Recipe for a long life

I had news just on Christmas that an old college lecturer of mine had died. His name was Gordon Stirling and he was well into his 90s. I posted about him then. Yesterday I was looking through some resources and found a speech he gave at his 90th Birthday. I received a copy of it, so I am thinking he would not mind it being passed on. He called it "The Recipe for long life."

Many people have asked me in recent times how I am very fit and well in spite of my 90 years. So at my birthday celebration I repeated the sort of reply that I often give.

1. I enjoy life.
2. People, all people, fascinate me. I have never yet met any one I couldn't like. If ever I do I will be fascinated to find out why they are like that, or why I am like that!
3. I eat good food, especially plenty of fruit and vegetables.
4. I exercise daily and also do a lot of walking.
5. I have favourable genes. My mother lived till 96. A second cousin died the other day at 100. ... and we are a family of incurable optimists.
6. A long time ago I started learning something about life that for me is basic. I have been learning it ever since and am still learning it. That is that the secret of real living is living joyfully with God, and living for people. Maybe an explanation will help.

My God doesn't live above the solid blue dome, sitting on a throne for ever and ever, watching people hurling their crowns along the glassy sea in front of him. How boring for God! There is no place where God isn't. He is with every one whether they know him or not. He is creating in all who are open to it, love, peace, compassion, wisdom, insight, health and comfort, whether they know him or not. He is healing through healing teams, dedicated researchers and others, whether they know him or not. I can share this creative work with him, and it is exciting. He knows me better than I know myself and still accepts me "warts and all" and works with me towards my potential. He doesn't promise to exempt me from the rough stuff in life, but he does promise to give me what it takes to handle it well. And so far he always has, and really I don't want any more than that.

And the "living for people" bit? It is satisfying and fulfilling, and it's fun! And the opposite of that lifestyle is "hell". People who live for themselves have a terrible existence. Nothing really satisfies them. They get hurt easily. They get upset when they can't get their own way. They are often in conflict. And they are often way down in the downward spiral of self-pity. Some get so far down they can't get up again.

Well that's my recipe. There is no patent on it!

I think there is quite a bit of common sense in that bit of writing, I thought I'd pass it on. He was a good guy who did a lot for a lot of people. Gordon is the guy seated on the right in the photo above. He was into his 90's then and still going strong.

Wrong Mrs Palin

I think Sarah Palin's "blood libel" comment was unfortunate. I would not say that she has contributed to the tragedy of the shootings, but I do think her cross hairs map is very unwise and ill considered given the culture and times in which she lives. But I do want to say that her statement about the culpability for the crime "begins and ends with the criminal" is wrong! (Why was she so so defensive?) There are lots of contributing factors to crime, and somehow the ethos, the economics and the values of the culture contribute to crime. While that person is culpable and should be held responsible for the crime, it should be a spur for society as a whole to ask, "What is there in our culture, ethos and values that sets the scene for such things to happen?" It is a dangerous and irresponsible individualism that does not acknowledge that there are wider contributing factors to crimes. Studies have shown, for example, that where there is a wide disparity between rich and poor, then crime increases. This is true also even if the person is classed as mentally ill. Why is it that we spit so many people out the back end of our society who cannot cope with life in "normal" ways? (I ask this regularly as I share in our Friday night drop in centre.... so many distorted, twisted up and wasted lives! How come? What are we doing wrong?) This is something we in NZ need to take on board also. Headlines last week suggested our drinking culture is a national disaster. The various statistics relating to health problems and numbers of problem drinkers are staggering. We need to be asking questions about values and ways such irresponsible drinking is encouraged and reinforced. Another issue is why there has been such an increase in violent crime? Why do we have such a poor record in terms of domestic violence? Of course the perpetrators need to take responsibility, but as a wider society we need to re-examine the way we think and do things also. We will not find solutions by burying our heads in the sand and just blaming the individual, we must look at the wider picture.

Sorry Mrs Palin, I think you are wrong, you would not get my vote.

"Gracefully surrendering" ... get stuffed.

Stupid Knee...

A couple of months ago I was running well. I could run the 11k home easily and feel all the joy of running freely. But now I have a sore knee. I have rested it hoping that it would come right. Even when I went for a walk up the mountain the downward journey would make it sore. When I bend it and touch the outside knee area, you can feel a sort of grating. When it was really bad you could hear the grating sound. I was talking to a man who does sport massage and massage therapy on Friday and he poked and prodded and told me that I need medical help. He warned me that unless I had some treatment I could end up needing a walking stick in two years. I went for a bike ride yesterday and it was "OK'. Today I went for a run/walk and apart from the grating feel, it seems OK so far. But what is ahead for me?

Is it time to give up running? I have been too busy to go on serious tramps thinking "when I reach retirement age" I will do these sorts of things. But will I be able to then? My son wants to go tramping with me in February, will I handle 8 hours of walking?

The Desiderata says;

...take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.

Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress your self with imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Well I say get stuffed to the "gracefully surrendering the things of youth"! There is nothing graceful about the way I feel. - I must admit I could be "distressing myself with imaginings".

I have often talked with people who have had life changing injuries and wondered how I would cope in the same situation. I have not got major injuries but to be frank my stupid knee depresses me. I would be a difficult patient with something profound. I hope I will learn grace, because if not now, then sometime there will come a time when I will be limited... there is nothing surer. One thing that annoys me is that if it is really bad I will have all those people who have said, "You should not be running, running is bad for you. Especially at your age." gloating at me and telling me, "I told you so!" ... I think I would have to leave town. I think I have to take my knee to a doctor. Watch this space.

The week that was.

• Monday - (my normal day off) led a funeral, received phone calls about another death and extra work.
• Tuesday - chaplaincies at fire service and St John Ambulance. Started to sort some things out for the year ahead. Initial reading for Sunday's service.
• Wednesday - Morning I was called in to another industry to support a CEO as he met with one of his managers to talk over serious issues. Saw a man aching about his reputation, his job and his whole future. In the afternoon, amongst other things, began to sort out the addresses and letters of appreciation to go to people after the Christmas Dinner. More Sunday service preparation.
• Thursday - four hours were spent at Allied Press catching up on people. Choosing songs for Sunday and exploring other elements for the service.
• Friday - chaplaincy work with Fire and Ambulance staff. Some people at the Ambulance are going through job changes so this will be issues to talk through in the week ahead. A syndicate there won First Division in Lotto a few weeks ago. While the eventual amount to each member is not big, it is big enough to cause interesting lunch room discussions.
• Saturday - In the morning I got out my old plumber's tools and fitted a water filter under the sink at the Church. I enjoyed doing it, though my knee did not like the kneeling. In the afternoon and evening work toward today's service and an enjoyable bike ride.
• Sunday - Final preparations and presenting the Sunday service. I went for a run, catching up on my running friend who has been in Australia since before Christmas.

In amongst all this there have been countless conversations with people visiting the church or in chaplaincies covering all sorts of topics. As I said to someone today, "In my job I am never bored!"

"faith" .. what is it for me?

It isn't...

In my last post I talked of "faith". But what do I mean? Let me waffle on this subject, again thinking out loud! Sometimes, because I am a minister, people assume that implies that I "believe" certain things. These can be miracles, some weird prophecy they think is in the Bible, that creation happened just as it is in the Bible etc. etc. Or sometimes they assume that I "believe" homosexuality is wrong, that it's Ok to run down Muslims, that lawbreakers should be severely punished etc. It is assumed that being a person of "faith" involves holding to certain "beliefs" or "moral positions" (usually what you don't do) as in intellectual ascent to abstract statements. I do not like using the words "beliefs", "believe" or "believer" to describe what my "faith" is or how it impacts my life. When I am at a church service where they recite one of the creeds I refuse to recite it. Apart from the questionable abstract concepts and the total lack of the word "love", (describing a God of love???) it just is not who I am as a follower of Jesus.

What it is...or my attempt to describe how I experience "faith".

"Faith" to me is much more of a dynamic experience. Rather than believing certain dogma in my mind, it is more relational, more like falling in love, and being again and again confirmed in that love. When we fall in love there is something deep inside us which is attracted to something deep inside the other person. There is what we sometimes describe as, "chemistry", a responding to each other. It has a rational side to it in that we seek to ensure we really do know the other if we are going to build on that love and deepen it, but it is some deep inner "recognition" that seems to come from outside of ourselves. We then want to merge with that person and become an "us" and in a sense we allow ourselves to be "possessed" by the other. There evolves an intimacy and partnership so that person is just "there" with us and in us as we travel through life even though we may be separated by distance. Now, I may be balmy, but that virtually word for word describes my ongoing experience of "faith".

As a young boy as I heard stories and teachings of Jesus there was something "in me" that "rang bells" and I was simply smitten because he "made sense". That "smitten experience" has kept me attempting to walk with him, even though I stray regularly. That has never stopped happening and "he" is just "there". Sometimes I hear a bit of his teaching (e.g. The Good Samaritan parable or a simple saying like, "Those who live by the sword die by the sword") and the truth in it "possesses" me, and its implications and relevance explode in my mind. His teachings are demanding and seem idealistic, but as such I cannot help but be drawn to them. But it is not a matter of worked out "intellectual ascent" or "belief" but rather an experience of "deep" calling to "deep". There is an inner authority that is hard to describe, but harder to deny. (I often think that people's arguing about religion or Church services or "hypocrites in Church" etc is people desperately trying hard to block this inner voice calling them.) Very often too it is not words that smite me but experiences. I recall visiting a lady who was dying in hospital. I was scared shitless! What if I get it wrong? What if I say something stupid? But I had traveled with that lady for a year or two and I wanted to be with her. I sat beside her bed and tried to be "with her" mostly in silence, just holding her hand. I came out of that hospital thinking "now that was real!". This giving yourself to another is LIFE! It is "truth"! Like "wow.. nothing can top that deep closeness"... I recall coming home and seeing TV adverts about fashions, smelling nice and gadgets and thinking "what absolute meaningless crap!" That is "faith" to me, being possessed by truth and experiencing it. I have seen it happen to people volunteering for Christmas Day dinner. I encourage them to respect the people, enjoy the people and give themselves to people. I go up to thank them and they say, "No! ....THANK YOU! That was great! That was the best Christmas Day I have ever had!" One lady who openly said she didn't like religion, walked passed me once delivering meals to her table saying, "Wow! This is unconditional love in action! I LOVE it!" They have experienced TRUTH. I have seen it on Habitat sites, people carried away by the experience of giving in the way Jesus gave. "Faith" for me is this being smitten by ultimate reality again and again. It can be in closeness with another. It can be being forgiven by another. It can be deep anger at some stupid evil statement or injustice. It can be in a sentence you read that makes you go, "Yeah!" It often is in love shared, grace received and an experience of life at depth. Maturing faith is that deep sense of journeying with the sacred and with others, people around me and those who have gone before. Now, and you will know this if you have read earlier posts, this is not always ecstatic experiences of truth, and blissful joy. Sometimes it involves deep, difficult and seemingly silly choices. I struggle with the frustrations of ministry in an old established church. But try as I might, I am smitten by a deep "call" to keep trying to work out a relevant expression of the Jesus way. These experiences of being smitten are to me what "faith" is.

"Faith - living in the currents of God"

One time when our families were young my brother and I and our families were picnicking beside the fast flowing Clutha River. The kids were paddling in the shallows but we two went looking for more adventure. Both of us loved swimming and could swim reasonably well so we were confident in our own ability. We went away upstream and found an outcrop of land that went out into the river. We jumped in and rode the rapids, racing down the river through all sorts of twists and turns, bumping over rocks yelling at the top of our lungs when we could. (I recall racing past our families with our wives looking suitably shocked at our immature behaviour) When we were able to swim out of the current we did so and then walked back up the bank to repeat the performance. That is my experience of faith. It is being swept along by the currents of God, (that flow of life that was there before me, and will continue after me) but that will take me on a journey with all sorts of twists and turns and is the ultimate ride of a lifetime. There is a deep sense of being "in the current" but it is nothing like intoning...

(imagine a solemn nasal voice) "I believe in God, the Father almighty,

creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord... etc etc."

It is more like....

"Wow! Wahoo Whoa! Watch out! Oh no! Let me out! Oh yes! .. gulp! gurgle... splash.. Wow!"

Faith is jumping into the currents of God and letting them take you wherever they will!

Myth, history and faith?

Anthony made a good comment about my last post. There was something he said in passing that got me thinking about the way I view the Bible.

"Myth" in the Bible... I believe there is a lot of myth in the Bible. That does not mean that I think the Bible is no good to us, just that a whole lot of stuff becomes more meaningful when we read it as myth. The nature of the story telling is more like mythology than it is history and we have to read it in that light. One commentator I read recently writing about Luke's account of the Christmas story said something like, "Luke is not writing history. He is writing theology in narrative form." If we depend on the New Testament to be historically correct we come across all sorts of dilemmas. In Luke's birth accounts to try and workout the dates when various people were in authority and a census was taken and to reconcile it with other historical data is very difficult. What I believe, is that when the Gospel writers wrote the gospels they are writing back into their story of Jesus the evolved faith of the Church... so much of what Jesus is reported to have said he may not have said. There are scholars (e.g. the Jesus Seminar) who try to work out the "historical Jesus" from the "Jesus of faith". These days I explore their writings and the writings if thinkers like Marcus Borg etc. I think many people who have chucked out the "faith" because of the difficulty of believing literally everything in scripture would find new freedom and meaning in such writers.

Anthony said... In the midst of his comment Anthony had these words... ""IF Jesus Christ really existed, and IF he was as described in the book and IF he is your role model..." and he goes on to make his really valid point. The first two "IF"s got me thinking. Does my faith have to depend on the fact of Jesus existence and upon the fact that if he existed he lived as is described in "the book"? (Now before all you good Christian people consign me to hell I do believe Jesus existed... then again does "hell" exist? I digress.) ... but to illustrate from an Old Testament story. I don't believe that God took some mud and made a man. I don't believe that he then took a rib from that man and fashioned a woman. (gorgeous creations though they be) I do not believe Adam and Eve and the crafty serpent existed. I don't think there was a naked couple who "walked in the garden" "ate the fruit" "clothed themselves with fig leaves" "hid from God" etc. These are mythological stories that describe truths about life, God and the relationships between all "this". Now even if I do not believe in their historicity, I can say I choose to live my life by the truth of that myth. That is my "faith", the deep truths that these stories point to.

In the same way, it is possible for someone to have real difficulty in believing that Jesus actually existed, but to still choose to say of the writings about him, "I will live by the deep truths these stories, this character point to... I believe those values, those insights and those purposes to be 'ultimate truth' (i.e. God)".

Now I don't quite fit into that category. I believe there was an historical Jesus. I believe that the Gospels give us insight into his historical life and teachings. But I do believe the gospels express truths about Jesus, God and the relationship between the two in mythological type stories and using mythological type picture language. In my living then, I choose to listen to the truths and testimony in the stories and to live by the deep truths and values they point to, without having to get too hung up about exact historical detail.

My old father-in-law was a minister. (though I did not always agree with his directions) I remember going for a walk with him at the time when Lloyd Geering, who was principal of a local theological college, was raising questions about the nature of the resurrection. (1970 ish) My Father-in-law said, "If someone could prove to me that there was absolute proof that there was no resurrection, I would still say of Jesus, 'My Lord and my God' " ... Well I think I would have to say something similar. If someone could prove that Jesus never existed, I would still say that the character in the stories, the truth and values he taught, the insights into the sacred the stories give, are worth living by, they would still make my life a better life, they would still make a real difference in the world... He would still be for me "My Lord and my God". (Both terms are pictures, metaphors anyway?)

Anyway, I am very much thinking aloud, sparked by the passing comments Anthony made... thanks Anthony. Probably I have offended a lot of good christian people... sorry. ...

Monday update..

My "day off"....

• We Skyped with my son in Poland and caught up with him, which took a bit more time than I had anticipated. It was good though to see him.
• I set to work preparing for the funeral which I had to run at 2:30 p.m.
• The phone rang and it was a man from one of my chaplaincies who described the death of his sister's ex. As he talked I realised I knew the man. He wanted to know if I was available later in the week for a funeral if need be. The dead man had been addicted to alcohol... it is very sad. I received a further phone call about this and was to get a call back later tonight.
• I continued working and while having a bite to eat before heading out to conduct the funeral, there was yet another phone call. A chaplain. A very awkward issue had come up in her chaplaincy where she needed an extra chaplain for a meeting on Wednesday. Would I be willing to come along. I talked it over, finished my lunch and headed out to take the funeral. I was to get a further phone call about this later also.
• I conducted the funeral and actually enjoyed it. The lady who had died sounded like a real gem of a woman with a very talented family. As they with love celebrated her life I felt privileged to be a part of it. I kept pronouncing her name incorrectly... I hope they will forgive me.
• I went to the fire station to get a phone number, and talked with two men about family health issues they were having.
• I came home and we had a cup of tea then went shopping.
• I received my phone calls. I do not have big responsibilities with the man who died. I will continue to support the man who rang me. I will however be spending time with the CEO of a firm supporting him through a difficult issue on Wednesday.

That was my Monday "day off". Life is never boring and I began to wonder when the phone calls would stop. I do have a busier week ahead than I had planned. I thought I should report to any faithful readers that in spite of my grumpiness, I enjoyed conducting the funeral. There are rich rewards in my job that I need to remember when it seems difficult.

Sunday sillies...

First - A selfish grump... Ministers are people too!

I often enjoy this time of year to catch up on planning type stuff, do some housekeeping in and around my office and just blob out or have some quieter home life in the evenings. I should learn not to expect such luxury in my job. Let me resort to selfish grumpiness for a while...

• My wife's brother is quite ill in Christchurch hospital. (5 hours drive away) I have a brother-in-law who has been given a sad prognosis living in Christchurch. A son, we have not seen since we were in London also lives there. We had planned to leave church today (Sunday 9th) and drive to Christchurch, arriving back in Dunedin early on Tuesday morning so that we could catch up on all three people. I arrived home on Wednesday night from work and began to prepare for a night in. The phone rang and it was a funeral director who said a lady had died in her 90's. Early in her life she had Church of Christ connections, her funeral was on Monday and would I lead it? I hesitated. The funeral director talked some more about the lady's early Church of Christ connections, and asked again. I hesitated again. "Are you on holiday?" the funeral director asked. "Well no!" I replied honestly. "They have it pretty well worked out, so it won't be too hard for you?" she insisted. I remembered one of my elders telling me once that I should not be driving to Christchurch on a Sunday afternoon, that it was still one of my working days, that I should be available in Dunedin for it.(Though I hasten to say that is not the majority view) ... I got guilted out and agreed to stay home and take the funeral. Then I got grumpy about it for a while. I knock off work, am at home trying to relax and they ring me, stuff up my evening, (I had to break the news to my wife when she got home) and stuff up my plans... What right have they to do that? They don't pay my wages? Even if they pay me for the funeral the going rate for ministers is about $130... I was talking to a nephew-in-law who charges that for one hour's consultancy work! - Funerals take six to eight hours at least. It is a pretty low charge out rate..... I could feel under valued. They planned it for Monday before they asked me... Monday is my day off! It would have been fairer to check with me first... I will have no day off in this next week. I preached a sermon on being a servant today so I am being inconsistent. I am doing the funeral and will feel OK, but I am allowed a moment of selfish grumpiness.
• On Friday night we were at home enjoying an evening of comedy on the TV. The Drop-in hasn't started so we were in relaxed mode, enjoying our freedom. My wife had been on the phone and after that we checked the messages. One of our drop-in guys left a message, saying he wanted to talk to me about something that happened at drop-in a couple of months ago, and demanded that I ring him back. I had just talked with him that day? Again it stuffed up part of our night. He would not do that to his social worker. He would not do it to his Doctor. Why is it OK to disturb my night about something that is not urgent?

Now I am being selfish and selfishness leads to grumpiness. Very often though, I have cause to feel that ministers, because they have to be nice, are treated with less consideration and respect than would be given to others. I could give heaps of examples but I'll stop now. Yesterday I was under the Church's borer ridden floor making some repairs with my wife handing me tools. The Pastor and wife of the Korean congregation which meets in our buildings arrived, dug out the vacuum cleaners and began to clean the building. The Korean congregation have said they will do this, in a sense it is part of their rent. But I have noticed it is the Pastor who is left with the task. Perhaps he too could get grumpy... but maybe he is more Christian than I?

Nice to be active again..

I have had a sore knee, so while my running friend has been away in Aussie, I have not been exercising, hoping the knee will heal. The weather too has been grey or wet, and not conducive to outdoor adventures. Yesterday, however, I climbed my mountain. While on top I encountered a couple with an older woman I took to be one of their mothers. They initiated conversation. At one point I said, "I think they should make a decent road up here, not that corrugated dusty one, so that more tourists could enjoy that view." They looked stunned. "That road is OK!" said the man emphatically. His wife grinned and said, "We live in Uganda, and for us that road is luxury." It is all relative isn't it? With clear skies the view was stunning. Today in warm but very windy weather I went for a 9k jog (I could not call it running) My knee suffered a little, but it is nice to be active again, I get kind of stir crazy when I can't get out and about.

Ding's piano..

We have this delightful Chinese lady coming to Church who had bought an old piano. Her room in the place she lives is upstairs, and she asked if there was a group of us who could move the piano for her. It was a significant stairway with a U-turn in it. After Church this morning a group of us went around and moved this heavy monster up the stairs. We skinned our hands, grunted a lot and raised a sweat, but we did it. I was quite pleased that I could still carry one end of a piano, by myself when there was not room for two of us. Ding was so grateful she handed out beers to us. John is an older guy who has been coming to church since coming to the 2009 Christmas dinner. He climbed into our car as we dropped him back at the library. He laughed as he polished off his stubby of beer. "Someone is gonna ask me what I have been up to. I'll tell them - 'moving a piano and drinking beer with the minister' - they won't believe me!" Ding thanked us profusely, but it was simply good fun being in a group of friends doing something for someone else.

Photos:

1. "Through the eye of a needle"... A big cruise ship leaves Otago Harbour. It is a surprisingly narrow channel for such a big ship to go through.

2. Lying in the grass I took a photo of the tower on top of the mountain. In 1969 (I think) I was working as a plumber on the adjacent building and watched the tower being built. My guess is that they would never have guessed it would have so much attached to it and play such an important role in communications as it does now. Cell phones were not around then!

3. Blueskin Bay North of Dunedin, from the top of the mountain. There is a shellfish industry based there. Warrington beach is the white strip to the right. It is apparently called Blueskin Bay because there was once a Maori Chief there whose face was extensively tattooed, his skin was seen as being blue.