Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Awesome Creator

Why are we here? Where did we come from? How did all things come into being? No matter which tradition you are influenced by, whether it be scientific, religious or cultural, each person is certain about the truth their tradition offers which helps them answer these ‘meaning of life’ questions?

This was the topic and these were the questions asked in my CRE class this week. The topic according to CRE curriculum was ‘Creation’ according to Genesis chapter 1. So many of us are familiar with the Judeo-Christian story of creation as a 7 day event. This is the tradition of the Jewish, the Christian and the Muslim faith. I wonder, are you also familiar with the theory of evolution, or creation according to Aboriginal dream time, or creation according to Ni-Vanuatu storyan?

As I taught my half hour lesson I laid all of these theories out on the table, because that really is all they are, theories according to the traditions of those who are curious enough to try and make sense of where we come from and how we got here. This is the point where many passionate fundamentalists and literalists put the gloves on and are ready to fight for that which they know as ‘truth’ according to their tradition. I question, what then are we fighting for?

The Creation theory was recorded around 4000 years ago according to the traditions and questions of the people of Israel. The Dream Time is a tradition that has existed for 40,000 years according to some sources and the Ni-Vanuatu also for thousands of years, not to mention the thousands of other creation stories that have existed since the human story has existed. The scientific evolution theory is a new player at only a couple of hundred years old, yet is still a measured theory according to human understanding.

A DVD landed on my desk a few weeks ago titled ‘Unlocking the Mystery of Life’. It is a documentary introducing (to the disgust of many scientists) the theory of intelligent design. This theory says that things didn’t just happen or appear but there is an intelligence, a creator, responsible for the way things are.

I find no reason to fight for one theory over another. I’m satisfied with the fact that there are many theories in the human story that try to grapple with understanding the purpose of our existence and how we got here. However the over arching constant for me that can be true for all theories is that God is the Creator.

We have such an awesome creator! In this weeks news, scientists have brought forward 3 recently discovered planets in our solar system to be named and claimed in a vote to take place next week. In my research on the topic I discovered that there have been discoveries of up to 50 other planets in other solar systems revolving around stars like our sun that have been described in likeness with our Earth. These kids of discoveries cause our curious minds to ask, ‘can there be other life out there?’

Did you know that within 1cm3 of a living organism up to 4 billion single cells can be found. When magnified a single cell is packed with assembly instructions and miniature machines so intricately designed you could not possibly say it was an accident or came about through a process of natural selection. Charles Darwin could never have imagined such complexity and design when he developed his theory.

Our ancestors developed theories and stories based on their limited understanding and questioning within a world view where our planet was flat. It was a fact that if you sailed to the horizon you would fall off the edge of the earth.

From telescopes that allow us to explore planets and stars in other solar systems to microscopes that allow us to explore the microscopic world of a single living cell, we discover just how little we really know and how awesome our creator God really is.

I believe we have been created in the image of God. Humans are infact one of God’s greatest and most complex creations. We have been created with the gift of free will, ability to think and explore. We can continue to discover and rediscover the greatness of our creator God which adds to the richness of understanding our story and who we are in relationship with the cosmos.

Our God is an awesome God!

Shalom
Mark

Tuesday, August 15, 2006

Don't just think it, do it!

“As the body without the Spirit is dead, so faith without actions is dead.” James 2:26. James pulls no punches in urging his fellow Jewish followers of ‘The Way’, to allow their faith and belief in Jesus to inform their actions and the way they live their lives.

For James, faith is a transformative process that influences our very being. Whatever you believe reflects who you are as it motivates your actions and responses to the world around you. If it doesn’t then what good is your belief/faith? James throws out some hard hitting statements.

I have many friends who would think that Christianity is all about a simple transaction between them and God. Believe in God and heaven, which perpetuates the belief that you’re going to heaven, then live your life the way you want. My response to that is their faith is nothing short of very shallow.

A faith that does not promote a way of life is no faith at all. In fact it is hypocrisy to believe in something then act in a way that is contrary to that belief. So this would lead us to the question, ‘What do you believe?’ Do you know the Christian story? If someone asked you could you tell them? Is your faith lived out in what you do? Do people know what you believe just by observing you?

The challenge that constantly lies ahead of churches is to put into action the things that say they believe in. Many churches have a set of core values or mission statement that outlines what they ‘believe’ as a community. The real test is, do we believe it enough to allow it to inform our every move as a church? Do we revisit our belief system to reflect how the living Spirit continues to educate us and speak to us?

The Church worldwide is the living breathing body of Christ. When Christ walked this earth his beliefs and what he stood for oozed out of him, he hardly had to say a word to speak a powerful message when he reached out and touched the leper, allowed the ‘sinful woman’ to wash his feet, or turned over the tables in the temple courts.

Would the living body of Christ (the Church) today, really allow itself to express it’s beliefs through actions as powerful as Christ’s? Saint Francis of Assisi once proclaimed, ‘Preach the Gospel at all times, but only if necessary use words.’ What Saint Francis suggests in saying this is that our actions can speak louder than words.

Jesus' prayer for his disciples in John 17 is one that reflects, if only we would act the way Christ has called us to, then the world may see and believe. My take on that is that when people begin to believe they in turn begin to act. Check the quote of the day in the header. Our actions are in fact the most powerful language we have.

Shalom
Mark

Quote of the day: "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed people can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has."
Margaret Mead

Friday, August 04, 2006

"Disowning Conservative Politics, Evangelical Pastor Rattles Flock"

I'm in a blogging frenzy at the moment so this is my last post, then I'm taking a break.

A friend of mine sent me a link to an article in the New York Times. It tells a story which in my view, is a story of a courageous pastor who is not bound by church offerings, job security or public opinion - but speaks the truth of the Gospel according to his own convictions. I admire his guts to pledge allegiance to the Jesus of the Gospels before the America flag.

I hope I can display this kind of guts throughout my ministry vocation.

Check the story here

Cheers
Mark

Which voice do you hear?

In our world today there are many voices. The voices we actually hear are the ones that have influence in our lives. Whether these are helpful influences or not is left to our own discernment. However, our actions reflect whatever influences us the most.
I often wrestle with discerning the voice of God. How do you know what God is saying? Am I acting in a way that pleases God? Am I making the choices that honour the purpose God has for my life? These are very confronting theological questions for more than one reason. It brings into question how much influence we think God does or should have in our lives. Is there a chosen path that we can only know through intimate relationship with God? What if I can’t hear Gods voice? What if I deviate from the path?
Through a conversation with my spiritual director recently I discovered that I hear God in different ways. The most important thing I discovered is that God is always speaking into my life. The trouble I often have is discerning that voice among the many others. There’s the voice of reason, the voice of temptation, the voice of self-service…and the list goes on. The best way to describe it is sometimes it feels like I’m at a party with music and hundreds of chattering people and I’m sitting next to God in a corner of the room trying to hear what on earth He’s saying. ‘Speak up God!’ I shout. Often when I strain hard enough I hear the voice is saying, ‘just come and step into a quiet space with me Mark.’
Often I find that I have heard God speak, and I have a deep conviction in my heart to respond to that voice through my actions and the decisions I make. However my head at times creates conflict with my heart, as my head is processing all those other rationalizing voices that cause uncertainty and confusion over the voice in my heart. Therefore I can often have a dislocation of head from heart.
Jesus says to the hearers of the famous sermon on the mount, ‘whoever hears these words of mine and acts on them is like a wise man…but anyone who hears and doesn’t but them into practise is like a foolish man…’ To be a true follower of Jesus, you act on what Jesus says, to do any different is a dislocation of the head from the heart. The author of the epistle James is big on the hearing and responding with Godly action. “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” (James 1:22).
For the modern day disciple of Jesus our role is not to merely listen to the nice stories of the bible but to allow our heart to hear what Jesus asks of us. The heart is the source of inner transformation that promotes outward response. We need to find spaces to discern the voice of God so we can filter the noise and hear the word of God, the ultimate influence.

Shalom
Mark