Love makes the world go ‘round

Not long ago a popular band ‘Black eyed peas’ released a song titled ‘Where is the love?’ The song reflects upon a very loveless world. While it’s a catchy tune and I like it, the words of the song can be quite depressing as they reflect upon the general reality of the state our world is in.

There is a large majority who tend to operate out of self serving motives. ‘If it makes you feel good, do it’. This generally seems to be perpetuated around Christmas time when the item at the top of the agenda for many is, ‘what can I get for Christmas?’ Then, ‘what can I give?’ may come in second. I do struggle with the consumeristic culture encouraged by our media, particularly when you hear the predictions of the billions of dollars that will be spent on ‘stuff’ for Christmas presents.

So where is the love in amongst all of this? Is it expressed through how much ‘stuff’ we can get and give? That all depends on your wealth I guess. Or does it?

Love like Peace, is a word that when translated from the Ancient Greek often doesn’t carry it’s intended meaning with the translation. There are 4 words commonly used to describe love in the New Testament. We only have one word – love – to describe them all. Yet the love used most commonly to describe the love of God is agape (αγάπη). This love is a love that transcends all others. It is greater than a romantic love or a love you might have for your family. It is a love that God chooses to express toward us, to draw us into his presence. It is a love the New Testament writers describe as the greatest attribute even above faith and hope. It is greater than an emotion, it is a state of being in relationship with God. Ultimately it is the same love we strive to express among one another. Agape is the greatest gift at Christmas

The apostle Paul writes to the Roman church saying, that even when we were lost and undeserving, God chose to express this love anyway. The Gospel writer express the Christmas story in such a way as to tell the reader that God has such a deep love for the world that he chose to express in the most profound way possible, the only way that would truly touch and transform people. Godself, expressed in human form, born to a humble couple in a humble town in desperate times.

God’s love is actualized in all it’s fullness through the life of Jesus. God entered this world so we may truly experience God’s love and learn how to express it toward one another. Imagine if this really was the primary way the world operates. It starts with you.

May you experience and express God’s love this Christmas.

Shalom

Mark

Hope dawns on Vox Congo this Christmas

This past 48 hours have been a massive emotional rollercoaster for me. Not only have I been saying goodbye to Vox Congo as their manager but I am saying goodbye to ministry with the Knoxfield Church of Christ and to Melbourne. Vox Congo held a dinner for Verity and I and the church has said their farewell last Sunday. But the all the emotion began for me on Saturday night the 16th of November at around 8pm.

If you notice the time on this post it is very early in the morning. While I have not had a chance to sit down at a computer since I found out this great news, I can now no longer sleep properly until I tell the world what is happening. It's around 5:30am and the sun is rising on a new day, quite powerfully symbolic for one of our members of Vox Congo and his family.

On Saturday night, Etienne so casually leant over to me as we were eating dinner and said,

'did you hear, Papy got a letter from immigration and few days ago.'

'Well what did it say', I said excitedly and impatiently.

'It is very good news, he's not an asylum seeker anymore.'

As you could imagine I nearly fell off my seat. Papy and Rebekah were sitting just a few spots up the table from me. I got up out of my seat and went straight to them, I wasn't sure whether to just throw myself at them with a huge hug or calm myself just for a moment to confirm the news with them. I chose them latter, then threw my arms around them.

People hear this, PAPY IS NO LONGER AN ASYLUM SEEKER! Is that loud enough! Go and shout it out your window right now, tell the world.

After 5 long years of seeking asylum here in Australia, finally one of the 4 has received the news he had been longing for. Papy is the first to receive such news as his timeline with immigration was slightly ahead of the others. This has given the other 3 guys a huge dose of expectation and renewed sense of hope. What I find most amazing is how they all take it in their stride, like they really expected this to happen. Their faith in Jesus never faltered, they never gave up praying and the never gave up hope. The Good News 'Kinanga' this Christmas is that God reveals himself in suh ways. The journey with the guys has taught me a few things, like what' the use in hoping if you don't expect the thing hoped for to be realized? These guys have helped me realize hope in a new light.

So I bet you're wondering where to from here? Well they're not out of the woods yet. Even though papy is on the other side of the asylum seeker line there is still a long process to come. He now officially has the status of 'tourist'. he has a 6 month tourist visa and within this time Papy has to apply for a temporary spouse visa. I had the privilege of marrying Papy to Rebekah in 2004 and they brought their first little girl into the world almost one year ago today. As soon as I fill out a statutory declaration for them, thy can begin the process of applying for the next visa and the Wena family will be on their way to becoming a complete Aussie family. If they are successful in securing the temporary spouse visa then Papy becomes a temporary resident. It's another couple of years before he can then become a full resident and then another few years after that to becoming a citizen. I tell you what though, no matter where I am in the world I will be attending that citizenship ceremony.

Your prayer works in amazing ways. Keep praying for the Wena family and for Martinse, Adolphe & Etienne and their families. We hope the others will hear soon. By the way, I was so caught up in the excitement that I nearly forgot to tell you that Etienne sent me an SMS yesterday to say he has received study rights. I've been trying to get in touch with him to find out what this means. I will be posting again soon after I catch up with him. It's all happening for Vox Congo!

Watch this blog over the next few weeks as I expect it to be active with posts. If you have questions or comments please post them in the comments section and I'll do my best to respond.

Shalom

Mark Riessen

P.S. For some reason pictures won't upload on this blog (too early in the morning) so check out the ons I've loaded onto the Vox Congo blog.

Peace on earth - Shalom

Everyone knows that it is the dream of every beauty queen contestant to have ‘world peace’. So what does that mean? Do they know what it means? Is it just about the absence of war and everyone coexisting together, or is it deeper than that?

Many followers of Jesus in the western world would not appreciate the meaning of the word ‘shalom’ due to our separation of language, culture and time. Yet shalom, often translated simply as ‘peace’, is a theme we seek to engage with in the advent season. From my understand of the ancient languages that have influenced our scripture, and from the research I’ve done, our English translation of Shalom does not do justice to it’s true meaning therefore our action to proclaim peace and followers of Jesus may be ill informed.

From what I can gather together from various sources, to proclaim or speak shalom into someone’s life is to pledge to live for the others well-being, to seek security, contentment, sound health, prosperity, friendship, peace of mind and heart, a covenant to desire and seek the good life of God’s favour together. This is what peace is really about in it’s entirety and it is a ministry all Christians are called to.

I came across this quote from Rabbi Yisroel Miller;
"When the United States and the former Soviet Union co-existed for decades without declaring war on each other, that armed truce was not shalom. If neighbors in an apartment building never exchange cross words because they never exchange any words, that is also not shalom. The word shalom comes from the word shalem, meaning complete, all parts together. Shalom is when all parts of the whole, all people in the group, blend together in harmony."

This Christmas I have not only been reflecting upon the advent themes, but as my term of ministry with the Knoxfield Church concludes I have been reflecting upon how I’ve seen this church engage these themes in real life over the years. Whether we have named it in this way or not, this church has embraced the ministry of shalom and knows how to speak it’s language.

Remember that time when John Owen from Urban Neighbours Of Hope came to our Refugee Sunday service in August 2002 and he brought Adolphe with him? Our encounter with this shy Congolese asylum seeker resulted in us providing housing for 4 Congolese asylum seekers, Vox Congo, to this day. By doing this we were able to speak shalom in profound ways.

Remember the time when I came to the church one Sunday in December 2004 with a request? Christmas was only a few weeks away and the Chaplain I work with at Scoresby Secondary College came to me with a tragic story. A year 11 student who is an only child living with his dad woke up one morning to find his dad passed away during the night. This students life was in turmoil with the burden of preparing and paying for a funeral and everything else that goes with it. This church responded by paying for the funeral and the chaplain and I conducted it here at the church. Throughout 2005 you continued to speak Shalom into this students life and I have heard recently that he was deeply impacted and appreciative of the message of good news he received from the church at that time in his life.

We began the Kids Hope ministry with Knox Park Primary last year. I have been mentoring a boy for the last 2 years, he will be in years 6 next year. He gave me a present this week. It was a framed picture of him and with it was a letter. The letter expressed his heart felt appreciation for journeying with him through issues of bullying, blended family transition, helping with school work and being his friend. As a tear came to my eye I realized that I had been speaking shalom into his life.

These are some of the memories I will always take with me from my time in ministry with the Knoxfield Church of Christ.

Our participation in shalom goes much deeper than the wish for ‘world peace’. It is not merely an absence of civil disturbances but an active pursuit of the well-being of others. Shalom continues to find its expression in a sharing and caring community involving compassion for the needs of others which ultimately extends to mercy and justice.

This Christmas I hope you experience shalom in your life and through this experience you are able to extend it to others. May you continue to be a church who proclaims the Kingdom of God.

Shalom
Mark

Joy for the unlovely

"Jesus loved and accepted others without approving of everything they did. That's our position too, but it upsets a lot of people ...."
- Rick Warren

I was pleasantly surprised to open up my weekly subscriber email from Sojourners this week to find this awesome quote from Rick Warren. This was his response to conservative Christians who didn’t like his tact when he issued an invitation to Sen. Barack Obama to attend an HIV/AIDS conference Rick Warren was hosting.

To me this is a great reminder of the Good News that is brought into the world through the Christmas event. What I find absolutely amazing is that more often than not, it’s the Christians, the ones who claim to follow Jesus, that are offended by his actions. At least this is true in Rick Warrens experience in this instance. However, I can relate to his experience. It is disturbing to me the amount of Christians I’ve come across who take offense at or exclude those whom Jesus embraced.

This Christmas the Foothills Neighbourhood Community (a Churches of Christ church) are embracing people such as these for the fourth year in a row (at least I think it’s four years). Their minister Steve Barrington, started something called ‘Christmas Day Lunch’. Very simple really, they invite everyone in the Ferntree Gully neighbourhood and surrounds, to lunch on Christmas Day. This includes the lonely & excluded, the isolated elderly, homeless, people with mental illness, drug addicts, alcoholics, unemployed, the list goes on. All of these people are invited to have lunch on them. I really admire Steve’s vision for this ministry. Verity and I have helped out a couple of times.

What I love about this is interacting with people who just aren’t used to being loved or accepted. Just to see that smile, that expression of joy on their faces makes it all worth it as we see the message of Christmas unfolding in it’s essence before our very eyes.

All Christians have been called to unveiling and proclaiming the Kingdom of God in ways such as these. We are not called to judge but to love and accept. The advent season of Christmas is about those who celebrate the birth of Jesus living out the attributes the advent themes represent; Hope, Joy, Peace & Love.

Wherever you are this Christmas, whether it be the usual crazy ‘relative run’, a quiet Christmas at home, or even helping out at Christmas Day Lunch please do not neglect to love and accept all who cross your path. Let this be a habit that sets your trend for the new year and continue to discover the Joy in Christ in yours and others lives.

Shalom
Mark

A Glimmer of Hope

Does hope carry much meaning for us today? Is it a real and tangible thing to grasp onto and look forward to? Or is hope the kind of thing reserved only for fairytales.? How important is it for us to place our hope in something? Do we really need it?
I guess the answer to that question needs to be placed within context. Hope looks so much different through the experience of an asylum seeker with no country and no identity, than it does through my own. While one child hopes for a new bike this Christmas, another hopes to live to see tomorrow. So what use is hope? Is it real? Is it beckoning something on to be realized in reality? While I could so casually hope for a particular gift for Christmas, another might invest all their faith and energy into the hope for life. What does that glimmer of hope look like?
Verity and I had the opportunity to attend a preview screening of ‘The Nativity Story’ on Wednesday night. I will say from the start, ‘what a fantastic film! Go and see it’. This movie will help you engage the Christmas story all over again with fresh new eyes. One very strong theme that came through the movie for me was the message of hope, hope for a generation who had nothing left except hope.
One of the many prophets of Israel, Jeremiah, is one who is responsible for instilling this hope in the people of Israel. He writes (among many things like this):
“”The days are coming”, declares the Lord, “When I will raise up to David a righteous branch, King who will reign wisely, and do what is right and just in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety…”” (Jer 23:5-6)
This was written in a time when the small nation of Judah was located in the middle of 3 big nations at war. They still dwelt under the shadow of the Babylonian super power. In the years leading up to the revelation of prophecies such as Jeremiah’s, the people of Israel lived under the extremely tough and oppressive rule of Caesar.
Yet into this world God broke through, a glimmer of hope in the form of a baby born in the humblest of places to the humblest of parents. Those who were alerted to his birth were not the prominent and the powerful but the helpless and near hopeless.
There are millions in our world today who hold on to hope in a million different ways. What will this hope look like to them. As followers of Jesus 2000 years after his birth, we celebrate the glimmer of hope that has broken into our lives. We don’t have blind hope, we hold onto a hope which has already been and is still yet to be. We have received a special and unique gift.
Christmas is about giving. You have received a glimmer of hope in Jesus, now in turn share that glimmer of hope with those you encounter in your week. Lord knows, there are a million reasons why you should.

Shalom
Mark

Wherever the wind blows

This past week has been a very profound one full of significant events and a range of emotions. My two all-time favourite band front men, Bono (U2) and Eddie Vedder (Pearl Jam), stood together at the Make Poverty History concert for a cause I believe in on the day the G20 summit met in Melbourne. The following day was a sad day to remember with violent protests in Melbourne. Vox Congo played at another MPH concert in Melbourne that day. What a weekend of action, filled with massive political statements by some of the biggest bands to visit Melbourne, lots of pleas from many sympathisers to make poverty history and opportunities to actually make a difference.
All the while I was across the border in South Australia missing out on the action, but gaining appreciation for a different kind of action, learning how to be an uncle. My sister gave birth to the first of a new generation of my family and I was in Adelaide to be a part of the ‘moments’.
It seems that when significant things happen in life it gets me thinking quite deeply about life, purpose for being, etc. Tim Costello spoke at the Make Poverty History concert and said something I had heard him say before. From what I can remember he said, when politicians make decisions they lick their finger and put it into the air to see which way the wind is blowing. His purpose for this example was to say that we have the power to change the direction of the wind and influence the decisions politicians make.
Last year at the global launch of the Make Poverty History campaign Nelson Mandela said ‘all it takes is for a generation to be great, you can be that generation, you can be great’. There were threads of this quote in the movie ‘the Girl in the café’ when Gina gave that famous dinner table speech.

And so this has prompted me once again to consider, will this current generation of leaders and citizens decide to be great? Or will we just coast along and ride with the wind wherever the voices of influence dictate the direction of its breeze; whether we think it’s just or not?
I wonder what my niece, Samantha Grace, now 10 days old, would think when she grows up and begins to engage with the world? I really hope she never has to see a current image or hear of another human being who is dying in senseless poverty that we have the power to prevent. Yet I fear she will, and she’ll wonder why we didn’t do enough to address a problem we could quite easily have tackled if only we had the will. We certainly have the way and the resources to do so.
So will you be part of a generation who will be great? Not only great for those who currently need our immediate help, but great examples to our future generations. Will you use your influence to help change the direction of the wind? Or will we leave it for another generation to be great? Hang out another 20 years and wait for people like Samantha to pick up the baton?
Jesus wasn’t one to sit back and go wherever the wind blows, in fact he (one person) set the direction of the wind. At times it became a wind storm and today has powerful influence. The Holy Spirit moved in like a violent wind among the disciples on the day of Pentecost and amazing things happened. When the disciples allowed it to move them freely, no one in the community was in need and they shared everything in common.
Let us be finely tuned to the direction of the wind that blows Jesus’ way. Be a great generation of influence. Set the direction of the wind.

Shalom
Mark