The weather report wasn’t joking when a gale force wind warning was issued for coastal areas on Friday.
I had been watching the swell charts on the coastal watch website all week as a massive swell was building off the coast, looking for a surfing opportunity. Having already had a taste of this swell on my day off this week I had been anticipating Friday morning when the swell was at its peak. I had built up these images in my mind of the perfect big waves I might encounter.
I had it all planned out. I was going to get up early Friday morning and hit the surf at dawn before coming into the office. Reality hit when I arrived at the cliffs overlooking Southport. The massive squalling 2-3metre swell was completely wind blown and unforgiving. As I stood there the gusts of wind literally knocked me off my feet. Once I was sitting back in my car I knew this was getting ridiculous when the car was violently rocking back and forth with the force of the wind and the rain was coming at me sideways.
Well so much for that! Don’t you hate it when you build up expectations in your mind about how things could be or ought to be? It’s even worse when you’re met head on with an uncontrollable, uncontainable storm that leaves you feeling powerless and defeated.
I find moments like these to be deeply spiritual moments and I’m not talking about those warm fuzzy feelings with God, I’m talking about those Psalm 88 feelings. You know, the kind of lament that wonders ‘what on earth is happening here? Is this real? Where are you God?’ The wind is so strong, the ocean is unforgiving and things are blowing in at you sideways and there is no way you can even find your centre let along find God in it all.
The writer of Matthew's Gospel inserts a story about a storm immediately following an explanation about the cost of following Jesus. This story doesn’t exist so much because early Christians decided to retell a story about a bunch of fishermen in a boat with Jesus during a storm. The language alone in many English translations tells us there is much more to this than a story about a storm. The story teller uses dramatic language like ‘without warning’, ‘ferocious storm’, being ‘overcome’, ‘we are perishing’! It communicates the language of the cries of the soul when we are unexpectedly overcome with the challenges life throws at us from left field.
One thing we can often overlook or not realize in the chaos of it all is that in our story as in the Gospel story, Jesus is present in the storm. The knowledge that God is present is comforting for some but not enough for others. It is the words uttered by Jesus in the midst of the storm in Mark’s Gospel that offers us the greatest hope in the midst of the storm, “Quiet! Be still!”
May you find time for the stilling of your soul.
Shalom Mark
Friday, September 28, 2007
Friday, September 07, 2007
The Greatest Love
Have we relinquished our responsibility to uphold the greatest commandment? I’m not talking about any old commandment, I’m talking about the ‘Greatest’! Each of the synoptic Gospels have more than one account of someone asking Jesus the all important question, ‘what is the greatest commandment?’ Whether in whatever context the question is asked, the answer is blatantly untamed and unforgettable. ‘Love God with all your heart, soul and mind & love your neighbour as yourself.’ Jesus dares to suggest that not only is this the greatest command but that it defines all others. If every single thing we did was motivated by the greatest commandment to love God and others, we would be living exactly as God intended in a state of shalom. But the reality shows that we are far from shalom in our world, so what has gone wrong, what’s wrong with living the greatest commandment?
In case you haven’t noticed the APEC Summit is being held in Sydney. The media frenzy seems to surround and follow the leader of the ‘greatest’ nation and hang on his every word. Among many things I continue to hear this reverberating echo of propaganda that perpetuates the fear that has captivated us since 2001. The answers from the greatest leaders of our day is war, tighter security, dominance, more power and more fear. Whatever happened to the greatest commandment as a strategy from our great leaders?
I turn my attention towards a popular singer who by the way seems to have more swing with the general public than any politician. Bono from U2 sings one of his songs with the late Luciano Pavarotti called “Miss Sarajevo”. When introducing the song Bono says, ‘We would like to turn our song into a prayer, and the prayer is, that we don’t become a monster in order to defeat a monster.”
Bono sings the words:
“Is there a time for changing values, is there a time for wearing a blind?
Is there a time for keeping your mouth shut, is this a time for human rights?”
While behind him the words of the UN declaration begin scrolling behind him starting with article 1; ‘All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a Spirit of love’.
The translation of Pavarotti’s piece in the song reads;
“You say that the river finds the way to the sea, and as the river you'll come to me Beyond the borders and the thirsty lands, you say that as river Love will come And I cannot pray anymore, and I cannot hope in love anymore
And I cannot wait for love anymore”
Have we relinquished our responsibility to love? Have we given up because it’s too hard? The greatest commandment is far from being the greatest in today’s climate. Yet I believe that the love Jesus speaks of can still be the greatest. While there are still millions of people in our world who claim to be followers of Jesus, I would hope that a large percentage would seek to take him seriously at his words and actions. You can by loving one person at a time.
Shalom Mark
"Dance like nobody's watching; love like you've never been hurt; sing like nobody's listening; live like it's heaven on earth." – Mark Twain
In case you haven’t noticed the APEC Summit is being held in Sydney. The media frenzy seems to surround and follow the leader of the ‘greatest’ nation and hang on his every word. Among many things I continue to hear this reverberating echo of propaganda that perpetuates the fear that has captivated us since 2001. The answers from the greatest leaders of our day is war, tighter security, dominance, more power and more fear. Whatever happened to the greatest commandment as a strategy from our great leaders?
I turn my attention towards a popular singer who by the way seems to have more swing with the general public than any politician. Bono from U2 sings one of his songs with the late Luciano Pavarotti called “Miss Sarajevo”. When introducing the song Bono says, ‘We would like to turn our song into a prayer, and the prayer is, that we don’t become a monster in order to defeat a monster.”
Bono sings the words:
“Is there a time for changing values, is there a time for wearing a blind?
Is there a time for keeping your mouth shut, is this a time for human rights?”
While behind him the words of the UN declaration begin scrolling behind him starting with article 1; ‘All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a Spirit of love’.
The translation of Pavarotti’s piece in the song reads;
“You say that the river finds the way to the sea, and as the river you'll come to me Beyond the borders and the thirsty lands, you say that as river Love will come And I cannot pray anymore, and I cannot hope in love anymore
And I cannot wait for love anymore”
Have we relinquished our responsibility to love? Have we given up because it’s too hard? The greatest commandment is far from being the greatest in today’s climate. Yet I believe that the love Jesus speaks of can still be the greatest. While there are still millions of people in our world who claim to be followers of Jesus, I would hope that a large percentage would seek to take him seriously at his words and actions. You can by loving one person at a time.
Shalom Mark
"Dance like nobody's watching; love like you've never been hurt; sing like nobody's listening; live like it's heaven on earth." – Mark Twain
Where church and community meet
I had the most amazing opportunity to be in a room and engage in conversation with some amazing people last Wednesday night. Nina and I had organized a meet and greet between Kids Hope mentors and the parents of the children we were mentoring in the staff room at the Hawthorndene Primary School. All but one of our mentors made it to the gathering and more than half of the children were represented by their parents.
As Tania (school principal) and I shared with the parents and mentors the details of the Kids Hope program and our vision for it, I felt a real sense that we were united as one with a single purpose and vision and that was to invest in the lives of children in our community and help them become the best they can be. As we broke into more informal conversation I took a moment to step back and take a snap shot of the room in my mind. In every conversation I saw a member of my church deeply engrossed in conversation with a stranger in the community. There was laughter and deep and meaningfuls. I saw one mentor having a laugh with the school principal who had previously been suspicious of these church folk and another mentor in a joyful conversation with the child she was mentoring and the child’s mum.
Our local newspaper ‘The Messenger’ has been highlighting the persona and presence of the church in stories over this last couple of weeks. A couple of weeks ago it published some glum but true figures of percentage drops in church attendance then went on to ask questions of relevance, ‘is the church old school?’, ‘is it dying?’, and the like. In this weeks Messenger I notice they are playing to the tune of the larger churches in our community saying how successful they are. While attendance in churches are up you could say that what attracts the crowds to the churches is nothing short of Christian consumerism.
We can run sexy church services all we like but what difference is that really making in the community around them? I love Paul’s letter to the church in Thessalonica because in the letters introduction Paul states some amazing things about the nature of this faith community. Not only had they become an example to the other believers but their faith in God had become known everywhere. People were turning from the idols of the old life and toward the living God. My guess is they weren’t running sexy worship services in the synagogues but were doing life with their community is such a way that inspired love, faith and hope and people were being transformed by their daily interactions with followers of ‘the Way’ who were simply imitating Christ in their community.
On that Wednesday night I was so proud to be part of a church that isn’t defined only by what we do on Sunday. It was a real celebration for me to hear a parent suggest that we should meet like this more often and the principal to applaud it. After an hour and a half I was the first to leave and everyone else looked as if they were settled for the night.
There are so many places where churches are and ought to be meeting and getting to know the community around them and it isn’t always on the ‘churches turf’. Even in our local primary school the Spirit of God goes before us and prepares a place where mentors, children, families and staff and transformed by hope.
Shalom
Mark Riessen
As Tania (school principal) and I shared with the parents and mentors the details of the Kids Hope program and our vision for it, I felt a real sense that we were united as one with a single purpose and vision and that was to invest in the lives of children in our community and help them become the best they can be. As we broke into more informal conversation I took a moment to step back and take a snap shot of the room in my mind. In every conversation I saw a member of my church deeply engrossed in conversation with a stranger in the community. There was laughter and deep and meaningfuls. I saw one mentor having a laugh with the school principal who had previously been suspicious of these church folk and another mentor in a joyful conversation with the child she was mentoring and the child’s mum.
Our local newspaper ‘The Messenger’ has been highlighting the persona and presence of the church in stories over this last couple of weeks. A couple of weeks ago it published some glum but true figures of percentage drops in church attendance then went on to ask questions of relevance, ‘is the church old school?’, ‘is it dying?’, and the like. In this weeks Messenger I notice they are playing to the tune of the larger churches in our community saying how successful they are. While attendance in churches are up you could say that what attracts the crowds to the churches is nothing short of Christian consumerism.
We can run sexy church services all we like but what difference is that really making in the community around them? I love Paul’s letter to the church in Thessalonica because in the letters introduction Paul states some amazing things about the nature of this faith community. Not only had they become an example to the other believers but their faith in God had become known everywhere. People were turning from the idols of the old life and toward the living God. My guess is they weren’t running sexy worship services in the synagogues but were doing life with their community is such a way that inspired love, faith and hope and people were being transformed by their daily interactions with followers of ‘the Way’ who were simply imitating Christ in their community.
On that Wednesday night I was so proud to be part of a church that isn’t defined only by what we do on Sunday. It was a real celebration for me to hear a parent suggest that we should meet like this more often and the principal to applaud it. After an hour and a half I was the first to leave and everyone else looked as if they were settled for the night.
There are so many places where churches are and ought to be meeting and getting to know the community around them and it isn’t always on the ‘churches turf’. Even in our local primary school the Spirit of God goes before us and prepares a place where mentors, children, families and staff and transformed by hope.
Shalom
Mark Riessen
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