"You can't tell a book by it's cover!"

It is a very hot boxing day in Dunedin. Everything around here outside is getting hot. I got up early because we had to get rubbish bags and a wheelie bin out at the gate. They were full of rubbish from the Christmas dinner. The recycling wheelie bin was full of plastic drink bottles. Since then I have been slowly unpacking cars and returning things we have used back to their place in house or garage. Now I have the house to myself and am stopping for a cup of tea.
The surprising "book" of yesterday.
I went into town before 8 a.m. yesterday. My first job every Christmas morning is to set up a portable carport shelter type thing in the car park of the church. We use this as cover for people rinsing dishes, it can be cover from the sun or rain, and over the years has been both. I set up the frame work and noticed a young man riding a skateboard up and down the road. I recognised him as a man who had visited our drop-in centre. He had a week earlier asked about the Christmas dinner. When I was sliding the tent type cover onto the frame and struggling to reach all the corners, he skated over and said, "Wanna hand with that boss?"  There he stood, unshaven, studs through lip, eyebrow and ears and tattoos in different places. "Oh yes that would be good!" I replied. So together we completed the task. Later as our guests began arriving early he came to me and said, "Can I help... I could give out name tags?" I hesitated, thinking about elderly pensioners being welcomed by this apparition. Anyway he got to grabbing a clip board and welcoming people. Then he moved to hosting at a table. Then he did something else where he saw a need. He seemed a simple guy, and indeed had trouble writing, but just floated around being a real treat to the people he assisted. "You cannot tell a book by its cover!" as my mum used to say.

Too busy

I was going to take a "before and after video" of our Christmas day community dinner ... like the same video as my last post with the place full of people. But I was just too busy today. I estimate we had 270 there. Others have said 280 or 300. It was full on. But I am sure most went away happy. The biggest buzz is happy volunteers...... It is great to see volunteers going away absolutely stuffed (as in exhausted) but with big wide smiles on their faces. So many stories I could tell but that's enough. Relaxing with all my NZ based kids now. The boys are cooking a barbecue tea now, happily relaxed after a couple of cold beers.

All ready to party.

Why I celebrate Christmas

My friend Robbie (he likes "Robert") I met Robert first at our drop-in centre now he's part of our mob.

Early setting up night for our Christmas celebration.

Or “Why I am a minister.”  I usually don’t put a long religious blurb on my blog site but this time I have. I guess as I’m getting older I have to tell myself and others why I have stuck with this thing called Church ministry when I often find it frustrating. I am only two years away from retiring age and I have surprised myself by finding it impossible to give up local Church ministry. The reason for that is that in spite of all the distortions in the church and frustrations I experience, I am deeply convinced that Jesus’ and his way is relevant for people now. Here is a reflection on some phrases from this reading.  

John 1:6-18

⁶There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. ⁷He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. ⁸He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. ⁹The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. ¹⁰He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. ¹¹He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. ¹²But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, ¹³who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God. ¹⁴And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.

¹⁵(John testified to him and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’”) ¹⁶From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. ¹⁷The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. ¹⁸No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known

---------------------

Darkness

In our work through Space2B and drop-in centre we sometimes come across people hooked on drugs. Sometimes it feels like no matter how many people help them they just do not want to get off the slippery downward slope they are on. Why? We hear every day of people driving fast when they are drunk and killing themselves or others. Why? My brother is involved in enviro-schools and sustainability action. He recently had a tent up at the great Central Otago Thyme Festival, a marvellous community event. He had his tent burnt and wrecked by vandals. This is the second year this has happened! Why? Our suicide rate is higher than our relatively high road-toll? Why?  We could continue to list off  many signs of darkness in our world. I believe much of it has to do with the state of flux and change that the world is in at this time of our history. I think people in the West, in spite of their technological advances are struggling to cope. Mother Teresa looking at western societies said that the major poverty of the west was a deep spiritual poverty.  In the middle of last century Victor Frankl reports a feeling “of which so many patients complain today, namely the feeling of the total and ultimate meaninglessness of their lives. They lack awareness of a meaning worth living for. They are haunted by the experience of their inner emptiness, a void within themselves; they are caught in that situation which I have called the ‘existential vacuum’. The existential vacuum is a widespread phenomenon of the twentieth century.” The reasons he gives for this vacuum have only deepened in the time since he wrote these words. I heard a speaker telling of a wide variety of cultures he had studied and lived amongst. He spent time in Tibet, India, Polynesia and South America. He said that many of these cultures do not necessarily envy our technology, but rather feel sorry for us because of our lack of deep spiritual connectedness.

It is for this reason that I celebrate, and continue to promote the life of Jesus. I think he has the potential to bring “life” amidst our death, light in our darkness and connection in our isolation and “lostness”. I share with you a reflection on three phrases in this reading from John’s gospel. As we read the gospels we need to hear not so much exact history, but the writers sharing their faith. They share their faith using a literature style, words and metaphors from their culture and their time.  To understand we have to get the feel of these to be able to grasp the experience behind them. It is this experience, this testimony that can inform us today. In this is something of the eternal.

“Generous inside and out”

As John encountered Jesus he experienced a deeper understanding of God. He said of Jesus, “The Word (of God) became flesh and lived among us”. I have come to a deeper understanding of this. We often see this as “love came down at Christmas.” We see it that somehow Jesus revealed to us the mind of a God up in “heaven” wherever heaven is. I like to see it, however, as Jesus exposing the nature of the God among us. There was a varnished table at the church, which had heaps of scratches, marks from hot pots and other accumulated defacing. My wife convinced me to take it home and sand it. I worked on this table, in the end scraping the surface of it. In due course a beautiful mahogany grain emerged, was exposed and drawn out. It was always there but my sanding and finally revarnishing highlighted and brought out the grain.

 That’s how I see Jesus. He does not so much show us a God at a distance, but exposes and highlights the nature of the God, the movement of love, the Great Spirit who is in life all around us.  And John says the highlighted picture is that we live amongst “Grace” or “Grace upon grace.” - piles of Grace.  In “The Message” such phrases are paraphrased as “generous inside and out”, “generous bounty”, “gift after gift” and “exuberant giving and receiving”. Jesus shows us that we live amongst a generous, overflowing movement of unconditional love. That is God. As a workplace chaplain I see the impact of overbearing, judgemental leaders. In that atmosphere people do not take risks, they close down, are frightened to be themselves and are stifled as people. Jesus shows us God as being the opposite; we live with a God who is for us. We are free to be all we can be. Dr Elizabeth Kubler Ross in her book “On life after death” writes, “Most important of all, we must learn to love and be loved unconditionally.  Most of us have been raised as prostitutes. I will love you ‘if’. And this word ‘if’ has ruined and destroyed more lives than anything else on this planet earth. It prostitutes us, it makes us feel that we can buy love with good behaviour, or good grades.”  In spite of the fact that often distorted religion says “you must believe the right things’ or “do the right things” Jesus shows a God of grace and love. His picture of God is of the prodigal son’s father waiting for his son's return, rushing to embrace his son and throwing him a party.  In this love I am freed to “be”. God is in the dreams I have to better my world and myself. God is in the affirmations of friends. God is in the forgiveness that people extend to us. This love means we can forgive ourselves and move on after failure. I celebrate Jesus because he shows us God’s “grace upon grace”.

“The true light which enlightens everyone…”

John the writer shares his testimony about Jesus by referring to him as “the true light” or “the light”. In the “Message” paraphrase this is translated “the life-light”. It is life–giving light. I celebrate Jesus because he gives me light for the path of life. We live in a world where there have been dramatic changes. My parents, and to some extent myself lived in a world where the roles of women and men were relatively clearly defined and that was endorsed by society at large. Now, thank God, it has been changed and the roles have changed. But it is new territory and teenagers today are like trampers cutting new tracks. There are changes in how we live. We have broken away from clearly defined society endorsed “right” and “wrong” way of living, and now we are free to make our own choices. This is good and freeing, but it makes it a harder world to grow up in. We need guiding principles. I was introduced to “geo caching” recently. A friend and I were walking and on her iphone she discovered a cache was nearby. The application told us we were near it, but we needed to know where “north” was.  There was a lively discussion with a difference of opinion. In due course the compass on the iphone settled it and we could proceed to finding the cache. We needed “North”. There are people lost in the darkness of this free-living world who need to know where “north” is so that they can make the best choices.

Light for the path.

I celebrate Jesus because he is light for the path, he shows us “north” for our living. This is not in hard and fast rules for right and wrong, but principled direction for living, a base from which we can make decisions. Writer and scholar Marcus Borg says that the Christian way is profoundly simple -  “Love God and love what God loves”.  This is summary of the light that Jesus gives, incredibly relevant for our world today.

“… he gave the power to become children of God”.

Marcus Borg also points out that the Christian way is a path of transformation. We embark on a journey of becoming more whole human beings. I was in a country town settled down at a table outside a café watching the traffic. It was a Sunday lunchtime. It was amusing watching the farmers driving in to this village. Their four-wheel drives came into town and immediately slowed down to about 10kph. They looked around to see who was walking up town and what shops were open. Tourist cars passing through just had to bide their time.  I saw one bloke see somebody they knew, so he just stopped. His friend sauntered over and they chatted while he leaned on the driver’s door. He was double-parked and others had to drive around them. A massive tractor came down the road. The driver decided he wanted to buy a pie. He just stopped, again double-parked opposite the shop and wandered over to buy his pie. These country drivers just got used to doing whatever they liked, without considering any other drivers. We often tend to live like that. We live for ourselves, with a small circle of concern. Because we live like that we live stunted lives, often hurt others and often do not see the needs of others. Apathy abounds. If we begin to take notice of Jesus he comes into our lives as a catalyst transforming us into a bigger person. Jesus as our life guide calls us and prompts us to widen the circle of concern so that we become more loving, more giving and better people. I celebrate the life of Jesus because he does give me the power to become a bigger hearted, life-enhancing and giving person. He has even managed to bring changes in me.

It is Christmas and I celebrate the life of Jesus because…

•      he shows us God’s “grace upon grace”. 
•      he is the light for the path, he shows us “north” for our living.
•     he does give me the power to become a bigger hearted, life-enhancing and giving person.

To all my readers, especially any regular readers let me say, "I hope you have a really great Christmas surrounded by love."

Friendship

Friendship is an interesting thing. I have had a day of it. First thing in the morning I took a friend out to the airport. We have known each other for nearly 7 years and she was going back to Australia for holidays. I arrived back at my office and an old friend who I first met when we were in our late teens and now see about once a year, had left a donation for the Christmas Day dinner. A friend then came and helped me sort out transport lists for the Christmas day dinner. I have known him for 17 years, and in recent years he has got involved in the church. Another friend from my Night Shelter Trust texted me asking if I was "in". He arrived with gifts for the Christmas Dinner and a greeting from yet another acquaintance. It was good to spend time with him. After we had completed our tasks at around 5p.m. I went down the road to purchase an afternoon tea snack. I bumped into a friend I have known for 17 years. She and I did a community and social work course together years ago. We used to go running together but we have not had contact for years now so it was good to catch up.
The thing that is the unifying factor in the experience of these friendships is that I can talk easily with the people. With my friend who spent the day with me we could chat backwards and forwards, question each other, tease each other and just feel at home as we worked. My mate from the Trust I have known a relatively short period of time but we have discovered an easy relationship where we can talk backward and forward. We wanted to open a bag and he said, "Ok where's your big knife you carry." In the short time he has known me he has learned that I am seldom without a pocket knife. When I met my friend from the social work class I found we could slip into easy relationship with each other again even though it had been years. My friend who left a donation could leave the briefest of notes knowing that I would sense the warmth behind it. It is "warming" to have such friendships and I am indeed lucky, since I am not good at keeping in touch.

Christmas Dinner generosity ... 5, 6 or whatever

I took this photo with Photo booth in my Macbook Pro. Why is it back to front?

I took a friend out to the airport. When I arrived back at the church a couple of members came into my office with a parcel of Christmas treats and a money box full of cash. They had bumped into a man in the car park and he had handed these over. I checked the mail box and an old friend had left $150 in cash in an envelope with "Merry Christmas" and a smiling face on it.  In brackets he had scribbled, "Assistance with Christmas deal".

Christmas is hard for heretic preachers

How to say it without offending...
When Christmas comes each year I have a hard time. There are a couple of issues. First the carols that everybody likes singing... The words are scary and distort what Jesus was about. "Low he abhores not the virgin's womb!" What the heck is that about?  That's real big of him?  "Love came down at Christmas". It wasn't there before? Many carols end with the final verses devoted to getting to heaven. "And our eyes at last shall see him." - like that was what Jesus was all about? But people LOVE singing carols. Sorry, I grimace my way through them. The second is that as I read the familiar Christmas stories I cannot take them literally. Angel Gabriel, angels hovering in the sky singing, virgin birth, star directing people etc etc. Apart from anything else the dating has difficulties. I see them as "narrative theology". But without going into deep scholarly negative sounding discussion it is difficult to communicate this stuff. I could ignore it, but there are those who could be sitting listening to the readings saying to themselves, "Yeah right? How can I believe this rubbish?" I hate to disturb people's Christmas. Squash beautiful nativity scenes? Rubbish much loved carols? All I am saying is that often when I read the passage for the day at Christmas I groan inwardly. Why me? Christmas is hard for heretic preachers, but I have found it harder to give up ministry, damn it!

... But I liked this bit...
A friend, an Australian no less, sent me this in an email saying he saw it and thought of me and passed it on. Don't know where it originated but it rang bells. It starts off with a biblical reference which is the familiar birth of Jesus and "Shepherds in the hills abiding" story from Luke. But then reflecting on the birth and the whole story goes on to talk about the birthing of love...

Luke 2:1-20... This is all it Takes...

The story tells us that this is all it takes for love to be born:

you listen to the voice of improbable angels

you dare to believe you might have a part to play in their story

you say yes to the idea of the impossible

you give up the future you thought was inevitable

you defy the protocols and social mores of the day when they get in the way
of what you know is true

you dare to say to those who would deny your value and your role
that you just might have what’s needed, in this moment

you search for your allies and trust them with your dream

you devour the moments of joy when they come

you demand truth from yourself and those around you

you give up the things you are comfortable with

you travel long journeys in inhospitable conditions

you stand up to be counted

you take whatever shelter you can get

you aren’t afraid of darkness or dirt

you do whatever it takes, even if you’re lonely, scared, a laughing stock, intimidated, overwhelmed, lost, uncomfortable

you accept gifts of wisdom from strangers

you honour those who put their gifts of love, however small, alongside yours

you risk everything, even your life, to give it breath

that’s all it takes for love to be born.

It really touched me because it reminded me of my journey. I am far from as loving as I should be, but it reminded me of my attempts to journey with Jesus and the challenges on the way. I liked it and I pass it on.