JC's helper: Really on holiday now.

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Really on holiday now.

On the road...
The first two days of my "holiday" have really been "work". I went to a chaplaincy, I have done some Church work and I have prepared two wedding ceremonies and led one of them. Today we packed up and drove to Christchurch. It is always a bit hectic trying to think of what to pack. I had to pack the right clothing for a wedding. As well as that I am going tramping so I had to pack tramping gear. My son wants our foster daughter (to all intents and purposes, his sister) at his wedding, so we have brought her up. She has sever handicaps so it is a bit of a mission getting her here. It was a very hot drive here (roughly a five hour trip when you stop for a meal) with a nor-west wind blowing. These are notorious in Canterbury.
My plumbing...
As we were packing up I noticed a malfunction in my catheter and bag "plumbing" system. I had to stop and correct the problem and change my clothing. I am fortunate, this is the first time things have gone this wrong. As I begin the holiday I am beginning to realise how annoying it is not being able to wear shorts, having to take all the paraphernalia with us, and how do you cope with it with other people in the house? It was really nice on Monday. We visited a woman who comes to Space2B and is part of our wider Church community. She invited us for coffee and in the process offered to pay for the operation I am waiting for to get it done privately. This is the second person to graciously make this offer. I turned her down. If I wait for another three months I will get it free (well my taxes have paid for it) and those people can use their money for something else. But it is really moving having people care for me that much.
I WILL relax! I WILL relax!
The house we are renting for the next five nights is really luxurious. It is spacious with big double bedrooms, bathrooms to burn and spacious living and dining areas. There is a swimming pool, a spa pool and a pool table. All I need to do is switch off. The weather forecast is for hot! At the moment I am watching Australian cricket on a ridiculously big TV screen, having watched the tennis earlier. How I would love to have the ball skills these athletes have! Somehow I got dished out a "barely talented" hand of cards and have to struggle in nearly every area. Oh well we are all different.
Now what advice do you give your son when he's getting married? I'll let you know what I say at the ceremony. Watch this space.

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The Blog's title

I am a Workplace Chaplain to the NZ fireservice.

At the firestation every time one man sees me he yells, "Here comes JC's helper!". I guess I am happy to be called just that... "Jesus' helper". I am a follower of Jesus.
A a quote from Dave Andrews in his book, "Not Religion but Love".
"Being a devotee of Jesus is not a matter of subscribing to a certain set of dogmas, obeying rules and regulations, and getting others to subordinate themselves to them.

The essence of being a devotee of Jesus is to live in sympathy with God as Jesus did; feeling the throb of God's heartbeat, and teaching our hearts to learn to beat in sync with the love that sustains the universe.

It means developing our capacity to sense intuitively what causes love pleasure, and what causes love pain, and doing everything we can to enhance the pleasure, and diminish the pain."

I love this charter.

The Charter for Compassion

The principle of compassion lies at the heart of all religious, ethical and spiritual traditions, calling us always to treat all others as we wish to be treated ourselves. Compassion impels us to work tirelessly to alleviate the suffering of our fellow creatures, to dethrone ourselves from the centre of our world and put another there, and to honour the inviolable sanctity of every single human being, treating everybody, without exception, with absolute justice, equity and respect.

It is also necessary in both public and private life to refrain consistently and empathically from inflicting pain. To act or speak violently out of spite, chauvinism, or self-interest, to impoverish, exploit or deny basic rights to anybody, and to incite hatred by denigrating others—even our enemies—is a denial of our common humanity. We acknowledge that we have failed to live compassionately and that some have even increased the sum of human misery in the name of religion.

We therefore call upon all men and women ~ to restore compassion to the centre of morality and religion ~ to return to the ancient principle that any interpretation of scripture that breeds violence, hatred or disdain is illegitimate ~ to ensure that youth are given accurate and respectful information about other traditions, religions and cultures ~ to encourage a positive appreciation of cultural and religious diversity ~ to cultivate an informed empathy with the suffering of all human beings—even those regarded as enemies.

We urgently need to make compassion a clear, luminous and dynamic force in our polarized world. Rooted in a principled determination to transcend selfishness, compassion can break down political, dogmatic, ideological and religious boundaries. Born of our deep interdependence, compassion is essential to human relationships and to a fulfilled humanity. It is the path to enlightenment, and indispensable to the creation of a just economy and a peaceful global community.