The Kingdom

The Kingdom
by Sheila Barsuhn

When secondhand, we heard the shepherds call,
"The anointed has come!"
We set out,
arrived in this Kingdom a moment or a lifetime ago.
We have journeyed from continents apart,
tundra, tropics, poverty, privilege,
energy, exhaustion, giddiness, grief.
Through some miracle,
the Messiah has brought us together.

We are all refugees with nothing of worth to bring-
no gold, frankincense, or myrrh.
We have no drum to play.
The gifts sa tried to carry,
our best doctrines, rules, and dogmas,
slip like air through our fingers.
We cup our hands, offering offer nothing.

Come stranger,
we have found our home.
The song that welcomes us here
are not the songs of angels
(who harmonize in a different realm)
but the hum of God's grace and love
which we intone in messy unison.

In this Kingdom,
no one who journeys to the Christ is unworthy of alien.
In this Kingdom,
We are companions
standing close as the wind howls

The Life of Pi and Spiritual Bricolage

'The Life of Pi' is an amazing film, directed by Ang  Lee and based on the novel written by Yann Martel. It is beautifully filmed (I saw it in 3D which enhances the artistry and charm of this odyssey).
Pi recounts his incredible life story to a Canadian writer, so we see large episodes of his childhood where he grew up in a french colonized part of India - he had a fascination for animals as his father managed a zoo. His father was a 'secular-rationalist' whereas Pi had an innate sensitivity to the 'spiritual' and a fervent quest for God.

Pi  was brought up a Hindu but his search for God allowed him to discover Christ and Allah. He could find God in all three religions. His father mocked him for his naivety.
Throughout the film we discover that God is very present in the world and working in our lives - through both joyful and painful experiences.

The life of Pi clearly illustrates the modern trend of 'spiritual bricolage'. That is to say a 'do it yourself' spirituality. Taking certain parts of religious tradition and adapting them to our own life.
Many Christians are horrified by this 'Spiritual bricolage.' I think they feel threatened. Fearing that people will go astray from the pure truth. How will we disciple (control/indoctrinate) them? Yes I can hear all those defenders of pure doctrine getting angry with our so called postmodern society.
There is obviously a danger in the practice of spiritual bricolage. When we look at different traditions, whether they be Christian or not, we need to ask pertinent questions. Which parts are good? Which parts should we choose? As a follower of Jesus, would I be guilty of syncretism? Not necessary.

The early first century church was made up of Jews,  and Greek and Roman pagans. The church had to grapple with questions of circoncision, whether they should eat certain meat etc. In short, the early church had to select what was good from each of the different religious/cultural backgrounds and what was unacceptable. 'Much of the Christian New Testament is an argument about whether spiritual practices from other religions or cultural practices relate to the message of Jesus'. (Diana Butler Bass, Christianity after Religion). For example in Roman culture they practiced exposing unwanted children, this practice clearly goes against the teaching of Jesus - we should welcome the little children. Also early Churches were a Christianized blend of ancient Jewish Synagogues and Roman basilicas, Easter borrowed Passover and pagan rites of Spring, Christian theologians worked with Hebrew scripture and Greek philosophy.

'Although Christianity itself is a blended faith - a combination of first-century spiritual experiences of Jesus, rabbinic Judaism, greek philosophy, Gnosticism and Roman paganism - Christian tradition has a typically urged thoughtfulness (not caution exactly, but thoughtfulness) when mixing practices.' (Diana Butler Bass) We need spiritual discernment in this process of choosing our spiritual practices, asking ourselves important questions: 'Does this practice relate to the teachings of Jesus? Does it bring me closer to God? Does it enable me to love and serve my neighbour? Does it awake me to God and others? What kind of person will I become if I seriously devote myself to learning particular practices?

So back to the film...
I personally found it inspiring. I came away with a sense of awe and wonder. Yes God is very present in my life. I can almost hear Him breathe.

The Common Good, Peace On Earth

This is a quote that dates back to the 4th century:

This is the rule of most perfect Christianity, its exact definition, its highest point, namely, the seeking of the common good...for nothing can so make a person an imitator of Christ as caring for neighbours.
- John Chrysostom (347- 407)


Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, and goodwill to all men. (Luke 2:14)

The Christmas message is that of peace and goodwill to all humanity.
God made flesh, Emmanuel, God with us.
Jesus came to bring peace on Earth, and goodwill to all men.
That peace starts in us and through us, as Christ takes up residence.

Our mission is to share in Christ's mission of seeing His Kingdom of peace and joy spread - among our family, friends and neighbours, showing goodwill to all. Which could be translated as seeking the common good as John Chrysostom defined the highest calling of Christianity four centuries ago.

Peace.

Using Scripture Maturely

Interpreting the Scriptures is not an easy task. But a very important one. We need to wrestle with them, looking at them in their historical context and then faithfully setting them in our present one.

Here's a useful insight from Richard Rohr:

When Scriptures are used maturely they proceed in this order:

1. They confront us with a bigger picture than we are used to, "God's Kingdom" that has the potential to "deconstruct' our false and smaller kingdoms.

2. They have the power to convert us to an alternative worldview by proclamation, grace, and the sheer  attraction of the good, the true and the beautiful ( not by shame, guilt, or fear, which are low-level motivations, but which operate more quickly and so churches often resort to them).

3. They then console us and bring deep healing as they "reconstruct" us in a new place with a new mind and heart.

Sacred Space

Here's a link to a lovely testimony from Andrea Campanale who's working among Spiritual Seeker:

http://www.activateyourlife.org.uk/content/2012/dec/06/andrea-campanale-sacred-space

i appreciate her angle on evangelism  which she prefers to call 'mission' because it's more holistic.
she's working out of the box and that's not always understood by more traditional oriented folks.
we need more people like Andrea.

keep focused...

i like this photo. the colours and light are fantastic...
i've put it on my desk top

Bobby Womack ft. Lana Del Rey & Damon Albarn (Gorillaz, Blur) live in 20...

Redefining Mission

I've just read and re-read that chapter in Brian McLaren's book on Mission and his understanding of the subject. I found it fascinating and i need more time to chew it over.
Anyway here's a summary of it:

Saving souls from the dehumanizing effects of hostility to God and other(s).
As souls have a body and a body needs the air, planet and creation. We endeavour
to 'save' all these aspects.
Salvation from the effects of misguided, distorted, dysfonctional religion.
Saving decision: a choice not to live for our own selfish interests alone.
But for the common good, the good of all creation.
God saves us from the evil effects of greed, pride, fear and hostility.
(Remember human beings bear God's image, therefore they are good)
Freedom of religion - not getting people from other religions to come over to
our Christian religion. People can choose to do so. That's their choice.
Calling (everyone) to welcome Jesus in their community and invite them to
watch as he transforms temples of stone into temples of humanity.
Inviting to be born again - not once but an ongoing transformation.
Alter Call (not Altar Call) - a calling to alter our self-understanding of God
as revealed in the human-kindness of Jesus. To discover a God who needs no
appeasement but who seeks to bring all things into joyous reconciliation.
Also, an invitation to alter our self-understanding and discovering a new identity.


Now as I said i'm still processing Brian's ideas.
It's a call to a new understanding of mission that certainly rocks the boat of old colonial
type mission.
This new approach calls for both respect for the other and humility on our part.
I can see that Jesus didn't come to start a new religion called the Christian religion but came to show the Way to all humanity in every culture and religion. The Way of peace and salvation from our hostility towards God, our fellow human beings, ourselves and creation.
The central message of Jesus was and still is the Kingdom of God is here - among us and not yet come in its fulness. Jesus taught and demonstrated with his life what that Kingdom looks like. One of peace, reconciliation and love. The Kingdom (or as Brian refers to it) the Commonwealth of God - transcends all religions and all cultures. So I can understand the concept of 'freedom of religion' - as the Jesus Way - the Kingdom/Commonwealth Life is not 'contained' by a single religion - so the call to 'welcome' Jesus into your community (which could be read religion or culture) - will in fact transform the community to live out the Commonwealth of God - within its cultural/religious context. And therefore there would not be a need to change religion. But as a consequence of welcoming Jesus and following Him the community/religion/culture would be transformed.

I once read somewhere that Jesus came to make us more human. In the context of mission - our hope is to see ourselves being more Christlike which is to be a better human - full of human-kindness.

St Catherine's Tree

As a kid i was familiar with (St) Catherine's wheel (light up the fire with standard fireworks! :) - but Richard Rohr speaks about St Catherine's tree:

St Catherine of Siena pictures the spiritual life are a large tree.
The trunk is love; 

The core or middle part is patience; 

The roots are self-knowledge 

The many branches, reaching our into the air are discernement.

In other words love does not happen without patience, self-knowledge and discernment.

(Possibly) today we have little encouragement toward honest self-knowledge or training in spiritual discernement from our churches. By nature most of us are not very patient. All of which means that love is not given to be very common.

Do we need St Catherine's tree again?

Possibly so.

Popular Resistance: Gaza redux analysis

Here's an interesting and probably accurate analysis of the current situation in Palestine.
Finally it's about the occupier and the occupied, the colonizer and the colonized...



Popular Resistance: Gaza redux analysis: Analysis of conflicts and destruction should not be done in the heat of the moment when emotions are high. In wars, everybody loses but...

Baptism, Identity and Human-Kindness

I'm reading through Brian McLaren's book 'Why did Jesus, Moses, the Buddha and Mohammed cross the road?' - and blogging as i go along. I'm finding it both thought provoking and a challenge to some of my pre-conceived, pre-taught ideas.

I've recently read the chapter on Baptism. McLaren states that baptism is a ritual that pre-dates christianity. Jewish pilgrims partook of ritualistic washing ( a form of baptism) before entering the temple. This was in order to be cleansed from the contamination that they had contracted due to their contact with 'unclean' gentiles (non-jews). This practice reinforced an identity that we are clean/legitimate and they are dirty/illegitimate. God loves 'us' and finds 'them' smelly, disgusting, dirty and unacceptable.
The Essenic communities also practiced a form of baptism to clean themselves of the pollution of the corrupted temple/religious establishment. Unfortunately,they simply mirrored themselves in opposition -  a 'us and 'them' mentality.

John the Baptist appeared on the scene with a new baptism. A baptism of repentance. Repentance meaning changing attitude; from hating the enemy to loving the enemy...defecting from violence (the brood of vipers) and identifying with peace (the dove).

In Luke 3: 11 - 14, repentance is seen as how we treat others. Not with hostility, not with resistance, but with kindness, generosity and justice.

Our baptism is a sign of our call to identifying with oppositional identities and by dying to them; identifying with something new - the Kingdom of God.

Passing through the water and the Spirit is to be joined once again to all mankind (and to all creation), to be ever marked with human kindness.

Baptism is symbolic of laying aside all hostilities and taking up a new identity in Christ, in which old divisions are replaced by a strong, profound solidarity of human-kindness, shared with everyone!

MacLaren is influenced in this regard to Pete Rollin's book 'Insurrection'. Rollin points to Paul's words where he declares that in Christ  there is neither jew nor greek (religious identity), slave nor free (socioeconomic identity), male nor female (sexual identity)...to Rollin it's not a question of embracing yet another identity but rather 'laying down the various identities that would otherwise define us'.
To follow Christ is to share his radical  divestment of identity.
Rollin concludes: "We can even say that in Christ there is neither Christian nor non-Christian...The scandalous nature of this radical vision is captured succinctly in the Gospel according to John, where the Christian is described as one who lives in the world (with all of its social, religious, and political divisions) while no longer being (not being held fast by them)...When this loss of identity is enacted in a liturgical setting, we may call it a suspension space, for in that location one symbolically lays one's identities at the door".

This subversive symbolism would see a laying aside of all our hostile identities -  taking up a new identity in Christ - in which old divisions are replaced by a new and profound solidarity of human-kindness.

I have a sneaking suspicion that both McLaren and Rollin are on the right track. It got me thinking of Paul's analogy of Christ being the 2nd Adam. Adam symbolises the first human, the father of humanity.
Christ has now brought us into a new humanity (which was what humanity was meant to be from the start until hostility and brokenness entered) - so Christ brings us back into the human-kindess - with all its diversity - in solidarity and harmony.

We are now reconciled to one another.
Note: reconciliation differs from inclusion. Inclusion says we can absorb the 'other' into 'us', while reconciliation means we want to be at peace with the other as the other !

A Different Story Frame

According to Brian McLaren there are at least 7 story frames  - in the way we relate to the Other.

Domination (classic imperialist Us over Them mentality)
Revolution (Us overthrowing domination of them)
Purification (Us eliminating Them)
Assimilation (Us converting Them to us)
Competition (Us competing with Them - seeing the other as rival)
Victimization (Us oppressed by Them - survival is our primary goal)
Insolation (Us apart from Them - separation and avoidance of them)

All of the above ways of relating to the other are not ideal (to say the least) and dangerous to humanity. In my humble opinion these story frames are not what followers of Jesus should entertain - though unfortunately we have many examples to the contraire.

McLaren looks at Genesis and the story of God's calling of Abraham as a model of how we should relate to the Other.
Ina nutshell God called Abraham with a strong identity - his greatness and strength was given for the sake of the Other(s); all the nations on the earth will be blessed through him.
Called to the Other for the sake of the Other.
Called to join God in healing a world torn by human hostility.

CRIS

Brian McLaren speaks about CRIS in his book - "Why Jesus,Moses..." this is an acronym for Conflicted Religious Identity Syndrom - by this he means those things we don't want to associate with in our particular faith tradition. Those elements that we are in conflict with.
Maybe we can all relate to this. Personally I went through this and still am to a certain extent,  where I didn't want to be associated with Evangelicalism - due to some of the associations with US right leaning politics, narrow ideas about salvation and who's 'in' and who's 'out', a fundamentalist 'literalist' understanding of scripture, and so on.

Chagall at Roubaix

There's an excellent expo of Marc Chagall at the Piscine at Roubaix near Lille.
There are many of his paintings, drawings and sculptures.
It's worth a visit.

SatMix - I buy, therefore I am

Looking forward to next SatMix - the theme -I buy therefore I am - exploring how advertising and consumerism effects our identity...

The Need of a Common Enemy

Give people a common enemy, and you will give them a common identity. Deprive them and you will deprive them of the crutch by which they know who they are.
James Alison

A quote quoted by Brian McLaren in his book Why did Jesus, the Buddha and Mohammed cross the road?  I love the title. Why an earth would they cross the road? The subtitle of the book is 'Christian Identity in a Multi-faith World'.

I've just started reading the book (only read the 1st chapter). McLaren encourages us to seek the common good in our communities and as Christians not to deny our identity as Jesus followers - but to be strong in our faith and to be kind (hospitable, benevolent, interesting and loving) to those around us.

The quote from James Alison is pertinent. A common enemy will give us a common identity. In the time of the Crusades - Christians united in their bloody and blinded opposition to Muslims and Jews. These common enemies reinforced their cultural and religious identity.

We do not need an enemy as a crutch by which we know ourselves. Jesus exhorted us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. Now that's tough. But who said following Jesus was easy?
Jesus was all inclusive. He embraced the zealot revolutionary, he befriended the collaborator, he showed mercy and forgiveness to the outsider.

We are called to follow Him.
To love God and our neighbour.

The Rapture Exposed

The Rapture Exposed is a paper back written by Evangelical Lutheran Pastor Babara Rossing.

It's easy reading and a well explains the many flaws in the relatively recent heresy (170 years ago - compared with 2000 years of Christianity) - The Rapture. A doctrine invented by Darby.

As a child and early teenager I was heavily influenced by the rapture heresy - growing up in a Brethren Church. 

Rature Exposed clearly shows the errors of this dangerous doctrine which has seduced many American evangelicals. The fruits of this doctrine is fear and irresponsibility towards the earth and the creation.

It's an escapist doctrine.

Here's the last paragraph of the book which encapsulates the real hope found in the Bible and in particular the book of Revelation:

Jesus will return - once. Until then, we are always with Jesus and he is with us - Emmanuel. Our life is held in God's time. And we are called in wakefulness, to pray as a final verses of Revelation do, "Amen, come Lord Jesus."

The XX Coexist

Listening to the xx coexist.

A mellow chilled album.

Minimalist arrangements.

Sensual duos.

Songs that express fragile relationships.

Simple chord progressions.

Samples and DJ techniques.

Atmospheric.

A great album!

Saving Paradise

I've just finished reading an amazing book written by Rita Nakashima Broch & Rebecca Ann Parker "Saving Paradise". The authors give a historical survey of the church and in particularly how she has lost the notion of paradise here and now. They trace the development of the theology of the Western Church through the testimony of its religious art and its historical documents.
I'd like to leave a quote from the last paragraph of the  epilogue:

We reenter this world as sacred space when we love life fiercely and, in the name of love, protect the goodness of earth's intricate web of life in all its manifold forms. We feast in paradise when we open our hearts to lamentation, to amplitudes of grief for all that has been lost and cannot be repaired. The beloved departed who have come before us draw near. The veil lifts between the living and the dead. We recommit ourselves to this world as holy ground when we remember the fulness of life that is possible through our communities, our life-affirming rituals, and our love of beauty. Thus, immersed,we are more responsive to and responsible for life on this earth. We give thanks for gifts of love that have been ours all along, an ever-widening circle of beauty, the Spirit in life. We enter fully - heart, mind, soul and strength - into savoring and saving paradise.

God's Middle Finger

Here's something I found on Emergent Village:

Our fractured human tendency revokes the imagination necessary for being followers of a crucified revolutionary. Too often we embrace the power to turn the cross upside down as we tell our human enemies "up yours" - with our swords clenched. We give these 'evil' people the middle finger of retributive judgement to make sure that they know not to mess with us "good people". Yet a perplexing reality remains : Jesus commands us to love our human enemies (Mat 5.44). In so doing, humans of every stripe no longer can be categorized as true enemies because they become subjects of love.
Kurt Willems

Now that's an interesting thought.
Let's rediscover what it is to follow our Crucified (and Risen) revolutionary!

Who Wants to Be a Curator ?

Here's a link to an article about Curating I found in the NY times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/11/arts/11iht-rartcurating11.html

It's interesting that curating is becoming even more popular and that many prestigious Universities and Study Centres are offering students specialized degrees in curating.

What interests me is the idea of curating in relation to worship.
The article mentions that Curating offers a deeper involvement with the audience. I find that extremely interesting. In worship I believe that we are trying to get the 'audience' to have a deeper involvement.

A SatMix we use this idea to some extent. Using multi-media and discussion we endeavour to  stimulate a deeper 'worship' - getting further into the questions of faith and what it means to follow Jesus in our contemporary world.

A great book that explores Worship and Curating is Curating Worship by Johnny Baker.
See my post on Friday 18 March 2011 (Curating Worship)
Another book that I've been highly recommended is The Art of Curating Worship by Mark Pierson.

I think it's time to break from the worship leader/band at the front of the church leading the congregation. There are may be more relevant ways to stimulate 'worship'.

Narrowing of the Imagination

Perfectionism

Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor, the enemy of the people. It will keep you cramped and insane all your life...I think perfectionism is based on the obsessive belief that if you run carefully enough, hitting each stepping stone just right, you won't have to die. The truth is you will die anyway and that a lot of people who aren't even looking at their feet are going to do a whole lot better than you, and have a lot more fun while they are doing it. - Anne Lamott

I was only thinking of the subject of perfectionism the other day while singing along to a worship song at church.
I read the quote from Anne Lamott today which reminded me of my thoughts and conversation on perfectionism.
To be honest I wasn't blessed (or cursed???) with perfectionism, at least it's not an obsession. I admit that I like to do thinks right and correct to the best of my ability and I've sometimes been disappointed with some of the things I've done and delighted at others.
I can  echo the idea that if you are too much of a perfectionist you're going to miss out on the FUN that's found in LIFE...

Back to the worship song. I just couldn't sing the line 'His (God's) works are perfect...' My thoughts raced back to the creation story in Genesis where God looked at his creation and concluded that it was VERY GOOD. His creation/works are very good. He didn't use the word 'perfect'. Behind the word 'Perfection/perfect' is the idea of something that can't be bettered, it's come to its completion...
You see, I don't think that God's works, his creation (including humanity) have come to their completion - we're 'works in progress' ...

This understanding frees us. Liberates us to take risks and to press on...
if we fall flat on our face, we can pick ourselves up and start again...
It's better to accomplish something (however little it may be) than to be paralyzed with fear of failure.

I don't think God is looking for perfection. I think he's rather looking for progress.
He'd prefer that we simply try and to trust in his grace.
Remembering that we are works in progress!

Grace in the World

Here's a great quote from Richard Rohr which follows on the theme from my last post:

"Grace is not something you invite into the world but something you discover already in the world"

Unvirtuous Monks

I was sent an interesting article about an extraordinary abbey of monks.

here's the link:
 http://blog.timesunion.com/rudnick/a-bunch-of-unvirtuous-monks/1969/#more-1969

I admire their attempt to engage with the culture and to evoke laughter and reflection about what it means to follow Christ in the 21st Century.
As the article expressed they tend to look for God in non-traditional places, where people are finding meaning. God is  probably there in these cultural places - in films, art, TV, literature...
When people look for meaning God shows up.

I think that God is very much present in the culture(s) - and not only in the traditional places such as church services and prayer meetings. God so loves the world that he came and totally immersed himself in it. God is still totally present. So open your eyes, your ears, all your senses and you just might glimpse  him on TV, hear his voice on the radio (or at a concert!) or taste him in a lovingly prepared meal...

The Divine Embrace

Ordinary Christianity has emphasized that we should love God.
That makes sense, but do we really know how to do that?
What I find in the mystics is an overwhelming experience of how God has loved us!
... God is forever the initiator, God is the doer, God is the one who seduces me in my
unworthiness. It's all about God's initiative! Then the mystics try desperately to give
back, to offer their lives, to the world and thus back to God.
Mystics are not trying to earn God's love by doing good things or going to church services.
That question is already and profoundly resolved. The mystics overwhelming experience
is full body blow of divine embrace, a radical acceptance by God even in their state of
fragmentation and poverty. That's what makes it "amazing" and "grace".

Richard Rohr

COMPASSION

Compassion is sometimes the fatal capacity for feeling what it is like to live inside someone else's skin. It's the knowledge that there can never really be any peace and joy for me until there is peace and joy finally for you too.

Frederick Buechner.

BREATHING LIGHT

One of my favorite 'main stage' artists at Greenbelt this year was Nitin Sawhney.
I was driving home from Brussels this afternoon and listened to his album Prophesy on my iPod.
The album is just great - a melange of different styles and influences.

here's a link to Breathing Light - from the album

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMSWpA9ow0U

The guy says we're "we are free to be free"!!!
On the clip you have a beautiful dance - I didn't have this on my iPod!
But I imaged a 'dance' of freedom, flowing and moving...

This songs reminded me of a recent post of mine "Anarchy & Christianity" -
God is above all a liberator...
Jesus gives us freedom...
We are free to be free
Freed to dance!
Freed to walk into a life of freedom.

THE GOD EXPERIENCE

I think some experience of God is necessary for mental and emotional health. You basically don't belong in the universe until you are connected to the centre and the whole, and a word for that is "God". When you live in the false self you are "eccentric" or off-centre. You are trying to make something the centre that is not the centre - yourself or something else. It will never work. Thus the ONLY real sin is idolatry - making something God that is not God.
Richard Rohr

JESUS IS LEADING A MOVEMENT

I'd like to post some ideas from a talk given by John Dear at Greenbelt this year.
John Dear is an American Jesuit priest, pastor, activist, peacemaker, retreat leader and author.
He's banned from voting in the US because his non-violent activism has not been appreciated by the US administration!

He posed the following question: Where is God in peace and justice?
His answer was: Jesus is leading the movement.
What's our response? 
To make our story fit the story of the peacemaking Jesus.

He said that we have a choice:
Choose between non-violence or non-existence.

Non-violence
In order to be people of non-violence:
we shouldn't cooperate with the violence in 'self'
Practice interpersonal non-violence
Develop grass-roots non-violence movement(s)

We should be visionaries of non-violence. Jesus had a great vision - he called it the Reign of God.

Jesus organized a non-violent movement when he went into the Temple - he demonstrated non-violent resistance (over turning the tables of the money changers). In the garden he told Peter to put down his sword. In the synoptic gospels we see Jesus as resisting the Empire in a non-violent manner - which eventually got him executed!

John Dear then developed the passage in John 11 - the story of lazarus.
Lazarus represents humanity - the human race is dead. Jesus is calling humanity out of death.
That death is partly the social system which is decaying.
The male disciples plead with Jesus not to go because the authorities wanted to kill him.
But Jesus went back and faced the authorities (non-violently) -Jesus walks non-violently towards humanity of death.
The women (martha/mary) are the voices of hopelessness "it's too late"
Jesus weeps because everyone abandoned him.
Jesus then takes action. He approaches the tomb - He confronts the 'structures of death'

Jesus gave three commandments:
1) Take away the stone
    (we're often confortable with the society of death- but we need to get rid of it)
2) Lazarus come out
    (come out of the society of death and violence - weapons of mass destruction etc.)
3) Unbind him
    (unbind humanity from death to live in non-violence)

We are called to be a people of resurrection and stop being a people of death. We are to partake in a revolution of love with the role of peacemakers in our society.

Be of courage - "Do not depend on the hope of results." (Tomas Merton)

Don't put our hope in politics and administrations but in a movement - Jesus is our movement leader!

JESUS A HUMAN BEING

"Jesus came as a human being: he didn't come to teach us how to go to heaven but to be simple, loving human beings here on this earth;" Richard Rohr

This understanding of Jesus is both simple and yet pertinent. The life and teachings of Jesus reveal a new way of being human, of becoming a real authentic human being as we were meant to be from the beginning. His teachings are hard and go against the current flow - peace, nonviolence, forgiveness, love, reconciliation, grace, justice...
He once prayed that God's will be done on earth as it is in heaven...

So he calls us to be loving human beings here on earth.

Poems of war, peace, women, power...

Check this out...

http://www.ted.com/talks/suheir_hammad_poems_of_war_peace_women_power.html

Suheir Hammad Palestinian-American poet, author, activist.

BROKEN

Last night went to watch Broken, a British film directed by Rufus Norris. It's a wonderful painful film which reveals the broken lives of individuals and families who live on the same housing estate.
All are broken, which reflects the reality of our humanity; though we can deal or react to our brokeness
in diverse ways, this film well demonstrates this point. Some of the characters act violently while others try to show understanding and grace.

A film that provokes thought - that shows the complexity of our humanity.
Sure we're all broken in some degree or other.
I was reminded of the hope I have in Jesus. The One who was broken...who continued to show love, grace and truth...who was broken that our broken lives may be healed and fixed...
Even if that process takes a life time.

A wonderful film!

BLESSED ARE THESE HANDS

Here's a poem that I found on Emergent Village:

Blessed be the works of your hands, O Holy One.

Blessed be these hands that have touched life.

Blessed be these hands that have nurtured creativity.

Blessed be these hands that have held pain.

Blessed be these hands that have embraced with passion.

Blessed be these hands that have tended gardens.

Blessed be these hands that have closed in anger.

Blessed be these hands that have planted new seeds.

Blessed be these hands that have cleaned, washed, mopped, scrubbed.

Blessed be these hands that are wrinkled and scarred from doing justice.

Blessed be these hands that have reached out and been received.

Blessed be these hands that hold the promise of the future.

Blessed be the works of your hands, O Holy One.

Interfaith Worker Justice

THIS TEACHING IS HARD

Nadia Bolz-Weber is a Lutheran Pastor who was at Greenbelt last year. 

On her blog she recently posted an interesting sermon on the Eucharist.

I appreciate her inclusive ideas...

read them here

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/nadiabolzweber/2012/08/this-teaching-is-hard-who-can-accept-it-a-sermon-on-the-eucharist/

KAIROS PALESTINE

Here's a link to Kairos Palestine a movement of Christian Palestinians who want to show the truth and bring justice in the Holy Land.
http://www.kairospalestine.ps/ 

LIFE AT THE CIRCUS

'LIFE AT THE CIRCUS - PAINTING THE THOWN RED - was the title of the talk given by Lucy Winkett the rector at St James Piccadilly. She spoke of the 'desert' and in our fast lane life-style we need to get into the desert for our own spiritual sanity.
She spoke of 4 essential practices:
1) Silence - a waiting place we wait on the Lord.
2) Solitude -  (not loneliness) withholding interior content.
3) Fleeing - (not escaping) running for your live, fleeing towards yourself and God. Fleeing from              mediocracy.
4) Staying - (not feeling confined) focusing on the now. Real life is now with these people.

With these practices we will be able to be ourselves and not fantasies of ourselves.

Piccadilly (The Angel of Christian Charity)

GOD'S POLITICS

God's Politics was published in 2005 and written by American activist Jim Wallis.
The context of the book is the wake of America's war on terrorism and their invasion of Iraq. Jim had pleaded with both the American and British governments not to go to war and had drawn up a peaceful alternative to the situation. Unfortunately they did not listen and in hindsight we can see the futility of their decision and the lies they told.

God's Politics illustrates a political vision for the 'common good' of the USA and the world for that matter. Jim calls us to be a prophetic people and that 'we are the ones we've been waiting for'.
The book inspires both faith and hope - that what we do for justice is not in vain. Our endeavors for social change are rooted in the teachings of the prophets and Jesus.

It's worth the read despite the fact that the political climate has changed - the fight against world poverty is still a burning issue that needs to be solved in our generation.

Despite Warts

Here's a quote from Emergent Village blog:

Despite warts

  

The goal is not perfection. The goal is love ... It is not necessary to be perfect to be loving. On the contrary, were it not for our own imperfections and the imperfections of those around us, love would be impossible ... When we continue to give to others despite their warts and flaws, then love is becoming something real. 

E. Kent Rogers

12 Miracles of Spiritual Growth 

GREENBELT Saving Paradise

Got back on Tuesday from most probably the greatest festival in the world - GREENBELT!. This year's theme was Saving Paradise - the title of a book written by American theologians Rita Nakashima Brock & rebecca Ann Parker. The theme was explored through a diverse selection of speakers and artists including Tom Wright, Tony Compolo, Shane Claiborne and Bruce Cockburn, The Proclaimers...
Despite the mud it was an amazing festival  - great music, talks and plenty of food for thought.
I love Greenbelt because it always stretches my mind- leading me to explore and discover different facets of God's character and His purposes for His creation.

An amazing festival - I'll be shortly posting some of the thoughts that I picked up during the long weekend.

Anarchy & Christianity

During my holidays in the Cévennes region of France i read the little 158 page book by the late French protestant theologian, philosopher, sociologist... Jacques Ellul. Jacques writes as a Christian anarchist. His anarchy is not characterized by the nillistic approach of the 70s punks - but an anarchy that is rooted in the teachings of jesus - an anarchy that is based on freedom (in Christ).
Ellul sees Truth as a person, the person of Christ and not a question of adhering to a series of doctrines and dogmes.
Anarchists often say that there is 'neither God nor Master'. Ellul defends this slogan by saying that it's because they have a misunderstanding who God really is. God is not a cruel 'master' a 'King' - that refers to obedience to the state or nation/kingdom. God is essentially LOVE - and not a tyrant. That's why the early christians declared that Jesus is Lord and not cesar (master, king).
Therefore we do not obey a tyrant god/cruel master . God is not the Big Boss of the Universe - the God of the Bible is above all a liberator - who longs to free us from all forms of slavery...
God is love and God waits for man to respond to His love, He does not oblige us or coerce us to obey Him but gives us the freedom of choice. God is not a machine of gigantic type computer who has 'programmed' man to do as God wants us to do (a robot)...we are FREE! That's what Jacques Ellul describes as true anarchy.

This little book is an interesting read and looks at following Jesus in another light. One of trust, love and freedom!

Jesus - Marcus J Borg

I've just finished reading Jesus (uncovering the life, teachings, and relevance of a religious revolutionary) - by Marcus Borg. It was first published in 2006 and adresses primarily an American readership though it's extremely interesting and relevant for a wider audience including those of us in Europe.
He views Christianity, Jesus and the Bible through an emerging Christian paradigm - which is a transformation-centered way of being Christian.
He explores the historical context of first century Palestine in order to discover the historical Jesus - also using (mostly) the gospels to uncover Jesus and his message.
I appreciated his humble scholarly approach to the subject.
He sees Jesus as a Jewish mystic - meaning that he had an experiential knowledge of God. The mystic 'experiences a nonordinary state of consciousness marked above all by a sense of 'union' and 'illumination', of reconnection and seeing a new'. Jesus sensed this 'union' with God and this caused him to see anew, differently from his contemporaries.
For mystics the world has a positive value, it is the good creation of God and not simply to be escaped. Rather it is filled with the glory of God. It is where we live but it needs to be changed.
Jesus also taught mainly with paraboles. We don't have any written evidence that Jesus took a portion of the Hebrew Bible and preached systematically on it using (3) points. Paraboles 'leave the mind in sufficient doubt about their precise application to tease it into active thought'. (Borg quotes CD Dodd). Paraboles do not depend on Scripture to make their point. (No aurthoritive text). Paraboles are invitational not imperatival. They invite hearers to engage major questions such as God, life, etc.)

So Jesus,was a Jewish mystic (and much more), who taught mainly in paraboles - he was centered in God and his passion was God and the Kingdom of God. He invites us to participate with God in seeing His kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven. Jesus understood that God's passion is justice. So the message of Jesus is both transformational on a person level but also on a political level. Political meaning seeing the Kingdom of God (His peace, love and justice) - transforming cities, communities, families etc.

Jesus taught nonviolent resistance in the face of the domination system (at the time of Jesus the roman empire) - he was executed by the Empire for his subversion and vindicated by God. The cross is both personal and political. The death and resurrection of Jesus are the central Christian image fo the path of personal transformation; The path involves dying to the old way of being and being reborn into a new way of being. Followers of Jesus are invited into a journey that leads through death to new life.
The cross is also political. By dying and rising with Christ is not just rising and dying - it is dying and rising with the one who was crucified by the rulers of this world. The  way of Jesus involves.."taking up the cross", the path of confrontation with the domination system and its injustice and violence. His passion was the Kingdom of God, what life would be like on earth if God were king and the rulers and systems of this world were not. It is a world the prophets dreamed of - a world of distributive justice in which everybody has enough, in which war is no more, and in which nobody need be afraid. It is not simply a political dream, but God's dream, a dream that can be realized only by our being grounded ever more deeply in the God whose heart is justice.

The above are quotes from the book - I was both inspired and challenged that God is good and that he is love - challenged that his kingdom is not always apparent - and that my participation in His dream counts. Our participation in His big glorious dream counts.
So let's make it count!

Our Story is NOT over yet!

Here's a link to one of Nadia Bolz-Weber's sermons.
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/nadiabolzweber/2012/07/sermon-on-salome-herod-and-the-beheading-of-john-the-baptist/

Our story is not over yet...
God is still at work,
work in progress...
it's going to get better...
It has to,
doesn't it?

Blessing for the journey

Here's a beautiful blessing written by Gerard Kelly found on his spoken worship site
http://spokenworship.tumblr.com/post/4181292339/blessing 

May God, in whose furnace faith is forged; in whose being beauty breathes; at whose dawning darkness flees, shine on you.

May the Father, whose love for you beats with a rhythm time itself can’t stop; whose presence in your exile is the promise of home; whose certainties are deeper than the cellars of your city; whose breath is life, breathe on you.

May the son, whose story is a mirror of your own; who has journeyed into darkness to find a key to your prison; who has dived the deepest oceans to find pearls for your wisdom; who has looked into your heart and found a beauty worth the battle; who has written your name on a white stone carved in secret, hold you.

May the Spirit, who has waited millennia to fill you; who shaped the word that moved the wind of the morning that conceived you; who holds the earth on which you stand as an artist holds a candle; who fully knows you, wholly own you

So may God the faithful father, God the scarred son, God the sculpting spirit journey with you

God's Will

Here's a little something I found on Emergent Village:

God's will

God's will for our lives can only be general, not specific, for specificity invariably involves the micromanagement of our lives, which ultimately diminishes our freedom, growth, and responsibility ... God's will is not a tightrope that must be traversed with no room for error.

Now that's liberating, isn't it!

I remember having a discussion about God's will several years ago. At the time there was a big emphasis on 'calling' - and a sense of if you get it wrong you'll ruin your life, (I prefer the french = raté). I think it's true that we need to discover God's general desire for humanity and His creation - and then to roll up our sleaves and get on with what we can do - our part which will depend on our charactor and personality (how we're wired). 

We have to personally discover (often with the help and advice of those who know us well) our own part in the greater story., or if you like, our own path on the greater road (yuck)...

Yes there's certainly room for error - we so often learn from our mistakes - get back up and start again!

The Spirit

It's Pentecost Monday - a bank holiday here in France.

I liked Richard Rohr's Pentecost meditation posted yesterday.

here it is:

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” After He said this, He showed them His hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. And He said to them again, “Peace be with you!”

~ John 20:19-21

We still wait behind closed doors; fifty days (“Pente-cost”), fifty years, five hundred years, we are always waiting and hoping, but not really expecting. It is the day we are always waiting for but never prepared for, the day of the great outpouring of fire-laden love, the day that ties all other days together. Pentecost is actually every day, if we expect it; but, not surprisingly, this is the greatest forgotten major festival of the entire church year.  Most come to church expecting no new outpouring, or maybe not even remembering an old one.

Yet it is Pentecost, the day of the great gathering in and the great sending out. The Holy Spirit must get tired of waiting for us, always hiding behind our closed doors.

Richard speaks of 'the great outpouring of fire-laden love' - 'fire-laden love' is an image of a burning passion of love which is a similar metaphore used by Bruce Cockburn in his song 'Lord of the Starfields' when he sings 'Oh Lord who fires the sun keep me burning'.

My prayer is that the Lord of all creation may keep me burning with a passion for Him, a passion for life, for my immediate and not so immediate family, for humanity and for His creation.

May the fire of the Spirit keep us burning!

Ken Burns: On Story

Here's an interesting video by Film-maker Ken Burns who also speaks of the importance of Story telling.

Hope you like it

http://vimeo.com/40972394

A Sense of Story

Here's Friday Theology by the Evangelical Alliance:


A sense of story 


The Olympic torch relay which began its journey around the UK this week hasn’t been without its controversy. But what has captured my attention, and then my imagination, is the sense of story.

Among the torch bearers are celebrities and sporting heroes, but the majority are ordinary people who have been noticed because of something out-of-the-ordinary. There was 16-year old Ben Fox from Swindon, who only has one leg and wants to win an Olympic gold in wheelchair basketball in 2016. Then there was Hayley Mowbray, 26, from Cheltenham, who teaches at a school for young people with severe behavioural problems. She has been recognised as having an exceptional ability to inspire others and provide hope when all seems hopeless. Twenty-eight-year old Mark Ormrod lost an arm and both his legs when he stood on a landmine in Afghanistan. He was told he would never walk again, yet two years ago he completed a 3,500 mile charity run across the US. And Louis Gill, at the age of 15, cycled 300 miles on an old bike to raise money for an orphanage in Uganda. His nomination story says that ”he represents everything that is good in our teenagers and young people”.

All these stories capture something inspiring about the people who live in this land. Together, they remind us that, in the words of John Donne:

“No man is an island, Entire of itself.
Each is a piece of the continent, A part of the main.”

We succeed or fail as our individual stories connect to the whole. The Olympic torch relay has reminded me of this. It celebrates diversity, it reminds us that we’re connected and it celebrates how the story of one person, can improve the story of another.

However, it’s bigger than this. The Olympics, as athletes from all over the world gather to compete, connects us to the global story. Again, diversity is celebrated, and we are reminded that we are all connected. The torch relay also connects us to a historic story. The Olympic flame traces its way back to the stories of the Greek gods, the ancient games were designed to conjure images of the divine, and the relationship between humans and the gods. The Torch Relay, itself, a modern invention, is steeped in a historical story, not least because it first took place in the run-up the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, that were organised by the Nazis.

So there are many stories, within a story, within a story, within a story. My story, and your story, are being woven into the story of the UK, within the story of the world now, within the story of humanity past, present and future.

It reminds us that there is a meta-narrative running through human history, it’s the story that our stories are being woven into, and that’s God’s story. A story that meanders with purpose from creation to new creation. A story about destruction and restoration, faithfulness and unfaithfulness, sin and salvation. A story with the reoccurring refrain of: “They will be my people, and I will be their God.”

When Paul was in Greece, the source of the Olympic flame, he walked around the Areopagus in Athens looking at the Greeks’ objects of worship. He said: “I…found an alter with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you.”He was taking one of their stories to point people to the one true God. Today, as people are desperate to make sure their story is connected and it is significant, we need to be pointing them to God and His story, so they can connect to it and find significance in Him.

Phil Green, Programme Manager for the Evangelical Alliance


I like this thought. We are all stories - our stories woven together, meandering with purpose from creation to new creation...
We are part of the Divine work of new creation!

What Jesus was about

What Jesus was about

I guess I tend to associate the gospel with humanity relative to how people are acting more like "kingdom people," regardless of their religious affiliation or non-affiliation. It seems to me that Christ wasn't so fixated on whether other people loved him or not (though this was certainly mentioned, but not so much as a prerequisite of acceptance

into what he was about). I think Jesus identified with those who were simply what he was about himself (making his god's world a better place), not so much, if at all, dependent upon whether someone loved and devoted themselves to him.

Chris Hill

I found the above quote on Emergent Village website. I believe that the central core of the life and work of jesus was the Kingdom and I can understand that when people get involved and live out the Kingdom principles in their lives regardless of their religious affiliation or non-affilliation these people would seem to be what Jesus was about.

I think there was a story in the Gospels when the disciples were horrified because some folk were doing somme good stuff but didn't officially 'belong' to them. Jesus confirmed that the folk were 'with' them because of what they were about.

You see you can call yourself a Christian but you may not be doing the things that Jesus was and is about.

The main part of Kingdom activity is 'making God's world a better place'!

The Ascension

Here's a brief meditation for the Feast of the Ascension from Richard Rohr

I remember once seeing a painting in a European museum of the Ascension. It was rather huge, and at the very top, right beneath the frame, were the bare feet of Jesus as He ascended into heaven. It almost felt comic. Most of the painting was the apostles looking up in various poses of fear, confusion, and awe. It struck me that the Ascension was the final stage of His human life, and every human life, when the material world returns to its spiritual Source.

The Ascension is about the final reunion of what appeared to be separated for a while: Earth and Heaven, human and divine, matter and Spirit. They are again one, and it was important that we see ordinary human feet going into heaven! If the Christ is the archetype of the full human journey, now we know how it all resolves itself in glory.

I like the thought of the 'ordinary human feet going up to heaven' ...'Earth and Heaven, human and divine..' are indeed separated for a time, for a while...but one day they will be reunited.

In Tom Wright's 'Simply Jesus' he speaks about the Temple in Jerusalem as the sacred space where Heaven and Earth unite - where the Divine and human meet.

Jesus saw himself as the Temple, in Him Heaven came to Earth...that Temple is now in the other space which we call heaven...

St Paul developed the idea as the church as the Temple where God is present...He is present by the Spirit who was given at Pentecost...

Simply Jesus

Wow, the last time I posted on my blog was about my 50th...on the 19th April; a month ago!
I've just finished reading Tom Wright's book entitled 'Simply Jesus'. I've been reading it for some time now, because of other commitments and general business it's taken longer to read - believe me it's not due to being bored with the book.

I always appreciate Wright's relevence and accute theological understanding. In these 230 pages he looks at the historical context of Jesus' life, the 1st century Jewish messianic expectations and how Jesus fulfilled the Divine Kingdom-project which didn't quite fit the assumptions of his contempories.
The wonderful thing is that we as human beings are very much part of the Kingdom-project. We were created to be God's image-bearers and Jesus delegates his authority to us.God intended from the very beginning of the creation that He would rule the world through human beings. This original creation plan is to be fulfilled both through the church and outside the church.

These are just a few ideas that come from the book. There are many more!

50th!!!!

yes, a couple of days ago (19 April) - I hit the 50 mark -
they say life begins at 40, so i've just turned 10!

Here i am surrounded by my fantastic children.

My beautiful wife is behind the camera

Four Spiritual Stages

I've just finished reading 'Naked Spirituality' by Brian McLaren. I heard Brian speak on the subject at Greenbelt last year. The book goes into more detail. It's a good read. Brian is heavily influenced by Richard Rohr, and unashamedly so. In fact he quotes Rohr several times throughout the book.
The 4 spiritual stages that McLaren suggests are the following:
1. Simplicity - where there's a high notion of 'right versus wrong' - dualism.
2. Complexity - 'effective versus ineffective' - pragmatism.
3. Perplexity - 'honest versus dishonest' - relativism.
4. Harmony - 'humility' seeking to encounter God nakedly.

McLaren sees these stages are spirals, that the spiritual journey takes us upwards in these 4 stages, spiraling upwards.

I can see something of this pattern in my own life. The early days when the faith was simplistic everything was easily divided into black and white; then the complexity of trying to work it out and 'perform'; this then leads to perplexity (for me the most difficult stage to move out from) when faith is almost lost, God seems distant and almost inexistent...
I don't know if I've ever experienced the harmony stage - or maybe I've had a small taste of the intimacy of God, naked before him, accepted despite myself - loved, not because I deserve it but loved because God is love...but then it's so easy to get back to trying to prove myself to others and God.

The Machine !

A couple of posts ago I wrote about my motorbike licence exploit.
I'm no on 2 wheels and enjoying the exceptionally sunny weather we've been having.
It's been great :)

My 2 wheeled machine is a Yamaha 600 fazer - (FZ6 S2  with ABS).
I was looking for an all-round bike and that's exactly what it is. Ideal for going to work and back, handles well on small roads, it's also got a sporty edge to it - with 98 horse-power at 12,000 rpm.
It's comfortable at longer distances - at least that's what I read in several bike magazines - the truth will be revealed this weekend when we (Jackie & I) go for a spin in the Val Jolie region.
I'll tell you about

SatMix - The Other/l'Autre

Tomorrow at 7pm we are putting on a SatMix event where we will explore 'the Other' using a mix of multimedia, song, sketches and more...

It should be a great evening

Scrappy piece of paper

This scrappy piece of paper now entitles me to ride a motorbike! To obtain this scrappy piece of paper was no easy task.
I had to re-take my highway code (in French bien sûr!), then take an off-road practical test - slalom, emergency stop, balance, slow speed, 'normal' speed...
and today I took the road test. In all it's taken me 8 months, and a few euros!!

I wanted to get my motorbike licence  before my 50th birthday - mission accomplished - I'll be striking on the 19th April, a month today.

So this scrappy piece of paper means a lot to me :)

so watch this space for motorcycle posts!

The Problem with Scripture - women!

I wrote a couple of posts ago about the problem with Scripture and in particularly the difficulty of interpretation.
Last night we had a special church meeting with a potential 'candidate' for the job of pastor. In his 'speech' he mentioned a 'non-negotiable' issue if he were to become pastor of the church. The issue was  women leadership in the church. He would not accept a woman elder because it's not biblical.

So here we find a 'classic' example of interpretation of Scripture. Women leadership was, and apparently still is a thorny issue.

In some of St Paul's epistles he does mention that women should remain silent in church, that they should wear a kind of head covering and also there doesn't seem to be any evidence of women leaders in the Bible. (Except for Deborah &  Esther in the old testament and Lydia and Sapphira in the New Testament...)

However, Paul also mentions how masters should treat their slaves (with kindness of course). Unfortunately these 'slave' passages were used to defend the practice of slavery in the 'good old days' of the Empire but today (I hope) we would agree that slavery is definitely not what God intended.
I believe that the same applies to women. Our understanding of humanity and of God has greatly evolved and our culture is not the same as Paul's. In the same way as we no longer see slavery as biblical I suggest that we should no longer see that 'women should remain silent and therefore no leadership roles' as also not  biblical.

I think Paul was heading in this direction when he wrote:
"For all of you who were baptised into Christ have clothed yourself with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus."

So it's not whether you're a man or a woman that counts but your gifts, calling and character. These should be the criteria to evaluate whether you should be an elder or leader.

I think that if we contemplate the life and teachings of Jesus we would come to the same conclusion.

I'm saddened that I've had to post this.

Alas we are still focusing on the non-essentials.