teaching in the synagogues of the Galilee, where people were praising him highly for his mighty words and deeds. The Synagogue comes to order – the women on one side of the divide – the mechitzah the visual barrier separating the sexes, and the men on the other. At once, the assembly quieten down their chatter, as the attendant opens the case which houses the sacred scrolls. Seeing as though it is his home town synagogue, we can imagine that perhaps Jesus’ Father Joseph is there, with his brothers – and on the other side of the divide Mary, and Jesus sisters. The attendant, who perhaps remembered Jesus as one of Joseph’s carpentering sons, or perhaps now knows of his preaching in the Galilee, hands him the scroll of the prophet Isaiah.

Now, like the words of Winston Churchill, Martin Luther King Jnr and JFK in our time, the words of the prophet Isaiah, particularly the words that Jesus chose to read, would have been remembered and celebrated by the people. Luke remembers Jesus as reading from both Isaiah 61:1 and 58:6 as we know them now. Of course, when Jesus read these texts, they were not divided neatly like we have them, and if we had more time this morning, perhaps we could explore the verses that Jesus chose not to read, and their implications. Nevertheless, Luke says that Jesus, having been offered the scroll of the prophet Isaiah from the attendant stood and read, : “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, ¹⁹to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.” Or, a better translation of the Greek in verse 19 would read, “To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” Jesus then rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down. And then, waiting for the teaching as was customary, all the eyes of the assembly turned upon Jesus, and he said, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” Now, I do not know about you – but I would suspect that if you had been in that synagogue on that fateful Sabbath to hear those word spoken aloud, you would have been sporting some serious goose bumps. Hearing Martin Luther King Jnr’s “I have a Dream” speech in preparation for this sermon brought a tear to my eye and a goose bumps to the back of my neck, but can you imagine the impact that hearing these words from the Prophet Isaiah, spoken by Jesus of Nazareth would have had?

It was in preparation for this sermon, reflecting over my call into ministry, my time spent at college, and my previous ministries that I came to realise the profound impact that these verses from Luke’s Gospel have had on the shape of my ministries. It seems fitting that inaugurating something new, Jesus looked back, because today as I was inducted into your community to journey with you as a minister, I looked back to where this all began for me. As I spoke about last time I was with you back in August last year, my call to ministry began on a cold winter’s night over in the lounge room of the church house, where I was asked to commit myself to loving a bunch of strange people – and trust me, they were very strange – and it is great to see so many of them here today... The DDP was good news to me as I am sure it was to those others here who have been a part of the journey, it released me from my cultural captivity, it gave me the gift of sight, and set me free. And yet, having survived the DDP I still entered my college formation years with a fairly naive idea of what ministry was actually all about. But over the last 6 years of action and reflection I have come to appreciate just how much ministry is entirely Holy Spirit enabled, it is all about bringing good news to the poor, fighting for the release of those held captive by injustice, empowering the blind to see, and setting the oppressed free. But more than that, it has been verse 19 and its scriptural connections that have formed me, my gifts for ministry and have ultimately brought me back here today.

Verse 19 reads, “to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.” Or more precisely, “To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” Most biblical scholars agree that this text, quoted from the prophet Isaiah, is a direct illusion to the Year of Jubilee, as detailed in the laws of Leviticus 25. Succinctly put, the idea of the Lord’s Jubilee was to be a re levelling of the playing field. Using the perfect number 7, the Lord’s number, The Jubilee Year was to be proclaimed every seventh cycle of seven years, so with seven times seven being [pause] 49, so the Jubilee was to be decreed in the 50^th year. At that time it, was to be proclaimed by the sounding of trumpets, and all of God’s creation was to experience release and renewal. The Earth was to be left fallow, no sowing, and no reaping – the farmland was to be released from its burden of supply– a touch of environmental theology from Leviticus. Another big facet of the Jubilee Year was that lands which had been sold were to be returned to their original owners, people who had been sold into slavery – which was a viable option to clear a family debt – were to be released, and all debts – financial of otherwise were forgiven. The people who had become rich, and the people who had become poor, were made equals in the ideals of the Jubilee Year. This was God’s plan for keeping the earth and its people viable – the land, the people, and the financial burdens of society were given release. It is unfortunate, therefore that there is no evidence to suggest that the Lord’s year of acceptance – the Year of Jubilee was ever celebrated by the people. Do you remember the Jubilee campaign of the late 90s, which developed into the Make Poverty History campaign? This is where it all started – Leviticus 25, and it is something that Jesus announced at the commencement of his earthly ministry as being a priority.

However, there is also a sense of irony to be had in the wording and alternative meaning to verse 19, “To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” Because as we read on in Luke Chapter 4, we see that what is acceptable to the Lord, tends not to be acceptable to God’s creation. After Jesus had sat down, and had told the gathered assembly that “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in their hearing” they were impressed. They were probably very excited that finally something good – a prophet – was coming out of Nazareth. They heard his words as being gracious, and were amazed with him. A local boy done good.

Then Jesus reminded them of the unique history that Israel has in regard to its prophets and its ability to hear from them and head their warnings. He tells them about how the Prophets Elijah and Elisha sent by God to the people of Israel, were then sent by the same God of the people to those on the outer – those who were not perceived to be part of God’s Kingdom. Perhaps when they heard these things, they could see their grasp at fame and notoriety slipping through their clutches. No one is going to follow this prophet who is preaching God’s acceptance to outsiders, to Gentiles. The people in the synagogue, after hearing Jesus first recorded sermon in Luke’s Gospel – his Holy Spirit filled vision for his ministry, the mission of God on earth – after hearing this, they were filled with rage and took him out to throw him off a cliff. The very one who came proclaiming the Lord’s acceptance, was treated with the polar opposite by those who knew him best. Just like the Year of Jubilee, which seems to have never been accepted by God’s people – so too, Jesus of Nazareth – the human manifestation of God’s acceptance was rejected. Those of you, who are familiar with the Gospel Story, know that this trend of rejection continued, right until his death on the cross. The message of the Lord’s acceptance was met with rejection.

One of the things that drew me to, and excites me about the potential of ministry here with you, the community at Mount Barker Church of Christ is your Mission Statement. I am not going to ask you all to recite it here, but it reads:

By the Grace of God and with the Guidance and Power of the Holy Spirit, we seek to be an open and inclusive community, desiring that all should know and grow in relationship with Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour.

And it was the part, “we seek to be an open and inclusive community” that spoke to me about the Lord’s acceptance. Often groups tend to define themselves by who they are not – by clearly stating who does not belong, who is not welcome – like the world does to Jesus, and like we as humanity do to each other – but here in the community of the Mount Barker Church of Christ you have written it into your mission statement, as something you aim to achieve, that you will seek to be an open and inclusive community – accepting people for who they are, modelling the grace that we have received from the Lord towards others – and that enlivens me.

On behalf of Casey and myself, I would like to thank you for calling, welcoming and accepting us into your community. We really look forward to the many opportunities that shall arise, such as at the shared lunch here today, where we can spend time getting to know each other, and sharing in our life’s journey together. In particular I look forward to joining you in your ministry and mission to the community of Mount Barker and beyond. Your vision for a cafe/op shop and men’s shed shows that you are a community who are on a journey to fulfil your mission statement in your local context, and I hope and pray that I can enable and empower you to continue this calling.

Jesus proclaimed “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, ¹⁹to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.” My prayer for this new beginning, and for my joining with you in ministry, is that we can continue to mirror the proclamation of Jesus of Nazareth, that has echoed down these past 2000 years, and will continue to change lives long after the memory of Churchill and Kennedy have faded.

Let’s Pray.

Creator God,

We give you thanks for the opportunity to come and worship you. We ask that you go before us in all that we do, and remind us of the call you place on all our lives, to do justice, to love mercy and to walk humbly with you, our God.

Amen.

THE POTENTIAL OF THE VOID

2008-01-21T00:13:00.000+10:30

As the commencement date for starting this new ministry creeps ever closer, I find myself waking at odd hours of the night (and day sometimes - I am technically on holidays) with inspiration - a necessary ingredient for the budding artist (he says with tongue planted firmly in his cheek). So that is why I am posting this, my potential first newsletter article at 12:14am on a Monday....this had better not happen next month!!

For my birthday last year, Casey bought me a French Easel, a basic set of acrylic paints, various sized brushes, a couple of mediums (painting – not to be confused with the TV Drama) and three blank canvases. You see, for many years I had been threatening to take up abstract painting, but had never actually taken the plunge. Now, before all you artists get enthusiastic – I am very (and I cannot over emphasis this too much) amateur – but I am excited about the possibilities. For example, my very first 'painting' if we can call it that, which sits now in my lounge room on the easel was me seeing what colour the paints were, by painting odd shapes. Comments on it so far include, "hmmmm" and "That's [pause] interesting." However despite all that, there is something mysteriously spiritual about preparing, setting up, laying out the tools and staring at a blank canvas that is bursting with creative potential. I guess you could say the same thing about where we all find ourselves this month. Staring, as it were at a canvas full of potential. By no means a blank canvas, because as a Church you have been painting your story into the local community for over 20 years.

In Luke’s Gospel, the artist’s canvas of Christ’s journey had begun with divine inspiration of epic proportions, exploring the highs and the lows of existence, with Song, with Shepherds and Angels. By the time Jesus gets back home to Nazareth, he had his inspiration for the rest of his masterpiece. In Luke 4:18-19 Jesus is pretty much charcoaling in the design for the rest of his work. After unrolling the scroll of the prophet Isaiah in his local synagogue, Jesus reads:

¹⁸‘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, ¹⁹to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.’

The Canvas of Jesus’ ministry was spread out before the people, ‘This is what the masterpiece is all about, and now be witness to the creative genius of God.’ The rest of Luke’s Gospel gives us an insight into how this artistic genius fulfilled the words of the prophet Isaiah by creating a masterpiece of such impact that is continues to change and inspire the world today.

Now, I do not know what the canvas has in store for the community of the Mount Barker Church of Christ however I am really excited to be joining you and exploring this together. I look forward to getting to know everyone, hearing all your stories, sharing in your journey and experience of life and adding the next phase to the canvas of the Mt Barker Church of Christ as it seeks to share the Good News of Jesus Christ in this hills community.

Shalom - Sae.

I suppose I could also have explored that the reason painters (and I am now including my self that assembly - stop laughing) find such inspiration in the blank canvas, is for the same reason that God created so beauty 'ex nihilo'. Perhaps paintings see themselves as god-like in the creative process?? Hmmm, now that is something to explore with someone....

WARNING - BAD JOKE AHEAD

2008-01-03T10:00:00.000+10:30

Far away in the tropical waters of the Caribbean, two prawns were swimming around in the sea. One called Justin and the other called Christian.

The prawns were constantly being harassed and threatened by sharks that inhabited the area. Finally one day Justin said to Christian, "I'm fed up with being a prawn; I wish I was a shark, and then I wouldn't have any worries about being eaten."

A large mysterious cod appeared and said, "Your wish is granted" Lo and behold, Justin turned into a shark. Horrified, Christian immediately swam away, afraid of being eaten by his old mate.

Time passed (as it does) and Justin found life as a shark boring and lonely. All his old mates simply swam away whenever he came close to them. Justin didn't realize that his new menacing appearance was the cause of his sad plight.

While swimming alone one day he saw the mysterious cod again and he thought perhaps the mysterious fish could change him back into a prawn. He approached the cod and begged to be changed back, and, lo and behold, he found himself turned back into a prawn. With tears of joy in his tiny little eyes Justin swam back to his friends and bought them all a cocktail. (The punch line does not involve a prawn cocktail - it's much worse).

Looking around the gathering at the reef he realized he couldn't see

his old pal. "Where's Christian?" he asked. "He's at home, still distraught that his best friend changed sides to the enemy & became a shark", came the reply.

Eager to put things right again and end the mutual pain and torture he set off to Christian's abode. As he opened the coral gate, memories came flooding back. He banged on the door and shouted, "It's me, Justin, your old friend, come out and see me again."

Christian replied, "No way man, you'll eat me. You're now a shark, the enemy, and I'll not be tricked into being your dinner."Justin cried back "No, I'm not. That was the old me. I've changed.".........

(You're going to love this...)

"I've found Cod. I'm a Prawn again, Christian".

SPOKEN TO ANY SHEPHERDS LATELY??

2007-12-24T22:00:00.000+10:30

It has been a long time between blogging drinks so to speak. And as I sit at my PC trying to pass the time until the midnight mass begins, I cast my thoughts back to blogging.

When I first headed off to college, I would spend as many as four hours every Sunday night (after church) composing a somewhat eloquent, but generally wishy-washy with some pathetic attempts at and often totally missing the point of topical humour, styled weekly newsletter THING, letting everyone on my email list know what I had been up too in the previous seven days. What was it about my life, my existence away from those whom I loved and loved me, that I thought that they’d want to know every detail about my existence? From what I was eating, to what I was thinking, to what I was learning to what I was reading to what paint I was watching drying to what (zzzzzzzzzz)..... I even recall one newsletter than contained a 1000 word journicological exploration of my fear of spiders, whilst recalling an afternoons activity of trying to convince (by begging, pleading and bribery) a rather larger and hairy – and lets face, evil looking – huntsman spider – or the Eastern states equivalent – to leave my one bedroom flat, before succumbing to fear and wasting not only my portion of valuable ozone(sorry Mr Gore), but also half a container of bug spray to ensure the continuation of my, thin at best, functioning metal capacity.....you see, I even did it again – thinking that you’d perhaps be interested....

What is it about blogging? What does it say about the blogger? What does it say about you (and me as I write this, and as I read another blog before heading over to mine again, to find that it was still there even after 15 months of neglect) the blog reader? Why do we want to blog? Why do we want to read blogs? What does it say about our abilities for genuine communication? Is it perhaps that there is no one announcing my activities to the world on a daily basis? Do I perhaps sometimes feel that no one knows and appreciates what I do, or what I think? Do I sometimes feel like that old saying, “Doing a good dead around here is like taking a leak in a wetsuit – it makes you feel all warm, yet know one notices”? I’ll admit that in the past I have had those feelings – and now....not so much.

And of course that got me thinking about Angels....(did you see the leap there? – it would have made Evil Keneval proud!!). I love that scene in Luke’s Gospel (Lk 2:8-20) where the Shepherd’s are out in the fields washing their socks by night – sorry – watching their flocks by night, when all of a sudden, God’s bloggers, his Facebook mini-feed – the company of Angels – appear on scene to announce what God has been doing, and what God is doing, and to whom he is doing it....

‘Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace among those whom he favours!’

The creator of the universe chooses to announce what he has been doing, not to the media, not to the society pages, not the King of Judea, but to the lowliest of the low – those who had to live outside of village life, outside of acceptable society – no internet access for them – the Shepherds. The first to know of the birth of Jesus (in Luke’s account) and what the birth of Jesus was to mean to the world was the Shepherds. It was those who were overlooked as people – those who were forgotten by the government, and by the ‘haves’ of society – those whose lives had fallen through the cracks, who God blogged at first of all. As a Christian this Christmas season – how many Shepherd’s have we announced the “good news of great joy that will be for ALL THE PEOPLE that today...a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord” this season?

Speaking and enacting the Good News to those whom society has forgotten, is something that I really need to work on.

From me to you, via my resurrected blog – May the remembrance and celebration of Christ’s birth in Bethlehem, renew in all our hearts a desire to see joy, hope, peace, love and justice reign in our communities via the bringing about of God’s kingdom here on earth.”

Shalom and Merry Christmas.

ALL QUIET ON THE BLOGGING FRONT

2006-09-14T16:37:00.000+09:30

FYI: I'm going to be in Vanuatu for the next two preparing the way and making the paths straight for this year's Discipleship Development Program (DDP) community - so their will be very little blogging, if any at all. Thanks for all the interesting conversation that has been going on - even some of the personal attacks on my theology have been appreciated.

Shalom (God's Peace and Justice)

ANOTHER, OTHER?

2006-08-30T23:46:00.000+09:30

I’ve just finished reading and reviewing Re-Enchantment: The New Australian Spirituality, by Melbournian David Tacey. In reference to my question below, “What is Spirituality?....discuss” it goes along way to not totally defining what it is. However, Tacey in his search from the essence of a uniquely Australian Spirituality raises some really interesting concepts [most of which I will totally miss the point of – especially seeing as thought it is now 11:54pm, - check that, 12:06 am and I started reading this yesterday morning at 7:00am]. One such concept is around the theme Ecospirituality and Environmental Awareness.

Unless you have been living under a rock for the last few years, you would have no doubt been exposed to the increased rhetoric around the Other. For an interesting discussion on it, check out Sparky’s thoughts over at Knox Communities. The meaning behind the Other has changed since it was first used by the likes of Levinas and Derrida, but I found within Tacey – I think – a possible additional meaning, and layer to the Other. Another Other, so to speak….

Tacey writes:

Nature is not only outside us but also within, and ultimately, what we do to nature we do also to ourselves. In killing off the spiritual essence of the Earth, we end up killing ourselves, for this essence nourishes our own biological and spiritual life….Only something truly mythic or spiritual, such as…the notion that the world is the living body of the Cosmic Christ, is large or effective enough to bridge the gap currently separating human identity from the natural world [p 168]

Do you see where I am going with this? We have been on for quite some time about our mandate to love neighbour as our selves, (there was once a man going down to Jerusalem from Jericho…)to be the one who stands fast with the Other – the one that is alone, and is alien in the land. But what if we also viewed our natural environment as an Other? What if we did see a tree, or our water resources, or our uranium as part of the body of the Cosmic Christ? Would that change the way we live?

God tried to get humanity to care for the environment [see the Jubilee Laws in Leviticus – not only is about restoration of human dignity, it is also about sustainable use of the natural resources] but we have taken the Genesis notion of “ruling over the earth” to the ‘nth’ degree, and now our world is beginning to say “ENOUGH!!” We may well be on the verge of the apocalypse as some people believe, but not because of the War in the middle-east, but because we have destroyed God’s own creation.

Am I barking up the wrong tree? I should I find an Other?

THE CHALLENGE OF WORSHIP

2006-08-22T16:17:00.000+09:30

My wife and her new husband (me) were out on Sunday visiting a local Church for worship. This church is being served by a Minister whom I respect a great deal, who has encouraged, walked with and led by example – the church to re-engage with its local community, and to re-think its purpose. I had not visited this church since my first year at College – on that occasion I was the guest speaker at a Baptism service. Anyway, we were visiting this last Sunday – just dropped in.

The worship service was very engaging, relevant and meaningful – not entertainment, but rather a community in communion with each other, with God, and with their story - it was incidentally, the first time I have ever heard the work of Paul Ricœur mentioned during a communion reflection. The text for the sermon was James 3:1-12, and the message focused largely on honesty, gossip and swearing. Taming the tongue – we were encouraged and implored to be mindful of what comes out our mouths – be encouraging not cynics (one of my problems), do not swear (“swearing is the language of the uneducated” – or the only mode of successful communication in my previous vocation….) and be honest and straightforward in your dealings with each other (don’t lie, or spread gossip etc – “If don’t have anything nice to say, then don’t say anything). It was an important message in terms of successful community. The sermon concluded, and then we moved into the final song – “I Surrender All”.

I couldn’t sing it. I struggle to sing that one at the best of times, but in light of the sermon – the words, ‘all for you my precious Jesus, I surrender all’ had a new, powerful meaning. I know, that I don’t and haven’t Surrendered all – I probably have at times in my life, but generally I know that there are still parts of my life and existence which haven’t been offered up – I still like to take the ‘me’ time – choose not to answer my phone, nor respond to some emails (sorry). If the lyrics were, “I surrender generally most things” or perhaps “on a good day I surrender upwards of 75% of myself” I could have joined in, but not Surrendering All.

How concerned should we be (if at all) about what we sing in worship? Is singing a song like that – with good intentions – lying to God, lying to each other? Which is worse? Is this a concern of others or am I taking this whole worship/honesty thing to far?

What is SPIRITUALITY?....Discuss

2006-08-17T16:24:00.000+09:30

I know it has been while between blogs – but I am back – probably not back for good, or back more reliably – but for the mean time, I am back in black blogging (actually I am looking quite fetching in grey today, but that is a different blog…)

This semester I am taking a couple of classes – both of which are really interesting me, enlivening me and renewing my passion for study. In particular, I have entered the realm of spirituality but engaging with the subject “Issues in Australian Spirituality”. Thus far, it is really good – an although we had a ‘red hot go’ at defining spirituality, I thought I would put it out there (hoping that someone, somewhere will read this and respond) and ask the question –

For YOU, what is spirituality?

When I had to come up with a definition, I drew a blank. Nothing. I even struggled to come up a linkage between spirituality and the Christian ‘Holy Spirit’ – and I related that back to my traditional Churches of Christ upbringing, where it was all about God the Father, God the Son, and God the one that we don’t want to mention (Don’t mention the Holy Spirit – I did once, but I think I got away with it!!) because it doesn’t fit into our rational world view, so does spirituality have something to do with spirit?

What is spirituality? I would be interested to read anyone opinion and view on this – and I am not searching for the Christian answer – even though that is my tradition – but I am seeking anyone’s view – How would we define spirituality?

Blog On.

THEODICY IN ACTION

2006-03-27T13:52:00.000+10:30

I came across this article from CNN today - Where is God in this??

Church of Christ Minister murdered in his home.

And in this?

Minister's Widow to Face Murder 1

OVER AND OUT

2006-01-03T15:48:00.000+10:30

As the more perceptive of your would have realised by now, I’m not here. Where am I, you might ask!?! As by rights, so you should!! Because where I am is here, but where is here?? Is here there? Or is here, here?? Is there actually a here, or is here nowhere?? Crap – I’ve gone cross eyed.

I’m away from my computer at present, so please leave a message at the tone, and I’ll ignore it when I get a chance [BEEP]

Enough of the bit above this, and the bit before this bit explaining about enough of the bit above, what I actually wanted to say is that KC and I are in Adelaide – here for Christmas, New Years and because I have started a new Job today. I’m not sure how often I will get to blog about this year, if I decide to keep up the routine. I’m questioning the necessity, the usefulness and the underlying psychological need to share our thoughts and concepts in the realms of cyberspace. So, maybe I’ll blog you around – or maybe I won’t.

SAE – OUT.

BOOK REVIEW

2005-12-15T16:16:00.000+10:30

TRANSFORMING MISSION: Paradigm Shifts in Theology of Mission - by David J. Bosch (Orbis Books, Maryknoll NY. 1991) 587 Pages, Softcover.

As mentioned previously, I have been reading the aforementioned book as part of my academic assessment for a recent Intensive I participated in. Below is most of what I wrote as a critical review - unfortunately, with 1000 words you don't get to engage too critically nor deeply.

The text, ‘Transforming Mission’ which the Professor of Missiology of the University of South Africa, David Bosch published the year before his death, surveys the history, thought and theology of Christian mission. He begins by considering various definitions of mission, and looking at how it has evolved and been enacted in the world. He does this initially from a Jewish perspective, then through the time of Christ and the early church, through the development of Christendom and post-Christendom, and finally looking into the mission paradigm of post-modernity. Bosch is careful in highlighting the difference between what the church perceives to be its missionary mandate, and the missio dei, or the Mission of God. Rather than being the instigator of mission, the church is but an ever learning, ever developing partner in the process.

I found Bosch’s engagement with the missiology of Matthew and Luke to be very interesting. As one moving into the field of discipleship education the section of discipleship in Matthew’s Gospel affirmed a great deal of my previous education and experience; particularly in light of what a disciple ‘is not’ – an expert or theologian – but is fellow journeyer attempting to live out the teachings of Jesus. His analysis of Matthew’s Great Commission was very enlightening, as it was my commissioning text when I was ‘sent out’ from my home church in Adelaide, to begin the journey towards ordained ministry. Having just spent the year preaching from Matthew’s Gospel, particularly around the theme of the cost of discipleship, I particularly appreciated Bosch’s use of Lippert’s exploration of the Christian mandate to love, where he said:

Christians should relinquish all desires to judge others; their behaviour should be exemplary over against the civil order; they should be ready to serve others; they are called upon to forgive, pray for and bless others…The Christian lifestyle should not only be exemplary, but also winsome. It should attract outsiders and invite them to join the community. Put differently, the believers should practice a missionary lifestyle.

My current operational theology suggests that the ‘love’ command of the Gospels, should be the basis for all our existential interactions. This notion from Lippert’s work, also resonated with my current personal definition of mission, which I was asked to submit as part of my application for provisional endorsement as a Churches of Christ minister. In my application I wrote “I do not see Mission as something the church does, but something the church is;” where the church consists for followers of Jesus who are practicing a missionary lifestyle, ground in a love for all humankind and its condition.

I appreciated Bosch’s exploration of the multifaceted missionary motivations which are so much greater than the traditional paradigm. This paradigm which until very recently for me, was the underlying motive of the majority of church based agencies, that being paternalistic ‘conversion of the heathen.’ Beginning with the Apostle Paul’s missionary motive of “a sense of gratitude, a sense of responsibility, and a sense of concern” Bosch’s examination of the history of missionary motivation moved through many facets, then into the paternalistic approach which is now considered an old and debunked paradigm.

I found Bosch’s use of the ‘paradigm shift’ concept of missiological development, rather than a clean break in mission thinking and practice, very creative and encouraged me to see our present time, in both ecclesiological and missiological terms as being on the cusp of a paradigm shift. Each paradigm shift being like Kuhn’s example of revolutions or as I prefer, like waves breaking on the beach – each wave retreats including that which had gone before, but moving higher, and breaking new ground. However, I found that as Bosch explored each subsequent paradigm shift, he seemed to become increasingly hostile towards the Protestant Reformation and the resultant new expression of church and mission. In reference to the mission of the church post Enlightenment, among a number of less than encouraging remarks, he comments “…the Protestant Reformation, which destroyed the centuries-old unity and therefore power of the Western church…” While I can appreciate the foundation of such a comment, I feel that in this area and in others, that his survey was much too negative towards Protestantism, whilst ignoring much of the Roman Catholic excesses, ‘abuses’ and schisms which triggered amongst other things, the alternating power structure of the church and the Protestant Reformation.

It was interesting to read Bosch’s observations as to the church’s reading of scripture in support of some of the more ‘destructive’ missionary techniques. In particular the quoting of 1 Samuel 15:3 when applied to the British colonists in America and subjugation of the Indigenous Indian inhabitants. With this insight we are all reminded of how scripture can be used to reinforce almost any belief, no matter how contrary it is when compared the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Another interesting insight gained from Bosch’s book in relation to the United States of America is in relation to their perceived role in the eschatology of the church. Their Puritan heritage influenced by Calvin lead them to consider themselves special in the eyes of God, in fact:

They were convinced that they were already living in the last days. Slowly but surely the conviction grew that God’s last and eminently successful attack on the forces of the Antichrist would be launched from the shores of North America and that the Puritan saints would play a key role in this final drama of history.

This revelation cited by Bosch from the work of Hutchinson (1987) goes along way in explaining the United States self belief in its role as ‘world police.’ It could be suggested that this historical bedrock has informed the current U.S. Administration’s Foreign Policy, in particular when you consider their presence in Iraq and Afghanistan, but their policy of blindness towards the Sudan and the plight of the Darfur people.

In the final section of the book, “Toward a Relevant Missiology” Bosch highlights something from the work of Baker (1986) which churches, in at least my tradition have been coming to terms with in the last 20 years or so. He comments, that

“The church exists only as an organic and integral part of the human community. As soon as it tries to view sits own life as meaningful in independence from the total human community it betrays the major purpose of its existence.”

This notion of ‘church’ or as I prefer ‘followers of Jesus Christ’ as existing in and being part of the secular community has informed, and allowed the Churches of Christ to reframe its definition of mission. As part of the ‘Future Directions’ process, which our Conference is encouraging its churches to take part in, it hopes that it can reframe a church’s notion of mission and community engagement to include its own backyard. This reframing of mission whilst being positive for the continued existence of the local church has the potential to harm future local church involvement in global mission work and community development.

As Lesslie Newbigin wrote for the back cover, Bosch’s book, Transforming Mission ‘is kind of a Summa Missiologica…it will surely be the indispensable foundation for the teaching of missiology for many years to come.’ For me, this book was an excellent introduction to the history of practical mission, and the surrounding evolution of the thought and theology of mission. Although a little heavy at times on the discussions of various conferences, overall it was readable and contained enough good information to generate thoughts and discussion. Hopefully one day, someone will take David Bosch’s ‘magnum opus’ of pre 1990s missiology, and include the developments of the last 15 years.

A JUST TRANSLATION

2005-11-28T12:02:00.000+10:30

In my reading for review, of ‘Transforming Mission: Paradigm Shifts in Theology of Mission” by David J. Bosch (Orbis Books, Maryknoll, NY. 1991) I cam across the following quote on biblical translation, and the repercussions of preferential word selection. IN reference to the Greek Word dikaiosyne, which is translated in the New Testament as justification, righteousness or justice.

‘Often the word “justice” does not appear at all in an English New Testament – with important consequences…The fourth beatitude (Mt 5:6) may then refer either to those who hunger and thirst after (spiritual) righteousness and holiness, or those who long to see that justice be done to the oppressed. By the same token, the “persecuted” of Matthew 5:10 may be suffering because of their religious devoutness (righteousness), or because they champion the cause of the marginalised (justice)…if we translate Matthew 6:33, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well” (NRSV), it may mean that the spiritual is more important than the material and that, if only we have our priorities right (putting God’s reign and his righteousness above this-worldly concerns) God will bless us materially as well. If, on the other hand we translate, “set your mind on God’s kingdom and his justice before everything else, and all the rest will come to you as well (NEB), it may mean that Jesus asks us not to be concerned with our desires and interests but with the practice of justice in respect to those who are the victims of circumstances and society, that this is what God’s reign is all about.' (pg 71)

Raises some interesting questions.

WHAT IS MISSION? - PART 2

2005-11-15T20:22:00.000+10:30

In preparation for tomorrow’s class – I have come across a few other potential definitions, guides in our search for “What is Mission?” In an article by Dr. David J Hesselgrave from ‘Evangelical Missions Quarter’, July 1999 titled “Redefining holism: It’s time to take another look at ‘holistic mission’” I came across the following:

“Liberals generally think of mission as the establishment of shalom (social harmony).”[p278] I always thought that ‘shalom’ was the Christian variation of ‘regards’ that you stick at the end of your emails!!

Hesselgrave then went on to quote from the work of John R.W. Stott, who had abandoned his priority read of Matthew 28:16-20 (The Great Commission) as his definition for Mission, in favour of the Johannine statements of 17:18 and 20:21, which he argues should take precedence over Matthew.

So it got to thinking – What was Jesus sent to do, that he then send us to do? I mean, I have always loved the Great Commission, in fact when I was ‘sent out’ by my ‘home’’ church in SA, then gave me a Parker Pen with Matthew 28:16-20 engraved on it – it was my ‘calling’ verse. But I also like the notion of the Johannine ‘sending out’ idea. Hesselgrave continues to quote the work of Stott by commenting that, “Jesus deliberately made his own mission a model for ours…as summarised in Luke 4:18-19”

“Christians” he said, “are sent into the world to serve – to demonstrate concern for man’s (sic) total welfare, the good of his soul, his body, his community” [p279]

REALITY BITES!

2005-11-15T20:19:00.000+10:30

“Whose Reality Counts?” was the theme for today’s intensive session. We looked at the issues around reading the bible responsibly in an economically divided world. When we westerners read the bible, we read the stories, teachings and parables from a position of power – education, wealth, respect, voice etc. – but the vast, vast majority of scripture was written from a position of weakness – the persecuted ones. If we could walk a mile in the shoes of the poor, and then read the scriptures – what sort of difference would that make??

We did an exercise where we heard an interpretation of the Parable of the Rich Young Ruler (Mathew 19:16-30) as written by the late Pope John Paul II, and then we heard a bible study on the same text from Amawotti Community, of Pietermaritzburg, South Africa from 1988. One who interpreted from a position of total power and wealth, and another who read the text from a position of poverty, and oppression. The differences were surprising.

Q. Have you noticed how often Jesus spoke to the poor??
How often do we do that??

WHAT IS MISSION?

2005-11-14T19:33:00.000+10:30

After my first day in the classroom for DM331 – Micah Mandate: Seeking Justice for the Global Marginalised…there has been a change of plans. Instead of being able to review “Surrender All”, Steve (our facilitator) would like us to review one of the three key texts for the unit – those being [as per my reading list on the menu bar] Transforming Mission, Biblical Ethics and Social Change, and Walking with the Poor. Considering my new role for 2006 and beyond, I thought it best to read and review what is considered by many to be the best book on Mission, by the late David J. Bosch, “Transforming Mission: Paradigm Shifts in Theology of Mission.”

I’ve only read the first 6 pages of the book, but my yellow highlighter has been going almost non stop. I want to share some stuff with you, and hopefully you will engage with me in this:

WHAT IS MISSION?

This is very pertinent question, especially considering my new ministry area, but also in light of my ministerial assessment which is rapidly approaching (19/11). What is mission?

David Bosch, in the opening page of his tome writes, “Until the sixteenth century the term was used exclusively with reference to the doctrine of the Trinity, that is, of the sending of the Son by the Father and of the Holy Spirit by the Father and the Son.”[p1] So originally, the term mission had very little to do with us – as in, our actions – it was in relation to the action of God – God’s mission to creation.

In recent years, the terms ‘mission’ and ‘missional’ and ‘missiology’ have increased in use, but “Until the 1950s ‘mission’ referred to:

(a) the sending of missionaries to a designated territory,

(b) the activities undertaken by such missionaries,

(d) the agency which despatched the missionaries,

(e) the non-Christian world or “mission field”,

(f) the center from which the missionaries operated on the “mission field”

In a slightly different context it could also refer to:

(g) a local congregation without a resident minister and still dependent on the support of an older, established Church,

(h) a series of special services intended to deepen or spread the Christian faith, usually in a nominally Christian environment.

Theologically, the word ‘mission’ can be paraphrastically defined as:

(a) propagation of the faith,

(b) expansion of the reign of God,

(d) the founding of new churches.”[p1]

In my application to the State Conference office of the denomination in which I serve, for assessment for suitability for ministry, I was asked to respond to the question, “What is mission?” A month ago, my answer was:

I find it difficult to separate the notion of ‘ministry’ from ‘mission’. To me, mission is what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ. As a follower of Jesus, we wear the name of Jesus wherever we go – wherever we exist – wherever we work – by wearing his name, we are expressing to the people around us, in however we behave, what it means to follow him. Being a ‘missionary’ is trying to be the best ‘follower of Jesus Christ’ that we can be, not trying to make others into McChristians. I do not see Mission as something the church does, but something that the church is. Mission is an action – part of the paradox of being saved by grace, but being called to works. No longer is mission what we send others to go and do on our behalf, mission is how we as followers of Jesus Christ exist in and engage with our culture.

In light of David Bosch’s work, and my response – How would you define mission??

BIBLICAL ETHICS AND SOCIAL CHANGE

2005-11-10T14:57:00.000+10:30

I started reading “Stephen Charles Mott’s Biblical Ethics and Social Change” last Friday when I was on my way to my ‘southern’ engagement party in Hobart. I started reading that one first because it was described by the intensive coordinator as ‘it provides the best detailed theological underpinning’ for mission. So, I started. I’m now about a quarter of the way into the book, and here are some reflections:

Chapter 1 - “Biblical Faith and the Reality of Social Evil” – now I may need to go back and read this again, as on the first read I was dealing with some serious turbulence (literally, not metaphorically). But I think he was talking about the potential sources for the need of Christian Ethics i.e. the evil/darkness which inhabits the comos, and which is a source of societies poor and oppressed.

Chapter 2 – “God’s Grace and Our Action” – I remember this chapter much more, because rather than turbulence, I was sitting in bed with a yellow highlighter, trying to get my head around it all. Mott’s argues (and nails it) that the reason for a Christian ethic, out of which Christian Action MUST come is in response to the grace of God.

We love because God loved us. The content, the nature of God’s grace determines the content and nature of our acts. Our response is love because God’s grace is manifest as love….however, God’s benevolent act does not merely “inspire” a response, it actually creates the ability to respond – it is both the reason and the power of the response. (pgs 28 & 32)

The response that he writes about, is our response to, action to and love for the poor. He goes on to say, that ‘the reception of God’s grace will affect our attitudes toward the weak and oppressed and needy – those for whom we have the power to do good as God did for us.’ (p37)

Chapter 3 – “Love and Society” – I’m only about three pages into this chapter, but it follows on nicely from God’s grace and love of Chapter 2. But it does raise an issue early on, which featured in discussions that Cutler and I had with one of our Chaplains here. And that is about love, Mott writes “The capacity to love is a gift of God, but more than that, it is activated by the action of love upon us. We receive love from beyond ourselves or we do not have it at all. If a child is not loved, he or she is deprived of the capacity to love” (pg 40)

That the raises the questions like, how can someone who has never known love, understand the idea of Christian love, that God is love; how can they follow the commandment to love one another, when they have never been loved? Here sits the call for action from followers of Jesus Christ. We must be able to love others, particularly the un-loveable, so that they can begin to know and understand the love of God.

This book is going to be interesting and challenging!!

SOMETHING STRANGE...

2005-11-10T12:50:00.000+10:30

There is something strange going on with my new site...I have tried I think nine times now to get the post below to work. Not that it doesn't work, it is just that the quote that I tried to use just will not show up. In preview mode it is there, if you highlight the space you can read it - but for some reason what shows as being white in preview mode, posts as black. I have tried every trick in the book, and it just won't work. So, I'll actually try to type it out below and see what happens:

"OUCH! This is an extremely uncomfortable book. There is something very painful about having our belief system shaken to the core and our 'safe, comfortable and happy' paradigms exposed. This book demonstrates the cost of discipleship, God's heart for suffering humanity, and that faith without action is dead and useless. It shows the great danger of purely fashioning our faith on western culture and theology instead of the words of Christ."

MICAH MANDATE - SURRENDER

2005-11-10T12:45:00.000+10:30

If you were a reader of “PHILO-SAE-PHY” mark 1, you may recall me signing up for a November intensive, as part of my formation for ministry. Well, the intensive, which is called “Micah Mandate: Seeking Justice for the Globally Marginalised” kicks off this coming Monday, at 9:20am at Whitley College (OK – so the venue is the only bummer about this intensive – it couldn’t BE much further away from where I live!!). The first four books on the “What I’m Reading…” list in the side bar, are as a result of doing this course – I did the Amazon thing, ordered the books (aren’t eating at present, until I’ve paid off the VISA Card Bill – those who know me, know that not eating for a while would probably do me some good!!) in order to do some pre-reading. I like intensives because you can become totally submerged in what you are doing, learning, reflecting upon and engaging with. As I read, and come across some challenging quotes, I’ll post them here and see if we can’t all have some discussion, OK?

Part of the Assessment schedule for the “Micah Mandate” intensive is a 1000 word book review. Via an email conversation with the Intensive Coordinator, I was given the ok to review Ashley Barker’s newest book “Surrender All: A Call to Sub-merge with Christ”. I have heard good things about this book, and having never read any of Ash’s stuff, I am looking forward to it – so far I am up to page 5 – when I should be working (naughty!!). I’ve never reviewed a book by someone that I know (well, when I say know – I know who he is, I’ve heard him speak a number of times, had a few chats with him during my time at the Hewett and Monash Churches – but he wouldn’t know who I am…but still) but am really looking forward to reading it. This is a comment from the blurb:

"OUCH! This is an extremely uncomfortable book. There is something very painful about having our belief system shaken to the core and our 'safe, comfortable and happy' paradigms exposed. This book demonstrates the cost of discipleship, God's heart for suffering humanity, and that faith without action is dead and useless. It shows the great danger of purely fashioning our faith on western culture and theology instead of the words of Christ." — Nicole Conner Associate Minister, CityLife Church, Melbourne

I’ll keep you posted.

RE-ORIENTATION

2005-11-08T19:51:00.000+10:30

This is my more serious blog site, where I'll attempt to engage you (the reader) in some theological discussion. I'll aim to post a couple of times per week, quotes from lectures, books that I'm reading, blogs that I'm enjoying, and issues that I'm wresting with. I hope that you'll join in, but rather than critiquing what I am saying - that you'll engage with the quote and facilitate some good theological reflection, relationship, virtual community and engagement with our God.