ADVENT CALLS

The ritual embraces an annual event. 'Prepare for His Coming' yet He has already Come. So what does that mean?
Why the ritualising this Coming which as the New Testament informs us is a total "Birth, Life, Story, Death, Resurrection and Ascension" event. The implication is that the Day of Resurrection is The Significant Day One for us and all humankind.

Two films on ABC TV tonight - 25th December raises personal and national questions to address. "Easy Virtue" based on a play by Noel Coward. The father who returned to the village after WW1 without the villagers who had signed up with him for the King's shilling but who had all died. He returned with a shattered view of the world. This was not the main plot but a stream of real experience which was not going to be addressed nor relieved ... except? The American woman's tragedy and the Love which dammed her even by her new husband brought these two people together.


Then the second film "Joyeux Noel" the western front in December 1914. Scottish, French and German soldiers. I have,
since learning of this story a number of years ago felt repulsed by the response to what happened at several points along the battle front that Christmas Eve. The response of the High Commands and the response of the Bishop.

There was a discussion on the way to our friends place for lunch on ABC Radio National about Handel's Messiah. More
appropriate for Easter, yet has become a common place for Christmas. This comes back to the earlier notion of what Advent might actually mean. Certainly Advent as presented shows an inordinate pre-occupation with Mary.

What have we done to this News of the One who has come ... yet we live as if ...... we have joined pagan notions of annual religious ceremonies which have a life of their own. We do not Live because of Christmas, we live because we have a Risen Saviour who is Messiah and Lord. Who now sits as the True Adam, The True Israel, the True New Man at the Right Hand of the Father.

FAITH and TRUST CHALLENGED

Do Not Worry

He said to his disciples, ‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? If then you are not able to do so small a thing as that, why do you worry about the rest? Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith! And do not keep striving for what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not keep worrying. For it is the nations of the world that strive after all these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, strive for his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.

‘Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. LUKE 12:22 - 31

A wonderful passage and for me who wakes each morning with the knowledge that I will ! have three meals that day and more food in between. Yes, I can affirm these words. But suppose I was among the 75+ % of the world population without such an expectation? How would these words comfort me, rather would be an urgent test of faith. ... a desperate cry for this to happen.

Maybe like so much of the Gospel this is a word of judgement also. That even though there is sufficient food for all in the world, yes, even 6000000000 of us the great majority of the world goes hungry and remain permanently hungry.
Food is one matter of concern, money is another. When it is in short supply in a money economy like Australia how does one live by faith ... trusting in God and being satisfied, calm, free from fear.
What place depression in this Faith and Trust way of living? The perception of necessity must needs be reviewed as a matter of urgency. How shall we live in a world of false demands and necessity?

The General Confession of the Prayer Book notes ... and there is no health in us. This is an acknowledgment that as individuals and as community groups we have no answer to this wicked reality. And too often we have the temerity to blame the hungry for their predicament.
That statement by the Sudanese gentleman: I thank God, that my family is alive, that I have one meal a day and that my children can go to school ... is a rebuke as well as a powerful confession.

The Silversmiths of Ephesus and Christmas

The connection was made as Jocelyn and I reflect on a possible Christmas RE lesson at Brookfield for Primary 6 and 7.
Then into the equation came the story from UNICEF about the UK and the consumerist society. Following this was a comment
from Karen, our distinguished RE leader that Boxing day is the worst day in Australia for suicides.
How do folk claiming membership of the Kingdom of God and trustfully and obediently following Jesus the Messiah and true
King of All address this?
The story of the Silversmiths appears in Acts 19
23 About that time no little disturbance broke out concerning the Way. A man named Demetrius, a silversmith who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought no little business to the artisans. These he gathered together, with the workers of the same trade, and said, ‘Men, you know that we get our wealth from this business. You also see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost the whole of Asia this Paul has persuaded and drawn away a considerable number of people by saying that gods made with hands are not gods. And there is danger not only that this trade of ours may come into disrepute but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be scorned, and she will be deprived of her majesty that brought all Asia and the world to worship her.’
When they heard this, they were enraged and shouted, ‘Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!’ The city was filled with the confusion; and people* rushed together to the theatre, dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians who were Paul’s travelling-companions. Paul wished to go into the crowd, but the disciples would not let him; even some officials of the province of Asia,* who were friendly to him, sent him a message urging him not to venture into the theatre. Meanwhile, some were shouting one thing, some another; for the assembly was in confusion, and most of them did not know why they had come together. Some of the crowd gave instructions to Alexander, whom the Jews had pushed forward. And Alexander motioned for silence and tried to make a defence before the people. But when they recognized that he was a Jew, for about two hours all of them shouted in unison, ‘Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!’ But when the town clerk had quietened the crowd, he said, ‘Citizens of Ephesus, who is there that does not know that the city of the Ephesians is the temple-keeper of the great Artemis and of the statue that fell from heaven?* Since these things cannot be denied, you ought to be quiet and do nothing rash. You have brought these men here who are neither temple-robbers nor blasphemers of our* goddess. If therefore Demetrius and the artisans with him have a complaint against anyone, the courts are open, and there are proconsuls; let them bring charges there against one another. If there is anything further* you want to know, it must be settled in the regular assembly. For we are in danger of being charged with rioting today, since there is no cause that we can give to justify this commotion.’ When he had said this, he dismissed the assembly.

Then came the story from UNICEF
"Cycle of 'compulsive consumerism' leaves British family life in crisis, Unicef study finds British parents are trapping their children in a cycle of "compulsive consumerism" by showering them with toys and designer labels instead of spending quality time with them, a UN report has found."

Added to this is the financial commentary from retailers on the importance of Christmas for their balance sheets. There is a note of entrapment about this. Many people dependent for their livelihoods on this consumerist society but that was the confronting challenge for the Silversmiths of Ephesus.

Then follows a comment about Boxing Day suicides. We do not have to move to suicide before we note serious fault lines in society. The debt level significantly increased over this 'season'

What if? We followed the Kingdom story and Christians opted out of the consumerist society for the sake of this society and its children ?? Or should I write ... follow the Kingdom story rather than the consumerist society story which we ought to be doing anyway.

How then would we celebrate Christmas and how would we help those who are heading for suicidal conclusions to their lives?

What would Christmas celebration look like. ..The Promise is fulfilled … the Time is Now … The Messiah the Lord of All reigns and ….. actually there is little reference to the Birth of Jesus in the New Testament …. The main focus is on the Death .. Resurrection and Ascension of the Messiah.
Your Kingdom come on Earth as it is in Heaven …. and so how should we live?

The Word Militant - Preaching a Decentering Word

This post is a strong recommendation of another book by Walter Brueggemann. While other books provide examples of good preaching and others address the issue preaching this is by far the best and most challenging I have read so far. I have copied the first section of the Introduction. I will add more material to this post and provide other posts besides under the Label.

Walter Brueggemann : The Word Militant – Preaching a Decentering Word.

Introduction : At Risk with the Text

Preaching is an audacious act. It always has been.

It is audacious because the preacher stands up to make a claim that she has something new to say that the gathered listeners want to hear. That audaciousness is now acute, because it is no longer the case, as in the days of clergy monopoly, that the preacher might be the most learned person in town. Now, almost anywhere, the congregation teems with people who, in every dimension of our common life, know things well beyond the learning of the preacher. On all counts the act of preaching is:

• foolish – because in the congregation some know more and because in every congregation there are those ideologically committed in ways that preclude serious listening. As a result the preacher’s utterance is already determined to be disputatious even before it is heard.

• dangerous – if it is faithful, because the powers of retrenchment are everywhere among us, a passion to keep things as they were before the utterance. Ideological resistancenis readily evoked in most congregations. And if not in the congregation itself, the rulers of this age keep a close eye on every proclamation that may disturb present arrangements. We have all read of the dangers of preaching in a police state where the preacher on any occasion is at risk and may be called to account. But even in our more-or-less benign democratic society such surveillance is not difficult to evoke, as witness All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena, which has had its “tax status” called into question because of a preacher’s critique of the Iraq war policy.
• A risky self exposure of the preacher , who at best is vulnerable in the precariousness of the utterance. Every preacher knows with some regularity that what is said and what must be said inescapably expose the preacher to something of a fraud, for good preaching must speak truth to which the preacher’s own life does not always attest. The preacher, with any self-awareness, knows of such incongruity, and of course every knowing congregation can spot the slippage between utterance and utterer. But such discrepancy is inevitable unless preaching is confined to the small truths verified in the preacher’s own life.

Preaching is foolish, dangerous and exposing, because what must be said in proclamation constitutes a daring alternative to the ideological passions that may be present in the congregation, to the powers that conduct surveillance, either inside or outside the congregation, and to the preacher’s own sense of self.
The occasion of preaching is risky on all counts, inherently risky because something other happens in the preaching besides the echo of our preferred ideologies, our studied interests, or our personal inadequacies.

Surprised by HOPE

A book written by Bishop Tom Wright with this title provides not only a New Hope but a new grounding in the Resurrection,
Ascencion. This latter came as shock.
A second strand in this book has been the revisiting the notion ... Truth ... of Jesus as New Adam .... as True Humanity.

This as work in progress ..... hardly begun .... but must be pursued. It may be taken as impetus for a visit overseas. ( This is
now a real possibility )

“Surprised by Hope” and how such Hope might impact and engage a church.
"colonising earth with the presence of heaven" This is the tentative theme for a series and basis for a visit to a church overseas. Our friend Olive found the phrase in the book that was significant and challenging for her. Both Jocelyn and I agree.

Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church.

Six Sessions : 1. Hope for the World
2. Hope of the Resurrection
3. The Hope of Heaven
4. The Hope of Jesus’ Second Coming
5. The Hope of Salvation
6. The Hope of the Church

This theme also takes up to include material from an earlier blog concerning what I / we owe the other. Tom Wright spells out clearly and explicitly that the church must DO (!) Justice, Beauty and Homecoming.

Freedom to Draw

I found this among material hidden away since the 1980's. I find it a rebuke that the time between has not seen progress with
this opportunity. The University of the Third Age experience this year ( 2011) offers at least a move to re-engage with this challenge. However, the focus on drawing animals is not quite what Rick Ball and Chris Neild intended.
In 'The Refining Fire" by Dawn Mendham, Chris reminds us of Genesis 2 where God hands over to Adam the freedom to name the animals. Chris points out that the Creative initiative was handed over to Adam. It is not a matter of him guessing the right answers- that is, what God really wanted them named - but a matter of total freedom and control. There were, in fact, no 'right' answers but Adam's answers which God encouraged and accepted ( If accepted was necessary). Chris believes that this freedom to create is still with us - that it is not a matter of creating according to divine blueprint but a matter of claiming freedom and taking responsibility for its use" ( pp 111 -112)
As "Image Bearers of God" and redeemed .... 'In Christ" this is most especially the case.
This is the challenge that I note below but am aware that at times it is fear that prevents its exploration.

Report of an ELM Centre Seminar

The first Saturday saw me doodling to the Glory of God
To find a shape that is satisfying to me! … is this being self-centred?
God, are you saying that being made in your Creative Image I can do something that pleases me? And this will please You?
Wow! And do I hear you correctly? I don’t have to stick with the squares, triangles, cubes and spheres that you use to make things?
I can make something new? I am just a little scared about this. I don’t know whether I can ……. want ….. should …. [ What’s that? You say I must stop these idle questions and get on with the drawing. God, you know I often ask questions to resist doing what I know…. ]
Wait a bit! I came to do an Introduction to Aesthetics not a Development of my Spiritual Life. [ I’ll do that some other time]
You mean You can reach me through any area of my life …. [ Isn’t there just one little area I can have to myself!!! There is a caution here. Does the freedom given me by God (The I Am, Creating and Covenant Keeping One) allow .. encompass to be myself ?]


The following Saturday I was offered the use of a magic brush …. To use for a year to do as I wished.
What uses? To reproduce what is already there? To make food for the world’s starving …. To brush out evil from the world.
How unfree am I to jump in and simply draw. Must I be aware of my own frailties and be cautious in how I use the brush?
Given the work of the Holy Spirit in my life and in the whole world around me I suggest I can be bold and make those brush strokes confidently and with a deep sense of joy.

Books that Bless

All books written by Bishop Tom Wright
"Following Jesus: Biblical Reflections on Discipleship" An excellent summary of some New Testament books - Hebrews, Colossians, Matthew, John, Mark and Revelation. This is followed by six chapters - The god who raises the dead; The Mind
Renewed, Temptation, Hell, Heaven and Power, New Life - New World.

"Scripture and the Authority of God" Significantly challenging about how we are to understand and respond to that authority.
Very dynamic. Hermeneutics is becoming a serious issue for me to explore. The "Scripture & Hermeneutics Series" is proving valuable.

"JUSTIFICATION" is a / the response to foolish attacks. This is an important book relocating the focus on the New Testament as
a Jewish literature not Greek. Let the language of the New Testament speak from the Narrative of the total scripture. The base line is Second Temple Jewish world not later Greek thought.

"Tom Wright for Everyone" by Stephen Kuhrt. Sadly is a book that was required to be written. Given that Tom Wright has been
cut out of far too many church 'spaces'! An excellent read.

"Jacques Ellul on division of labour and its effects on responsibility" - thirddaydawning@gmail.com

I had intended a video here of Jacques Ellul but....

This is not quite as I wanted this to be. However Jacques Ellul is a most important Christian Writer who has so much to contribute to the present as to his own era. 1930 - 1980

How it is by James Mercer

The current commission in the Turbine Hall at the Tate Modern is titled ‘How It Is’. Conceived and designed by Polish artist Miroslaw Balka, the exhibit is a giant grey steel structure, enclosing a vast dark chamber. Hovering somewhere between sculpture and architecture, on 2 metre stilts, it stands 13 metres high and 30 metres long. Visitors can walk underneath it, accompanied by echoing footsteps on the unyielding steel above, or enter via a ramp into its pitch-black interior.
Informing the creation of this chamber are allusions to recent Polish and European history – the ramp at the entrance to the Ghetto in Warsaw, or the trucks which took Jews away to the camps of Treblinka or Auschwitz, or the claustrophobic containers within which immigrants are illegally smuggled over national borders.
By entering the dark space, visitors display considerable trust in both the artist and his structure. Once inside the box, the visitor can see nothing. No end is insight. The walls and ceiling cannot be discerned. Only the unseen, harshly- metallic floor offers any tactile security.
Balka engineers an experience for visitors that is both personal and collective; engendering sensory and emotional experiences through sound; contrasting light and shade; individual experience and awareness of others. Fabricating apprehension, menace, excitement, intrigue.
And yet, having entered the darkness once and emerged safely from it, the consuming shadow looses its ability to terrify. To enter once and to return enables one to assist others to emerge from the incoherent void.
As we journey through Epiphany, and through Lent to the new beginning that is Easter, we journey in the company of the truly human one who was to go before us to face the darkness, uncertainty and terror of death - on our behalf. He was to absorb the shade and return. May we find in him the confidence to face towards an unknown future, secure in the hope of resurrection.
Jesus said to [Martha], ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live. John 11: 25

article from www.fulcrum-anglican.org

The FLOOD

It has been spoken about since 1974 .... Brisbane can expect another flood like 1974. Little was done to prepare. A dam was built to minimise the impact but never to prevent. This week the flood came through Ipswich and then into Brisbane. To the west Toowoomba was hit traumatically, totally unexpected, the small village of Grantham was swept out of existence by a wall of water. The whole state of Queensland has been deluged by rain and floods.
The day it hit Brisbane was a fine day for us, we put two lots of washing out on the line to dry, yet over the hill .... well that was another story. Steve and Anne's house went under, as did Cathy's , Ian and Carmen, Jacques and Pia and so many others. I include these names of friends because this story is personal, like every event like this. 1000 plus people, with names, have died at the same time in floods in Brazil, 35 plus in Sri Lanka.
There are echoes of The Flood, and every other catastrophe. In so many stories, films, poems so often they are over there or in the past and our interest is more cerebral.
With one person, a brother had been murdered six months ago and this flood compounded that sadness and added another. We cannot forget that these people were already dealing with issues, yes even the great delight in living ... all is well. .. my identity is assured with house, possessions and people.

The real test for all will come in the weeks and months ahead when the adrenalin rush of these moments will disappear.

The Torn Veil - Gulshan Esther

In the light of deaths and persecutions of Christians in Iraq, Afghanistan, Egypt and Pakistan .... [sadly all Islamic countries,] in recent days I decided to include the conclusion to Gulshan's book for a statement of Faith ... a Witness.

'Today I no longer need the Five Pillars of Islam to support my faith.

My WITNESS is to Jesus, crucified, dead and buried, then raised in Resurrection life,
and now living in his own people.

My NAMAZ is not to an unknowable God, but to one whose story is found in His own Word, the Holy Bible my most precious treasure, which is written on the tablets of my heart and mind, just as the Quran used to be.

My ZAKAT is no longer a proportion, but the whole of my income, for everything I have belongs to God. My riches are stored up in Heaven.

My FASTING is not done at Ramadan, to placate God, so that I might be sure of Paradise, but it is done with delight, so that I might know Him better.

My HAJJ is my journey through life, Each day brings me nearer my goal - to be with Jesus - my heavenly King, for ever.

"The blood of bulls, sheep and goats can never wipe away sin, but we may enter into the holiest place, in perfect acceptance, through a new and living way, through the veil, that is to say, His Flesh, For this man [ Jesus] when He had offered one sacrifice for sin for ever, sat down on the right hand of God" Hebrews 10: 12

Such is Jesus, Lamb of God, prophet and priest, King of kings, my Lord and my God