Love is work not convenience

 It is clear with the events over the past week, from the invasion of Woolworths in Melbourne and the subsequent violence on the beach to the extreme violence at Bondi that our society both in Australia and worldwide has no conception of love. The theme for this week in our final Sunday prior to Christmas is precisely that 'love' and in the turmoil of life we are unable to express the concept in truth.

It is often too little too late when it comes to love.

For the majority of those at the Melbourne invasion, predominantly teenagers and perhaps some twenty year olds, the concept of love is likely to be the lovey dovey portrayal of romantic love (eros) found in modern cinematic explorations and the story lines promoted by Mills & Boon. They have no conception of anything else as that is all they are fed by parents and society. The concept of a love (agape) that cares for those around them is something that cannot be conceived of. Thus they show contempt for everybody and anything so long as they obtain immediate gratification through violence or theft. For those that come from faith backgrounds the enormous misunderstanding of their own scriptures has to lead us to mourn the loss of profundity and understanding that is common in many faiths around the globe.

The Christian understanding is based on love which goes beyond the misconceptions generated by the romanticism of what is promoted as love. Christian's, and all faiths of the book, promote the concept of what is proclaimed as agape. This is a love that transcends the boundaries that humanity puts in place to segregate, categorise and hate. We deal with the political rather than the reality of love as Christ commands of us in the incarnation that we will celebrate in days. Everything we do and say is often motivated by our own political agendas and fear rather than seeing the situation through the eyes of love. If the country of Israel does something morally against their own religious beliefs for which they are justly criticised, such criticism becomes labelled as being politically antisemitic because a) we have no understanding of our language and b) we follow the politics of separation in order to raise tension and destroy love.

At the end of this week of extreme violence may we begin to reflect on our own words and our own actions when we consider our communities. Christians need to grapple with the meaning of agape rather than dwelling on eros. Any person in a relationship that has managed to stay together over 20 years and longer knows the struggle associated with love. It takes time and effort on the part of two people to make this work, so how much more does it take for us as a community to bring such love into the world. In the current epoch it appears that that effort and that time is too much for us. Society has said that everything is convenient and you do not have to put in effort. If it does not work out move on to someone or something else to find your happiness.

In Matthew's gospel this dilemma between convenience and work is presented to Joseph (Matt 1.16 ff). The easy convenient route that he was about to take or the harder route that shows love. Joseph understood what God was asking and was willing to take the risk. In our lives as individuals and as a corporate entity are we willing to take the risk that God places before us. The one of convenience which allows the world around us to crumble under violence and enmity or the road of work that opens the heart to love and understanding building community in an age where the other is shunned. 

Joy expressed in struggle

 Once again we have but a singular reference in Isaiah to the concept of joy (35:2) on a Sunday that is meant to speak about joy. For most of us joy is as ephemeral as all of the other things we have talked about such as hope and peace. In today's world there appears to very little joy as people no longer seem to have that concept of "joie de vivre" but rather there is an excellence at morbidity and 'downness' even when we talk of positive achievements. It takes a lot out of a person when we try to be over abundant with our lives when the world around us seems to be heavy and strained. Even when we have extended family around us we feel strained as if through a colander. (Not every one, but I would say the majority, at this time of year put on a face).This is particularly so when relationships are strained within family and community. So, why celebrate something that there appears to be a lack of?

More and more we appear to be sinking into a morass of mediocrity that disallows the extreme feelings that come with joy and sadness and all those other emotions that we bandy about without really realising them to the fullest extent. We have lowered our expectations much as Christ chides the crowds when he asks them what they went out into the wilderness to see (Matt. 11:7-9). We do not live with great expectations and therefore we are surprised and, in some ways, negative to the exuberance of life. Perhaps the issue is that those expressing such exuberance are often only acting out so that they may achieve fame, fortune etc all for themselves. Genuine joy is a difficult concept to accept when we are so used to being in the depressed state that the world has conceived for us. Even John the Baptist, according to Matthew, is uncertain as to whether to celebrate with joy as he questions Christ's presence (Matt. 11:3). If John questions it is no wonder that in this current age we struggle so much with the possibility of joy in our world. Indeed we often turn towards the past to reflect on what was rather than to the future to see what is to come.

It is in rising to a new day that we find the future joy is here

We often yearn for a future that is filled with the joys of the past and the friendships that have been created. What we never realise is that those joys that we are sunk into remain in the past and so we never have the ability to engage with the present to create new joys out of what we perceive to be endless sorrows. It is only when we recognise that by dwelling in the past and attempting to re-create that past in the present we are creating our own melancholy and inability to move into the future. In this recognition we begin our return to new life and the joy of Christ in the world. By retreating to the past and attempting to recreate it in the present we are playing a political game that is only for our benefit, our control of the world around us, our drug of choice that pushes our own agendas without thinking of the greater whole or of Christ's life, death and resurrection. In the incarnation as it comes towards us we are reminded that we are mortal for God has created us and has become created with us so that we can live into the future. A future that as we know involves dying and in dying we let go of the past. In living into the future we recognise the elements of re-birth and newness of life as we co-create the joy of God's love. It is only when we recognise the elements of death within our own lives that we can start to let go and let God's love in recreating joy, happiness and life. It is through this healing power of understanding and anamnesis as we re-live the path of Christ that we come to the joy of new life. This letting go and re-membering needs to occur within all aspects of our life. We become hypocrites when we allow our past activities and politics to guide our present activities without first going through death to create new paths and new joys.

If we do this correctly, we mourn each death and move on into new life, this applies to parish life and life in the Diocese as much as to our lives in community. This is the upside down world of God's coming kingdom, it is we who have to mourn not others, it is we who have to suffer the death of ourselves not others, it is we who have to forgive ourselves not others. Christ gives us a clue to what healing in God's kingdom means as he proclaims those deeds that have been undertaken. The poor and the outcast are given hope and joy. The vicissitudes of life are not imposed by others but by by our own wants and needs our own rejection of the joy that is around us if we open our hearts to the other. God's kingdom comes in the irruption of newness within the fecundity of our lives as we understand ourselves and so come open our eyes to joy and love in relationships we build into the future.

Faith in a world fueled by doubt

 In the second week of Advent we light the candle that is called the Bethlehem candle or the candle of faith. A light to all the world that is lit to glorify God and show that in the midst of darkness we can hold the flame that is faith to draw others to ourselves. Faith a tenuous yet sometimes strong connection that allows us to open our hearts to the community around and show others what it means to be a Christian. Paul in writing to the Romans details out at least one of the characteristics that we need to focus on with regards our Christian journey at this time. Paul writes "In a word, accept one another as Christ accepted us" (Rom 15.7).

 This above all else takes an act of faith for us as much as the idea of God or Christ or any other aspect of our life together that involves our unseen spiritual relations. This is not a tangible although it does lead to something that is tangible within the world. We need an abundance of faith to undertake this simple act of acceptance for we act between ourselves as if we are each wolves to the others sheep. There is a barrier that we automatically erect when we have or form a community. The barrier is one of fear rather than faith. We fear the other, we are unable to accept the difference between them and us. In our fear we erect a barrier that must be broken down before we can come together as a community. Before the barrier we have erected comes down we must first build trust before opening ourselves up in acceptance. It is unfortunately a natural occurrence as we feel threatened and need the comfort of knowing we will be protected by those who are like us. This is the start of tribalism or community separation. We often operate in this way within the Church irrespective of denomination. Unfortunately, the governance structure of the Anglican church throughout the world often lends itself to this insular thinking.

A thin string of faith allows us to build rather then separate

God's way is so different, it is not about building barriers but about understanding that we are all given life by God's presence. In Isaiah we read that God's  will is for those that are opposites to come together in peace and harmony (Is 11.6). In the natural world the predator and the prey are extremely unlikely to do what is foretold. Being part of the natural world is this our fate not being able to come together in peace and harmony. Yet, God has given us a hope in this passage a hope that tells us that we can overcome the enmity that is generated by opposites. For us to live as a community of Christ means that we have to overcome this enmity that naturally occurs between two unknowns. We have to take a leap in our understanding of the other; a leap that allows us to accept each other in the faith of Christ knowing that we are each children of God. Only when we can come to accept in faith that the other is ourselves seeking out friendship and love despite our difference will we become one in Christ. This is even more so with our own governance structures as a Diocese. We can no longer pretend that each ministry unit is autonomous and does not need each other.

In the end the it is not because we live by the rules of religion that will allow us to live in harmony (Matt 3.9). We make the rules of religion to conform to what we want not what is required of us by God. Christ asks us to form our relationship in love not by rules that govern us. We need to have an acceptance of what our faith tells us so that we can overcome the barriers that we, ourselves, have put in place. Accepting our faith is accepting Christ's call for us to live in peace and acceptance of each other, so that we can each serve as Christ served. Our service is a step in faith to those around us accepting them as they are not as we suppose them to be. It matters not whether we are part of  our own select group that believes this or that but rather that we have sufficient faith to accept the other for who they are and live in harmony that each knows Christ in their lives. Yes, we have to act that out and not act what we think out and that is perhaps the harder part.

Hope in a beleaguered setting

 A this time of year we begin our journey as Christians towards a celebration of the incarnation. As with all beginnings we begin with hope, a hope for better things, an expectation that the world will be better afterwards, a surge towards something that will be tangibly changed in our lives. Isaiah begins our journey with a call to the people of God to 'walk in the light of the Lord' (Is. 2.5). This is an extraordinary call, not only for the people at the time but for Christians in today's world, as it calls us onto a journey that extends far into the future that is filled with the completion of our own desires and hopes for a better life.

Indeed, all the reading from scripture that are set in the common lectionary for the first Sunday in Advent were designed to bring a sense of hope to the people for whom they were written. We can ask for ourselves what is this hope that these writers are trying to express? and perhaps more basically, for ourselves what is hope? In a world that appears to have lost much of its meaning both politically and from a religious/philosophical point of view one wonders what the future holds? This can of course lead us into despair which looking at the calls of social media and media itself, would be the way that many are thinking. The rise of those who see no reason not to exploit either others or the things of the world for selfish gain leads to a rise in this despairing. Yet, at the start of the Christian new year we are given a glimpse of something glorious, something that has meaning for us and should have meaning for our own communities in which we live. Hope is an intangible, a vague glimpse of something to strive for within a world that has dark clouds that stretch from horizon to horizon.

A candle in the distance brings hope to the lost

All hero mythologies are at their most basic  stories of mythic hope in the face of despair and hopelessness. We only have to think of Tolkien, Sanderson, Kay, etc and their heroic trilogies for a sense of this. We can of course go back even further to Arthurian style or even Norse mythology to see the same glimmer of hope being pursued by the hero. In the Christian manner we are all heroes within our journey. We are all drawn by the hope that the Christ spark brings that is on the horizon of our future. Hope is not generated from the past, we cannot and should not dwell in the myths of the past seeking for the solution of our present. It is the call from the coming Christ the future that is visioned by Isaiah and found in our walking in the light of God that creates our journey's purpose.

If we allow our past to be our hope then we have failed to see the coming Christ and we dwell only on the incarnation, preparing for an emptiness that has come and gone. Our celebrations are a celebration of what has been and looking to the hope that is generated by Christ's call into the future. If we leave out the hope of what is to come we then spiral into the debauchery that Paul in writing to the Romans (13.13) decries. Indeed if we look at our collective celebrations at Christmas this is what we presume rather than the celebration that comes with a knowledge of the call into the future. The incarnation becomes for us a signpost into a new future, a signpost that is a call from the future into the past. A call that recalls us into a newness that brings us into Christ's present. It is only from seeing that spark of hope in the far distance that enables our ministry in the present and draws us along our faith journey towards the coming Christic presence.

Do we need to celebrate a king?

 Christ the King has become The Reign of Christ in an attempt to update and become politically correct. We can perhaps agree on the fact that a King is archaic, and perhaps given the state of royalty in the world we should not celebrate anything monarchical. In reality by using The Reign of Christ we are just twisting the words around to imply the same meaning just to make it look non-sexist and pc. This is really a very modern feast day invented by Pope Pious XI in 1925 to celebrate Christ's rule over the environment and the world. Perhaps going out on a limb here by asking the question: do we really need it? Surely every Sunday is such a feast for the Church rather than a specific Sunday of the year. Yes, it concentrates our thoughts on Christ's rule in our hearts or God's dominion over all, more specifically Christ's. Yet, we seem to be losing something of the Trinity by concentrating on Christ. Naming something with archaic terminology does not create a better understanding.

 Is it really a reign or a king that we are celebrating or should be celebrating or something similar? I would suggest that what we should be celebrating is very similar to the reign of Christ as in Basiliea or rule of God. It is not something we should confine to one aspect of the Trinity but rather to the totality of God and indeed we see not Christ as the ruler/king/father but the first person of the Trinity. So what should we celebrate if we are to celebrate differently on this day. Perhaps it is the coming of God's rule here in this place through our actions based on Christ's commandments to us. A rule of God's presence in our communities through the truth, living the way and showing the life that is lived in the presence of Christ and God. It is something that we have been reminding ourselves over the past several weeks. The manner in which we show the presence of our faith in God's love. The whole of creation is ruled by God and we need to conform to that to ensure that our world is a better world. It takes courage and a change in our own behaviours.

It is through Christ that we become who we are meant to be as is suggested in Colossians (1:11-13), Even though in this small passage there is still a warning that it is not an easy route which may be the reason for our consistent failure and need to remind ourselves that Christ is in all. Even in our faith strongholds there is often issues that are not dealt with in a manner befitting the Christ that is. Jeremiah points this out in his calling out of those who serve as leaders and as people who should know better (Jer. 23:1-2). Indeed when in leadership, and that is pointing to all those who profess Christ as they are faith leaders, it is vital that we mirror what we state within our lives. There is no point in saying we follow Christ if our lives do not mirror that by stating the truth, walking the way and living the life of Christ. This is the eschatological moment that is being pointed to within the festival, the moment when we all embrace the life of Christ. We are looking towards a new beginning with the incarnation and our preparations towards that event. Yet, this Sunday cannot be just passed over as another funny festival that is peculiar to the church.

Our road may be straight and narrow but we must walk it fully

In response to the thief on the cross Christ responds with an affirmation of his presence in 'paradise' (Lk. 23.43). The question of course is why? Our response would suggest that the thief recognises his own faults and is forgiven his sins at the last hour. This of course is the 'right' answer but I think that there may be something deeper to be gleaned from the thief's answer. Our shallow response does not take into consideration the thief's actual words just 'Oh, he confessed and was forgiven' but is this all. It is in the way he makes the confession suggesting that his thoughts are not really about himself but about Christ who is innocent. In other words, the thief is displaying what it means to live as Christ even at the end of his own life. What the scriptures tell us to do that is concern for the other rather than immediate selfish desire as displayed by the other thief (Lk. 23:39). I would suggest that it is this, almost forgotten aspect that is of the utmost importance in our own lives and in determining what it means to live as Christ. Our faith demands of us an acknowledgement of the other which is almost above all else and as we move forward it is this aspect that should be foremost in our minds as we celebrate this day.

Deceit barricades life

 No matter at what stage of life we are in there is always something to challenge us. This is the same whether it be as an individual or as a community or even as a country. The challenge is not so much as what we should do, although this is of course important as it determines the eventual outcome, but rather what is our attitude as we approach these challenges. In both the prophet Haggai (2.5) and Thessalonians (2 Thess. 2.15) the recipients are given words of hope in advice with regards attitude towards adversity.

We often loose heart especially when things become extremely difficult for ourselves as a community or as individuals. In this loss we retreat away from others and introvert ourselves in such away that we become sheltered within ourselves. This is not a particularly good thing in these circumstances as we actually cut ourselves off from the assistance that is present. Our loss of heart is reminiscent of the Israelites at the time that Haggai speaks and reminds them that God is always with them and supporting them. Irrespective of the apparent situation we are still supported by God, yet we fear as we do not allow ourselves to rely on God's presence in our lives. The comfort of knowing God's presence during a time of crisis is perhaps the best assurance that we can have as we confront the worst. Even when we feel that we are in the depths of unknowing and question how we are going to proceed. This line from Haggai keeps us mindful of the presence of God.

In failing to acknowledge or even to listen for / to the presence of God and God's comforting word we can see how our attitude can easily change our own perspective of the situation. In turning from God our actions and attitudes prepare us for failure. We deceive ourselves and others deceive us as we begin to believe those who draw the energy from us. The writer to the Thessalonians names this and reminds us that deception is the easy route away from God (2.3). We are chosen at baptism to be part of God's body in Christ and as such we hold fast to what is true giving thanks to God for the grace and love bestowed upon us. To give these up we give up life in God and Christ. This attitude of failure and deception drives us towards death not life and God is a God of life not death. This is perhaps an apt reminder given the  denial of governments regarding issues of justice, the environment and peace in the world as they look for their own benefit, politically, rather than the benefit of their people..

Deceit barricades us from life and seeing God's grace

Christ in Luke's Gospel reminds his listeners of this fact as he debates with the Sadducees (20.27 ff). Once we begin to worry about the trivialities of life then we are looking for our own deaths. Whether we are individuals or a community we only find death in the details that we tend to pick to death. We need to rise above this and despite the negative comments around us we need to strive towards the greater good of our neighbour and not ourselves. God wants us to live being a God of life. We can only live if we lift ourselves, with God's grace, to seek for others to love. What we do may be small compared to what appears to be an insurmountable issue. However, once we see over the barricades that we have created in trying to fight against the trauma we find the glimpses of hope that are offered by the presence of God's grace. The deceit and the attitude of failure are barricades to new life that God offers in the most obscure paths. We need to give of our lives to God in thanks and praise for the wonders he is doing in our lives even in the face of what we believe to be the worst.

All Saints

 Who are our saints?  Each year we celebrate and commemorate the festival of All Saints on the first of November but who are the saints that we are celebrating?  I suspect that most of us will look back through his/her-story and suggest the many heroes of the faith that are recognised by all of us, the St George's and the Mother Theresa's, the recognisably good people.  Those whom we have elevated into a semblance of sainthood because of their good deeds or their martyrdom for their faith.  Each and every country I am sure have these figures that are elevated above the normal.  Yet, all of these have their saint's days, days on which we celebrate their lives, yes sometimes clumsily all con-joined on the one day in some fashion but each individually recognised.

In the early church it was recognised that those who followed in Christ's footsteps where the 'saints' (Phil. 1.1 and elsewhere). So where are all the saints of today, they are the ones who are part of the Body of Christ worshipping this day in love and celebrating the saints not realising that is ourselves that we celebrate.  It is the ones who persevere in their faith journey and hold up the light of Christ to the community in which they live who are being celebrated this day, not the rich and famous but the low and infamous. Luke's gospel in some ways highlights this in his version of the Beatitudes (Lk. 6.20-31), which praises the lowly and brings shame on the mighty.  No matter how we read this passage it perhaps highlights for us the pros and cons of our own attitudes and how we need to go about being the incarnation of the saints down through the ages today.

Let all the saints add their voice of truth and disrupt the comfortable.

This twisted passage that seems to heap damnation on those who have it and bring blessings on those who have nothing is an elementary lesson in comportment for us as modern saints.  It is when we are rich with the world's luxuries that we forget who we are and who we are committed to becoming.  Our happiness becomes but a fleeting joy to be dashed away by the first hint of difference and misunderstanding within our relationships.  It is rather when we are in need of others attention, the love of others, the relationship that slips our grasp that we come close to enjoying God's presence.  This is because we become attentive to those around us, we listen to their story and we form our relationship as they walk beside us and we become part of them. When we are at the top of Maslow's hierarchy of needs we are comfortable, well fed and enjoy our extra time to indulge our senses and our sensibilities.  In doing so in our age, for that matter any age, we forget that their are others in need and it is only when we are confronted by the necessity to forage for ourselves that we become aware of desperation in others.  We are not well equipped to be thrown out of our well paying jobs and our good lifestyles.  We are unable to form relationships that aid us and fulfil us while struggling to fulfil our needs.  Is this not what we have become as a worshipping community, ones who have been cast out to fend for themselves within a wider world that is fighting for its community?  Those who have struggled to feed themselves and others are those that form community around themselves and help others on their upward journey.

This twisted reversal is best seen perhaps in the last of the 'blessings' / 'curses' (Lk. 6.22-23, 26). These lines remind us that as truth sayers into our communities we will be derided and abused.  Those who are comfortable and well off wish only to hear the soothing things not the disruptive words of truth.  We need only look at the Climate change debate, it is those who sow platitudes who are held up but the truth sayers are the ones who are brow beaten into submission and closed down.  Or even the immigration issue.  We are comfortable when we hear words of comfort but woe betide those who tell the disruptive truth for this we will crucify them.  We asked to bear Christ's cross wit him and we cannot do that if we believe the convenient truths rather than the disruptive call of God.