Growing Diversity

This week we have enjoyed some lovely spring weather here in the south west of England.  At last I have been able to get out into the garden and get things growing again.  I have managed to sow quite a few different vegetables and planted some fresh flowers.  We are in no way self sufficient in providing and growing our own food.  Space and personal physical energy don't allow for this but it is good to be able to eat something that you've grown yourself.  It is so much healthier when you know that they haven't been doused in chemicals or somehow force fed to produce perfect-looking produce.  Because they are fresher of course they are tastier.  I plant the flowers, partly because I like to see nice flowers in a garden and partly to encourage the bees and butterflies necessary in the pollination of other plants that we eat.  I try to grow a variety as it looks more interesting and, as far as food is concerned, is better for us.  I often think of the Israelites during the Exodus from Egypt and really sympathize with them.  I mean, what must it be like to have to eat manna and quails every day.  They wandered in the desert for 40 years.  And we complain if we have the same thing twice in two weeks!  In the 21st century we know that a variety of food is not only pleasing to the palate but necessary for health reasons.  A good variety gives us a balanced and nutritious diet that leads to good health.  Too much of one thing and not enough of something else is not good for us.  It can create an imbalance within our bodies and leaves us lacking in some nutrient.

I do like to see pictures of a snowdrop or bluebell wood but when it comes to the garden of a house I have to admit that having only one type of flower does not appeal to me.  In fact most gardens seem to grow different types of flowers as well as different colours to put on a display.  A walk through a park is more enjoyable if there are displays of different flowers, bushes and trees and when we buy a bunch of flowers to put in a vase, more often than not we choose a bunch that has more than one colour or at least one colour plus greenery.  So in food and in plants we like and need diversity.



And so I ponder ... ... why, oh why can we not accept this in society?  We say that we accept people being different but there is a big difference between tolerance and acceptance.  We might tolerate those who express themselves differently as long as they stay over there out of my way.  Those who have a different culture, a different way of living, a different way of expressing their beliefs, a different way of loving are so often made to feel outsiders so that they huddle together in their own isolated communities and not accepted in general society.  We have so much to learn from God's creation.  The rose doesn't say that he is better and nicer looking than the daisy and so more important.  They are both as important and beautiful as the other in their own way and circumstances.  Someone once remarked, 'Our differences combine to create meaning and beauty.'   God created all things diverse, not to compete against each other but to complement each other and together to make a rich world beneficial to all.  Diversity is healthy and pleasurable.  That is how God designed it.  We need to learn to live together in harmony and diversity in order to really express God's intention for our world.

Either/Or

Those of us living in the UK are well aware of the fact that we are in the run-up to a general election.  It's almost impossible to escape the fact.  We are bombarded on all sides with adverts, slogans, leaflets and those on social media making their preferences clear.  The other evening there was a 2 hour debate on television with 7 leaders of parties, each trying to put their view and policies across and trying to convince us to vote for them; making us decide; either or; which one shall we choose?  The truth is that many people listen and are in agreement with one party over a certain policy and with another party over a  different  policy.  The problem is that on the day of election, you can only vote for one party.  You can't vote for the different parties to deliver different policies.  It's about either one or another.

Depiction of Paul's conversion on the road to Damascus.

I am reminded that in the early Church, Paul had disagreements with some of the other disciples over the conversion of Gentiles.  Oh they were very happy that there were those non-Jews who were willing to listen to the story of Jesus and His teachings and wanted to follow His way but they also wanted them to become Jews.  The disciples were Jews, Paul was a Jew and so it was considered that all those who affiliated themselves to their cause should also be Jews.  That was their way of thinking.  You are one of us now.  You are either with us or you're not.  Paul never stopped being a Jew in every sense of the word.  He kept all the Jewish customs, observances,vows he had made and laws and had a number of arguments with others when they insisted that Gentiles should to do the same.   


Jesus was born, lived and died a Jew.  He never stopped being a Jew. But Paul realised that the teachings of Jesus were for everyone.  It wasn't about 'us and them'.  All were included.  He could be a Jew who loved and followed his religion and still be a follower of the Jesus way.  The non-Jews to whom Paul was a missionary,
 taking the message of Jesus, could be who they were, follow Jesus' way without having to convert to Judaism.  When the Galatians insisted that new converts should be circumcised Paul tells them 'For freedom Christ has set us free: stand fast therefore and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.' (Galatians 2:11-12) The message of Jesus goes beyond tribal and ethnic observances, beyond culture, beyond religious affiliation.  It is for all.  They were known as 'people of The Way'.  Jesus himself said that he is The Way.  He said 'Follow me'.  It wasn't about observing the rules and laws of Judaism.  Jesus on numerous occasions deliberately did not observe the laws saying it was about doing the right thing not necessarily what the law stated.  It was about doing things his way, following his example, living his teachings.  It was for all people everywhere - all means ALL - a way of living, a way of loving.  Sadly 'people of The Way' became known as Christians and another tribal ethnicity was born.  Nowadays in many parts it's more about conforming to certain dogmas than living the way of Jesus.  It's more about doctrine than practice, those who belong to a certain group rather than God's love for whoever, regardless of culture or way of life.  

This Easter let's remind ourselves of the real message of Jesus - bringing good news to the poor, feeding the hungry, helping those who are hurting physically, emotionally and mentally, being there for the outcast and the unloved. It's not about which side we're on but about doing what's right, even if that disagrees with our particular tribe.  The message of Jesus is love.  He died for love.  If you haven't heard it before listen to the words of this song by Godfrey Birtill.  Love, love,love.  Lord help us to live The Way of Love.

Labels

I have become quite an avid label reader.  At first, when food shopping, it was about the total calories an item contained.  Then for those of us who need to take care of our cholesterol level it's more about the amount of saturated fat that a product contains.  The latest in the line of 'baddies' that we need to look out for is sugar, especially it seems in low fat products.  It's amazing just how much sugar and salt are added to just about everything, even to what you think are savoury products.  There is currently a series on TV about such matters.  Last week it looked at sugar in food, this week about the total calories.  Next week they will be taking an in-depth look at fats.  Oh dear, it seems we cannot win.  Years ago we didn't seem to have all these problems but of course years ago, we knew exactly what was in our food as we mostly cooked it from fresh ingredients.  All this labeling is useful if you're trying to maintain a decent quality of healthy food in your diet, especially as so much of what we consume is now already processed for our convenience - although I still prefer to prepare meals from fresh so I know exactly what's in them.  

It's not just in food though that we see people checking labels.  Some people prefer clothing with certain brand name labels rather than others.  When I look at clothing labels it's not so much for the name of the maker but rather how to take care of it and wash/iron it.  When I buy items of crockery, pots and pans etc. then I look to see if I can use them in the microwave, oven or dishwasher.  That's because I really don't want to break something or spoil it by putting it in the microwave or oven if it's not made to withstand the high heat.  As regards the dishwasher and washing machine, it does seem a bit pointless buying something that I need to wash by hand when the whole point of having a machine is to save me from that very activity.  When it comes to clothing if it says 'do not iron', that's an added bonus.  So again, labels are very useful and in some cases quite necessary in order to know exactly what we are purchasing and if it meets our requirements.

Labels tell us a lot about where something was made, what's it's made from and what are its uses.  The problem is that we tend to label things that can't really be labelled.  Sticking a label on doesn't necessarily tell us everything we want or need to know.  When we define people with a label, we might get some idea of what they believe (Christian, Muslim, Jew, Hindu etc) or where they come from (Britain, Asia, Africa etc) or their sexuality (gay, straight, trans or bisexual) but such labels don't really tell us about the person behind the label.  We can't know from a label if there is any unseen or invisible disability.  We don't know what financial or emotional struggles someone is experiencing just by seeing that they happen to be 'white European' for example (or any other combination of labels).  People can so often put on a brave face, keep smiling when they are actually going to pieces deep inside.  How many people get conned out of money by someone who 'looked' trustworthy and dressed smartly?  Labeling someone by their outward appearance is not really knowing that person.  You can have a fair idea of goods you buy by their labels but you can't use the same method of getting to know a person simply by putting them in a certain box or category.  Sadly we do this too much.  Just as you can't judge a book by its cover, so you can't know a person by a label that some people want to stick on them.  Labels judge people, friendship gets to know them.  

Lord, help me not to pigeon-hole people just by their religion, ethnicity, sexuaity or outward appearance but help me to love and treat them all as You do by looking deeper and trying to get to know them better.  

Noticing The Familiar

When I receive an online order form my local supermarket, fruit and salad goods are put into a paper carrier bag.  The intention, of course, is to show just how 'green' they are by using paper carriers and not plastic bags.  (The fact that they still use plastic bags for other produce is beside the point!) This has been going on for quite some months so I was surprised the other day to notice something about the paper carrier that I hadn't noticed before.  Apart from their name, there was some other writing on the bag.  I read it and found that it was a useful tip for peeling root ginger.  Why hadn't I noticed that before?  I then started looking at other bags (I don't throw them away but keep them for recycling) to see how many other tips I had missed without realising.

They say that seeing is believing but actually when I read the tip about peeling ginger, I thought about it and then decided I needed to try it just to see if it was as they advocated - and yes, it works exactly as they say it will and so easy.  That's something I will be doing from now on.  Of course it could well be that other people already knew this but it was new to me.  It did set me thinking about how much I just glance over things out of familiarity without really noticing.  How much might I be missing?



We live in an instant, press-button world where things are done so quickly and for efficiency, so it's claimed.  The other day I read on a social media about someone who had gone walking with a friend who walked really slowly. The friend's reasoning behind this was, 'When we walk too fast, we forget to be with each other.'  I like that.  How often in life do we walk so fast that we forget to be present to the moment?  How often do we just skip over things without spending time to really notice or listen?  I guess that as a pensioner, I'm fortunate that I am able to spend possibly a little more time on things - or maybe it just takes me longer now to do things that I did more quickly before!  But seriously, we tend to fill our lives with busyness and so miss much that could be beneficial.  I remember when I first retired there was a real danger of suddenly overfilling my diary thinking that now I had nothing else to do!  Then you find that you're busier than when you had employment.

If only we took notice of God's wisdom, making sure that we have a day of rest.  For those whose 'day of rest' is actually quite busy, maybe you should choose another day to rest.  He also tells us 'Be still and know that I am God'. Stop, look and listen or we'll miss so much of real value, for us and for others.

Planks and Splinters

How not to park a car

I guess most of us have pet hates, things that really irritate us.  One of my pet hates is people who think that the rules apply to everyone else but not to them.  As a driver I used to get annoyed when in a parking lot, there always seemed to be someone who didn't park properly between the lines so left it almost impossible for another car to park next to it.  Or drivers who never seemed to indicate where they were going, expecting others to use telepathy to guess which exit they were going to turn off at a roundabout.  Now, as a pedestrian those irritations have been replaced it seems by others.

Blocking the aisle at the supermarket

The other day, my son and I were in town doing a bit of shopping.  We had been to the supermarket and were walking back to the town centre when my son said,'Do you realise that this morning you have done two of the things that you get irritated about when other people do them?'  Me?  Never!  I wouldn't!  Then he began to gently remind me of two incidents when I had suddenly stopped in one of the aisles at the supermarket blocking the whole passage with my trolley, making the lady behind me stop suddenly and unable to pass me until I moved.  Then later on our way into the town centre I moved across the pavement in order to cross the road but in doing so walked right in front of somebody else without looking or realising that I nearly bumped into them.

Mrs Do-as-you-would-be-done-by

The truth is that if that had happened to me I possibly would have made a comment that people should watch where they are going and that  people wander around in their own little world oblivious to those around them.  And I had done just that.  Guilty as charged.  They are not grave sins or criminal activities but little niggles about thoughtlessness towards others.  The thing is that I hadn't even noticed that I had done exactly the things that I moaned about when others do them.  The words of Jesus came to mind about seeing the splinter in the other person's eye when I have a plank in my own.  Or the character from the children's book The Water Babies, Mrs Do-as-you-would-be-done-by.

Oh dear!  How easy it is to notice flaws and failings in others and how we delight to point them out and yet how often we are guilty of similar, if not the same flaws and failings.  Somehow we don't see our own faults, only those of others.  Something I read many years ago that said that we should be prepared to forgive and overlook the faults and flaws of others because they have to do the same for us.  Ouch!  I am humbled and reminded that no-one is perfect, myself included.

The Irony of Life

On a Wednesday morning I always get up at 6.30 to sort out the recycling and rubbish.  The bins need to be out by 7 am.  You can put them out the night before but most people, myself included, prefer to put them out in the morning, mainly to avoid the animal wildlife (including fox and badger) that comes out here at night and that would make a real mess rummaging in the stuff we throw away.  This week I noticed that it was quite light when I put the bins out.  Until now the early mornings have been dark but the lighter mornings and the longer evenings before nightfall are becoming noticeable.  It makes it much easier when you can see clearly what you are doing even if you have got a security light to help.  There's no light to compete with natural light.  The other day I was also able to hang the washing outside to dry.  When I brought it in the house again it was completely dry.  I had managed to wash, dry and iron the clothes all before our evening meal.  I haven't been able to do that for quite a few months.


Anyone who knows me knows how I love my garden.  When living in England, I have always had a garden, except that is when I first came to live in Yeovil.  My son and I shared an upstairs flat.  The thing I really disliked was that I had no plot of land to grow anything and when we opened the (only) door of the flat all you could see was stairs.  Ugh!  You couldn't even see outside - just stairs.  So I was over the moon when we were able to move to the house we now live in as I have a nice big rear garden.  The thing is now at 74 I wish I had the energy I had 10 years ago but I still manage to potter around and enjoy it.


The thing about these three experiences is that having experienced the down side of things, I have come to appreciate the positive side.  If I were always able to put the bins out in daylight, then I wouldn't appreciate the lighter mornings.  During the winter months, the drying of clothes has to be done indoors and I really prefer to hang things out to dry by the natural warmth of the sun and the movement of the breeze.  I think clothes smell nicer if they've been dried outside.  At least that's my opinion.  So I really like it when I can get things washed and dried all in the same day without having to live with damp clothes hanging around.  Having lived in an upstairs flat made me realise just how much I enjoy having a garden and how much I missed not having one.  So it seems that experiencing the negative side of things helps us to appreciate the positive side more.

Just this week I read something that brought this home to me.  It said:

Life is so ironic that we have to have known sadness in order to savour happiness, noise in order to appreciate silence and absence in order to enjoy someone's presence.

I think that is a sentiment we can all relate to.  Take time and dwell on each one for a while.  It's a bit like the two sides of a coin.  You can't have one without the other.  So even out of the not-so-nice experiences in life, we can gain something good.

Creative Spirit

This was taken at the beginning of this week.
Now the bulb is past the height of the leaves. 

Every year for the past few years, a friend of mine has given me an amaryllis bulb for my birthday.  This year she visited me in the second half of January and brought the bulb with her.  A couple of days later I planted the bulb and within the short space of a month it has grown immensely and now has a bud just waiting to open.  Such elegance and beauty from something that looks quite dirty and not at all pretty.  It cheers the heart to see signs of spring all around us now.  Snowdrops have been and gone, crocuses are blossoming and the daffodils are growing stronger every day - that is the bulbs in my garden.  Early daffodils have been flowering in other parts of the town since around Christmas time.  It is encouraging to see new life, whenever and wherever it occurs.  It brings a sense of hope for the future after dark and dreary days. 

Not the owl from Simon King's website but
another Barn Owl brooding over her eggs.

There was great delight this week on the website of Simon King the naturalist, when the camera that he has in the owl nest box showed that when the female owl moved an egg could de seen.  Another form of new life bringing hope for the future of the owl population in that area of Somerset.  It reminded me of the dawn of creation when the Spirit of God hovered over the waters or as the Message Bible refers to it, 'God's spirit brooded like a bird ...'   A great error of the church generally is that we tend to think of the Holy Spirit and her work in terms of Pentecost, charismatic expressions of religion and big gatherings when we are 'in the right spirit' and utter the right words in prayer, then the Holy Spirit is manifest sometimes in strange and unusual ways like speaking in strange tongues, falling over, shaking or fits of laughter.  It's as though we need to follow a set formula if we want to see God's Spirit at work.  Yet at the very beginning of creation we see that God's Spirit was working, brooding over things.  The female bird broods over her eggs in order to give them warmth, protection, love and produce life.  She then continues to support and provide for her young.  With this picture in mind I can't help thinking of the Holy Spirit as the brooding, female expression of God.  So if I want to see the work of the Holy Spirit, I need go no further than my garden or look at my house plants.  Evidence of Her is all around.  They say that where's there's life there's hope.  Well I like to think of it as where there's life there's the Holy Spirit at work.  She breathes life wherever She goes.

My 'Christmas' cactus in February.

I also have another plant, a Christmas cactus.  It flowers every December.  The other day I noticed that there are a couple of buds on it ready to open.  It had already given an abundance of flowers in December so for this particular plant, this is out of season.  Another lesson - the Holy Spirit is at work in season and out of season.  She manifests herself and shows up when we least expect it.  When I was sorting out the house plants and ready to discard and throw away what I thought had died over the winter, I discovered that when I cleared away all the dead parts of a fuchsia plant, there were a few small new leaves just appearing - another lesson in how the Spirit of God renews and revives.




We miss so much when we limit God to certain gatherings and dates on the calendar.  He really is everywhere and the Spirit is continuously at work, not just at a time that the church considers there is some sort of 'outpouring' or revival.  God spoke and the Spirit brooded and creation came into being.  By observing creation, we see the Holy Spirit at work.  She continues to create life whether we notice or not but it's a shame if our preconceived, limiting ideas of Her blind us so we miss seeing the wonder of Her work all around us all the time.   

RAK Lent

This week in the Christian calendar has seen the beginning of Lent.  Many people practise the eating of pancakes on Shrove Tuesday but not all those who recognise Pancake Day commit to the 40 days of Lent.  I have to admit that I haven't always participated in the giving up of something for Lent.  It seemed to me to be a practice that had become almost a dogma among Christians, a sort of formula that had to be adhered to in order to be considered a committed Christian.  So being the rebel and non-conformist that I am, I stopped doing it.  Many of course find the self denial and discipline good for their spiritual lives and that's to be applauded.  Many make a conscious effort to pray and read the Bible more which is not a bad thing.


The 40 days of Lent, although a recognised part of the Christian calendar, was not something that Jesus himself practiced on a regular basis.  It is really in remembrance of his 40 days in the wilderness where he was tempted before beginning his ministry so in partaking of the practice of some form of fasting in Lent is not something Jesus particularly expected his disciples to do or his followers to take on board as some obligatory annual ritual.  For Jesus it was a very personal time in his journey on earth. So different people approach this time in different ways.  One very tongue-in-cheek look at Lent I saw this week was on twitter called 101 things to give up for Lent.  It included things like certain luxury food and drink as you might expect but also things like giving up non-Christian TV and books and also mid-air drumming and all shoes except sandals, saying at the end that if you do all the things on the list then you are a very godly person indeed!


The time that is remembered as I said is the 40 days before the start of Jesus' ministry and not the 40 days before what we now call Easter.  It was a time when Jesus wrestled with the concerns of his ministry, how he should go about it and what was the main thrust of his message.  It was not about him but about God and his love and forgiveness.  It was about making a change in the lives of many who were living on the margins of society.  It was 'good news to the poor'.  He quoted from the book of the prophet Isaiah when he began his ministry and we are reminded that in Isaiah God says to his people 

'Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the chords of the yolk, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?  Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter, when you see the naked to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?   ( Isaiah 58:6.7) 


In my musings and browsing along these lines, I have been challenged myself to live a different Lent this year - a Random Act of Kindness (RAK) Lent.  The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu suggests something on similar lines when he endorses Love Life Live Lent, saying that such acts of kindness to others could change our world.  I discovered that Pope Francis has also been saying something similar.  He suggests fasting on the indifference we have towards the problems of others.  So the RAK Lent is not just about giving up something but trying to make a difference.  Like the 40 days for Jesus was a preparation for his future life, I'm praying that this Lent might be a preparation for a year ahead that makes a difference in the every day living of just where I am.  For more ideas on what acts you could carry out check out Do Lent Generously an idea from the Christian charity Stewardship.  It has some excellent suggestions that are easy to follow.  It's not about giving in terms of money but also time, thought, being not so me-focused on what I'm giving up but more deliberately focused on the needs of others and how I can help to make a difference, making the world a better place for them. 

(Click on the red print to go to the links quoted.)

Going straight?

I must clarify from the start that this is not about living within the law or about sexuality.  It's about the direction of a journey.  When travelling, people usually prefer to go the quickest route possible.  That's why we have spent millions in making motorways so we can get from one place to another more directly.  We tunnel through mountains to save having to travel all the way around them.  We build bridges as a quicker way over waterways in order to cut the time of a journey.  And this is understandable.  Time is of the essence.  We just want to get to our destination without the hassle of actually travelling there.  


When people refer to 'the scenic route' it implies a rather round about way of getting to the same place and taking much longer to arrive.  The truth that we often miss is that it really is the scenic route.  The motorways, tunnels and bridges are for the most part just mile after mile of the same.  The scenic route however, possibly because of more twists and turns of the country roads, are usually more interesting.  We go through small villages and are able to refresh ourselves at some quaint country pub instead of the motorway service station.  There's usually less traffic also but as we know, this takes time and we don't always have the time to spare.  And that can seem a shame.


In comparison, when God does something, he takes great delight in not using straight lines.  Could you imagine a tree with straight branches and diamond-shaped leaves?  The only tree with straight branches I have seen is a one humans make of their family tree.  Or where is there a river that doesn't meander its way to the sea?  When we want to make a waterway we tend to dig straight down and as directly as possible between two points, using locks to move up or down along the stretch of the canal.  The twists and turns of nature is often breathtaking as we turn a corner and are confronted with some beauty of creation.  What a shame to miss that because we are in a hurry to reach our destination.  Many going on holiday try to think of the journey as part of the holiday and endeavour to find ways of enjoying it as such instead of getting over stressed by the actual travelling to get to the destination.


It's the same in life.  When I was younger, I had my future all planned out.  Then life happened!  Looking back it seems that my plans went right out of the window.  But if I'm honest I've had some wonderful experiences that I hadn't planned so I'm so glad that things didn't work out exactly as I thought they would or should.  We like things to go ahead as we plan without any complications or setbacks.  We have a goal and want to achieve it as soon as possible.  By being so intense on doing so we run the risk of missing an awful lot of wonderful experiences.  We are so focused on the end goal that we miss the 'now' moment.  When life has its twists and turns, I guess we should really think of it as God's way of doing things.  Doing things His way might mean living with the unexpected, having twists and turns, changing direction, travelling off the beaten track but so much more interesting and fulfilling.  

Don't Rock The Boat

I was interested a couple of weeks  ago to learn of the Hungarian doctor Ignaz Semmelweis (1818 - 1865).  He discovered that the washing and cleaning of hands greatly reduced the mortality rate of patients in his maternity ward compared to the wards supervised by other doctors.  He published papers to this effect and insisted that it was the simple act of washing hands that was the key.  His publications were rejected by the established scientific and medical opinions of the time.  He was eventually committed to as asylum for his 'outrageous' claims where he died only 2 weeks after entering the institution, having been beaten by guards.  His theories were proved correct by Lister and Pasteur years after his death.  Today personal hygiene and cleanliness is so much a part of everyday life that it is hard to imagine that the medical world of the mid 19th century did not accept this.


The other day I watched (again!) the now old film The Jazz Singer.  In case anyone is not familiar with the story, it is about a young Jewish man whose father was a cantor in the synagogue.  It was a family tradition and the young man would be the fifth generation of cantors in his family, something that made his father very proud.  However, the young man also lived another life by singing with non-Jewish friends in clubs.  When he got the opportunity to go to California, he realised that singing to the general public was what he really wanted to do.  The result of course was many problems within family relationships and heartache and struggles to come to terms with this idea on all sides.  Eventually he followed his dream and 'made it' in the music world of California.


The first story is a sad one but the second had a happier ending.  The thing is that deep inside we know what is right for us whether other people accept what we say or not.  Truth is truth.  It doesn't depend on how many people agree with us.  It doesn't necessarily mean that the majority must be right.  But it is very difficult to remain true to what we feel deep inside when all around seem to be going in the opposite direction.  The old song that we often used to sing says, 'I'll fear not what men say'.  But we do, don't we?  How often have we heard people say, 'What will people think?'   Today with social media someone can very quickly be made to appear like a saint or a villain.  Whistle-blowers and reporters who tell it as it really is are criticised by established figures and often rubbished in the media when most times what they are saying is the truth that nobody in authority wants the world to know.  It is more difficult when we go against family tradition and when those closest to us reject what we say.  The last thing we want to do is hurt and upset those we love and so often we bury what is inside and carry on just going along with tradition without questioning, closing our minds to any personal or different ideas that we may have had.  Our dreams remain only dreams as we feel unable to seek to make them reality. 


 I have to admit I have great respect for anyone who can stick to their guns when they really believe something regardless of who listens or accepts what they say.  Throughout history we find people who have been ridiculed only to be proved right in later years. Galileo comes to mind when he insisted that the earth went round the sun and not the other way around.  Sadly too often we conform simply to avoid 'rocking the boat'.  We don't want to get a bad reputation as a trouble maker or being a bit wacky.  Sadly this applies to many Christian congregations when those who question or don't fall into line end up outside of the group, excluded.  We have seen it with prominent church leaders like Steve Chalke when he spoke of accepting gay people and Rob Bell and Jim Palmer for offering a different perspective on Christian beliefs.  I find it sad that Christianity is becoming in many places, an exclusive 'club' where if you question, think for yourself, don't fit in and conform or rock the boat then you become excluded.  As for me - I will continue to question and seek truth even if that means being part of a misunderstood minority.  In the end it is only truth that will set us free, free from the fear of what others might think, free to be who we really are, free to be the person God made us to be.

Seasonal Adaptations

The other day I was catching up with some of the programmes I had recorded as I was unable to watch them at the time they went out on air.  One of the programmes was Winterwatch.  The Springwatch team who do the programmes was in the highlands of Scotland for their transmissions where they had experienced bad weather just the week before.  It was a real winterland, lovely for postcards, everything covered in snow.  They were particularly looking to see how different species of creatures adapted to cope with the cold weather - snow and temperatures well below freezing for most of the time.

The common shrew

Of course we all know that nature changes and adapts in order to cope with the colder weather.  Many trees lose their leaves and plants 'die' only to be revived when the fine weather returns.  Some creatures hibernate during the winter months and arouse from their deep sleep when the weather gets warmer.  Those who don't hibernate adopt various strategies in order to cope.  The mountain hare changes the colour of its fur from brown to white so that it is better camouflaged in order evade the exceptional vision of the golden eagle looking for prey.  The ptarmigan not only changes its feathers to white but also buries itself with snow just under the surface where the temperature is actually a little warmer.  But what really called my attention was when the presenter (Chris Packham) explained about the common shrew.  It actually shrinks in size.  It deliberately shrinks its skeleton, heart, liver, skull and even its brain in order to require less energy and therefore not needing as much food thus giving it a better chance of survival at a time when food is scarce.  How amazing is that!?  I found this so hard to believe that I checked it out for myself online - and it is true.

We often talk about seasons of life and in spiritual terms seasons of the soul.  Sadly we don't always learn the lessons of nature.  When things change, they adapt and change to accommodate and cope with the different circumstances and surroundings.  Yet how often when it comes to our expression of faith do we just keep plodding on doing the same things as before?  Our excuse is that we've always done things that way.  If creatures in the wild kept on doing things always the same way, they would be in real trouble.  So they adapt.  We might decide to do things slightly differently.  We change the order of service, we sing a few new(er) songs, we begin some project or new programme.  There is often great need to change inside, the whole structure of how we live and do things, the very way we express our faith.  Sometimes we need to rest, do nothing, just be.  But sometimes it's necessary to actually get rid of things, strip back things that have become burdensome and are draining our resources.  Sometimes it's necessary that we become less - less important, less busy, less involved, less sure of ourselves, less ready to always have an answer.  Sometimes less is more. It isn't always about doing things differently, it's about being different deep inside.  Very often the change we need to make is not about what we do or where we go but about what we are.  The shrew has a great lesson that we do well to take notice of.  Maybe it's us that needs to change.  

My Word

I love word games - crosswords, code words, missing letters etc. etc.  Over the years, television has supplied us with a number of game shows involving words.  The one that has probably lasted the longest I think is Countdown, the daily words and numbers game.  People of my age will also remember programmes like Call My Bluff when three different definitions of a word are given and the opposing team has to guess the correct meaning.  My excuse for spending time on them, (if I need an excuse!) is that at my age, it helps to keep my mind active and ticking over.  Words are important, so much so that very often the first words of a baby are noted in a baby book and kept for posterity.  We use phrases like 'I give you my word' as a way of promising something or insisting that what we have said is true.  The words 'My Word' are used in exclamation to denote a certain amount of surprise or wonder.  


This week Richard Rohr, in his daily meditations has been talking about God's Word.  We think of God's Word as the Bible that we use today - the Old and New Testament.  Some Christians seem to be of the opinion that the Bible as we know it today is the sum total of God's Word.  (Roman Catholics have a larger Bible than Protestants as they include the books of the Apocrypha)  Some assume that if some story or word of wisdom is not in there then it's not part of God's Word.   We need to acknowledge that this Christian Sacred Text has not always existed.  So what happened before the existence of the Bible as we know it today, before the life of Jesus?  And of the Old Testament, what happened before Abraham or Moses?  Those who lived then, how did they know about God?  How did God make himself known to them?  Did he have nothing to say?


Richard Rohr quotes both Anthony of the Desert (251 - 356) and Thomas Aquinas (1224 - 1274) as saying that there are actually two books of Scripture, two books of God's Word.  The Bible is the second book being around for the last 2000 years or so.  The first book of God's Word is the natural world and has existed since the Big Bang 14 billion years ago.  In the first few verses of the Bible we read that God said ... ... .  He brought the whole universe into being by his word and yet we so often discard this expression of His Word in favour of the written word.  We think that God is 'contained' in the Bible.  He is but he is also much bigger than that.  Jesus so often used examples from creation to explain divine truths and we miss an awful lot of what God is saying and what he is like when we don't spend time contemplating his handiwork.  He first expressed himself in creation billions of years before humanity decided to put things in a book, long before the written word even existed.  Some would shy away from this saying it verges on paganism or New Age spirituality.  Yet Francis of Assisi wrote words that were translated and became known as the hymn 'All Creatures of our God and King'.  In the original he refers to creation as Brother Sun and Sister Moon, also referring to Brother Wind and Brother Fire and Sister Water and Mother Earth.  To this day he is revered for the way he saw God in creation.  The present Pope reminds us of this by taking his name to be known as Pope Francis.    


I can't help thinking that although it's good to read and know the Bible, it's not the whole story.  You can't contain God in a building nor can you contain him in a book.  As the children sing, 'My God is a great big God'.  There are so many expressions of him that we don't see when we are so intent in having our heads in a book.  There are so many lessons and truths that we miss when we think that it's all in 'the book'.  Richard Rohr expresses this sentiment when he says that each creature is a unique and distinct word of God with its own message.  Or as Meister Eckhart puts it so well, 'Anyone who truly knows creatures may be excused from  listening to sermons for every creature is full of God and is a book' - and he was of the Order of Preachers.  We refer to Jesus as The Word and say that The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.  Before Jesus became flesh, God's Word became living creatures and plants.  He expressed himself in his creation.  When a person creates something, a picture, a piece of sculpture, some article of beauty or usefulness, they are expressing their thoughts and ideas in material or physical form.  You get an idea of them from their creativity.  And so God created the universe. If we look, observe and learn directly from what he has made we can learn so much about what he is like and what are his ways. He has great lessons and truth he wants to teach us if only we have eyes to see and ears to hear.

Conundrum

I have been thinking much lately about the different religions of the world and how people of many different faiths all seem to have something valid to contribute to the overall wisdom of a belief system.  I often think that it would be great if we could somehow amalgamate all the best bits of each religion and make one belief system to suit everybody.  Is that Utopia?  A fantasy?  And yet as Christians we believe that Jesus came for the 'whole world'.  We always say that God loves everyone, so surely it is his own wish to see all of humanity living as one.  At the birth of Jesus the story tells us that the angels sang about peace and goodwill to all people.  We are also reminded that the wise men in the story came from far away eastern lands.  They did not share the Jewish faith and there is no account that they became Jewish after their encounter with the new-born Jesus.  They worshipped him and went back to their own lands.  It seems today that when it comes to religious beliefs, the world is ever more divided.  Some people of no faith reckon that the world would be better off without religion of any kind as, according to their thinking, it is religion that causes most of the wars in the world and that it is religion that breeds violence one against the other.  That's not entirely true but I can see how they reach that conclusion.



So just how can we work to bring about this unity of religious belief?  Or should we?  I am currently reading the Brian McLaren book, 'Why Did Jesus, Moses, The Buddha And Mohammed Cross The Road?', where he explores the issue of the many different expressions of faith in the world.  It is a very interesting read if you haven't already read it.  For me the great conundrum is that as a Christian I of course believe that Christianity is the only true way to God.  I accept that others find their way of expressing their spiritual beliefs but from my point of view their belief system is lacking somewhat.  It doesn't have the whole truth - of course we Christians do! (tongue in cheek!) The trouble with that concept is that most people of other religions each think exactly the same about their belief system.  So it seems we come to a sort of stale mate without any real resolution or way forward.  The conundrum is how can I who obviously believe my faith is right, not just tolerate but accept that those of other faiths have as valid a claim to truth as I have without weakening or lessening my own beliefs?


This can result of course in the sort of thing that we have seen in the past few days and weeks - killing other human beings in the name of a particular strand of a religion whose perpetrators believe that only they have the whole truth and all others are less and if not willing to convert then they should be 'punished'.  And let's be honest here - those of us in 'the west' are as guilty as any other of atrocities carried out in the name of our religion over the centuries (crusades, colonisation, 'civilization', slavery, the Inquisition  the conquistadors of South America  and so on ... ) Even as recently as the 20th century, we think of the Holocaust and the troubles in Northern Ireland.  So as a Christian what is my answer to this?  The immediate reaction for many is understandably to go and blast them, give them a bit of their own medicine as it were.  So everybody is hell bent on killing each other.  The trouble I have with this is that force and strength only prove who is more cunning in battle and has the better weapons at their disposal.  It doesn't prove who is actually right.  And God doesn't take sides in a killing spree even if we do label it a just war.  It also puts you on the same level as those you condemn - killing because others disagree with your way of thinking.  On the other hand I liked the reaction in Australia after the hostage situation in the Sydney cafe when the reaction of many people was to say 'I'll ride with you' - showing solidarity with those of other faiths without necessarily accepting their belief system.  We have also seen images of Christians defending Muslims as they go to worship and Muslims defending Christians as they went to their church buildings.  In Paris recently we have seen pictures of Muslims and Jews hugging each other as they protest and mourn together.  And so the conundrum continues and I don't really have any answers.


All I can do as a Christian is look to the example of Jesus and his teaching.  Jesus did not change religions.  He was never a 'Christian'.  He was a Jew right until his death and visited the synagogues and temple in Jerusalem right until his capture and subsequent death.  The Last Supper was actually a Jewish festival that he and the disciples were celebrating.  When he healed the servant of the Roman centurion or spoke to the Samaritan woman, he didn't say that they had to convert to the Jewish faith.  To the centurion he said that his faith had healed his servant.  What faith was that?  He was not of the Jewish faith and possibly followed Roman gods but he recognised a higher spiritual authority in Jesus and believed in him.  On that occasion Jesus remarked, 'I say to you that many will come from the east and  the west and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the Kingdom of heaven' - was he saying people from other nations and belief systems?   He also healed the daughter of the Syro-Phoenician woman without insisting that she accept the religion of the Jews.  It appears therefore that Jesus not only accepted people just who they were and where they stood in their own particular expression of faith but never said anything about changing their religious allegiance.  They were accepted by God as they were.  God then is bigger than any one expression of spirituality and has no problem about anyone of whatever persuasion who truly seeks him.  I'm still working on it!

Just Dreaming?

Yesterday morning I awoke after having a strange dream.  In the dream we still had our Christmas tree and decorations around the house, although in real life they are now safely boxed up and put back in the loft until next Christmas.  The strange thing about it though was that the tree was without decorations - no baubles or tinsel, none of the extras.  Other decorations and candles were also missing.  It would seem that we had been burgled and so in my dream I began to look around the house to see what else had been taken.  Not much, only things of not great importance.  The things that were necessary to modern living - the computer, mobile phone, purse with some money - were all intact.  It was as though whoever had been in our home didn't want those things.  Then I woke up and was glad that it had been a dream.  It wasn't a nice thought that we had been burgled even if the things that were taken were not things of great expense.


But it left me thinking!  Whenever I have a strange dream about something quite out of the blue or something that had not been on my mind, then I begin wondering if it was actually God who was wanting to impart some truth or idea in my mind.  He has been known to talk to us through stories, pictures and dreams.  And so I began thinking that the things that had been taken were things of adornment, embellishments, not the important bits.  The nativity scene was not taken but the glitter and baubles were.  Although many of the baubles had personal significance and brought back memories from the past, they were not essential to celebrating the Christmas story and message.  Other possessions were still intact and not even touched.  


Is it that there are things in my life that are just extras with no real value in the long term?  I don't think that it refers to material possessions.  I'm not one to crave after the latest gadget or get impressed with the biggest or most expensive anything.  If it does what it's supposed to and serves its purpose then an item is ok with me.  Seeing and working amongst the poverty of the shanty towns of South America has helped me to get my priorities right as far as material possessions are concerned.  So it would seem that the decorations are possibly to do with non-material matters.  So was this about Christmas or about religion in general?  Was it about things or my attitude to things?  I don't make New Year's resolutions but it seems that God has done that for me this year.  I feel that my challenge is to become more aware of where God is leading me and what are the things that need to be stripped away and done away with.  What are the things that are essential and what are the decorations - even if they do have some emotional memories for me?   And by the way I won't be getting rid of my actual Christmas decorations - I don't think that was the point of the dream.  Or was it just a weird dream after all? 

P.S.  Any thoughts or comments are welcome.     

I'll Keep Asking

Anyone who has had children or been involved with the care of children will know just how inquisitive they can be.  The why, when, where, who, how questions seem to have no end.  You think you've explained things and then they come back with another 'Why?' or 'How?'.  This is normal behaviour for children and in fact if they didn't ask questions we would think that there was something wrong with them, that they were lacking something in their concentration, normal development or desire for learning.  


When they are small, a short, simple explanation is often sufficient to answer their curiosity but as they get older, such simple answers don't suffice.  They need to know more and in more detail.  This surely is a sign that they are maturing and becoming more capable of understanding more than they did when they were younger.


It baffles me, therefore when Christians get the strange idea that the same explanations and teaching that has been given to them from their first steps of faith are still sufficient.  They listen to the same Bible verses explained over and over again.  The fact that they don't question seems to be taken as some strange form of maturity, they know all the answers.  They might have a point in thinking that they have travelled so far along the road and have experienced so much that they have indeed 'seen it all' - been there, done that, got the t-shirt etc.  But there are occasions when it is actually frowned upon to question what has been said from the platform or pulpit.  It is considered almost sacrilege to ask a question like 'Why God?'.  We must not question those 'in authority' over us.  (Sounds like some dictatorships I've known)  They are there to speak to us on God's behalf!  We are told that God has his ways and we should just trust him.  We are so often fobbed off with the usual set answers to such queries that they sort of float over the tops of our heads.  The words don't seem to connect with us.  They become almost meaningless.


Yet Jesus tells us that we must be like children in our faith.  When he said that, did he mean that we should never be complacent?  That God likes curious children?  Can we ever know all there is to know about God and spiritual things?  Can we not keep on learning while we travel on this road of faith?  Maybe I'm just not the passive sort when it comes to my faith.  So I continue to question and seek more of what God means and says and how this unfolds in my life.  I want to know God more so I persist like a small child and keep asking him to connect with my spirit so I can grow and really mature in him.  The simple answers of old aren't enough any more - I need  more God.