Hope is in God

 Today is the start of the new year for those who involve themselves with the liturgical church. The start of the year four Sundays away from Christmas. A time when we need to start looking forward into a new year of Christ's revelation and looking back to determine what we missed when Christ came past. The readings for this Sunday reflect somewhat this looking forward looking back. We look back as we turn to Jeremiah the prophet of lament (33.14-16). We look forward towards an unimaginable future with Christ (Lk 21.25-38).

Looking forward looks too much like the rear view unless we have faith

The problem is or rather the challenge is that when we are creative in our looking forward looking back we need to ensure that we are not captured by the one or the other. In looking back we may find ourselves looking into the face of Medusa and become paralysed so that we cannot turn towards the future but remain constantly looking back petrified in reminiscence. In looking to the future the same challenge presents itself but more uniquely as it turns us back to the past because of our fear of God's purposes in our future. We are once again petrified because of our uncertainty as to the future with an inability to place our faith in God's presence but rely solely on our own contrivances. The purpose of looking back is to understand where God has been and to remind ourselves that it is we who have missed the opportunities that God presents. Sometimes it is in our petrified fear that we cannot grasp what God calls us to and so we refuse the joy that would come in God's presence.

The missed opportunities that we need to look for are those times when we did not give joy for others to receive. When we were to wrapped up in our own miseries that we were unable to spend a few minutes with an other to perceive their pain and walk along beside them. How often have we failed to ask the question, so much so that we have to have a day dedicated to it, "Are you OK?". How often have we been a visible face of Christ to those in pain and we have missed the opportunity of receiving the joy that comes when Christ's love is expressed in the lives of another person? As the writer to the Thessalonians puts it "It is the breath of life to us" (1 Thess. 3.8), for this is where the joy is found. This seems awfully negative but when we look to the past it is to discover the missed opportunities so that we can ensure that we do not repeat them because if we do, then yes it is joyless, yes, it is depressing and yes, it is petrifying for we are not growing in faith, in love and in joy.

What then of the future? Is it as depressing as we believe or have we the ability to rise to greet Christ and find the joy of God's presence? Christ's apocalyptic words do not appear to be encouraging (Lk 21.25-36). Yet, the warnings are warnings of the past for if we recognise those moments that we have just relived we will have the opportunities of sacrificing ourselves for the other and find Christ's presence. It is only when we do not learn that the effects of dissolution and disappointment begin to effect all that we do. We look to the future with faith, constantly in prayer and recognising God's presence around us. We strive for the community to which we belong and sacrifice our own needs for the needs of the other. We refuse the enjoyments that we are used to and find ourselves with the joy of Christ as we minister and labour for the justice and peace to bring a community out of despair into Joy. We are the harbingers of Joy as Christ becomes manifest in the incarnation but only if we ourselves become joy bringers.

I look forward with faith, knowing God's presence in my life. I rely on God's guidance in the face of tragedy and I try to bring that faith into being as I minister to family, and community, friends and strangers. Only when we truly believe these statements, only when we manifest them to the greatest of our ability, only when we live as Christ will we begin to bring the changes that God demands of all God's people.

Celebrating God's rule

  At the end of the liturgical year we celebrate what has traditionally been known as Christ the King or more recently the coming of Christ's reign. At the same time we remind ourselves on White Ribbon day of those harmed in domestic violence, particularly women. It is perhaps strange that as we give honour to those who have suffered as a result of violence within the home our worship is formulated around kingship and male dominance. First we need to recognise that archaic world views and misogynistic interpretations of scripture have been instrumental in the creation of many situations in the past. It must be acknowledged that much of this has been the result of a male orientated view of faith and the representation of God in terms of male genderisation. In looking at the history of the church it can be seen that around the time of Paul and shortly thereafter there was a concerted push towards male domination of the burgeoning religious movement founded on Christ. Today's celebration is around Kingship because the main ruler was conceived of being a King in earthly terms. Actually. a nuanced mis-interpretation of the word basiliea. This word has been interpreted in terms of physicality of a kingdom rather than the more nuanced understanding of rule or dominion. 

This is made extremely clear in the dialogue between Herod and Christ in John's gospel (Jn. 18:33-37) which we have heard read today. In the normal translation we hear Herod asking are you the "king of the Jews" this could and perhaps should be translated as a question as to whether Christ is the "ruler of the Jews". This is a very different content as Christ goes on in the conversation to say that his 'dominion is not of this world' (Jn. 18:36). He is not talking about something physical but something much more abstract and perhaps powerful. By speaking in terms of kings and kingdoms, we are speaking in terms of physical constructs that are often associated with violence and domination within their sphere of influence. We are legitimising the use of such violence and when we intrude on that the concept of the home being the man's kingdom we beget violence and cruelty. This is an inherited and archaic way of looking at our current concept of society and one that is perpetuated through time by our acceptance and reliance on tradition.

We dance as a community to God's rule not kingship

Let us change that as we reflect this day on the concept of rulership and the concept of Christ's dominion in our lives. This is not a Kingdom but rather an authority which guides us and gives us the direction that leads us into a new way of doing things just as new growth occurs following rain and nutrients (2 Sam. 23:4). It is something we celebrate and not hide a way in shame as it rises above our worldly concerns and reflects God's love into the world. No matter what account we read of the life and teachings of Christ there is one thing that it characterises and that is the acceptance of women as well as a concern for the status of women in a predominantly male society. This teaching is continued into much of the early writings of the burgeoning church and it is not until later that a clear misogynistic view becomes increasingly apparent changing the course and theological understanding of human relationship. God and Christ's rule is clearly one that functions in love and peace rather than in violence and war. 

Christ's reign is not here as we well know from the abuse within the community and within families from all cultures and religious denominations. Our start as Christians is within the Gospel teachings of Christ that are based on God's love for all of creation and not on later theologising influenced by human society and world view. In our celebration of Christ's reign and rule we must be open to God's love and the dictates of the Spirit that tells us to love our neighbours as our selves. We cannot see our relationships in term of conquest or violence but rather in terms of love and building. It is not easy and it is not the common way of society because it means sacrifice of self over the other. A community that is built on this form of relationship, that is one based on the concept of God's love, is a community that is strong and freed of the necessity to hide its shortcomings and poor decisions as it learns through its mistakes rather than casting blame on the other for its own detriments. Such a rule as NT Wright has said is not an optional extra for those who believe in Christ but the essence of our community.

Lest we forget

 The year's roll round one after the other and history is constantly being written by those who survive the turmoils of everyday life. One of the continuing anchors of our yearly round is the knowledge that we will celebrate the heroes and the fallen in silence at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. Indeed in Australia we have two days for this act of remembrance, yes each has a slightly different theme but each points to and remembers a past that is described by the winners. I do not in anyway demean or dis-honour those who have fought and died in violence that sundered countries and indeed the world. Yet, as a Christian I must ask myself a simple question, which I have on a number of public occasions, If Christ died in violence for us to bring God's kingdom and God's peace, why do we continually remember the violent sacrifices on the war zones of the world and not the life of peace? A simple question which is yet to be answered.

Is it the sea of blood or is it the widow's might that we need to remember?

The Christian call has always been to care for the widow and the orphan, those who have been disenfranchised through violence and death. Ruth the widow and her daughter Naomi, a widow, both struggle (Ruth 1-4) until the justice of the gate is administered and they are brought once more into the community (Ruth 4). Our focus here is on the justice that is meted out to the two of them not on the misfortunes of the past, not on death per se but on life. The injustices of the past are remedied by looking past the forming history towards a future that is calling in justice and peace. Christ's observations regarding the narrow focus of the ruling caste who bring about the injustice that is seen in the widow (Mk. 12.38-44) remind us again of where our focus should be. Injustice, because in the life of the world it is the widow who should be the focus of the rulers not the insistence on the finances of the Kingdom. The mite that she gives is her food and ability to live which she should be receiving from the wealth of the Temple. Yet, it is her mite and the might of the widows Ruth and Naomi that are examples for our future not the disasters that created the situations. It is their perseverance and good will that is remembered in history. It is there courage and sacrifice that becomes our guide into the future as we celebrate God's presence in our lives.

The reason for remembrance day, "lest we forget", is forgotten in the triviality of the spectacle; for we have in reality forgotten. The day has become a ritual of pride in service and sacrifice occurring in zones of violence that are not diminished but rather re-created every generation. Korea, Vietnam, Rwanda, the Balkans, the Falklands, Syria, Iraq...and so on it goes. Let alone, Lebanon, Gaza, Border walls, etc. The creation of more widows and more orphans rather than the peace that God brings. In our remembrance, "lest we forget", we are reminded of the perseverance of the widows in adversity, the damage to the orphans and the re-living of the violence within our own communities as a result of the lack that we have in showing God's love to the other. It is these forgotten "heroes" that we need to remember and care for in our remembrances of violence and not the heroes of violence perpetrated in history told by those who survived. Yes, remember their sacrifice but also, "lest we forget", the Christian message that is to bring peace to the consequential survivors who suffer as a result of our neglect in remembering the message of peace. Peace to those suffering from PTSD and the effects of violence in their lives.

Christ overturns the traditions of power, pride and honour that lead to violence to bring dialogue, peace and service that lead to a better life and community. Everything Christ does overturns the ruling histories of the age by imposing a different perspective that lowers the self to humility that seeks friendship and not authority. Just as Naomi, the real hero of Ruth, seeks to accompany her friend and mother towards an unknown future that reveals her strength and might we to need to seek the other in friendship and service to build the trust that is embodied in community.

Saints and Souls

 Today we celebrate All Saints and All Souls despite them occurring on two different days. In combining them we perhaps come to the realisation that both of them are integrally linked in that our Saints are or where the lived life of someone's past "soul", so to speak. So why do we make an effort to separate them out in our calendar of events within the church. For those of a greater Catholic persuasion All Souls is a day for not only remembering those that have died but is also part of the theology around the concept of purgatory. Thus for many this is a day when the souls of those who have died are prayed for so that they may move through the fires of purgatory to life in Christ. In thinking about it in this manner we are, I feel, denigrating our life in Christ and suggesting that we are not accepted into the presence of Christ. This is perhaps a difficult concept to believe or even attempt to celebrate.

Both days are part of Allhallowtide, which includes All Hallows Eve, now commercially celebrated as Halloween. We can perhaps be better of conceptualising this time as part of our yearly cycle that celebrates life and death, rather than any one specific aspect. By beginning on the eve of All Saints we begin the process of making holy, hallowing, ourselves for the days to come. This understanding has been overtaken by a misconception of the Samhain festival and the turning of the seasons. The beginning of winter was a time when the barrier between the dead and living was believed to be thinned thus allowing for a crossover. It was a time of great reverence and fear so preparations where made to hallow the days ahead. Death is part of life and we celebrate those that are deemed to be celebrated in the Christian life on All Saints day. The traditional Catholic understanding is that these were those that went straight to God's presence. For us today we celebrate these as the many that stand before the throne of God singing praises. Many of them known and of particular regard for us, here in Cairns, is St Margaret of Scotland. For others it is saints who have been recognised by the church universal in one way or another. 

A celebration of life and death

Whilst we remember the famous in All Saints we must not forget that we all will come face to face with our God. In knowing our closeness to God's presence through Christ's presence in our hearts we need to set time aside to focus our prayers and hallowing of those who have died in God's presence even if they are not well known. The saints of our lives and who are known to us in the commonality of life. In remembering them we need also to remember those whom we have excluded in some form or another. In doing this we are actually bringing to the fore all those who are part and parcel of the body of Christ. We cannot just lay claim to those who have died who are family and friends but also those who have died who are part of the body of Christ. In hallowing them we are hallowing the whole body. We are preparing ourselves for the Christic presence in our lives as we acknowledged the presence of Christ in those who have died.

The twenty third psalm tells us of the presence of God in our lives leading us onward even in the face of our mortality and death. It is in the acceptance of this presence that we find the comfort of the Spirit in our hearts and minds during the greatest trials of our lives. In remembering those who have died before us we remember that we are in the constant presence of God leading us in the world should we allow that presence into our hearts even in the presence of our own mortality and death. Let us than Hallow the season and make ourselves holy to God by giving thanks for the Saints and those souls who have died before us as they show us the way forward and that we are not forgotten in God's eyes.

Blind to love

 Blindness is often associated in the Gospels with the inability to perceive Christ and when the blindness is alleviated the person often either praises God or follows Christ (Mark 10.46-52). It is quite useful to use this category, without being detrimental to those with poor vision, as we look at ourselves and our lives in Christ. The very first thing that we actually need to do is admit our blindness. What! I am not blind. Well as soon as we open our mouths and state this it is obvious that we are. We are all well aware that for many things the first response is denial and once we have denied we have actually admitted that we have the issue, challenge, etc. It is only when we are honest with ourselves about our own perceptions and our own knowledge can we begin to fashion a comprehensive plan of action that enables ourselves and those around us to come into the light and see for the first time. Our challenge then is to freely admit that we are blind and need God's grace to heal our blindness and lead us into a new world; a world that God has deemed ours.

At the beginning of Job's trials we can see that he was blind to the truth and yet held on to his faith. At the end Job's eyes are opened to the truth and sees how his faith has assisted him in his trials (Job 42.1-6). It is only when Job confronts and is confronted by God's presence does he realise the truth of his faith. It is only when we allow ourselves to confront God and come into Christ's presence are we able to understand the truth and how this affects our faith. We can so easily give up; we can so easily give in; we can so easily rest in the lies that surround our everyday lives. These are the friends that console us on our journey, these are the friends that lead us away from our journey, these are the friends that lend their worldly wisdom to our trials with God. We bitch and moan at every turn of our lives because things are not how they should be. Yet, if we hold to the path that God has set we are able to overcome so much, just like Job, and we are able to forgive so much just like Job (42.9-10). In doing so we are given so much by God's grace who has asked so little of ourselves.

Are we ourselves blind to love?

Yet, our attitude is one of the age, the miracle of the secular age is ours to play with and to re-invent our lives forgetting the miracle that is God's grace promised to us forever. Ours is not the attitude of thanksgiving it is the attitude that it belongs to us; the attitude of the age. If you cannot pay your way in today's society you are nobody. Well, this is where we are asked for our sacrifice, if we want what we have, to continue. Only when we begin to understand the sacrifice that God has given will we begin to appreciate our need to sacrifice ourselves fully and totally to God's purposes. We find it excessively hard to speak of God in our lives just as Job does; we find it excessively hard to make a sacrifice of time, talent and tarnished gold to fulfil God's purposes in today's world.

What does it take to change our hearts from stone to flesh that holds love of the other above all? What does it do to remove our own parochial blindness to see Christ in our neighbour and enable ourselves to sacrifice our lives to God? It takes the one thing that we control ourselves. The one thing that nobody can take from us no matter what they do to us. We need to approach life with one thing knowing that it cannot be changed irrespective of what is thrown our way. It takes us acknowledging and owning the attitude that says that God is in my heart and I find joy in God's presence. It takes us changing our hard attitudes to each other and to the other from the blankness of granite to an attitude that encompasses everyone with the softness of a lovers embrace. It is ours to undertake, it is ours to do, it ours to control. Once we have changed our attitude we have begun the process of removing the blindness that we all suffer from, the blindness that allows us to say "we are not blind."

Seeking joy over happiness

 How do we determine the difference between happiness and joy in our lives? This is perhaps a difficult question for us to ask, especially in the midst of angst and sorrow. What can be suggested is that one is permanent and is found even in the depths of despair. The other is fleeting and is found wherever one can for a moment. God responds to Job by asking him questions not through levity and laughter but questions that are fundamental to our understanding of God's presence and joy in our lives (Job 38.1-7). Even when we are in our deepest depression, when all the world around us abounds in horror we can and do experience the joy that is God's presence in our hearts. It overcomes our deepest dread and our inability to give of ourselves to God in the most meaningful and sacrificial way that we can. Whilst it is an emotion that is deeper even than happiness it is without doubt an emotion that is linked to our attitudes and our hearts.

Happiness is an emotion that is available to us at the most trivial level. It is levity and laughter that is generated by others around us. We chase happiness the same way we chase our standing in society. We want only the best so that we can be happy. We want our friends around us so that we can enjoy the moment and be happy. All of these things are ephemeral and fleeting in our lives. We will find this feeling and often we are so obsessed with our need for happiness in our lives that we forget that it comes from outside not from inside. Just like a drug that gives us a momentary high. I am not saying that there is anything wrong with being happy, of course we should achieve happiness in our lives. We do however need to realise that happiness is fleeting and can easily be destroyed. It is something that others can assist ourselves in achieving or destroying through their attitudes and actions. Whilst happiness will lead us into joy, joy is much more than the fleeting insubstantialness of happiness.

Only when we accept ourselves at the deepest level do we find joy

Joy does not come through the antics of others. Joy is generated in the heart that is willing to sacrifice itself for others so that others may come to find joy in their hearts no matter the circumstances of their lives. It is a much deeper emotion and one that is understood through our own attitudes rather than through the attitudes of others. It is a fundamental change in our hearts so that we too may experience the suffering others feel to bring joy and love into the hearts of the other. Christ understands this when he his requested by the Sons of Zebedee to bring them happiness by elevating their status (Mk 10.35-37). The sons of Zebedee are looking for temporal happiness they are not looking for the deep joy that comes with the presence of Christ in our hearts.

This deep joy is also alluded to in the Hebrew scriptures and in the epistle to the Hebrews (Heb. 1.1-10). The greatest joy to be found is in the sacrifice of the Priest Melchizedek, thought to be the son of Moses. It is not a simple sacrifice but a sacrifice of dedication to God beyond everything. It is our sacrifice when we allow ourselves to go the extra mile and not hold back our hearts and our efforts. It is Christ's sacrifice for us on the cross to grant us the grace of God's presence and salvation. If we are to find joy we need to adjust our attitude towards the other and not towards ourselves. If we are looking for Joy because we have lost it we are looking for the ephemeral happiness of the everyday rather than the deep joy of God's presence. It is our attitude towards each and every person who build up the community of Christ that expresses joy in the midst of disaster or destroys its presence. God asks us at our baptism and confirmation to sacrifice ourselves totally. It is only when we do this on a daily basis that we begin to experience the true joy which is God's presence in our lives.

An upside down world

 Conventional wisdom and the norms of he world suggest that being rich, powerful and selfish creates the perfect living arrangement. In being rich we have no worry about what we buy or eat; being powerful means that others do not come between us and what we desire; being selfish suggests that others are of no consequence. In light of the Gospel, the Good news, this convention is meaningless as all the categories that we thought of as being true are turned in a topsy turvey manner so that we no longer recognise what is true and what is false. We are not used to seeing things from this point of view as we struggle with perspective and understanding what it means to be a person of faith when our traditional views are turned upside down. This appears as if we have to look at modalities in the same manner we would look at Escher prints and the fantastical art from the Surrealists.

Are we prepared to see things from a different perspective

Christ states the opposites of what we expect when in Mark's gospel and in the others when he states "But many who are first will be last and the last first" (10:31). So how do we practically change our view point especially in a world that does not engender the best of faith. Christ's statement in Mark comes after the question from the rich man as to how to gain eternal life. This is followed by the disciples talking about how difficult this is if the rich are unable to enter and the story of the camel going through the eye of the needle. Our difficulty is in thinking that our talents and our riches pave the way into the presence of God. It is almost harking back to the question of works and faith. It is not quite the same however as here we are talking about the difference between our worldly wealth and the wealth we have in terms of faith and the spirit. It is not our worldly abilities that assist us in this case but rather our connection to God and our ability to see things from the perspective of God.

We take account of things only from our own build in worldly experiences but we are being asked to put that to one side. We cannot get rid of it. It is similar to us having a seat in the wings of the theatre and being offered the ability to see from the centre of the front row. Our seat is in the wings but we are being asked to take the perspective of the front row. The change can become a permanent one but for the moment it is just a temporary change until we can actually manage the swap and make it permanent. In enabling our ability to see from a different perspective we begin to see as Christ and discard our own view. The Hebrew's passage reminds us quite clearly with regards to the power of  God's word, perhaps as revealed in scripture (Heb. 4:12). In context to what we are referring to it is obvious that turning the perspective around reveals more to us then we would normally guess. So in this case let us just suspend our normal thought processes and try to see the world in a different light.

Let us take a look at how we see being rich and successful. Most would suggest that this is what we all strive for in some form or another. It is our way of getting the world to look at us for once. Instead of looking at it from that point of view let us look at it from God's point of view. Each time we look at the rich and famous we need to ask ourselves what would God want us to do if we were rich and famous? If we are truly servants of God and have left everything behind then riches mean nothing to us unless they are serving God's purposes. This is, perhaps, what Christ is attempting to get across. Not that it is a problem being rich but if we are not doing God's work with our riches then it does not matter. In today's world what God wants us to do with our riches is irrespective so long as we accrue fame and fortune. This is not giving away everything to follow God it is retaining everything to follow ourselves. By seeing the use that riches can be put to and changing our perspective we can begin truly to follow God.