random thoughts

as i enter into the final phase of the internship - the debriefing period - wherein all my "challenges" (read 'flaws') are laid out on a platter for me to behold, i find myself in a roughly parallel conversation with a truly lovely man that seems to feel the need to impress upon me that no matter how fond of him i might be, he is a flawed human being and i really shouldn't think as highly of him as i do.

these conversations have collided to teach me what i believe is a fundamental lesson:

don't be in such a hurry to advertise your flaws.

a) (as i have discovered over the course of this internship) YOU are likely the only person that notices them, or that they even matter to. other people see other things in you, just as you view others differently than you do yourself.

b) if your flaws are glaring enough, people will eventually see them on their own - you have no need to jump up and down and stamp your feet to call attention to them. but (as is happening with that lovely man i mentioned above) by the time faults and flaws become apparent, you've had time to demonstrate just what a terrific person you are as well; and suddenly, in the broader context of your life, those faults aren't quite as glaring as you might think they are.

c) do not automatically assume that others will share your opinion of what is, or is not, a "character flaw". some less savoury personality traits can be quite endearing, and it may just turn out that what you think drives people crazy about you is actually something that brings a smile to their lips.

so, relax..............

closing thoughts

2 Corinthians 1:12 12 Now this is our boast: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in our relations with you, in the holiness and sincerity that are from God. We have done so not according to worldly wisdom but according to God's grace.

15 Neither do we go beyond our limits by boasting of work done by others. Our hope is that, as your faith continues to grow, our area of activity among you will greatly expand, 16so that we can preach the gospel in the regions beyond you. For we do not want to boast about work already done in another man's territory. 17 But, "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord."

Against the self-absorption that is sometimes seen even in Christian circles today, it is important to focus on things that lie beneath the surface. Paul’s provision of comfort in the first part of 2 Corinthians is not self-serving, but is intended to equip his listeners for service to the church. God comforts us, Paul states, so that we, in turn, can comfort those in any trouble.

Stress and challenges, then, are a training ground for service to the body of Christ. It equips us so that we can better minister to those who, for the sake of the gospel, are going through trials and hardships. In this way we mediate God's encouragement.

Further, the provision in this passage is not deliverance "from" strife, but encouragement in the midst of it. The implication is that if we are serving Christ, we will encounter hardships. This is a given of the Christian life, as it was a given in Christ's life.

What Paul says here is in essence what Jesus taught his disciples-- that all who would come after him must deny self, take up the cross and follow him (Mk 8:34).

Paul's purpose in this section of scripture is not merely to praise God for personal comfort received or to discuss the nature of the gospel ministry. His primary concern is to show the Corinthians that their lives are inescapably intertwined, so that what impacts Paul impacts the Corinthians and what impacts the Corinthians impacts Paul. It is for their benefit, he says, that he encounters trouble. For, if we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort (v. 6). Whatever he experiences, be it suffering or comfort, the Corinthians personally benefit.

And wonderfully, Paul then goes on to state the critical but often overlooked truth: service to the body of Christ results in personal gain rather than personal loss.

Here, on the last day in my “official” capacity at the Rez, I would be utterly remiss if I didn’t steal a moment of your time to comment on my time here, and to point out that – though we in the modern world tend to sometimes be unaware of it – there are indeed churches living out the Word of Christ and you here at the Rez, are among them. This is the way Paul exhorted the Corinthians to live. This is what Christ taught us to be.

We are all intertwined in Christ and in His Church. An intern is only as good as the community that ministers with her; and you, being an extraordinary community, have made this an amazingly fruitful, spiritual and profitable time for me. Its been a time of stress for me – not BAD stress – but stress nonetheless; and as I was placed at the Rez to offer comfort and ministry into your lives, so too have you been moved to extend the same to me.

If I had a dollar for every time I messed up on something, and you as a community responded with “WHATEVER”, I would be a wealthy woman indeed. You have been tolerant and forgiving, open minded and open hearted, unafraid to challenge me, unreservedly supportive of helping me to learn and to grow.

As anyone called to a life of ordained ministry, I will, with God’s help, take what I have learned here out into the broader church, in an effort to show others just how amazing doing church can be. You have let me sit at your feet and be discipled by you, you have invited me into your homes and your lives, you have taught me more in under a year about “the beating heart of Christ” than most people encounter in a lifetime.

Soon you will have a pastoral assistant that I KNOW you will enter into a similar relationship with, to the Glory of God and the betterment of His church – and if there is one thing I would ask of you all, is don’t stop doing what you’re doing. We all hear about it when Church goes wrong. Take a moment to look around you and understand what happens when church goes right.

I am humbled and grateful in my time here, and while I truly believe that "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord" I will admit that I will take a tiny measure of pride wherever I go in saying “I did my placement and my internship at the Rez”, because of what Paul taught us: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in our relations with you, in the holiness and sincerity that are from God. We have done so not according to worldly wisdom but according to God's grace.

Thank you for everything.

do you have children? why yes, i have sixty...

Its been an extrordinary week. The labours of three intensive months at last came to fruition as the day camp at the Rez bloomed like a rose in the desert. Though temperatures in Toronto were in the mid-to-high thirties (celcius) and the church is not airconditioned, the sixty beautiful children and twenty-odd adults that came out to play, walk more closely with Jesus, sing songs and do crafts had a truly wonderful time despite the crushing heat.

Each day began at 9am with a period of devotion as Pastor Duke led us through a reflection and exploration of the Lord's prayer. Then the two lovely teenagers joining us from Crosstalk Ministries in Montreal (the organization that sponsored the day camp program) would lead us through a brief meeting where duties were assigned and notes run from the night before. Jessica and April are lovely girls - startlingly mature for their ages - and clearly called to this very special, and completely enjoyable ministry.

By ten o'clock, as name tags, lunches, tee-shirts, and play groups got sorted by the heroic Marion Stephens and Trixie Hoyer (ladies, your Victoria Crosses are in the mail), the campers arrived and were engaged by our teens in a period of "aerobics", which from a distance appeared to be a series of seizures set to music. Ken Weibe, who operated our sound board, is the father of two of our more delighful campers: Big Weibe and Little Weibe. Ken has the extrodinary gift of keeping the soundboard volume hovering somewhere between "MOMMEEEEEEEE!!!!!! and a Rolling Stones concert.

Aerobics were followed by a delightful variety of songs and play-tunes accompanied by Rev. Duke "Eddie van Halen" Vipperman and Colleen "Joni Mitchell" Newell. The two Crosstalk teens and I had the great joy of leading the children in songs that involved much hand clapping, bottom wiggling, face pulling and head waggling. The Anglican children in the group had no trouble with this type of behaviour from people leading worship, but I could tell from the perlexed expressions on several other young faces that we had campers joining us from less liturgically oriented denominations.

Finally it came time to begin to settle the children and guide them in the theme of the daycamp, which was "Jesus: One of Us - the Nativity Story told through the book of Luke". Jessica and April had brought with them a wildly popular and eagerly anticipated puppet called "Lamb" through which KAELEN SIT DOWN!!! they began to teach the children about the story of Jesus' birth.

Once Lamb had come and gone, the teenagers led the children through fun and meaningful activities such as a slide show ELI IF YOU DON'T STOP PUNCHING HIM I AM GOING TO COME OVER THERE AND SEPARATE THE TWO OF YOU!! that related stories from Jesus life through images and prose. Then came more singing, more hand clapping and bottom wiggling, and a drama staged by our very own campers, directed by GIVE HIM HIS HAT BACK BIG WEIBE!!! our own tireless Anne Purvis.


the play


The drama was a highlight of the morning, and was staged by broom puppets, kids in costume and BRENDAN, DON'T PLAY WITH THE MICROPHONE!! two young people in our own community I have come to think of as "The Wonder Twins" - Sarah and Stephen Cunningham.


wonder sarah after a looooooooong day

Then came snack time. The snacks were nutritious, delicious and very thoughtfully provided by Carol, Wendy and Katherine's mother. The children broke off into their devotional groups and clustered about in a circle to enjoy crackers, cheese, fresh apples CALEB GET YOUR HANDS OUT OF THERE! NO I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU LOST, THERE'S FOOD IN THAT BOWL!!! and a variety of juices ranging from iced tea to a Rez invention: "Porange Juice", which is made by combining orange and NO WE DO NOT HAVE ROOTBEER YOU'LL DRINK WHAT WE'VE GOT peach drink crystals.

The children were wonderfully helpful about cleaning up IF I HAVE TO ASK YOU ONE MORE TIME TO PICK UP THAT PAPER TOWEL ALEX YOU'LL BE SORRY!! and then it was off to the various devotional groups to learn more about Jesus and His ministry. Anne (assisted brilliantly by Wonder Stephen) was extrordinary in taking our "Scramblers" - our grade one and two children - for the entire day, and teaching them to make cupcakes, kites and NO HONEY I DON'T KNOW WHERE YOUR SHORTS ARE. WE CAN LOOK FOR THEM LATER leading them in a variety of acivities to stimulate their minds, occupy their hands and fill their hearts with the joy of God.

Dan LeBlanc and Colleen Newell did an outstanding job shepherding our eldest kids through their "Pathfinder Group" devotions, helping them to develop a mature and introspective understanding of and relationship to Jesus. Dan even led them CHRIS QUIT PLAYING WITH THAT ITS NOT A TOY!!! in an arcane ritual involving a bottle, and egg and a lit match.

Sometimes, I have found, it is better not to ask too many questions.

April and "Wonder Sarah" took our grade five and six kids through their devotions, and I say in no uncertain terms that hearts were opened, minds were engaged and the wardens tell me that the structural damage to the church is not irreparable.

I was priviledged enough to be able to help Jessica with our "climbers" group downstairs in the parish hall. The climbers group was comprised of fifteen wonderful, delightful grade three and four children IF I DON'T SEE BACKSIDES ON THE FLOOR BY THE COUNT OF THREE I'M GONNA GET MEAN I'M NOT KIDDING LITTLE WEIBE!!! GRAHAM SIT DOWN!!! each one sweeter and more good natured than the next. KAELEN QUIT MAKING THAT NOISE WHILE I'M TALKING!! Jessica led us through bible stories and wonderful question and answer sessions ALEX I TOLD YOU TO QUIT PLAYING WITH THE BALL AND SIT DOWN !! where the children were empowered to reflect on the life of Jesus and to better understand how God really was like "one of us" in so many ways DON'T MAKE ME COME OVER THERE OR SO HELP ME I'LL GIVE YOU SOMETHING TO CRY ABOUT!! and to better connect with Jesus and one another.

After our devotional groups came lunch. Lunch was a wonderful opportunity to connect with the children one-on-one, and I DON'T CARE IF IT TASTES LIKE GRASS THAT'S WHAT YOUR MOTHER SENT FOR LUNCH AND BY GOLLY YOU'LL EAT IT!! more importantly to see who had the best lunch. I am not sure what cruel and unusual spirit possesses a parent to send rice cakes, kelp and tofu sandwiches to camp with a small child; but it sure made me misty and nostalgic for the days when a baloney sandwich would get you two chocolate chip cookies, a gumball, and a scented eraser.

Our "Creative Connection" time was one of peace and bliss. Upstairs in the sanctuary, a group of youngsters BRENDAN GET OUT FROM UNDER THE PEW!! was learning a liturgical dance. Downstairs, they were making ornaments for the Jesse Tree, creating vestments (priest's robes) for Duke, and an altar cloth; and making candle holders with Colleen. This last activity was a particular joy to many kids as there were hot wax and glue guns involved. Children seem to have more fun doing arts and crafts when there is danger involved.

Once the detene was over, however, it was time for the "special event", a period of high energy WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU ARE GOING? YOU JUST WENT TO THE BATHROOM FIVE MINUTES AGO!! activity designed, as far as I was able to tell, to test the structural integrity of the staircases. Each day there was a new and fun game for the children to play WILLEM I WANT YOU OVER HERE JOING US BECAUSE YOU ARE STILL PART OF THIS GROUP YOUNG MAN!! that allowed us to fulfil our mandate of sending each child home exhausted, but by far the standout was water day on Wednesday. Water day involved...well... water. Lots of it. While we were all told to bring dry clothes, I discovered that I had quite underestimated the.... wetness that was involved. I had very cleverly remembered to pack a dry pair of trousers and a dry shirt, yet somehow managed to overlook the obvious requirement of dry underthings and shoes. I expect I had anticipated getting splashed a bit; I had no idea that 60 children, hyped on sugarry freezies and goaded on by visiting teens would be given full control of the Rez's external pluming. Duke, however, was a master of "Grace Under Pressure". Never in my life have I so much as conceived of the self-control required to maintain an air of quiet, ecclesiastic dignity as 30 children turned the hose on him.

Bravo, Duke.

For me, though, the higlight came on Friday afternoon before I left to go to work. Hauled up in front of the children and volunteers, I was geniunely shocked and touched when the children presented me with my first stole - my first ever vestment - hand decorated by my day campers, with the finishing touches added by Duke himself. Babbling inanely in an effort to excuse myself so I could dash into Monique's office to cry, I realized that I had just been given a gift that would have meaning, and bring me delight and joy for the rest of my life.


my first stole

KAELEN USE YOUR INDOOR VOICE I CAN HEAR YOU FROM DOWNSTAIRS!!

So to Duke, the Wonder Twins, Jessica and April, all of our tireless volunteers and enthusiastic campers I would like to say "thank you" for the most amazing week of my ministry, for the love, caring and support, for the great good humour and unflappable calm we shared, and the memories we will treaure always.

As for me? Well, I have decided to take a few days off next week to relax in a quiet, peaceful and relatively stress-free location.

I hear Beirut is lovely this time of year.....

weekly report: week 10

Church of the Resurrection, Intern’s Weekly Report

Week 10 July 09 to July 16

The fine art of "facilitating" versus "doing it yourself".

This weeks learning has been critical - it is seeing if I can indeed ‘cause an event in church to go off without a hitch' by getting other people to do the work. This is known as facilitating, and in all honesty I have never done this before in a church setting.

The cool school has been a good introduction, and a good harbinger of what might come for daycamp. The first few days were very difficult to step back from, but the intention was fulfilled: the set up was done for the teachers, the curriculum handed out and any and all gaps were up to them to close. Each and every class was handled magnificently when the teachers with the necessary skills were given clear guidelines, all the materials they needed, adequate lead time and then empowered to do what they felt was most appropriate.

The only identifiable gap that I had to close was the clean up: clearly I failed to make sure the teachers knew that getting the kids to help tidy up was part of the curriculum, and so I ended up cleaning up the parish hall a few times. I certainly didn't mind the work, but felt that I had not adequately succeeded in "facilitating" a complete and independent cool school.

Same goes for daycamp. One of the keys I collected early on about the congregation is that their approach to volunteering in many cases is "if you're stuck, I would be glad to help you out". So I am getting "stuck" a fair bit, and the congregation are stepping up to the plate admirably. I know that there are people "sweeping up quietly" behind me, and have been for a while - and it both frustrates and heartens me: it frustrates me because part of me thinks I am not doing a good job or working hard enough or paying enough attention to detail; the other part is heartened because it means that the intention of the exercise is indeed being met.

I am taking on the "framework": organization, volunteer recruitment, volunteer mentorship, administration, program etc. - but the actual "doing" is left up to the congregation. Its not necessarily an even division of labour but a) this is still very new to me and b) I am still learning to understand the dynamics of each of these specific projects.

however, if the daycamp/ cool school do go off as planned, all of the angst and nailbiting will have been worth it because then I can, in all honesty say, I am able to 'facilitate' major projects in church, and know that it's true.

let us pray...

gracious, loving God; the time of a very special birth is nearing, and our prayers are with the family at this juncture. however you choose to deal with them God, bless your son AJ and his family - remember him for the kind, loving and forgiving man that he is, and remember his family in love. strengthen his heart that he may never lose the courage, humour and love of You and of his family that makes him so special to those that care so very deeply for him; and bring the family together in love of You and Your holy works all the days of their lives.

in Jesus name, we pray.

conversations with sydney: part two

Tony: Dear Andrea,

talking point: i think there is a quantitative difference between miracles and sleight-of-hand.

Tony: What is it then ?

Andrea: well, for me, miracles are witnessed acts that contravene the known laws of the universe. sleight of hand is elaborately constructed illusion. criss angel is a favourite of mine :)

talking point: is that 2000+ years later, HE is the one that we still remember.

Tony: The same could be said of any religion and their god(s) Time and the number of believers does not make something true.

Andrea: hmmm... now personally, i don't think i could support that statement. i am a huge believer in "you can fool some of the people most of the time..." etc etc. but some of the greatest minds in history, as well as huge numbers of more practical folk over time have seen the Truth. that to me gives it tremendous credibility.

Tony: In my area of business, thousands of companies around the world practise "Six Sigma" and billions of dollars have been spent on it ... but it is total statistical and practical nonsense ... part of the reason that companies like Ford and GM are facing Chapter 11 whilst the Japanese storm past them.

Andrea: well, i suppose we'd have to wait another two thousand year to see if that argument holds true? :) i mean, you are talking about fads that are less than what... 50 years old?

talking point: "the amazing randi"! he lost all credibility with me a few years back when he shot off his mouth once too often.

Tony: I'd be most interested to hear about it !

Andrea: i will admit it was a long time ago, and don't remember names - but there was a family in the states that appeared to be beset by a "poltergeist". at any rate, something very strange was clearly going on at their house. being very private people, they actually tried to avoid media attention but "the amazing randi" rushed straight over to "debunk" whatever was going on. unfortunately, they wouldn't let him into the house. so he proceeded to "debunk" them anyway. sadly, he is a calssic example of what robert anton wilson calls "scientific orthodoxy", whose adherents are as fanatical as any auto da fe inquisitor. randi didn't actually care what might or might not have been going on in that house - he had a platform to espouse and damn the facts or any sort of investigation!
then there was that whole CSICOP scandal where facts were fabricated outright to support their "debunking" of michel gauquelin

science, sadly, is often not about the search for truth, but rather the forwarding of a bias. as more and more people compete for fewer and fewer research dollars, "science" as a concept, in many ways has become the enemy it sought to destroy.

talking point: i knew i would be taking on the yoke of the church's history

Tony: Why, for heavens sake !!??? (if you'll excuse the pun) . Why not just take it to the streets as Jesus did ? That's where people need it most !!

Andrea: the church does that too. its a much more far-reaching enterprise than many people think.

Tony: No, I haven't read NT Wright. I do find it hypocritical that the Church does not follow it's own 2nd commandment though. A great virtue preached by Jesus and Buddha is humility and letting go of the ego ... I don't see much of it in the Church ... especially the pope, in all his spendour, is not much of an ad for humility ... I have much more respect for the Dalai Lama than the pope, or Anglican leaders, in this regard.

Andrea: yes, but again, the bible speaks just as mightily of the Glory of God and the Church as an expression of that. some churches have erred on one side, other churches have erred on the other side. see, the issue with the Church is that the Church is US: the broken, fallen creatures that God has chosen to work through. WE get it wrong. we also get it right - and this is why charitable relief organizations are almost without exception christian; why christians are the first ones in and the last ones out of disaster areas; why many third world countries populations are being taught to read and write, are being fed and being taught to support themselves, and why street-people closer to home have shelter, food, resources. until the state took over a few short years ago - it was the Church alone that cared for these people.

Tony: Best regards,

Andrea: hope you are having a good day!

TXXX

stick a fork in them; they're done

PC(USA) Assembly Blasted for Trashing the Trinity, Other 'Crazy' Decisions

By Jim Brown and Jenni Parker
July 10, 2006

(AgapePress) - A conservative minister says the Presbyterian Church (USA) did more than alter a major doctrine of the Christian faith at its recent convention. According to one Presbyterian Lay Committee member, a number of "crazy" actions took place at the denomination's meeting last month in Birmingham, Alabama.

At the recent 217th General Assembly meeting, PC(USA) commissioners voted to allow the denomination's churches to use the phrase "compassionate mother, beloved child, and life-giving womb" instead of "Father, Son, and Holy Spirit" when referring to the Trinity. This was just one of the 12 phrases approved by the Assembly as permissible substitutions for the traditional names of the Godhead, another being "rock, cornerstone, and temple."

When one California pastor was asked how he felt about the new terminology for the Trinity, he told the Los Angeles Times newspaper, "You might as well put in Huey, Dewey, and Louie." That minister is not alone in his sentiments -- another conservative Presbyterian theologian and pastor is similarly expressing disgust at what he describes as the denomination's move to "alter a major doctrine of the Christian faith."

Pastor Parker T. Williamson, CEO of the Presbyterian Lay Committee, says the PC(USA) is showing contempt for historic church teaching with these substitutions. "The understanding of God as three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit in this divine communion that draws us into itself -- all of that's been trashed by this assembly," he contends.

The denominational leaders also endorsed medical marijuana use and approved the ordination of homosexuals under certain circumstances. And Williamson says the "crazy" goings-on at the General Assembly did not end there. "Someone had made a resolution to declare suicide bombing a crime against humanity," he notes.

"Now, you'd think that would be approved rather quickly, wouldn't you? I mean, suicide bombing is not exactly a godly act," the Lay Committee spokesman says. But against all expectation, he observes, the Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy, one of the denomination's official agencies -- along with its Advocacy Committee on Racial Ethnic Concerns -- lobbied against approval of the resolution.

Committee members "came in and recommended that that thing not be passed because it might offend the Muslims," Williamson says. But during extended debate on the issue, commissioners were urged not to follow the advice of the Social Witness Policy Committee to disapprove the resolution, one youth advisory delegate begging them to "Think about the headlines tomorrow." Eventually, the committee's recommendation to disapprove was voted down, and a motion to approve the resolution was made and finally carried.

Williamson feels the events of the Birmingham General Assembly meeting reflect deep-seated problems in the Presbyterian denomination. The PC(USA) is in a state of "schism," the conservative pastor asserts, and the denomination is hemorrhaging members left and right.

sermon: my buddy josh

(mark 6:1)

Ok, so I gotta tell you about my friend Josh.

Josh is a great guy, don’t get me wrong, but there are times He can just grind you the wrong way. Like, there was this one time when He and some of his buddies went away, and then they came back for a visit. You know how it is when you have a relative who goes off to college and then comes back and starts telling everyone that they’re doing everything wrong? Yeah, well that is exactly what Josh was like. He and His buddies rode back into town one day and He starts talking about all this really crazy stuff and just generally annoying everyone in town.

So we’re sitting there listening to Him, and He is going on about all this weird stuff about loving each other, and sharing your stuff with poor people, and stuff about what God wants us to do – like He’s got some kind of direct pipeline to God or something – and umm… oh and he was doing some really freaky magic stuff to sick people who were all of a sudden getting better and I am not sure what THAT is about. But anyway Josh is just spilling the wildest hippie love stuff (I’ll admit Josh is a really nice guy and I know one of His brothers who used to go out with my sister’s friend) but, I mean, I was embarrassed for the guy. You should have heard Him. I really don’t know where He gets this stuff

So anyway a couple of the old guys that hang around us because they have nothing better to do all day than drink that really black coffee and play cards start talking about Josh. And one of them, I can’t remember which one goes “so who IS this guy? Where does He get this kind of smarts?” and they all start laughing at him. And then one of the other guys, the one that wears sweaters even in summer starts going on about how Josh has these magical powers and then old yeller, ok so that’s not really his name but he’s about a hundred and twenty and thinks that if he keeps dying his hair blond people won’t notice how old he is says “wait a second that’s um… whatsisname… mary’s kid.” And then one of the other guys goes “who’s mary?” and then they start going on about He’s jimmy and joe’s brother, and simon and jude, and how they knew His sisters were there because one of them just walked by in that blue shirt with the big collar and all.

But anyway they started getting really bent out of shape when they were listening to Josh, and I kinda don’t blame them – I mean Josh goes off with some buddies for a while and then He comes home and starts mouthing off to all these people that watched Him grow up telling them that God’s mad at them and that they’re doing everything all wrong and stuff.

I mean, maybe what He was saying was right and all but couldn’t He have maybe found a nicer way to say it?

they took offense at him

and why not? We would too, wouldn’t we?

Jesus, in today’s passage, did the unthinkable, though at first blush it seems fairly innocuous. Jesus left there and went to his hometown, accompanied by his disciples 2When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue

He walked into the town where just about everyone knew Him, and had known Him since His folks moved into town when He was just a baby; and on the holiest day of the week, He walked into the synagogue – the center of life, community and culture for the Jewish people and started telling them what do, like He owned the place.

What made it worse was that they knew that what He was preaching was, as scripture says “wisdom that has been given him” They knew this guy. They knew he had no education, they knew He was the son of a tradesman that made furniture for a living…. There was no WAY this was His teaching, what did THIS guy know about the Torah? Clearly, He was teaching on behalf of someone else, and thinking that thought through to its logical conclusion was more than they could deal with. Matthew Henry said “They studied to disparage him, and to raise prejudices in the minds of people against him, notwithstanding. All this wisdom, and all these mighty works, shall be of no account, because he had a home-education, had never traveled, nor been at any university, or bred up at the feet of any of their doctors”

It was easy for them to become offended. And yet, and yet they listened to what He had to say – it says many who heard him were amazed. Now as tempting as it might be to assume that Jesus’ neighbours were idiots, they weren’t. They were the learned men and the Rabbis of the town. They knew good doctrine and brilliant teaching when they heard it – and they heard Him and were amazed. The message floored them.

It was Jesus they didn’t like. They were offended at his person – this undereducated son of a tradesman - they were prejudiced against him pure and simple, and looked at him with contempt; and for that reason, they would not receive his doctrine, no matter how amazing it was. And He was offending them on multiple levels: these people knew the Torah inside and out and they certainly knew Deuteronomy 13: 1 If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you a miraculous sign or wonder, 2 and if the sign or wonder of which he has spoken takes place, and he says, "Let us follow other gods" (gods you have not known) "and let us worship them," 3 you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. And yet here is this prophet, working miracles among them and pointing to Himself - it violated everything they knew of God’s teachings; this man was dangerous.

So how did Jesus deal with that? How does he teach us, in this passage, how blatant prejudice is to be borne? (and note I said borne and not managed because you can’t change other people, only yourself) ; how did Jesus cope with the kinds of offense his own neighbours took at Him?

Well, let me share something remarkable with you. In the passage this week, if you read over it quickly, you might notice a set of parallel sentences: They were amazed at His teaching; He was amazed at their lack of faith. Now as you know, the bible never uses words casually, but sometimes English can’t quite capture the essence of the original meaning. The word “amazed” is used in both places in English, but in the original Greek, the words are quite different.

They were amazed at His teaching. The word amazed here means “to be amazed, to strike with astonishment.” Ok, what’s going on with them seems to be pretty clear in the text. They are amazed. What’s NOT evident from the English is what’s going on with Jesus:

He was amazed at their lack of faith. The word for amazed here is very different. It means “astounded” and more than that: it implies admiration, being in awe of something totally amazing.

We all know what’s going here, because at some point we have all in our lives stood back to survey a situation that we know couldn’t possibly get worse, to take a long look at an absolutely unmitigated disaster and utter the timeless words: “oh that’s just perfect”. Jesus looks at their unbelief and says in essence “brilliant, that’s just perfect.” The passage seems to imply that was so thoroughly disgusted with the perfection of their prejudice that only resorting to sarcasm could fully capture the situation, and he utters those famous words: Only in his hometown, among his relatives and in his own house is a prophet without honor, or as the Greek implies, “despised”.

But it almost gets even sadder than that – in a good measure they shot themselves in the proverbial foot, because as it says He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them: everywhere else Jesus went He was best by people begging to be healed. In His hometown?

Nada . No one even shows up except a few, faithful souls.

Can you picture that? Their own prejudice - their own dislike of the this scruffy guy from the west bank – was a chasm between healing, God’s love and His miraculous blessings and them – and no matter how “amazed” they were to hear His message, they still would not avail themselves of Jesus healing ministry because they didn’t like him. And why? Let’s take a step back:

When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue. Throughout the bible, every time Jesus shows up at a temple, there’s trouble. You ever notice that? Every time Jesus enters a temple on the Sabbath, people get all up in arms and stop listening to Him.

Look around you. What day is it? Where are we? Where is Jesus? Shouldn’t there be trouble brewing?

I’ll admit that in speaking to you I feel like I am "preaching to the choir" – you are in church already. Whatever struggles you are having with Christ's teaching likely do not center around a dislike of Jesus personally." Yet the heart of what being a Christian is, is not so much the embracing of his teaching as being in a relationship with him and that can only happen personally….

One of the difficult things traps that Christianity has fallen into over the centuries is that we have become very comfortable with Jesus – and that’s not a bad thing until you realize that that comfort leads to complacency leads to apathy leads to why is Jesus telling me to give my money to the poor and go out and spread the word and forgive my neighbour and can’t He just leave me alone to enjoy my Sunday mornings, please????

Jesus is STILL stirring the pot. But for reasons of our own, we sometimes forget to listen. None of us was in Nazareth, or knew the incarnate Christ personally. Perhaps you are like me. I cannot fathom, within myself, how anyone today could reject Christ's teaching because they had something against Him personally, because I have come to love him so much. But people I have spent time with think they know him well and do reject him. Some see Mark 6 as emblematic of the whole of Jesus ministry. He came to his own but his own would not receive him. He came to Jews and most did not receive him. He came to the world and the world turned on him and still do. And yet they think they know well enough to be bored with him – to invent stories about him being married and such. But they do not know him at all.

And Jesus was AMAZED.

So what did Jesus ultimately end up doing? Did He punish them? Rebuke them? Consign them to eternal damnation? No.

He just got on with the job at hand: Calling the Twelve to him, he sent them out two by two and gave them authority over evil spirits. Gave them instructions – keep going, don’t look back, we have a job to do – get out there and do what you’re commanded to do, because sometimes when you are the victim of prejudice that’s all you can do. You can’t change them… so just get on with whatever it is you have to do.

And my buddy Josh? Well, I gotta tell you – there are STILL loads of people that don’t like Him – that talk trash about Him and say things like “oh I think Christianity has a really good message but I don’t think that Jesus was God or anything”. You might even know one or two of them personally. Tell them to give Josh a chance, ok? Because I have a feeling that Josh is still shaking His head, saying “oh that’s just perfect”, but as long as even a few people can step out of the chains of their own prejudice, if even a few people can be liberated and hear the message no matter what they think of the messenger, well, my buddy Josh will be just fine.

excerpted from a conversation with a scientist acquaintance in sydney...

Tony: Parts of the bible cannot be seen as anything more than historical such as Genesis 5:6 and onwards. The difficulty is having a document where history is mixed with allegory.

Andrea: why is that a difficulty? or rather, i am thinking it might be a difficulty if one expects the bible to be a historical record. i think (well, at least for me) that if you understand that it isn't, and do not expect it to be a book that will dovetail with the archeological record, then there is no problem.

Tony: My feeling is that God's message would have been conveyed much more clearly if there were fewer contentious issues.

Andrea: agreed! but that's the point. its not meant to be easy. it is meant to challenge us to rise above, to be better, to see the world differently, to shift us out of our linear paradigm. there is a saying that i live by: God never said it would be easy, he only said it would be worth it.

Tony: For example, miracles might impress the masses but how do those of Jesus compare with David Copperfield ?

Andrea: hmmm, well, in all honesty, and maybe i am the crackpot here (wouldn't be the first time i was accused of that :), i think there is a quantitative difference between miracles and sleight-of-hand.

Tony: People want to believe ...

Andrea: oh you are absolutely right! and the bible says that over and over again "they wanted to believe"

Tony: look at Uri Geller ... a failed magician with low grade parlour tricks, who suddenly became worshipped in god-like fashion when he claimed his powers were supernatural

Andrea: yes - and there were many MANY itinerant "messiahs" wandering around the ancient middle east. Jesus, as another wandering prophet, was nothing new to the people of his time. what IS remarkable, at least to me, is that 2000+ years later, HE is the one that we still remember. He is the one still shaping our culture and our lives. for me, that alone testifies to the fact that there was something a leeeeeetle bit different about this particular scruffy guy from the west bank :)

Tony:... it's even interesting to note that James Randi points out that even science is easily fooled and that it takes a top magician to spot scamsters like Geller and many others.

Andrea: oh my goodness - don't even talk to me about "the amazing randi"! he lost all credibility with me a few years back when he shot off his mouth once too often. even carl sagan withdrew from CSICOP because it was full of idiots like randi!

Tony: I have a friend who has travelled to India several times to see Sai Baba (his literature claims he is "110%" god) ... he was caught out on camera by the BBC but people still blindly follow him in their tens of thousands. The more time passes, the more that "miracles" seem to be set in stone ... if Jesus' were amazing, just look at the claims of Buddah ! Any reasonable person would see Buddah's history as total nonsense, but again, millions believe ... and of course Buddhism has some great messages, just like Christianity.

Andrea: oh without a doubt! that is the essence of the choice God gives us to follow Him or not. what amazes me about the concept of God is that while He is omnipotent and could easily compel universal adoration and love, He doesn't. He still leaves the choice to love Him up to us. that just floors me.

Tony: Much of the problem lies not in Christianity but in the Church ... the Church, in it's many denominations, is all about power and control, as it has been throughout history ...

Andrea: yes. you are right. as the church, we have much to atone for, much to repent of. personally, i don't think that diminishes the good works that the Church has done over the millennia, but people do tend to overlook that because the it is politically acceptable to bash the church. i accept that, and i knew i would be taking on the yoke of the church's history - good and bad - with the collar. but i am one of those "no use crying over spilled milk" people. i figure atone, make amends, then get on with the job of doing it better in the future.

Tony: and even the manipulation and corruption of the bible to these ends ... just look at the 2nd commandment for example ... compare the latest and St James versions ... "nor the likeness of anything in the heaven above nor the earth beneath" - this includes crosses on chains around the neck, statues of Mary, even the church building itself. Jesus clearly did not preach the use of ornamentation and church buildings and the like ... he taught a simple life !!! ... of course a simple life would take power away from the Church

Andrea: have you read NT wright? he is a theologian that might shed some light on issues like these (i mean if they really ARE issues! if not, then its all good :))


any and all comments are welcome........

it never ceases to amaze me through whom God chooses to speak...

jon is dying, and finally able to admit to it. yet as i told him of the cowboy and that i wanted to build something with him :in time", this was what he had to offer me. it is too beautiful not to share...


...At least he has Foxtell...although I'm a bit sceptical about the pink couch...And what's this "in time" crap???...Think about that one Annie for a minute...It's not just your time you know...what about his time....I will say something that I think everyone should be aware of...Religion, Politics, Work, Sport whatever are all well and good...but Love is the only engine of survival...I have seen love I have never seen a good politician or for that matter God..I can work anytime I wish and watch or play sport all day...but Love???...that only happens once in a great while...and the problem with the human ape is they are very quick to assign Love into a secondary place whilst spending most of their lives wishing they had more of it...as Mark Knoppfler asked in a song...When you gonna wake up and find your good man gone???...Annie as a friend I will advise you that if you wait too long, no matter how wonderful you are, no matter how well you do the oral thingy, a person can only wait so long...I'm convinced that when we as people meet somebody, we know right from that moment if we love them or not...there is no such thing as like...you like a car or a coffee...you love another heart...and if you feel that you and this Alex fellow have any chance of success then be sure that it will wilt and die on the vine if you make him and yourself wait while you decide if you wish to dive in or just waggle your toes in the shallow end...this is what the newscaster was doing...I'm dying Annie...I don't have time for games or indecision...I would question ones committment to a cause if one was waffling...you can find God here...you can become a constable here...this is a land of great opportunity...you miss it...why make your heart cry when it could be smiling...and why expect somebody else to wait while you decide...what about them???...get your ass on a plane Annie...worst case scenario you can stay with me...I do have three bedrooms...pee or get off the pot...Love You...Jonathan...

weekly report: week 8 - 9

Church of the Resurrection, Intern’s Weekly Report

Week 8 - 9 June 17 to June 30

(As last week was the “mid term break”, not much report worthy transpired, so I am combining several key learnings that occurred over the last two weeks into this report)

Several key learnings that tie directly into my stated goals have abruptly become evident as I reflect on the events of my internship thus far. These realizations have come to me as a direct result of feedback from members of the congregation. They are:

a) I get things DONE. While I am not the “brightest light on the runway” and haven't had an original idea since 1989, I can implement the ideas of others to a successful conclusion. Tell me to "get something done", and you can consider it done. I believe Duke has noticed this to some degree, as I have the sense that he has begun to capitalize on it to a limited extent. It has fostered a tremendous sense of teamwork in me between the congregation and I: they come up with great ideas, I make them happen.

b) I can help foster friendships and connections between other people. I can facilitate introductions, engage the parties in interesting conversation then gracefully withdraw, only to return in a few days to both parties to help foster and support the connection between them.

c) I can make people feel connected to a broader community - I can make them feel valued and included, needed and accepted, to the benefit of the greater whole. No matter what the personality type, I seem to be able to find a niche in any community where they will fit, feel valued and be a positive contributor to the whole.

d) I can lead a congregation or a small group of people in worship, study, and fellowship.

e) I am as comfortable ministering to an elderly person in a nursing home as I am ministering to a 12 year old girl.

f) I can encourage, disciple, train and empower another person to take on a role they never thought they could. I can foster in someone a sense of "hey I can do this", and the confidence to take on a leadership role of their own.

g) I am flexible and adaptable enough to take on a project whose content is unknown to me by applying administrative, logistical and project management principles.

h) I gain knowledge and skill by listening to those smarter and more experienced than I, and by actively seeking feedback, by listening to and honestly and critically evaluating even negative feedback in an effort to improve my skills and make my ministry more fruitful.

The specific circumstances under which each of theses realizations occurred can best be discussed at a supervisory meeting, I believe.

cooper

of course he's gorgeous: he's a brosgall.....

a life in ministry can be crushing

i mean, it was a holiday! a day off, and there we were, giving selflessly of ourselves in order to establish a christian presence in the community.......