Barbed wire fences

Early on day 8 of lent I decided to ride my bike up to the top of the big Ironbank Rd hill (it’s legendary in Ironbank…trust me). Each day of lent I’ve taken a different path on my bike. Much to my lament I soon worked out that there is nowhere I can ride from my parent’s place that doesn’t first require a grueling uphill ride. My parents live in a valley and there are hills all around in every direction.

I reached the top of the hill and paused for a while to appreciate the view. It’s amazing how my attention was immediately taken by the vast expanse of the big picture before me. The thick tree tops followed the shape of the rolling hills all the way to Mt.Lofty. As a glanced down to my left through a valley I could see the ocean. What a view! I could see from the highest peak of the Adelaide hills to the lowest valley to the ocean.

After I had appreciated the view I began to notice the little things like the properties that were laid out before me in the foreground. These were quite picturesque and full of character. Grazing land for sheep and cattle, fruit tree orchards and rusty old sheds near big old farm houses. I also noticed that everything was surrounded by barbed wire fences.

It’s nasty looking stuff. I’ve had an accident or two with this barbed wire as a kid. I wonder where the idea of barbed wire fences came from? Was it a need for protection, security, prevention? Actually I noticed that most things were protected in some way, like the fruit trees covered with nets to protect the fruit from the birds. And the hay bails in the barns to protect them from the weather. But what is it about barbed wire fences? Are they to keep things in or keep things out?

There’s a story about fences that goes a little like this; An American tourist visits an outback cattle station and is over awed at the size of the property which stretched from one horizon to the next. The American wasn’t used to this, they have states in America smaller than the size of this property. He was used to masses of people confined to small spaces. However he noticed something that puzzled him, there were no fences to keep the cattle from straying. “How do you keep your cattle from straying when you have no fences?” the American asked the farmer. “We don’t need fences, we have wells. Our cattle know which direction to go to stay alive.” replied the farmer.

To take the metaphor of the fences further I’ve noticed people put up ‘barbed wire fences’ (boundaries) to warn people to stay away or keep their distance. Churches tend to want to construct fences to keep people in, make sure they don’t stray too far.

I find it interesting that Jesus used the world around him to teach people about the nature of God, the kingdom of God and the community of God’s people. John chooses to tell a story of Jesus sitting by a well talking to a stranger, an outsider about the life giving water available to all. We don’t get any sense from the Gospels that Jesus was intent on fencing people in to an exclusive club he founded. Instead we find Jesus in the places where he knows people gather for that which is life giving.

After focusing on the little things for a while I cast my eyes back over the landscape one last time before I took the fast downhill ride home. Mt. Lofty, the furtherest peak in the distance, the highest peak in the Adelaide hills, caught my attention. 'Tomorrow', I thought to myself, 'I will take on Mt. Lofty.'

Shalom
Mark