A Flight of Fancy for Friday - The 12th Day Of Christmas 2024

River Red Gums, Flinders Ranges National Park, South Australia. 2007

(Photo krb)

Today we end our Christmas journey for another year. The short season of Christmas has come to an end and tomorrow we enter the season of Epiphany. Tomorrow is the day to take down your Christmas decorations and the tree unless, of course, you have already done it. If it was a natural tree perhaps it will become compost in the garden and if it isn't then the task will be to close the branches and try to enclose it in its box. Ours seems to expand with each year. 

I heard, in the period shortly before Christmas the comment, 'I am not ready for Christmas' or 'I have not felt the spirit of Christmas so much this year,' much more often. Our societies attitude to and celebration of Christmas is changing. It has become much more a secular festival, the celebration of which gravitates around families. It is less a religious festival. It is like the church has decided to play down Christmas, to hand it over to the secular and commercial world. It is much easier to take the community on a journey through Advent than to deal effectively with the mythical nature of the Christmas story. It is a lot of work to deal well with Christmas and there is less and less reward for the effort.

But the myths at the basis of the Christmas story are important. They help us to discover our identity and they certainly draw us together as a community. Myth is important to us so long as we don't allow it to become dogma. The great myth that comes through the Christmas story is that God's preference is with the poor and the outcast, the nobodies of our world, not with the rich and the powerful. That myth tells us much about who we are as Christians and who we must be in our relationship with God and the world. It is a hard lesson for the institutional church to promote. Maybe it is just a little too hot to handle.

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

peace, justice and blessings to all. 

 

A Thought for Thursday - The 11th Day of Christmas 2024

Lake Como from the Funicular at Brunate, Italy 2012

(Photo  krb)

In his book "Do I Stay Christian?: A Guide for the Doubters, the Disappointed and the Disillusioned." Brian D McLaren writes " A growing proportion of smart and honest Christians of each new generation will abandon the sinking ship, just as they have been doing for centuries in Europe and decades in the United States. In the not-too-distant future, Christianity will only exist in those enclaves where authoritarian leaders rule over submissive flocks who enfold their religious lives within the assumptions of the first axial age."

 The decline in the institutional church is evident in the census data which shows that regular attendance at church was stable during the 20th century declining from about 25% of the population at the beginning of the century to about 23% by 1990. Over the next 10 Years church attendance declined by a further 3% to about 20% of the population.  Recent figures, however, show that regular church attendance has declined to between 10% and 8% of the population. Regular attendance at and commitment to a church community is seen as being among a very small minority of the population. I am sure that anyone who has traditionally been involved in the life of the church will be well aware of this drastic decline.

There are a great variety of factors which have brought about this decline. In our Australian experience the main factors have had to do with the higher levels of education giving rise to a better understanding of the world and the empowerment of each new generation to make decisions about life without the influence of others, particularly the institutional church.

The implication of this that seems to escape the leaders of the institutional church is that the people are no longer willing to be told what to think, how to behave or what to pursue in life, by, generally, old men who decide from on high how life is to be lived when they themselves have limited experience of life in the real world.

I have to say though that while there has been a rapid decline in interest in and tolerance of the institutional church, people still show a very great interest in religion and spirituality. I think that McLaren has chosen the wrong subject for his book. Had he instead asked the question "Do I Stay in the Institutional Church?" that would have resonated much more. This is a question that most of us have faced during our lives. It is difficult to see how one can stop being Christian if one has been brought up holding strong Christian values which are part of our worldview and which we seek as best we can to pass on to future generations. 

The only possible future for the institutional church can be if it is able to abandon its seemingly inbuilt notions of superiority and exclusiveness and engages with the world with no agenda except to launch out into the deep by offering place to explore truth and meaning in life in 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 any time to say g'day.

Peace, justice and blessings to all.

     

  

 

 church is as much evident 

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.