A Word for Wednesday - 10th Day of Christmas 2024.

Tavurvur, Rabaul, Papua New Guinea. 2014

(Photo krb)

I am finding, later in life, that I am learning a great deal from poetry. I probably didn't have the patience to consider properly what the poet had to say. These days I am being introduced to new ideas, new ways of thinking about the world and life through the poems I am reading and occasionally to old ideas reframed.

During 2023 I read the collection curated by Rowan Williams, the former Archbishop of Canterbury and Poet Priest, "A Century of Poetry", published in 2022 by SPCK. Williams' commentary on the poems that he selected is insightful. His comments also give insights into his thinking about the religious journey.

I also completed the marvellous collection, 'Selected Poems', by the great Welsh Poet Priest, R S Thomas. Thomas was a Welsh Nationalist and non-conformist Anglican Priest.  This collection was republished many times by Penguin but finally in 2004 after Thomas's death. So much of his work resonates with me and many others deeply. I can't recommend these two collections enough.

Recently, I restarted the collection, "Love is Strong as Death" curated by the great Australian singer and song writer Paul Kelly also published by Penguin in 2019. In this collection Kelly has gathered an idiosyncratic collection of poetry without commentary from around the world and over many centuries. It is a brilliant collection that has introduced me to many new poets whose works I had not previously encountered.

The poem which recently stopped me in my tracks was a 1932 poem by the German playwright and poet Bertold Brecht, "In Praise of Doubt".  The poem is a hymn to doubt and in a few short stanzas captures the whole essence of doubt. 

The climactic verse of the poem reads:

'But the most beautiful of all doubts

Is when the downtrodden and despondent

Raise their heads and 

Stop believing in the strength

Of their oppressors.'

We have been taught to believe that doubt is the opposite of faith. I have come to the conclusion that doubt is an integral part of our faith journey. It is right and appropriate for us to test our belief structures against the reality of the world around us. Those who believe that they have all the answers who have no doubts at all - probably most of us at some stage of our lives - are more likely to be committed to an ideology rather than a vibrant faith that is full of doubt but who is committed to following in the footsteps of Jesus of Nazareth.

Every blessing as you continue on your journey. May God bless you and be your companion on the way. Please get in touch any time to say g'day.

Peace, justice and blessings to all.

 

A Trifle for Tuesday - 9th Day of Christmas 2024

 

From Jungfrau (4100m) looking down to Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland. 2007

(Photo krb)

Setting out on another year brings reflection, especially so for those of us who are moving into the later stages of life. Many of us are experiencing transitions which come with aging. For some it means facing increasing disability and working out how to live as full a life as possible within the new restrictions we face. For some it is the discovery that decision-making is becoming more difficult without assistance and discovering the level of independence that can be maintained and how and where to obtain just the right level of assistance. For others it is the discovery that independent living, often in the familiar surrounds of the family home, is no longer viable.  It is a complex task discovering what level of supported accommodation is required and how to access it. The ongoing question, in this regard, is when is the right time to access supported accommodation such that our greatest wellbeing is maintained? For all of us there is the day-to-day question about how to maintain a positive attitude to the world amidst the enormous change that we see around us. Let me say that if you are facing any or all of these complex issues you are not alone. It is our common experience as we age.

It is our hope that as we age there is a strong community upon which we can rely for support, beyond our immediate and extended family.   We discover, however, that the more complex society becomes the more difficult it is to maintain community support and isolation becomes widespread as we age. I applaud those countries which have developed Government departments and ministries to deal specifically with and devise programs to combat isolation and loneliness. 

The years I spent in aged care chaplaincy taught me much about life. I certainly confronted my own mortality as do all those who work in this increasingly important sector.  I discovered that the heavy lines that we draw between denominations fade to nothing as we age. I also discovered that as we age, we don't leave Church, Church leaves us. This is not surprising for lots of reasons, the busy life the institutional church, the demise of broad pastoral care programs. All this means that it is so easy to lose track of individuals.  Some church communities are trying to overcome these problems with innovative programs, but resources are scarce. 

Again, we are called to walk the journey with our people in all of their circumstances whoever they are offering nothing but peace and unconditional love.

Every blessing as you continue on your journey. May God bless you and be your companion on the way. Please get in touch with me any time to say g'day.

Peace, justice and blessings to all. 

A Moment for Monday

 

New Year's Day - 2024

Tain, Scotland. 2019

(Photo krb)

Welcome to 2024!

I don't make New Years resolutions, but I do think about my hopes for the New Year a great deal, not so much for myself, though I am looking forward to the potential of becoming a bit more mobile this year. 

No matter whether we are religious or not I hope that we can do our best to create a more peaceful, cohesive world within the limits of the communities over which we can have some influence.  For all communities but particularly the church I do hope we can become less ideologically driven. The pushing of a particular ideological viewpoint has become very divisive when we must do all we can to bring about reconciliation and inclusiveness. That is our primary task in a world with which we must become completely engaged not with any agenda of our own but simply offering ourselves as companions on the journey armed only with peace and unconditional love for all.

Every blessing as you journey through this New Year. May God bless you and be your companion on the way. Please get in touch with me any time to say g'day. 

A Flight of Fancy for Friday - Advent 23

Joy to the World

 (Photo krb - 2022)

By chance I just heard my favorite Christmas Carol - well it is my favorite at the moment but that is always is and should be fluid. I turned on ABC Classic and there it was - the Coventry Carol. It is a carol from the 16th century, sung as part of a mystery play "The Pageant of the Shearmen and Tailors" performed in Coventry. In so many ways it captures the beauty, wonder and sorrow of Christmas. 

Certainly, Christmas is a time of joy as the birth of a baby always should be whatever the circumstances. And this birth, as we are told in the birth narratives in Gospels of Luke and Matthew, is special. It is a moment filled with wonder to all who witness it. The parents bewildered but filled with joy and hope at the birth of their baby; the shepherds, the most ordinary of people filled with awe and wonder as the skies fill with the heavenly host and soon enough the wise men bringing their special gifts to worship the baby. All are amazed at the unfolding of the story.

But there is always an edge to this story as there is so often around new beginnings. It occurs against a backdrop of terror and oppression. Soon enough the visit of the wise men brings upon the scene the risk to the child and the murder of innocent children around Bethlehem. We must never allow the horror of this tragic scene to pass us by, masked by the inherent joy and wonder of the birth.

So, to my mind Christmas is a time of mixed emotions. We should celebrate with joy this special time but we should also spare a thought for those in our community for whom it is not an easy time; for those who are homeless - an increasing problem at this time; for those who find, perhaps for the first time, that they simply cannot make ends meet; for those who have lost loved ones recently or earlier for whom Christmas brings both special memories but also a great sense of loss.

And this year as in so many years, we celebrate against a backdrop of devastating world affairs. We mourn the loss of thousands of innocent people caught up in a conflict that is not of their making, and which seems to be driven by individual's quest for power. We wonder greatly at the inability of powerful nations to exert their influence to bring a cease to hostilities. We wonder at our own powerless in this situation. But we must balance this against our hope that is reborn every day. Our hope which is born out of our belief that we have the opportunity to be the agents for the coming into being of God's Kingdom on earth - a Kingdom of peace and justice for all - that comes into being whenever we commit ourselves to others in unconditional love.

This is the last in this series of reflections for Advent. Thank you so much for sharing this journey with me. I wish you all every blessing for Christmas and the New Year. I will be back in the New Year with my regular email reflections. Until then.

Advent and Christmas peace and blessings to all.

A Thought for Thursday - Advent 23

Take Your Pick or Maybe both.

 (Photo krb - 2022)

Of the four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, only two, Luke and Matthew, contain an account of the birth of Jesus and they are quite different. That is because they were passed down through stories from one generation to the next over four decades. The oral tradition that is the basis of Luke is somewhat different than that upon which the writer of Matthew based his gospel. They were both written for different communities and have slightly different slants on what these events meant for them and their communities.

Luke, the earlier of these two Gospels, is quite lyrical in his presentation of the story. It stretches over almost all of the first 3 chapters of the Gospel. He describes the context of the birth in intricate detail and how it 'came to pass' that for example, the birth took place in Bethlehem and why it was that Mary and Joseph travelled from Nazareth to Bethlehem. He also tells that the birth took place in a stable and why and Jesus was cradled in a manger (which I have discovered recently may have been significant) surrounded by animals and witnessed by shepherds coming specially from the fields. It tells of them fulfilling the requirements of the law and their orderly return to Nazareth.

In Matthew's Gospel the details of the birth of Jesus are concise. There is no mention of a journey to Bethlehem or of a stable or a manger or shepherds. There is a whiff of scandal in the air and in the middle of it all, wise men arrive; we assume three but that is probably only because of the number of gifts they bring, so we don't know how many, but the kings are symbolic because they are representative of all people who welcome Jesus into the world. Mary, Joseph and the baby, through a process of exile and return, move to Nazareth. Much of both stories are couched in terms of fulfilling prophecies from the Old Testament. 

These are not nor they can be, eyewitness reports. They are stories that have been passed down by word of mouth over many years. They are included in the Gospels in order to convince the reader that this is a very special birth, this is none other than the long-awaited messiah - the Son of God. They are beautiful stories which confront us of the presence of God intervening in the world on the side of the poor and the marginalized. For this is God who takes on human form not among the powerful and the wealthy but among the ordinary, the poor and those on the margins of society. 

We witness the wonder of Christmas in the lives of children everywhere. But the message of Christmas is for us all. It is the promise of a radical new hope for the world that we may become agents for the coming into being of the Kingdom of God in our world - a Kingdom which brings peace and justice for all as we live in unconditional love for all. We need the message of Christmas now more than ever before.

Advent peace and blessings to all.

A Word for Wednesday

A Child is Born.

 (Photo krb - 2022)

I have to say that despite all the commercialism and associated cynicism Christmas is a wonderful time of year. To some extent it is a time of greater unity in our otherwise fractured world and not just for us, but it seems that that sense of unity extends beyond us and brings people together around the world, regardless of political or religious belief. There is at this time a greater sense of our common humanity and that is a very good thing.

 

It is a story which grew out of the highly contested world of first century Palestine, a nation whose history was one of occupation by the great political and military powers of the surrounding world. For many years Israel had been under occupation by Rome. It was a backwater of the Empire ruled as a vassal state by a strange combination of Roman heavy-handed authority and the local political and religious elite. That elite group represented twenty percent of the population which controlled the political, religious and economic decision-making and had all the power. The remaining eighty percent eked out their existence in a peasant economy in which they were taxed by the landlords, by the elite ruling class and by the Roman authorities. 

It was a world alive with expectations of revolution. The Jewish people had long expected God to intervene, to send a messiah, a political and military leader who would unify the people and throw out the Roman oppressors and to rule the people justly in the line of the great king, David. But we should never think that God will work in accordance with human expectations.  As Ann Weems wrote in her poem "Unexpected"

 Unexpected by Ann Weems

Even now we simply do not expect

to find a deity in a stable.

Somehow the setting is all wrong:

the swaddling clothes too plain,

the manger too common for the likes of a Savior,

the straw inelegant,

the animals, reeking and noisy,

the whole scene too ordinary for our taste.

And the cast of characters is no better.

With the possible exception of the kings,

who among them is fit for this night?

the shepherds? certainly too crude,

the carpenter too rough,

the girl too young.

And the baby!

Whoever expected a baby?

Whoever expected the advent of God in a helpless child?

Had the Messiah arrived in the blazing light of the glory

of a legion of angels wielding golden swords,

the whole world would have been conquered for Christ

right then and there

and we in the church-to say nothing of the world!-

wouldn’t have so much trouble today.

Even now we simply do not expect

to face the world armed with love. 

             (From "Kneeling in Bethlehem" Ann Weems. Westminster / John Knox Press 1987)

We pray for true peace and humanity at this time throughout the world.

Advent peace and blessings to all.

A Trifle for Tuesday.

Our Commercial World

 (Photo krb - 2022)

I didn't know that Christmas was for sale. It is the only conclusion that I can come to. With just a few days to go it seems that the entrepreneurial spirit has claimed Christmas as its own. Can we just stop for a minute in the mad rush to make a profit and just think about what we are doing? That after all, is what we are asked to do in this season of Advent - to pause and contemplate the world- changing event that we are about to celebrate again. Yes, I understand the need for the business world to keep ticking over. That is, after all what keeps our economy operating. But it seems that in recent years we have got it all out of skew. Our commercial world has taken control leaving no room for us as a community to take in the true meaning of Christmas.

I don't view the commercialization of Christmas with a bah humbug attitude. All I ask is that maybe it is time we all got things into perspective. Christmas does not belong to any one group. Christmas belongs to everyone, to all people everywhere and maybe it is time to allow that message to get through. Maybe it is time to step back from the bigger, brighter, better attitude and look for something simpler. Something that brings hope in these terrible troubled times. 

For me, at Christmas, we celebrate the moment when God, whatever you may think of that term, turned the expectations of the world upside down. God took on human form in the shape of an ordinary human being , not as a royal prince in a grand palace in some beautiful city but as a baby to peasant parents who lived among peasants, born in the most humble circumstances in a borrowed stable in a small insignificant village at the outer edge of the Roman Empire - a poor man who came to proclaim God's preference for the poor, the oppressed and the outcast.

So, let's make Christmas simpler. Let's give ourselves space, whatever our beliefs, to see the wonder and hope of this time reflected in the delight of little children. Let's give God a chance through the birth of a baby to bring hope, peace and justice to our world.

Advent peace and blessings to all.