Solid foundations take commitment

 Foundational experiences ensure that we have something to build on for the remainder of our lives. If we undertake the building of foundations we need to ensure that we are preparing the way for our building in an accurate and stable manner. If we begin something and then stop because we are ill prepared for the consequences of our actions then we create our own challenges (Lk. 14.28-29). In the same manner we begin our faith journey at baptism or when we begin our intentional faith journey and need to ensure that the foundations and the journey ahead are understood or else we will find the challenge too much. This is often to be seen that when we begin something and run out of 'puff' halfway through unable to continue the process.

In Jeremiah, the Lord takes Jeremiah to the potter to give him this understanding (Jer. 18.1-11). Like the potter, we begin moulding ourselves into what we perceive as being that which is required. Yet, if we fail to be guided in our understanding of the process by others, and by God, then we produce goods that are damaged. It is often as a result of our underestimating the costs of what we are about to or are doing. For us as Christians we are asked to take up the cross and as we do so we commit ourselves to that undertaking. However, unless our underpinning and foundations are strong we will ultimately fail and turn away from Christ and from God. It is not an easy thing to do but one that can be done easily when we have placed the foundations down. So often, when we begin something we ultimately rush and suddenly find that we are failing or the foundations being laid are not the foundations that God is seeking but those that others have laid. Often it is because we are building on things that have been done before without realising that they ultimately failed as a result of sloppy beginnings or others desires.

First the foundations but even then we may give up and fail to form the vessel of God

We are slaves to what we put down as a our foundation. Just as Paul lays the foundation for Onesimus to live free in Christ so to we must lay our foundations in Christ. We can not be lazy in how we lay our own foundations. Unfortunately, we tend to leave our foundations when we are quite young and never return to complete the building becoming like the man who stopped and walked away (Lk. 14.28-29). It is only when we find that in later years that we have missed out on something that we return to the forgotten projects. In doing so though we have to go through the pain of picking up our crosses the ones that have been gathering dust and weight over the years. We have to re-educate ourselves in terms of the building practices that we once had, we have to start once more.

Once again like the potter we have to throw the clay on the wheel and begin to reform our lives in Christ. Once again we have to have the perseverance to finish what we have started. Once again we find ourselves tempted to move away from the start of something great and move towards our own deaths. The disappointments we seem to gather around us weigh us down and the project of building becomes a drag and a chore that is dull. Yet, Christ is there for us even in the despair of our realisation that we seem not to progress. It is in these times that we must re-evaluate our progress with our foundations. Return to our base in scripture and in reason and in our tradition to find the way forward to build a lasting structure within our lives that harbours Christ's Spirit and allows us to grow into what Christ and God plans for us. Make the mix to sloppy and the jar will not form, make it to stiff and the jar will not form. The consistency of our effort and the material we use must be filled with Christ's love so that we can form the vessel that Christ wants.

The trap of self worth

 In life we often can achieve the our goals through hard work and believe that we have arrived when we our considered by others to have a certain amount of knowledge. However, sometimes and quite often in a faith setting, our knowledge becomes a hindrance and is often not conducive to a happy and sustainable community. In life we are often honored for our knowledge and we allow this honour to become part of our expectations in all of life's settings not just in the situation in which our knowledge is recognised. In Luke, Christ warns against this type of behaviour using the illustration of a banquet (Lk. 14.7-14).

We can see this happening in all walks of life as people position themselves into places so that they can achieve power, authority and often at the end of the day notoriety. It is difficult for us not to promote ourselves within an economy that values those who are deemed to be 'expert'. (I am always reminded of the old definition of an expert which goes something like this. X = an unknown quantity, Spurt = water under pressure, a drip = an unknown quantity of water, hence expert = a drip under pressure). Of course in any discourse that involves the subject matter that is the provenance of the 'expert' it is the purpose of the person to have their knowledge acknowledged and thus their view predominate. In academic discourse this is part of the rough and tumble of academia and is carried out through conferences and forums that the various 'experts' attend.  In everyday life such behaviour tends to lead to cliques, clubs and politics. We can see where that leads to as there is a tendency for those groups to use hierarchical power, the 'expert' at the top, as a means to stop conversation and deny the voice of the other.

Do we consider ourselves as being 'experts' in relationships?

In the faith setting this sort of self proclamation becomes an issue as there is a tendency to once again form us vs them cliques. This can be clearly seen in an over exaggerated form in the issues in Northern Ireland regarding Protestant and Catholic. In this over exaggerated case the situation devolved into violence in much the same way that the extreme fundamentalist does in any religious setting. In the parochial setting the result may not be as vicious, in terms of physical violence, but is just as bad in terms of relational violence. We often do not appreciate the violence that is generated as quite often the group as a whole ignores the issue and bows down to a laissez faire attitude that gives permission for the situation to continue without resolution. Once a 'power base' has been established by the group or individual then this is used to exploit the situation and impose the view of the group/individual on the others within the community.

In many parishes there are Catering groups or Opportunity Shops that are valued as they often bring in a large proportion of the income for the Parish. These groups tend to attract those who have a tendency for this self promotional style of behaviour. The 'expert' is often the person who has been around in the group as a leader for an extended period of time and when attempts are made to curtail or align the group to the new direction a community is taking then umbrage, chaos and upset occurs. Thus, breaking up the communal relationships that have ignored the growing situation as being normal and coming to understand that it is the community that has been 'bullied' into conformance as a result of their reliance on one group or another. This is accepted and normal behaviour in many groups within modern society.  Yet, Christ offers us another and alternate way of behaviour that does not rely on our self proclamation of expertise and need for power / authority to lord it over others in however small a manner and in however 'irreplaceable' we believe it to be.

We are each of us called into ministry by God at our baptism. It is God who calls us into the place where we may have some 'expertise' but it is also God who guides and directs us in that ministry. God is the host who will elevate us into a more prominent position in the light of our peers but it is also God who may decide not to promote us despite what we believe or think of ourselves. Our self recognition as an 'expert' and therefore the right to be heard or even for our viewpoint to be the prevailing viewpoint, has to be one that is counter intuitive to our desires. Our behaviours should reflect a viewpoint that believes "Despite my belief of my own self worth, there are others who may be of more consequence than me."  Only when we realise that our own opinions of ourselves do not matter within the community will we begin to recognise that it is our relationships of mutual understanding and love that are of more importance.

It is pertinent for us, especially for those who think that they know more than others or think because they have been doing something forever, to stop and listen to others in the community.  This can not be a single event in the life of a community but an ongoing understanding of ourselves as a community. In doing so we begin to heal the rifts that our behaviours have caused and begin to listen to God's direction of our ministry and not our own self imposed authority.  But remember as soon as we start to think "I was right all along." and vindicate  a position we have held in our own situations, we fall into the same trap. We are not called to elevate ourselves for the honour and glory which is fleeting but we are to await God's blessing and call for a more lasting satisfaction and blessing on the community as a whole.

Answering God's call

 In the last few weeks there has been a number of passages from the Hebrew Testament that show the beginning of ministry through the eyes of the prophets. In the latest reading we see Jeremiah's call by God (Jer. 1.4-10). We know that such a call has an effect on the lives of those called but also we understand from the material in the scriptures that such a call however powerful, is not without its obstacles. During Jeremiah's time as a prophet he was more likely to be prophesying from prison or in close captivity than not. A total surrendering of himself to God and yet, even he, at the end refuses to listen to God and ends his days in exile. What is it about listening and following God that leads us to obstruct or turn from God's voice?

The writer to the Hebrew's suggests that it is our propensity to turn towards those illicit things that the human heart fails to turn from, that is the cause of our unyielding obstruction of God's call for justice (Heb. 12.15-17). We seek to better ourselves within the confines of the community in which we serve. We do this by suggesting to ourselves that what we do is for the greater good and for the purposes of God. There are rules and regulations that we need to follow or else we are not good members of the group. The leaders are learned and are able to interpret what God wants and what is best for all. There is a certain tangibility about the desires and plans that are placed before us so that we are forever chasing after the eternal fires of Sinai (Heb. 12.18). We are unable to place ourselves outside this tangible sphere to seek after those things which are above are daily desires and wants. If we have a plan or a way to move that involves a strict rule then we are more likely to follow that then we are God's mutable Spirit. Laws and rules are easy to define and are even easier to comply with and so make the society in which we live 'better'. Yes, such things are required but the question eventually arises "who interprets the law and for whose benefit?".

Who are the judges of today? Are they the old of yesterday?

In the reading from Luke, Christ offers an example of going beyond the stated laws so that there is a definite improvement to the community (Lk. 13.10-17). God's purpose is to bring healing and integration to a community not division, even if such healing and integration brings about the appearance of negativity. Such negativity is often as a result of our own minimalist understanding of interpretation. We are narrow in how we see things as this is our coping mechanism. God on the other hand is insistent on a more open view such that it encompasses all not just a few. More often than not we interpret our responsibilities to the narrowest extent, rather than broadening our point of view. We can point to a number of our deepest theological debates to see this. How does our human sexuality in all of its rainbow perspectives debilitate our ability to worship and surrender to God? The only thing is how our perverseness may harm the other rather than bring them into life and God's presence. How does our gender disable our ability to minister in God's name, such that we have to bow to an other in obeisance rather than cooperate in love? This is perhaps a fear of loss of power or authority rather than a community revealing God's love.

We need to remind ourselves that we follow a call by God not by other humans. The Hebrew's writer once again writes with insight when they say that what is of God is unshakeable whilst human desires will wander with their eyes so that we once again put obstacles in the way of God's reign (Heb. 12.28). In looking at how we go about undertaking God's will and answering the call upon our lives we actually need to throw out the rule book that our forefathers have created to follow. Just as the Israelites needed to be reminded time and time again, it is not how we interpret God's law but how God wants us to behave and act. Our responsibility is to God not to the structures that we and the generations that have gone before have interpreted as being God's way. God's action is encompassing not confining, is for all not for some, is life giving not death dealing, is free not expensive. Our views and our attitudes need to see beyond blame and power to find balance and forgiveness. We need to come from a totally different perspective rather than from the one that has been generationally produced as the law.

Disruption for justice

 Last week I spoke about the disruptive influence of God in terms of Derrida's deconstruction. This week we see that disruption occurring in a more specific way despite this being a Gospel of love. Luke's Gospel has an enormous disruptive feel in the current reading as Christ tells us he does not come to bring peace but disruption of existing relationships (Lk. 12.49-).  A disruption that tears the  relationships of families and communities; an unexpected dissonance from a God of love, peace and harmony.

Yet, when we engage with the lament from God over his vineyard in Isaiah (5.1-7) we should begin to understand where this disruption occurs in our lives. That is with the presumption that we are truly living the Christian way. All that God is seeking is justice but finds instead bloodshed (Isaiah 5.7). Justice is a concept that is so elusive for the human that the judiciary and philosophers struggle to pin it down as it escapes in the blink of an eye.  It comes as a disruptive moment in our lives as we seek to do justice.  The historical list of those who have managed this elusive concept are pillars of faith and have journeyed with this concept throughout their lives. Some are outlined in the letter to the Hebrews and finalised  by basically saying the list goes on forever (Heb 11.32).  If we consider our own heroes of the faith or standouts within the faith journey of the modern era we can think of Bishop Trevor Huddlestone, The Arch. more commonly known as Desmond Tutu, Sister Theresa and Rev. Michael Lapsley all who have struggled with this elusive concept as they have journeyed in faith.

Only when we start to understand their passion for a loving God and the elusive pursuit of justice can we begin to understand the disruption, in this word, that this should cause for ourselves.  Yet, we ponder and struggle to overcome our own pet hurts that blind us to the greater call on our lives. We confine ourselves to the irritation of a misleading line in a hymn rather than the actuality of injustice in Palestine.  We concentrate on the tangibility of a border forbidding the undesirables from coming and restricting their access while neglecting our responsibilities as well as the injustices occurring in our name.  It is the tangibility of a border or a hymn that calls us rather than the intangible concept of justice calling from the borders of our sovereignty.  Only when we can overcome our own wants and wishes so as to focus on the greater will we begin to work the will of God's call on us.

Desperation in the face of injustice

The claim on us as we make our way on the journey of faith is not in the past but in the present.  In seeking justice we will disrupt our families and our communities as we stir up the complacency of governments and communities.  The Anglican and faith community live by what is known as Lex orandi, lex credendi, or what we say is what we believe.  If this is the case than it is the call for justice that must be lived out by our daily lives.  This is a greater call than a single focus on Jew, Muslim or sexuality.  Our call is to live acknowledging all as children of God and ignoring the difference that they bring into our lives.  Justice calls to all of us, irrespective of creed, culture or sexuality.  It inspires us to live lives of acceptance that do not dwell on images of the past but build images of the future with hope.  Justice continually calls from the margins of our society not from those living in affluence.  The pursuit of justice calls us into the fray of the dispossessed, the camps and those struggling to survive.  It does not call us to close our hearts and our borders; it does not call us to close our eyes or think only of the past.

If we are to live as faith filled Christians, however small we deem ourselves, we will be at the forefront of disruption as we open the hearts of those closed by comfort and complacency.  Mother Theresa was not a showman or a tele evangelist but a person of large faith and heart who saw injustice and worked towards justice.  For all his flamboyance Archbishop Tutu worked at the coalface of injustice to bring the injustices of apartheid into the light of God's love, not for fame but to honour the call and pursuit of justice that God calls all of faith to. In our comfort and our own lives lived within a society that is consumed by pettiness we are called into the disruptive tear that those who suffer from injustice create as justice calls.  We have seen the blood that flows as a result of injustice in the lives of the abused, are we ready to answer with the salve of love and respond to the call of justice in the world.

L'avenir - God's unexpected future

 In John Caputo's book, 'What would Jesus Deconstruct?', the author outlines Derrida's "least bad" definition of deconstruction one indeed that Caputo himself likes (pg 54). In a nutshell Derrida states that there is a predictable future (a 'future present') and one that is over the horizon of expectancy ('the absolute future') the event that we cannot participate that disrupts our lives; that removes the certainty of our human constructed structures.  In other words, 'There is a future which is predictable...But there is a future to come (l'avenir) which refers to someone who comes whose arrival is totally unexpected.' (Derrida quoted in 'Preaching after God' by Phil Snider, pg. 135). In a very real sense this is what we should be preparing for 'the totally unexpected' when we await Christ.  Christ highlights our preparedness in the Gospel (Lk. 12.32-33) and this need to expect the unexpected (Lk. 12.35-40).

We can prepare for most things today.  We have certain expectancies that in life we can plan for, the future that is made present, as it comes to us in the certainty of our careers, our businesses, our home life and our social calendar.  Not least of all in our taxes and our expenditure that for individuals are things that we can guarantee let alone expect. These are the platforms on which we build our daily lives relying on our past experience and our expectations for the future.  We prepare our purses and our schedules in such a fashion that those things that we know are going to be undertaken do not become mountains or impossible tasks, less we submerge ourselves in misery and despair.  In any form of leadership this is the task that is set before us so that we can lead people into a new or better place or at least maintain a certain level of service / comfort that meets the expectations of those we lead.  However, this also points us towards a status quo, a non movement forward, a non growth of our potential and what could be.  It is when we are driven out of our expectations into new places and new things that we become alive once more, alive to the possibilities inherent in the call to be a follower of Christ, to be a Christian.

The Unexpected Guest - by Heather Lara

In (not)-preparing for the unexpected, because as soon as we prepare it becomes the expected, we need to be flexible and listen for that call that leads us into the new and challenging circumstances that confront us as we take on the risk of faith.  This is not an enviable position to be in as leaders and yet if we answer God's call on our lives this is exactly where we will find ourselves as we seek to bring God's people into conversation with that call.  It is a question of allowing our experiences to be present to us and yet not govern us or the moves that we make.  Too often we allow our past to dictate what the future will bring.  Yes, we have an experience that needs to inform our actions but not dictate them.  In confronting our prejudices and our hurts and our dislikes we often find that it is our past that is dictating how we experience the present and the future.  In not allowing the unexpected to draw us into a new sequence of relationships we die to the possibilities that the Christic event opens in our lives.

We are practical people and our focus is on how to rather than on waiting and responding to the event that disrupts our lives.  In leading the family of God into newness of life we ourselves must be prepared to let go of our own preconceptions of the future.  We need to allow ourselves to be prepared in unpreparedness.  We do not know when the event will occur just as we do not know when the thief will come in the night.  Yet we prepare for the thief without making definite plans as to when and where.  So we prepare for the coming of the event of God's grace in our lives with the understanding that it may never come or it may come this second.  We have to be sufficiently ready to grow and go where God's Spirit may call us without enormous preparations before the time.  If we are called into a new experience of God's abiding presence so we need to be ready to respond with an affirmative that does not deny that experience by locking it down.  Rather we need to be opened up to effectively respond in love to that call.

It is often hard to accept that what we strive for may not be what God wishes for our lives or our institutions.  We may all be in agreement about where we think God is calling us but then out of nowhere God comes calling and disrupts our planning as Christ appears to us.  It is only in our (un)preparedness and flexibility to accept the Christic event that we move forward in our faith journey.  We need to listen faithfully for God's ever present Spirit as we formulate our life's goals and the goals of our communities.  The call is always there it is when we do not listen and move on our own that God's presence is suddenly there changing what we thought to what we ought to do.  Let us always be (un)prepared to accept God's insistent call on our lives.

Wealth beyond our dreams

 We are presented on a daily basis with everything that we ever want if we could pay for it. What do we do? We tend to buy what we can when we can or even when we can't and go into debt so that we can have what we want. Be it a car or a house or a phone or a boat or... Then we moan about the debt or about the burden of paying it back, we very rarely think about the future at such times. If we do think about our future then we ensure that we have plenty of financial worth to live of in our retirement years. We give no thought about others in the community and even if we have wealth we tend to ensure that what goes out has some form of benefit to us in the end, whether through recognition or eventual investment payback. The reality becomes all about us rather than anything else and our thinking whether it is in spending or saving is for ourselves much like the rich landowner who saves everything for a rainy day (Lk 12:16-20).

Is this what God wants of us or is this what we have always done and continue to do despite being called into a different mode of living? Paul, seems to indicate that this is what we always do prior to our accepting God's presence through Christ into our lives (Col. 3:6-10). These are the things that are meant to have been stripped from us in our acceptance of the way of Christ. Yet, in our own hubris we have not neglected these but in some ways we have increased their hold on us. We are conditioned by the society we live in not by our enduring faith. For us, as Christians it should be the other way around, we should be conditioned by our enduring faith rather than by the society around us. Yet, over multiple generations the communities that we live in have taken up the understanding that we hoard our wealth rather than use it for the greater good. There have been very few societies that have looked at the greater good of the individuals rather than at the selfish needs of the individuals. In doing so we have engendered this greedy outlook so that justice and peace are purely symbols of something that is unattainable and a constant future state.

We lavish our wealth on ourselves and neglect God's presence in our lives. Yet, God is the one person who persists in loving us irrespective of our neglect of God. God's lament of faithlessness is seen in Hosea  (11:1-9) and how the persistence of love for God's people continues on despite our movement away. God's love is a total outpouring into the world and in favour of those he loves (the whole of humanity who are made in God's image). We are asked to mirror that love in Christ and in action within our own circumstances even if it means beggaring ourselves for the sake of God. In doing so we are being faithful to God and knowing that God will be faithful to us and not allow ourselves to be forsaken. This is a difficult road to walk as we are putting ourselves into the hands of the unknown rather than our own wants and wishes and the comfort of what we have earned. Even when we are on the cusp of wealth and peace within our own lives we must still look beyond to those who are unable to afford what we have. It is pointless for us to hoard our worldly goods when others are being impoverished.

We want it all for ourselves and not for the other

In the Gospel parable, there is nothing about giving to those beyond or outside the community. It is based within a rural community much the same as that which Ruth and Naomi entered. It means that there were rich and poor living cheek by jowl, just as we have in this community and in our surrounding communities. Tragedy strikes at the heart of our comfortable life but is more prominent when it is away from us. We think we are doing our best by contributing towards the other that is apart from us whilst neglecting those that are closest to us. In the story and the context of the time the wealthy person was encouraged and expected to contribute to the welfare of the community. The stored grain was not going to go anywhere except for distribution on his death. There was no point in hoarding it. There is no point in our own hoarding whether it be toilet rolls or our finances or our love, we cannot spend it in the end. We are thus asked to put our love and our lives and our wealth to care for those in the community beyond our own circle.

The covenantal presence in Christic love

 Today all we have to do to attract attention is to proclaim something is fake news. Some politicians are adept at this easily drawing attention to themselves. Then what happens is that everyone and I mean everyone follows what is happening. That really is all we have to do proclaim something is false or fake and we will have all sorts of people visiting us. However, as Christians we build on foundations of honesty and the truth. Of course there is the question of whose truth and what teaching is false. The Colossian's letter is quite specific regarding the fact that we must be constantly on our guard against 'hollow and delusive speculations, based on traditions of human teachings' (Col 2.8). So, how do we tell who is right and who is wrong in terms of how we speak of God.

There are those who will speak of biblical inerrancy and even those who will suggest that there is only one way to read the scriptures whether from the original texts of the Hebrew bible in language or from the New Testament in Koine as they are God inspired. Problem is that when we start to pick apart the scriptures and cherry pick what we believe then we are subject to our own interpretations of the text that is 'God inspired'. In looking at this we need to understand that all of our interpretations are 'fake' Good News as we are not God nor are we necessarily God inspired in the way that those who wrote the scriptures (as some would believe). So what is the criteria that distinguishes our interpretation from fake news and its continual draw upon ourselves and the truth that we proclaim.

Do we prostitute the Gospel for our own purposes?

If we look at the prophet Hosea (1.2-ff) we can see that despite everything, his love for God, determines his course. It is a course that would have brought all sorts of stigma onto him and yet just as in the Gospel (Luke 11.5-10) there is a persistence in Hosea's living and loving arrangements. He is upright before God and is deep within his covenantal relationship. So when we come to determine between fake and Good news we need to look for that persistence in the covenantal relationship with God. In other words we have to ask whether our whole character is based in Christ whom we have taken on in baptism. It is our foundational relationship that is of prime importance as it is this that has to be grounded in Christ (Col. 2.7). This is the important understanding that it is in Christ who is Jesus and not the other way around. The importance of God is paramount when we come to speak of the Gospel. Once we start to place the humanity of Jesus before Christ we begin to lose our way and proclaim those things which are part of our misunderstanding and thus part of that which is Fake.

In the Lord's prayer, which is a reiteration, in some respects, of the shema, we re-insert ourselves into that covenantal relationship as we ask God for his presence in our daily undertakings. This is the covenantal persistence that we require to ground ourselves in Christ. In doing so we reiterate the relationship that is found in the Godhead. In undertaking this relational movement we become part of the body of Christ, not Jesus, and bring God's light into the world. In communion with each other we join the hospitality of the Godhead around the table and invite those that are external to ourselves into relationship with the community that is embedded in Christ. This community which may become the Church, is one that portrays the truth of Christic, covenantal love by accepting all no matter who they may be for it is not for us to bring judgement. Only when we are in as deep as Hosea can we understand the presence of God that is fully present.

Seeing humanity

 Martha and Mary are quintessential displays of opposites within the scriptural challenges that appear in the Gospel passages (Lk. 10.38-42).  In looking at this passage all sorts of reasons are given for the reason for Christ's saying that Mary had chosen the better part.  In some respects all are quite right and it is very dependant on our own circumstance as to how we will interact with the implications within this small vignette.

Perhaps, for me it is the way that the two women are in their being which is of importance rather than what Christ is doing or saying.  Martha is for me the epitome of  many wives and partners who are house proud.  I am not saying anything against this, in fact I am reminded by Martha of my wife.  Whilst she was alive we enjoyed, immensely the opportunity to entertain friends and colleagues around the dinner table.  Often I would be the cook for these occasions whilst she would make the table arrangements and  insist that every nook and cranny was dusted and cleaned to perfection.  There was none of this sweep it under the carpet or close the door on the untidy aspects of the house.  The house was swept and cleaned from top to bottom prior to the guests arrival.  I would often despair at the minutiae and detail to which she was prepared and insisted on going to on behalf of the guests.  It helped that she kept the house appearance clean in the first place.  For me this is Martha.  A woman who worries about the state of things prior to and during the guests stay in the house.  It is a celebration of the household and the person takes pride in offering first class hospitality to the stranger and friend alike.

I am in contrast somewhat like Mary.  I am content to be with the guest or the company (if I were not cooking), not as an entertainer, nor as a conversationalist but by the pleasure of being with, listening and contributing to the peace and companionship of the moment.  My concern was that the food be delicious and that I could spend quality time with our guests, irrespective of who they were. I often became frustrated with the pedantism  of my wife in the lead up to a dinner or having guests around.  It was not that I did not see the need for a clean house and a neat appearance, what I objected to was the fuss.  I am quite content to ensure a clean appearance but I don't need to make an overt effort just because guests are arriving.  My kids and the family live in the home, it is not a show house, we are here to be with the guest not to showcase the house as if it were an object for sale.

In this story, we must remember that it is Jesus that they are entertaining.  This is something we often overlook when trying to come to grips with the interpretation of the story.  We automatically see the entry of the Christ and make an assumption that this illustrates Mary's understanding of the Christic presence.  Let us see the humanity on display when we look at the episode not the presence of God/Christ.  This for me is an emphasis on Jesus' humanity and the interaction that is happening at the human level.  If we delve into the fanciful footwork of seeking the spiritual in every reading we fail to accommodate the more basic human reality that brings us into contact with God. It is here in the simple humanity of two people in company that brings in the Christic presence not the fact of Jesus 'the Christ'.

Interacting with a person takes energy, is this why we only see individuals? (www.lifehack.com)

This simple interaction of a person with a person, when we engage with the other as a person not as a label, denies our tendency to ostracise and individualise everyone.  If we do not see this in our lives, we become the same as the Israelites that Amos rails against (Amos 8.5-6) who are only after their own individual success and not the concerns of the person.  Our day to day dealings are with individuals who have no personality or rather whose personality is of no consequence to us.  Until we realise for ourselves the need to come into conscious communion with our neighbours as ourselves, look them in the face and see them for themselves, we will be unable to find Christ and God's gracious presence in our lives. We burden ourselves with our day to day concerns, as Martha did, whilst not attending to our day to day interactions that happen in the present not the future.  The presence of God is in the present, this is where we live. Mary sees the person of Jesus in the present and therefore sits before Christ.  It is not that Mary sits before Christ who happens to be Jesus, this is the wrong way round as it means that Mary is seeing an object not a person.  Although Dr Ike, from Global Ethics, is talking about leadership and followership his quote equally applies to each of us on a daily basis:

 "The bottom line for leadership and followership is not always the emphasis on what I have but rather on who I am. Not what I learnt from others but rather on what I taught.  Not what I received, but rather on what I gave.  Not what I pulled out and took but rather on what I put in. Not what I accumulated, but what I shared.  Indeed and worthy of thought, not even on how or what I lived, but what I left behind.This is the challenge."

Neglecting the plumb line

 We all enjoy the stories and the parables that are in the bible and one that has become  something of a commonplace saying in our society is that of the "Good Samaritan". We even have groups that call themselves Samaritans who do good works. So when we say someone is a 'good Samaritan' we automatically think back to Christ's parable in Luke's Gospel (10:25-37). However, this story has no real impact in today's world as it's meaning is to a certain extent known and applied as a descriptive to people in society. Attempts have been made to re-cast the story so that it has made more of an impact, such that in the modern world we might substitute 'LGBTQIA+ person' or 'Refugee' or 'Russian soldier' to try and make an impact depending on the audience. Yet, we know the story so the impact is often lessened irrespective of how we choose the protagonist. The shock factor is gone from the edgy story that Christ tells in his community. So what does the story and the other readings tell us for the modern day?

When we walk through the community or when we engage with the community it is always a specific group that we interact with either friends or else others that we know through some means or another. It is not often that we interact with strangers to and within the community. That is simply because we are often unaware of their presence or else we like everyone else in the community shun them. They are often thought to be beneath us or are tolerated within the community because they are doing an essential job. In some instances it is because they are doing the jobs that no one else wishes to do. They are those that pass unnoticed, for whatever reason, through the community and society in general. It is also of note to suggest that many of these will also profess 'no religion' but certainly not all. In a manner of speaking these are often the outcast of society those that are untouchable. It is not those that are within the system, so to speak, that are the ones that are demonstrating the presence of God. In reality it is often those that are on the inside who have lapsed into inattention and require a shock to the system to enable them to participate with God.

So, who is your neighbour?

I pause to note an article by Rev Sempell referring to the conservatism in Sydney and suggest that this ultimately reveals the loss that we have when we neglect the outsider that Christ uses to illustrate the point in the Samaritan story. It is clear that we often do not take note of that outsider and are more often prone to look only at the priest or the scribe as they make their journey past the wounded man, more importantly we should change the gender of the wounded person to make this point. Even when Christ tells the story we are left to wonder the ethnicity of the wounded man (sic). Is it indeed a case of like looking after like or as we seem to have surmised is it the other looking after the other and opening themselves up to that love. By committing ourselves to our own self portraits of what it means to help the other or even listen to the other we seem to limit our ability to reach out. What is fascinating about this is our loss of 'bums on seats' and the increased number of 'nones' (who used to be 'none of the above' meaning the normal list of religious affiliations) who almost see this as another 'religion'. The disillusionment that has been increasing has increased the number of those on the outside who we should be listening to rather than disregarding whilst bemoaning their loss. Perhaps, it is our own laissez faire attitude to our faith that has allowed this to occur and demonstrate that we too are among those who pass by the opportunity to engage with the other to bring healing and love.

The plumb line that God (Amos 10:7-9) has taken out is the one that matters and we cannot disregard those who say otherwise. We cannot afford to be dismissing of the voices of the other (Amos 7:12-13) but rather we need desperately to listen to those who are not part of our little group in the world and try to find that open ground that allows us to listen as much as speaking about what God can do for the other. It may well be that we will find that each of us is travelling towards God in different ways but all of us still have Christ at the centre rather than the laws that we enact and that we formulate and that we control our lives by. God calls us out to the other to bring the Kingdom of God near to them by willingly ministering and showing God's love in our lives rather than preaching what we do not necessarily live. 

Following the new possibilities

  We all have our faults and sometimes those faults exacerbate our poor relationships. Unless the fault is pointed out we often believe that we are doing nothing wrong and yet our relationships continue to suffer. The repair may become something simple as it was for Naaman who was asked to wash in the Jordan but balked because it was not a river of his own country (2 Kings 5:10-11). We often find our faults within our own religious experience as we have a tendency to push our own views on others so that we look as if we are in the right or at least in a position of spiritual and faith authority (Gal. 6:13). I feel that this is often where we go wrong in terms our walking with God and proclaiming the Gospel in the world. Certainly when the missionaries went out into the world from London and conquered the world for Christ there was much harm done as a result of their thinking. In a manner of speaking we too have inherited the gifts of fault from our forefathers in how we look at spreading the Gospel.

We really need to look at the sending out the disciples in a new light (Luke 10:1-24). This is not so much as radical as practical and is as such radical in a manner of speaking. We always talk about doing mission but what is that in terms of the Gospel? There are reams written on missiology or the study of mission and how it is undertaken. There are a number of Theological degrees in Missiology or contain aspects of Missiology. I am no means a missiologist but it seems to me that Christ instructions are either lacking or simply superb for our modern day. There are no detailed how to paragraphs in the passage around the sending out of the disciples either in Luke or any other Gospel. There are really only about four things stay where you are, eat what is set before you, heal the sick and tell them that the Kingdom of God has come near. In other words become accepted into the community without disrupting and live as God intended you to live. There are no commandments around worship, around proselytising or anything other than to be ourselves and in doing so heal those around us. Yet, this is the hardest thing to do because we cannot allow our behaviours to disrupt relationship but rather create relationships in the presence of God.

Just think for a moment about the political life of the Anglican church here in Australia when we think of harm being caused as a result of our belief systems. In some sense there is a tendency by some to focus on the narrow aspects of the law and cling to this as if it is a lifeline while others seek God's presence in difference so they can out reach to those who are in need. Neither are wrong but the way that we as a group behave by creating the polar difference, we are enacting that which has gone before. We are not asked to place our burdens on others but rather to heal and relieve the burdens that others carry. We cannot heal if we ourselves are imposing restrictions and the means to bring healing into the world by our increasingly polarised views. No matter how we go out into the world Christ asked us to bring God's love not our own views on who or what God is or the restrictions we place on ourselves as a result of our own viewpoints.

Walking with God does not have to be alone

If we are to think of ministry and mission in these terms what does that actually mean for a community such as ours or any other community that believes in God? Some would I am sure tell you that you should be gearing up for a group effort to go out and bring the Gospel to those around us. How? Well obviously going house to house and telling them about God and talking about the Church, which Church? Well the Anglican, one of course! The Catholics and others have all got it wrong. However, I do not think that is what Christ and God actually call us to. Christ gave himself to new life, not a re-hashing of what has gone before. We need to re-look at ourselves and say what is it that does not appeal to those around us to such an extent that they do not want to worship or come together? Perhaps, it is not that they do not want to participate but feel that our anchors in the past are too much to overcome. Perhaps they are just looking for a normal life but with love. Perhaps its wanting to explore new understandings without being tied to traditional ways and yet profoundly show God's love in what they do. Perhaps you are called by God into something new which others deem as not us. If so then perhaps you need to find God's Spirit and be encouraged because God calls us to new life not stagnant life.

 At the end of Luke 9 (51-62) Christ says to a disciple that he has no place to put his head while foxes and birds have there homes.  He further tells others to leave funerals and not say farewell to family members. Yet, Christians proclaim community and the need to look to the other and assist the other before ones self.  In deed, Paul in Galatians refers to the commandment to love neighbour over self (Gal. 5. 14).  A commandment that we fail to live up to in our parishes on a regular basis.  We continually turn to ourselves and if you would our homes.  In fact we do many o the things that Paul suggests not to do when our comforts are being or about to be disturbed (Gal 5.20-21)

I am not sure what the consequences of Trumpism will eventually have on the world but it is perhaps correct to say, as others have, that Trump makes decisions on whims with which he feels at home rather than on a sound understanding of the truth.  All decisions as I have expounded on in other blog posts, have consequences whether they are with regards the whims of Trump or our own perceptions of how a Church should be laid out for worship.  In a manner of speaking both such decisions are made on the basis of where we feel at home or how we understand Christ's call on our lives.  No matter how we look at it, the comfort of home is the greatest comfort we have in this world for most of us.  It is where we find the greatest safety; it is where we can invite our friends; it is where we can relax from the pressures of life.  It is also where we find that which is most recognisable and comfortable.  We do not wish to be disturbed in our homes whether it is in the form of changing the furniture (ladies/gentleman how much resistance do you get if you ever suggest this), a new way of preaching in Church or the way the liturgy is undertaken or how we approach our political life in the wider world.  Such change is undertaken with enormous angst to ourselves.

Christ in the Wilderness series:The foxes have holes  - 

Stanley Spencer (1891- 1959) - Art Gallery of Western Australia

Stanley Spencer's painting, found in the Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth, The Foxes have holes is a rendition of this reading from Luke.  The painting portrays Christ resting against a bank in the wilderness with foxes going in and out of their dens in the bank.  Christ's body is depicted as being at home as he rests against the bank, almost as if he is at one with the earth, yet his face portrays a yearning that can only be described as a yearning for home.  A spiritual home that is not found in the mundane things of the world, a world in which his body finds comfort and rest.  The words from the gospel also supports this contention of  paradoxical opposites as 'the son of man has nowhere to lay his head'.  It is an uncomfortable feeling this being at home and yet not being home which for us Christians is a tension that we must encompass if we are true followers of Christ.  A tension that is always found in those who have journeyed in faith and look to Christ for their future. Christ calls us out, makes us uncomfortable, creates space for an-other, fills our lives with uncertainty, asks us to bring others to God.

Spencer's rendition of Christ speaks to us in this moment and as we move forward on our life's journey.  We cannot rest at ease within the comfort of our homes, yet we must rest at ease within the comfort of the world in which we live.  The rest of Luke's passage demonstrates Christ's insistence on this articulation.  Each person who raises a question with regards their personal life's journey at that point in time is given the same answer.  The traditions of the past in which we have made our homes must be laid aside as we look to the future of following Christ.  Unless we have overcome our fears that bind us to our homely comforts and rest at home in Christ we will never achieve the coming of the reign of God in this place.  That does not mean that we do not learn from the past, as Anglicans this is one of the pillars of our journey,  It means we do not cling, like Linus, to our security blanket 'tradition' but embrace the life that Christ offers to us. For us to do that we must be radical, so radical that we love our neighbour as ourselves, which means gladly leaving our comforts behind us whilst finding our new places in the world.  It is in dis-ease we should come to Christ and open ourselves to his healing balm.

Silence as opposed to noise

 We like to think that we hear God, especially when there is something fantastic happening. Some miracle or some equally gobstopping moment when we can point and say "there was God's presence". Indeed, often that is what we look for. Like Jesus and the possessed person (Lk 8:26-39). The moment that the spirits went into the Gadarene swine must have been spell binding. It is from these stories and others in the scriptures that we take our cue as to what we expect from God.  Building a picture of the fantastic that in today's world connects with the cinematic world of the Marvel Universe where grandiose miracles continue to occur. This world of fantasia hooks the general public and diverts them away from the reality of life. This is where our culture and civilisation is at with regards to expectations. Even back before COVID the then government's win was seen as miraculous or rather something spectacular which is beyond the normal.

There is so much turbulence in the world today that we are carried away with expectations of similar turbulence when God comes amongst us. Yet, when our friend Elijah goes out on to the mountain it is not the crashing and turbulence that calls to him but rather a still small breeze of a voice that calls out to him from amidst the tempest (1 Kings 19:12).  We often neglect our inward looking or setting aside time to be alone so that we can hear the voice of God in our lives. We bang about and expect God to speak above the noise of our own lives even while we tune out the noise that is around us, remember COVID, remember lockdowns, remember violence in the Ukraine, remember refugees... Once it falls from the news headlines it becomes nothing but background blather that we ignore like billboards on the side of the road. I know because I am the same, I get cranky with the number of posts about the environment or the Ukraine situation or COVID, etc. If we forget the consequential noise from our own society how will we ever come to know the still voice of God speaking to us in the everyday.

We listen to God in the stillness of the day

We are now past all the big bang liturgies as we move now into ordinary time. An ordinary time that we need to make more than ordinary as we move into our lives in the post resurrection life. If we fail to live up to the promptings of Christ then we fail to live up to our own Christian faith journey. It is now at the start of Ordinary time that we need to reset our inner lives, so that we may hear the still small breeze blowing through our hearts that is Christ and God's Spirit. It is in the coming months that we work out God's presence in our lives so that we can show God to those around us. It is when our imaginations should come to life in the reality of our everyday. The imaginations that come to us at Pentecost and we strive to fulfil in our imaginations of the Trinity. Only when we can be still can we begin to understand the message from God so that we can fulfil our call into the world. This paradox of movement and stillness is encompassed in the wind amidst the earthquakes and the fires of revelation on the mountain.

Our everyday is the earthquake and the fire. They are noisy. they are difficult to turn away from as they have a mesmerising effect on our lives. We are attracted to the bells and whistles that attend the concealer of God and those that offer gifts of life which lead to darkness and despair. Life is found in the movement of the stillness of God. Due to our perpetual motion in the daily noise of our lives we tend to miss the movement of God as we have no stillness in us. Eastern religions strive towards this stillness but for a different purpose, to eliminate all movement, where we must strive to become still and hear God moving around us so that we may follow God's quiet voice. The attraction of the noise over the silence is due to the fear we feel when confronted with silence. Silence comes across to us in the missed meeting, the missed opportunity as a silence of rejection, of being unwanted whereas the noise draws us in saying that we are wanted we are part of the music so to speak. This is the requirement of God to turn away from the noise of the Golden Calf to embrace the call of God that is not showy and not brazen but rather intimate and loving.

Moving towards multiplicity

 The Trinity is a dogma that is forged in the fires of controversy. It is not formulated in language that is consistent with the modern world and is an examination of or rather an attempt at explaining something in a language that is redolent of medieval world views and Greek philosophy. Yet it is a founding principle upon which the Christian faith stands which has not been changed nor truly examined other than to try and explain it in modernistic terms. Perhaps that is to unkind, yet if we think about the theological investigations and verbiage around the topic most of it is constrained by the very thought of what is being discussed, the Trinitarian formulation, and not by going back to first principles. It has perhaps become a cage within which the Christian faith survives but also prevents that same faith from thriving and compatible with an ever evolving multiplicity of pathways into the future.

If we are to truly expand our faith boundaries why are we confining our thinking by relying on the structures of the past or should we rather build on a deeper bedrock. Yes, let us understand the formulation but rather than re-iterate what has been stated devise a new formulation that makes provision for our modern world view. At this time of year preachers are constrained to bring an understanding of the Trinitarian doctrine to their own flock through the use of such things as the clover leaf, clock face, mother / daughter / sister, or other such analogies to bring about understanding. In the same breathe our denominations explode outwards as they magnify one over the other in their worship experience (Jesus over the Spirit / Father, the Spirit over the son / Father and of course in limited places the Father over the Son / Spirit). It is easier for us to conceive of a singular rather than a plural singular or it is easier to worship a plural over a singular plural. Individuality is for us the key and anything above one is just confusing unless it is broken into oneness. This distinctiveness is a draw back for many as they have trouble with the philosophical concepts that the Trinitarian formulation raises.

Is Trinity only singularity?

If, we look carefully at our Hebraic roots buried in the Bible we can see that there is a discrepancy regarding singularity of worship of a sole God. Rather, it is a God that is worshipped over other Gods that is acceptable and promoted, whilst acknowledging the presence of other Gods (Ps. 82). Strict monotheism only becomes a feature of the faith journey after the exilic period. Our inheritance of which moves towards the strict dichotism we have in the modern era that it has to be the right or the left, God or Evil, etc.  This leaves no space for both / and. Early Christian life was filled with difference in understanding prior to the imposition of ordered thought. In grappling with this early difference in God - thinking, Tertullian and others out of Africa formulated our Trinitarian aspect, which has perhaps caged our growth into and understanding of a God for whose likeness we were given in creation. An understanding which some suggest has been uplifted from the sagacity of African thought in the communal spaces of I am because you are and you are because I am. So can we retain an understanding of God that is uniquely part of us (God Immanuel) (Rom 8.12-17) and yet is so far beyond our understanding that we struggle to define and describe. Did the originators of the formulation believe it would be the only means of God-talk or did they expect it to evolve as our thought and world views evolved?

In this world we are surrounded by networks of relational activity that connect us to the past, present and future of those close and far away. We do not live in singularity but in multiplicity. God's presence springs up not in familial lineage down the years but more like an out of control rhizome of connectivity that springs up where the gardener (our dogma, formulas and neat garden solutions) least expects. Setting our thoughts, bodies and communities afire with difference and change that inspires. Others suggest that we begin to re-read our faith journey and re-interpret our understandings on the backs of twisting elastic threads, not singularities of particulate material, that cause paradoxical jumps and communications across vast unsupported space. A more elastic understanding that inhabits God consistent with a modern view of particle physics and cosmological understandings. It is not constrained by ancient mores of thought but expands our understanding beyond rigidity.

The ultimate act of communication

 Pentecost (Acts 2:1-21), in more ways than one, initiates a period of change for the Church. In particular it begins the transformation of a group of people cowering away from the rest of the community in doubt, fear and insecurity (Jn 20:19-23) into an autonomous movement within the Jewish faith system that would eventually evolve into its own established faith group. We often concentrate on the wonders of the Spirit's presence and the movement out into the world with little consideration with regards how this was managed. The Spirit incited a change in behaviour of the disciples to such an extent that they appeared to many as if they were drunkards in the early hours of the day. A change that eventually went on to challenge existing forms of faith and the way people acted within the community. Unfortunately even in the modern day these changes are so extraordinary that they are both overlooked and looked down upon as not being part of the modern psyche. The journey of faith is based on the premise of change in one's life and behaviour which is then communicated to those around us in community.

To change oneself so drastically and then to be able to communicate that change to the community around you is both profound and prosaic. It is profound in the sense that it is a deep ability granted by the Spirit to engage in a manner that is both acceptable and engaging to those who have not been affected by the Spirit. It is prosaic because it involves the use of our own skills and abilities to communicate in an everyday means without clouding the reception of the message being given with intangible meaningless thoughts. Just think about how this played out in the ecstatic moments in the early hours of the day in Jerusalem when everyone heard the message of redemption and peace in a language that they understood despite being from different parts of the world. Place oneself within a place where there is a number of different languages being spoken and you can quickly become disconnected or you sharpen your focus to those conversations / words that are being spoken in a language that you understand.  In South Africa, worship services within the Anglican church can become very confusing if you are not paying attention as anything up to 11 languages can and will be used within the one worship service.  You may find yourself next to a person praying the Lords prayer in Zulu on one side and Setswana on the other while you are trying to pray in English.  Each person hears their own language and responds within that language.  The true gift that is given here at Pentecost is the gift of communication.  The ability to transmit the Christian message within the confines of another's cultural and language norms.  If we want to do this in the normal fashion we have to spend hours, months and days just trying to fathom the internal structure and grammar of the language.  It is the one thing that we are often poor at giving praise for especially to those who have a facility for language. We often do not even think or operate on the fact that this is a gift from God which needs to be truly praised.

The Spirit blazes in our hearts changing our lives

In the normal course of events our words and our idioms lose a portion of our thought as they go through the process of translation. The other language / culture colonises ours in ways that may lead to misunderstanding of our intent.  In the same way our content is not only conveyed in language but also in tone and in the physicality of gestures and body positioning.  Again in different language and cultures proponents will tell you how different gestures mean different things.  Each of us reads these arcane signs so that they have meaning for us but that meaning may be as diverse as our very lives and our cultural upbringing.  No wonder it appears to be a babble of noise that leads to misunderstanding in the world especially for those who do not belong to the faith community as we speak of love and act in a manner that interprets love differently for each one.  In order to be clear and ensure our message is not misinterpreted by the translation how are we to deliver the message that we need to communicate.

The disciples all spoke and yet the same message was delivered.  The intent was the same for all of them.  They came out of the same place and were embedded within the same reality.  We nowadays do not.  We need to go back to basics we need to be reminded of the message as we turn to Christ and remind ourselves the "I am the way, the truth and the life." (Jn. 14.6).  This is the message that needs to be mirrored in our totality as it was in the disciples.  The act of communication was communicated in terms of their lives.  They acted, spoke and lived in Christ and God.  Their communication was complete as all heard and believed.  They heard intellectually, they heard physically and they heard their faith.  This is how the message becomes realised and is communicated to those around us.  It is only when we act physically in concert with living and speaking the Gospel will we be able to communicate the Gospel message.  This is when the Spirit grabs us, this is when there is growth and renewal, this is when we energise and worship; forgetting ourselves, our needs, our wants.

Following Christ along the way

  Christ ascends into the heavens at the end of the Gospel and in Acts. Two very different stories both ending with Christ ascending. How do we relate to this ascension knowing as we do that there is little way up there that we can point to as being heaven? In Ephesians the writer talks about Christ being set above everything (Eph. 1:21) perhaps a style of thinking that leads us towards seeing a person or somebody so far above us that he/they rule everything. A concept of a world view that is plagued by emperors and empires, kings and kingdoms, etc. Yet if we examine the Gospel we do not see anything about lordship but rather about love and understanding which has more akin to a certain amount of equal integration as opposed to lordship. In this case is ascension as simple as it is made out o be or is there something deeper to take away for us today.

It would be perhaps of use to think about ascending and what that means for us. Do or can we, at some stage, come to a time when we too can ascend? If we were to think in Buddhist terms perhaps we would be thinking of the concept of samsara or enlightenment, an understanding that is beyond us but is attainable with a lot of hard work. Or is ascension only the preserve of the Christ and if so what does it imply for our daily lives? In the modern genres of fiction and fantasy there are a number of what are known as cultivation progression series were the proponent of the story struggles through innumerable challenges and slowly becomes better as time progresses until they ascend to towards godhood or perfection. In the end Christ comes close to God or rather sits at God's right hand following the struggles of life which sort of fits the progression novels' premise as the proponent struggles to become as close to perfection as possible.

So for us perhaps the question that should arise is: what is our end goal here? What do we see for ourselves as being the epitome of the Christian journey and the end point, be it at the end of our lives or during our lifetime? Christ shows us the way, Christ dies for us showing us the way, Christ lives again to show us the way, Christ ascends to show us the way towards God. As followers of Christ I would suggest that we are doing a poor job as we appear not to have got beyond trying to follow the way as Christ showed us in his life let alone the love that was demonstrated as he died. Christ's way is the way of change of ourselves from selfishness to selflessness. It is not an easy road to travel as it means consistent sacrifice of ones self for the good of the other. It means ascending beyond the pettiness that is in built in our reactions within our ordinary lives. Christ's life, death and rising again tell us in the reality of the world we need to live and die before we can attain new life. These things must occur before we can even think of ascending beyond that which we believe is normal and finding ourselves close to God or rather finding ourselves as Christ to those around us.

Are we ready to follow the ascended Christ?

We are so scared of death in the current age that we forget the reality that death is a part of life. This then holds us back from becoming aware of how important death is to our lives. However we feel about the characters of the Lion King perhaps the most important understanding is the circle of life. Change in our circumstances implies the death of something as we have to change to grow in faith, in life, in our own understanding of our circumstances. Christ shows us the way through death into newness of life but beyond that he also shows that in accepting these things we grow so much more as we grow and come closer to God's presence. However, it all starts from within ourselves as we accept the challenge of changing towards being more Christlike and for some this will mean dying to our present and rising to the glory of God's presence.

Beyond all understanding

 Christ leaves his disciples his peace (Jn 14.23-29) a peace that we say 'is past all understanding'.  This sort of peace is also found in the images of Revelation and the New Jerusalem that St John describes (Rev. 21.22-).  In the world around us we often fail to realise this sort of peace and more often then not we have situations that are the direct opposite of this Peace that Christ leaves for us and his disciples.

A prominent politician made the point that a lot of the increasingly divided geo-politics of the Middle east is a result of the imposition of a form of government on people who were not looking for it.  There is perhaps some truth here or rather a discussion that we need to engage in to determine our own views and determine our actions from a Christian faith point of view.  Let us take a long view of Christian history and development to show that this point is essentially correct.  In doing this we need to go back to not only the beginning of the spread of the Christian message but can go back even further to see essentially the same or similar scenario developing within the human experience.  Put simply we can say that whenever a viewpoint has been forced upon another then there is a rise in conflict and distress within populations.  Let us look at the Jerusalem Synod with the discussions centred on circumcision or the later Trinitarian discussions.  Perhaps we can look at our early interactions with the Muslim faith and the Crusades, or perhaps the Inquisition.  Of course we can discern a somewhat similar pattern in the America's let alone the colonisation of countries and cultures.  Do we need to go on?

This is the continual to and fro between dualistic opposites that is reflective of our understanding of the world around us.  What then should the Christian and indeed what should be humanities outlook given this tendency to look at everything in a dualistic frame  that comes from a Greek philosophical and Western viewpoint?  We always say that there are two sides to every problem without really understanding that although there may be two sides to the problem it takes a third to form the solution.  Instead of advocating for this side or that side, which is what the majority of us do, we need to be saying what could be done if it was this and that rather than this or that.  By imposing 'this' view on 'that', which produces a discord, as we have missed the opportunity presented to us that would bring harmony.  Look at the current situation in the Ukraine or the Middle East, a peace process which is centred on bringing the various sides together is falling apart as each side is failing to accept a new way of looking at the whole.

Only by accepting some of the other in our selves do we come into harmony and peace.

Christ knew that any change within a society or a group will cause dissension and discord as the many views grate on each other.  Just look at some of the other phrases in this section of the Gospel that relate to persecution and disharmony whilst Christ prays for harmony.  The peace that Christ brings is the perspective of unity and harmony within our lives.  For us to attain this type of understanding we have to be rebellious and chuck out the main style of thinking that we have inherited, not just from the enlightenment period, but going back to Greek philosophy,  This is the challenge that the Christian community faces in the modern world.  So much of our thinking is based on opposing and polar opposites that we are unable to conceive of the alternative.

All good negotiations, whether in business or in politics or in the Church, must be prepared to find a win-win situation.  That is we must enable ourselves to give here in order to gain there so that the outcome, which may not be what we would like, is at least something that all can live with in harmony.  Looking at the once again growing crises in the Ukraine and the Middle East all I see is posturing and negative, divisive stances from both sides. Even I dare say it from those who are protesting.  The attitudes held are with regards to their own point of view, which may be extremely laudable, however what is needed here is the way to Christ's peace in the world.  A  way that leads to harmonious living that honours the other while not debasing our own view.

Having said all this the question arises: How do we manage this?  Dare I say it! We must be radical in our thinking and rid ourselves of the drive we have inherited to think in terms of opposites; man vs woman, lion vs lamb. black vs white.  The peace of Christ which passes all understanding comes from within ourselves as we seek to harmonise our thinking and feelings with those who are different from us in belief, colour, viewpoint, etc.  Christ accepted all and if we follow within the Christian tradition as Christ followers not as dogmaticians, institutionalists, Churchers, but as CHRISTians.  That means swallowing our own instincts and moving in to a world view that encompasses all of creation and all of the diversity inherent in humanity as God's image.  Only by using both this and  that thinking as opposed to the accepted either this or that thinking will we achieve Christ's peace.  The place Christ's peace is to be found is in the empty space between this or that, a place that is beyond all understanding as we never go there.

What is love?

 Christ's call to love is a call that is placed upon us at baptism. As his disciples we are charged with the commandment to love one another (Jn 13.34). In this commandment lies all our personal interactions within and without the community in which we live. It is the basis upon which we as Christians and Christ's followers must (this imperative is essential) produce a stability to the increasingly diverse community of the modern age. It is not something that we can neglect and it is why we empower Godparents and parents to bring up their children in an extraordinary manner. We encourage and indeed command those who take these vows on for children to live to a standard that is far beyond what is common practice in today's world.

This extraordinary means of living is demonstrated within the story of Peter in the Acts of the apostles (Acts 11.1-18). Despite the requirements of Jewish law around dietary matters God's vision is a turning point in how Peter sees the community in which he lives. For us it must also be a turning point in how we live our lives and is an instruction to those who look to guide young people in their formative years. By accepting that which we automatically shun as a result of our own inner convictions with an act of love is the true beginning of living as Christ's servant and disciple. Those who follow Christ are asked and are asking their compatriots to put aside their own deep prejudices and open their hearts to the community in which they live. To often we see this as nothing but an excuse to create havens that are conforming to our own ideals and our own believes. No leadership and no form of politics, if it is to be truly Christian, can abandon people to live without care and love. This applies to, at a familial level as much as to an international level.

Only when we come together do we expose love

We cannot abandon the least of our families, communities or other groupings for the sake of our prejudices and incoherent beliefs. The commandment that we obey is the one that is inclusive of all not just for some. This is something that we need to ultimately understand for ourselves as Christians especially within the present climate of expediency and denial that affects our everyday lives. Only when we have plumbed the depths of despair do we find the hope of the risen Christ in the love that is shared with our neighbours, in humility and hospitality. Peter destroyed everything that he knew as being part and parcel of his faith to show the ultimate love of God for those we despise. It is only when we throw away our iconoclastic views and embrace the flow of love that comes from God through Christ can we manifest the remarkable changes that God's grace brings into our lives. In the Church, we are too often divided by our dogmas and belief systems in a way that destroys the concept of God's love. We draw lines and defend our point of view such that we no longer understand the concept of love but rather create the conclaves that eventually destroy that love.

We can change the world, we may not have the will to change governmental policies that create an increasing divide within countries and between countries, but we can change the world by ensuring that the Christian message of love is carried into the future in the hearts and minds of the youngest members of society. We have been poor at undertaking the charge that Christ gives throughout the history of the Church establishment but as individuals it is up to us to ensure that the basis of our own lives within the community, not only of the Church, but also of the seculam in which we live. In doing this one thing we establish within our families and our communities the true understanding of God's love for us as we manifest God's love in our own communities. In encouraging that love in our youngest through the encouragement of godparents and parents perhaps we will strive towards a better and more loving society.

Is the shepherd heard?

 We could say that today is Shepherd Sunday as this is one of the Sundays, if not the Sunday of the year, when we discuss the proposition of the Shepherd as a model for Christ or God or Jesus.  In seeing this description we immediately think of leadership but we also need to think in terms of those who are being led.  First of all why use the model in the first place?  A bit archaic given modern farming practices and the imagery which surrounds Jesus the Good Shepherd.  Think of all those stain glass windows and book illustrations of a clean fresh faced Jesus and some clean looking sheep.

The reality in the context of the era and the Middle East is a much less romantic figure.  The shepherd, like David, was often the youngest in the family (no other occupation suits).  A loner who was often unmarried. Smelly and unwashed, sheep are not the most cleanly of animals and certainly have their own aroma. Uncouth to say the least.  Often not the owners of the sheep, normally hired hands or as previously mentioned the youngest in the family (No inheritance here).  Often apart from community and not participants in the normal everyday workings of community. This is the figure that is used in Scripture as the embodiment of leadership and of God! Why?

Well let us look at what the shepherd does.  If we picture a Middle Eastern scene where a shepherd would normally be the vision of Psalm 23 although beautiful is not exactly the true picture.  Rather it is a desolate hilly country with little to commend it self in terms of grazing.  Yet the shepherd will lead his flock through this barren landscape to areas where he knows that there is fodder and forage available to the flock.  During the trek some sheep may play up but unless they get into extreme difficulty they are often likely to re-join the flock as they know they will be looked after in the group.  The shepherd does not use force with his sheep but rather is self effacing doing what is required for the good of the whole rather than that of the individual.

The harsh landscape of Jordan with the shepherd leading his sheep (www.pinterest.com)

Despite looking as if they are amenable sheep can be ornery and recalcitrant, especially when left to fend for themselves.  So it is quite to their benefit to be known by the shepherd and follow where he leads, so they have a role to play in the flock and shepherd scene.  If they were to play follow the leader they would in all probability be like army ants, who, if having lost their nest, will follow the ant in front.  If that ant is lost or walking in a circle then they have no guarantee that they will survive.  Indeed the ant in front may find another ant in front as it circles (the tail end of its own followers).  They forever go around in circles until the majority die!! Is this what has become of the Church?

So if we are sheep who is the shepherd? and who is the under shepherd to whom authority has been given to lead the flock to the abundant pastures which are indicated in Psalm 23?  These questions have implications for us today in this Parish as we move towards our synod, for the Australian Church as it moves towards the election of a new Primate and also within Australia with the elections just past.  They are not simple questions with simple answers (God, Jesus, the Christ, etc) but they impinge on our daily lives not just our faith journey.  Working with people within the reality of our context is not the same as working with our faith journey although the two should be overlapping. What should we be looking for in our leaders when we look at the Shepherd model that scripture gives us.

Our leaders should be looking to lead the whole not just their own personal coterie (party, personal accounts, etc).  Scripture is specific about leadership being for the whole (flock) not just for the individual.  Our leaders should be those who listen to the needs of others and to the call of God our ultimate shepherd.  Our leader(s) should have the vision that leads the people (flock) to those pastures where we obtain sustenance but not as thought from the front.  Leaders know the way and call to those who are at the forefront to direct them along the way. The path should be discerned through prayer and consultation by speaking to others to smooth the way and direct us down the path.  Our leaders should not resort to violence or coercion except as a very last resort.  Leadership should be looking for solutions in conflict that are beneficial to both sides and all of God's creation.

As sheep we are also required to listen to our leaders, be persuaded to assist not forced or conscripted against our will, be able to speak against wrong doing and be heard. We should not be persuaded by popularity but by experience and results.  We must also remember that we ourselves are leaders as we too love our neighbours and so will speak out for the disenfranchised to obtain justice and lead people to the love of God through the expression of God's love in our hearts and lives.

Will we listen to God in the coming months as we discern where leadership in Australia and the diocese aims or will we succumb to the populist views and propaganda? Are we able to show the true leadership which is part of who we are as Christians and discern God's will and path in our lives?  No matter what we do, it is our responsibility and decisions that determines the leadership in the Church, in Society and in our lives.