Haiku for Advent

Christian faith is an
unexpected weed growing
in a polite field.


© Ken Rookes 2016

A Challenge to care

The reading set for today [Proverbs 22:8-9] links justice with generosity. Despite the huge difference between the wealthiest in Australia and most of us, even pensioners here are financially better off than 97% of people in the world but like spoilt children unprepared to share, most of us go to almost any ends to hold on to what we have. “This land is ours; we got here first!” we say with our actions as well as our words. “It’s ours; we worked hard for it,” we say about our assets to those less well off as if they have not worked hard. We back up our words with the actions of our government. It refuses to make taxes fairer for the poor and employs the navy to ensure that no one we deem underserving gets a share of what we have. It vilifies people who are unemployed even when there is not enough work for everyone. It makes it harder and more expensive for people to gain skills. This is not just and it is far from being generous either with our possessions or our attitudes.

Proverbs 22:22 says, “Do not rob the poor or crush the afflicted at the gate”, but isn’t that just what we rich nations are doing to refugees world- wide? For years we have been seeing how the USA protects its southern borders and now it is Europe that also has the problem. Unless we learn to share more and have more concern for bringing justice our future generations are going to spend their lives under siege. More and more people will want to flee here. Our lack of generosity will cost us dearly as we need to build bigger and stronger barricades, fences and walls and employ stronger navies and armies to keep poor people from seeking a share of what we have in our relatively peaceful democracies. If we were prepared to be more generous in what we pay for goods produced in some of these countries and in other ways helped to lift the standard of living of the people, it would be a start towards bringing justice for them.

...

So far, we who still sometimes claim to be a Christian country, have, contrary to Biblical teaching, successfully crushed the afflicted at our gate. Most have applauded the “offshore processing” option. It means that these people are no longer banging on our gate. They are out of sight because reporters and cameras are banned from the facilities, and so they are largely out of mind. But it is only a temporary solution. Our borders are too long to erect fences right round and the country too big to wire for alarms. We fool ourselves if we think this will work long term. As we become richer, more people are going to want to come to this country. We denigrate many who are trying to reach our shores by calling them economic migrants, but it was for such a better life that most of our ancestors came here. It is time we looked more seriously at how we can make life fairer for others.

Proverbs 22:2 reminds us that “The rich and the poor have this in common: the Lord is the maker of them all.” The writer of the Epistle we call James follows up on this centuries later, calling for us to behave justly in recognising all people as precious, not just the one’s we prefer the look of, or wish we could be more like.

We can see the rationale behind this, but it is not what we are called to do as followers of Christ. Jesus gave preferential treatment to the poorer people, the less attractive ones in society. He wasn’t impressed by wealth and fine clothes.

The celebrity and the materialistic aspirational culture by which we are surrounded makes it more difficult for us but it is never impossible. Our Government happily welcomes migrants who can bring millions of dollars with them. It is only those who have little we don’t want. Proverbs 22:9 tells us “Those who are generous will be blessed.” It is about being generous in our hearts and minds, in our attitudes and behaviour. Like Jesus we might just want to get away from it all for a while.[Mark 7:24] But we can take heart from his example and see that we do have the strength to help those who come and those who are in need of justice here and on the other side of the world.

The writer of James challenges us to action. Through the centuries the institutional Church has put great emphasis on Orthodoxy, right doctrine. Jesus by his life actions put his emphasis on Orthopraxy, right practice. James [2:14-17] stresses that faith without right action is dead.

 May we never forget how privileged we are and may we be generous in our attitudes and actions to bring justice and help others wherever we  can.
Rev Julianne Parker
(for full sermon see sermon's page)

Names for God

It is said that the Hindu people have a thousand names for God and that the Muslims have ninety-nine name for Allah. In Christianity, we have largely limited our names for God to Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The titles Messiah, Christ and Lord all have the same meaning, that of military leader/commander in chief.

In their minds, the disciples had named Jesus, Messiah. The problem was that their understanding of that name was quite different from how Jesus understood his work. When he tried to explain clearly that this meant he would be killed if he continued, his followers did not want to hear. They were even more reluctant to hear that he wanted them to be willing to follow the same path.

The name that Jesus gave to himself, son of man, the church has written with capital letters as with Son of God. But this may not have been Jesus’ use of the term. At the time it was a common way people referred to themselves.

The question comes for us today, which stage of development are we at in our lives of faith as individuals and as congregations. Is our name the most important thing? Are we clinging to who we are because we are not yet certain of who we are for God? Have we just moved far enough into the second stage to be critical of others while not being secure enough to face all of who we are? Are we willing to die to all that we think we are and think we know for sure to grow into the wisdom of the mystery of God who is beyond all names and follow the wisdom of Jesus’ teaching?

Rev Julianne Parker

(for full sermon see sermons page)

Haiku of Shame

All things made new?

"But how we delude ourselves! I've been around the Church a long time, and let me remind you of something: in the Church we generally do not like new things! Why, it's the new things that are so often the battlegrounds for church political life!

It'd be fine if the Church stuck with replacing only those things which we want replaced. There's always something we want made new. We want new acolyte robes or new paint in the parish hall. We want the preacher to preach about something new. Sometimes we just want a new priest entirely. But a new sanctuary? Of course not! A new way of praying? No way. Sing to the Lord a new song? No, no, the old ones suit us just fine. The old towers suit us just fine, too.

"All things made new" is one of the most unsettling and downright controversial themes in the Christian Church. Most of us, I daresay every single one of us, whether we are liberal or conservative, whether we are rural or urban, whether we are large church or small church, everyone single one of us have some special image of what church and religion means to us. We definitely do not want that to change. That image is what we inwardly long for when we show up Sunday after Sunday. That image may be what we think we had some time long ago. And it's that image, more often than not, which prevents us from experiencing God."

http://day1.org/2380-all_will_be_thrown_down

Carol Night

Carol Night.

Candles glow amidst the tumult;

everywhere there is noise and movement

wonderful noise, wonderful movement.

People joining voices

sharing food and blankets

And the Children, the children

they are just children?

They cry and scream,

 laugh and tumble.

They are not angels are they?

One girl child, with glowing, stubby candle,

sits amidst the din;

stunned or dazzled,

amazed or distracted?

She sits

an image of stillness

with a stare at times

almost vacant;

or perhaps focussed

on the infinite?

She moves at last

to stand before her mother

and exclaims with pure awe,

“ Mummy, they’re just like stars!”

then moves back

to her place of watching.

Her mother;

sensing more than most

the ‘other’ in her daughter’s words

weeps tears of joy and wonder

at the beauty in the child.

Gordon Bannon

and Jesus said "What?"

Jesus said, Whom do men say that I am?

And his disciples answered and said, Some say you are John the Baptist returned from the dead; others say Elias, or other of the old prophets.

And Jesus answered and said, But whom do you say that I am?

Peter answered and said, "Thou art the Logos, existing in the Father as His rationality and then, by an act of His will, being generated, in consideration of the various functions by which God is related to his creation, but only on the fact that Scripture speaks of a Father, and a Son, and a Holy Spirit, each member of the Trinity being coequal with every other member, and each acting inseparably with and interpenetrating every other member, with only an economic subordination within God, but causing no division which would make the substance no longer simple."

And Jesus answering, said, "What?" 

9/11 pledge

This Sunday marks the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. We will all take time to remember the day and the lives that were lost, but 10 years later, we must go deeper. 

There were two paths forward from the ashes and rubble of 9/11: One path led to war, torture, and fear, but another path -- led by people of faith across the world -- was marked by soul-searching, genuine mourning for the lost, and standing up for peace-building and caring for our neighbors.

Although our government and many Australians, regrettably, have chosen the first path, the Uniting Church invites you to celebrate the alternative journey -- to stand shoulder to shoulder with our brothers and sisters of all faiths, and no faith, who are helping to build a nation that reflects our best values.
 
On the 10th anniversary of 9/11, affirm your commitment to peace-building and reconciliation by signing this commemoration pledge:

“As a Christian and an Australian, on the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks
I commit myself to work for building peace in my community and the world, 
and to love my neighbors by standing against hate and fear.”