Looking Forward

Advent is looking forward to the coming of Jesus;

The prophet Isaiah (about 700 BC) spoke of this coming event:

A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
² The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him—
the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and of might,
the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the LORD—
³ and he will delight in the fear of the LORD.

He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,
or decide by what he hears with his ears;
⁴ but with righteousness he will judge the needy,
with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.
He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth;
with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.
⁵ Righteousness will be his belt
and faithfulness the sash around his waist.

Come Lord Jesus

JUST PEACE FOR PALESTINE

One of the campaigns at greenbelt festival this year was 'Just Peace' - tackling questions about Israel-Palestine.

Many evangelical christians (and the rest of us for that matter) are oblivious to what is happening in the Holy Land.

Palestinian christians have come up with the Kairos Document (in December 2009) you can read the abridged version here:

http://www.justpeaceforpalestine.org/peace_kairos_palestine_4803.aspx

I think we need to recognize the reality of Israel's policies towards the Palestinians - they are shaped by the priorities of colonialism.

Due to this we need to stand in solidarity with the Palestinians, who seek to act and resist occupation and domination.

It is justice that 'will produce lasting peace and security '(Isaiah 32:17)...

This Christmas may we remember that those living in Bethlehem today are living under occupation...

BREATHE

I found this simple and beautiful prayer written by Christine Sine on Johnny Baker's blog.

http://jonnybaker.blogs.com/

Breathe out empty yourself: of hate, of fear, of anxiety

Breathe in fill yourself with love, with life, with mercy
Breathe out empty yourself of busyness, of selfishness of greed
Breathe in fill yourself with peace, with joy, with hope
Breathe out empty yourself of idolatry, of self worship, of false gods
Breathe in fill yourself with God, with Christ, with the Holy Spirit

She also also composed this advent

http://godspace.wordpress.com/2010/11/04/christ-is-coming-an-advent-meditation-for-2010

HOW TO MEDITATE

Found this on the Moot blog:

Meditation in the Christian tradition is an ancient practice aimed at getting beyond our self-preoccupation through business, thinking and feeling to then be free to encounter God.

In the Moot Community, we are seeking to resource people to go deeper with daily prayer alongside regular meditation and contemplation. Meditation and Contemplation are both creative approaches to prayer with the aim of encountering God. Meditation does this by a process of stillness and getting beyond your thoughts and feelings. Contemplation does this by utilising the imagination as the vehicle for encounter of God.

n this first recording, John Main explains the basic approach to Christian meditation. If you have not done it before, we suggest 20 minutes as a starting place, as it takes a little while to get the hang of it. Remember meditation is not like going to the gym, there is not an instant hit of enhanced spirituality, but you will experience an emerging sense spiritual awareness and welbeing in your daily life.

If you have not meditated before then don’t forget that Moot has aweekly meditation group on wednesdays at 6.30pm in the City. We suggest 20 minutes as a starting place, as it takes a long time to get the hang of it. Remember meditation is not like going to the gym, there is not an instant hit of enhanced spirituality, but you will in time see an increased spiritual awareness in your daily life.

Please find below a short mp3 of John Main himself explaining this approach to meditation. If you have any queries or thoughts please do add comments. If you have been coming along to the meditation group and also have thoughts and queries, please do add these to.

here's a link so you can listen to the mp3 of John Main:

http://www.moot.uk.net/2010/11/21/how-to-meditate/

Justice

Here's a post from Richard Rohr's meditations.

Racial Justice

Scapegoating soon morphs into anti-sinners, anti-heretics, anti-women, anti-Muslims, anti-inferiors (however each culture defines that), anti-Protestants or Catholics (depending on which kind of good Christian you are), anti-gays, anti-indigenous people, anti- people of any color, particularly black people, whom Christians felt free to torture and enslave, and anti- all non-Christians in general.

This big bad lie never stops, even among people who dare to say they are following Jesus who taught them “Whatever you do to the least of my brothers and sisters you do to me” (Matthew 25:40) and “Treat others as you would want to be treated yourself” (Matthew 7:12). We forgot that St. John said, “Anyone who says he loves God, but hates his neighbor, is a liar” (1 John 4:20).

270 STORIES

soulful, groovy, laidback, bluesy; one gem of an album...

the lastest release from English trio Belleruche.

Guitarist: Ricky Fabulous; Turntable & beats: DJ Modest; Singer: Katrin deBoer

Remember

went for a walk with jackie (my wife) this morning...the rain and the bitter cold wind brought our walk to an end.

it's a bank holiday here in France...a time to remember, remember the loss and futility of war...

we both concluded that it's good to remember:

I found this on Kester Brwin's blog:

Why are they selling poppies, Mummy?
Selling poppies in town today.
The poppies, child, are flowers of love.
For the men who marched away.

But why have they chosen a poppy, Mummy?
Why not a beautiful rose?
Because my child, men fought and died
In the fields where the poppies grow.

But why are the poppies so red, Mummy?
Why are the poppies so red?
Red is the colour of blood, my child.
The blood that our soldiers shed.

The heart of the poppy is black, Mummy.
Why does it have to be black?
Black, my child, is the symbol of grief.
For the men who never came back.

But why, Mummy are you crying so?
Your tears are giving you pain.
My tears are my fears for you my child,
For the world is forgetting again.

Author unknown.

Abundant Life

reading richard rohr's book "the naked now"...

he insists that God is a God of change and he wants us to be constantly open to change and in fact to expect change...

this is what he says about Jesus' words:" i have come that you might have life, a very abundant life at that" (John 10:10):

how did we get correct rational ideas confused with an abundant life? this happens perhaps to folks who are unwilling to let go of their attachments of their images of themselves, the world, and God. They will not let go of their attachments for a living relationship. "The old wine is good enough", they say (Luke 5;39), and so they miss out on the great banquet that all the mystics, the prophets, and jesus describe. (see Isaiah 25:6-7, 55:1-2, John 2:1-12, and most of Luke 14)...

i think it's so easy to accept certitude and predictability in our lives; it's so much difficult to embrace incertitude, questioning and a quest to change...to journey (which implies movement and change).

Surely God does not exist so that we can think correctly of Him - or Her. Amazingly and wonderfully, like all good parents, God desires instead the flourishing of what God created and what God loves - us ourselves. Ironically, we flourish more by learning from our mistakes and changing than by a straight course that teaches us nothing.

Richard Rohr

BELLERUCHE

coming home from work tonight got stuck in a traffic jam (quelle horreur)!

listening to a local independent radio station...an interview with a brit band

i liked what i heard...

check out Belleruche...

sweet

Today

thanks to andrew jones (tall skinny kiwi) i got hold of this fascinating video...

Celebrity as a kind of religion

just read an essay than is based on the introduction of pete ward's book 'gods behaving badly;media,religion and celebrity culture...

The missiological challenge of celebrity culture lies in the question of plausibility. In other words, there is a need to recognize the extent to which celebrity culture shapes the lens or sculpts the imaginative landscape of the general public. The theological themes that are at play in celebrity narratives will to some extent determine the way that people react to a specifically Christian narrative. They form a part of the plausibility structures of contemporary life. For a Christian community, which is used to communicating to those who are insiders, this a particular challenge.

Moreover, it is very likely that the influence of celebrity culture does not remain with those outside the church. We all share in the flow of popular culture, and it is therefore likely that theologians, preachers, and those of us who inhabit the pews are all to some extent shaped by the way meanings shift as they circulate and flow within media discourses. If we acknowledge this, it does not mean that Christian theology cannot maintain a distinctive voice or contribution. Rather, it is a recognition that our own expression, of faith, is part of this wider flow of discourse and therefore shares in the contested space which exists within discourses, be they specifically theological or be they popular. As the Christian church, we are participants individually and communally in this flow of meaning and identification. Celebrity culture is therefore of significance for our own theological work.

the whole article:

http://theotherjournal.com/article.php?id=1040

Autumn 3

trees reflected in lake...

Autumn 2

pathways in the forest...

Autumn

i love this season...

WHERE GOOD IDEAS COME FROM...