Mart the Rev

Moving

2011-03-30T17:32:00.001+12:00

I have moved to a new provider after something like 6 years with blogspot. I will keep this site but from today move new comments to www.marttherev.wordpress.com

Christchurch earthquake

2011-03-02T08:08:00.006+12:00

It is just over a week since the devastating earthquake on 22 February. Anne and I are off to a funeral today - a gorgeous woman died suddenly a few days after the quake - so very sad. I'm involved in the Presbyterian church in the region and tied up with coordinating efforts in the area.

The church buildings of Christchurch have been hard hit - but not so much the church communities. People are more important than buildings and it has become clear that we have built and hung on to the wrong type of building for the earthquake-prone New Zealand landscape. I think that it is time for a rethink and an opportunity to develop distinctive 'kiwi' church buildings that serve us well.

Some of our very much at risk Presbyterian buildings are included in this blog - from the top, St Paul's Trinity Pacific in the city centre (our second oldest church), Mt Pleasant, St John's Lyttleton (our oldest church), St Georges in Linwood, Knox Church also in the city centre.

Second article for The Press

2010-07-23T15:35:00.005+12:00

This week my article on joy and humour was published in the 'Good Living' supplement of The Press in Christchurch. I include it in full here until I can find a hyperlink reference to it...

Lighten Up!
Mart the Rev

Christians aren’t always known for their senses of humour. Maybe this comes about from our feeling as if we are a minority who need to make some noise. Maybe it comes from our thinking that we are society’s only moral guardians. Maybe it comes from our thinking that we need to defend God all the time. I’ve noticed that the default position for many followers of Jesus seems to be one of inflexible seriousness. I don’t really know where this idea comes from – maybe some people think that Jesus calls them to be responsible for the faith rather than to simply live it. There’s a U2 line that goes: “Stop helping God across the road like a little old lady” (from the 2008 song Breathe) – I have a feeling that Bono, like me, is trying to encourage followers of Jesus to lighten up.
While there is a serious side to life and following the way of Jesus (and be certain, there will be swags of others who will rattle on about this stuff!), I want to suggest that the posture of Jesus was one of unencumbered playful freedom, and that it would do us all a world of good if our perspectives of him factored this in a lot more! Jesus calls his followers to enjoy life in all its fullness, so let’s make sure that we don’t miss the joy and therefore the life.
I have a collection of artistic images of Jesus ranging from Jesus the revolutionary, to Jesus in agony on the cross. One of the more unusual images I have is of Jesus with his head tilted back roaring with laughter. Why should such an image be so surprising? When you think about it, wasn’t Jesus was a bit of a comedian? Can you picture Jesus smiling with a twinkle in his eye as he confounded his critics by telling stories full of the exuberant abundance of God’s grace? Can you see him chuckling as he told Nicodemus the Pharisee that he must be re-born if he is to get the idea of God’s kingdom, and Nicodemus misinterpreted him by asking: “How can anyone who has grown up re-enter their mother’s womb?” What a picture the Pharisee conjured up! Surely Jesus burst out laughing!
And look at the parables Jesus told, they are full of zany characters in crazy situations who act in exactly the opposite way that we would expect: a shepherd abandons the flock to hunt out one lost lamb and then throws a party; a father gives to his son half of his wealth and then welcomes the penniless boy back with arms wide open and a five-course banquet; a hated foreigner turns out to be the good neighbour; and the tax collector (a crook) rather than the faithful worshipper turns out to be the one who teaches us to not look down our noses.
With Jesus everything is turned on its head: the last become first, the least are made welcome, the lost are found, and the little ones are set up as the best ones to teach us faith.

As Garrison Keillor once said: “God writes a lot of comedy... the trouble is, he's stuck with so many bad actors who don't know how to play funny.” Maybe we need to lighten up a little!

my bog blog

2010-07-23T15:24:00.002+12:00

I'm trying to change the world (well, one aspect of the world of public toilets anyway) and have started a boggie-blog.... see it live at http://martin-boggieblog.blogspot.com/

Caloundra and environs pics

2010-07-19T14:18:00.003+12:00

Just back from a happy two weeks on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland Australia

Here are a few pics - mostly of interesting rocks and wrecks!

Oliver today (13 months)

2010-06-30T20:40:00.003+12:00

article for The Press

2010-06-30T20:34:00.002+12:00

recently I wrote an article for the local newspaper on 'What's right with the Church'
www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/opinion/3584017/whats-right-with-thechurch
It was good to have the opportunity to offer something that celebrates those who find themselves in the middle of the extremes for whom their practical expression of faith is valuable and valued

Mart 49 music compilation

2010-05-24T14:18:00.003+12:00

Here’s the last year’s favourite music that fits on a cd (there were a number of others reluctantly dumped off the list!) – it is not necessarily new music, but songs I have enjoyed the most at different times during the year. Here is the list in order of what sounds good on a compilation rather than order of preference:

#1 I’ll go crazy if I don’t go crazy tonight – U2 Artificial Horizon 2010. I dislike the original track of this song from No Line On The Horizon, it seems like the track out of place in the album – an echo of past styles – so when I secured Artificial Horizon I was well-pleased to hear this upbeat dance track live mix – the little surprise on the U2 360 tour.

#2 Beyond here lies nothing – Bob Dylan Together Through Life 2009. Dylan’s new album is a mixed bag but in this opening track he is at his lively crusty best.

#3 Little Favours – KT Tunstall Drastic Fantastic 2007. While KT could name her albums better, I enjoy the uncomplicated rawness of her songs – she is especially good to watch live (well on DVDs if the truth be known). Her being part of Neil Finn’s Seven World’s Collide project was what put me on to her).

#4 Loveblind – The Church Sometime Anywhere 1994. The Church have become a firm favourite in the last month or two – choosing two songs for this compilation over others has been a real challenge. My brother Dave has sent different songs over from Melbourne over the years but it has taken me a while to catch on. I love the completeness of this song – an interesting story and lovely music to bring it to life.

#5 Moment of Surrender – U2 No Line On The Horizon 2009. This is the second successive year this song has made the list. I rate it among U2’s best two or three songs – sublimely simple.

#6 Up to you now – Ben Harper & Relentless 7 White Lies For Dark Times 2009. The musicianship of this whole album is quite stunning – the Relentless 7 guys can really play – the guitarist, bassist and drummer are each individually brilliant yet bring it all together to make it a whole.

#7 Little suitcase – Luluc Dear Hamlyn 2008. Dave also sent over with these gentle soulful songs from this folk duo from Melbourne, Zoe Randell and Steve Hassett.

#8 I and I – Bob Dylan Infidels. I first heard this album in the year it was released but didn’t realise its value until recently. I would rate Infidels as my favourite Dylan album.

#9 Blessed one – Steve Kilbey Dabble 2001. It was this song from The Church leader that got me back into their music.

#10 Could you be loved – Bob Marley Uprising 1980. A little bit retro here! I got a copy of the CD after having had the LP when it was first released.

#11 Forever man – Eric Clapton & Steve Winwood Live From Madison Square Garden 2009. What a song, what a concert!

#12 In my secret life – Leonard Cohen Live In London 2009. There is a lot warmth, grace and humility of Cohen’s concert, as well as great musicianship – it was hard to choose a track for this compilation.

#13 Black silk ribbon – Bic Runga & KT Tunstall in the 7 Worlds Collide CD The Sun Came Out 2009. This was my introduction to KT and a nice blend of voices with NZ’s Bic Runga. Interestingly both artists have a part-Chinese heritage.

#14 Cortez the killer – The Church A Box Of Birds 1999. The original Neil Young & Crazy Horse song made it on last year’s list – here is a cover version that is arguably an equal, which is a big ask. The mood set by the band with the excellent guitar work and vocal power is a real delight – it is a long track and my pick for the best track on this compilation.

Oliver makes 1

2010-05-21T10:07:00.003+12:00

Anne and I managed to grab an hour with Oli on his birthday - 20 May... cute little chappie!

Oliver & Sam last week

2010-05-02T08:51:00.002+12:00

I managed to capture a special warmth between my son Sam and his son Oli

Summer reading

2010-01-23T07:38:00.005+12:00

I read four books over the holidays - here they are ranked in order from absolutely brilliant to a good read. (I will add them as time permits.)

#1 The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

This is one of the best books I have ever read. Set in 1940's Germany, Zusak introduces some memorable and delightful characters, Liesel, Rudy, Max, Hans and others who live in desperate times with honour and hope and quite a few references to pigs. Zusak's way with words - minimal - makes its own statement in the context and invites the reader to savour each word. It was necessary to read slowly to savour the experience for as long as possible - I didn't want the experience of reading this book to end.

I talked to a woman camping at Anauru Bay (north of Gisborne) who felt that this book was not good holiday reading. Thematically I can understand why a story narrated by Death might seem a bit morbid in the summer sun, but the images of light and the ability to live hopefully in the lives of these people was anything but morbid despite the tragic circumstances. I found it to be deeply moving and among the best things that happened on my holiday!

Tasman Bay on the way north

2010-01-23T07:22:00.006+12:00

Oh yes, on our way north Anne and I had five very pleasant nights at Little Kaiterteri when I conducted the wedding of Anna & Andrew. Early one morning I headed around the hillside walkway and captured these images... Kaiterteri Beach, Nelson

Trig Station at Little Kaiterteri overlooking Tasman Bay

Pohutukawa in flower

The view from our apartment of Little Kaiterteri, Tasman Bay
& the distant Marlborough Sounds

East Cape 4

2010-01-22T12:49:00.002+12:00

Looking back towards East Cape

Father & Son on Tokomaru Bay wharf

Man on horse in Tolaga Bay

East Cape 3

2010-01-21T10:55:00.007+12:00

We camped for two nights at Te Araroa Bay near the East Cape

At 6am on the day we left the light was magnificent

stream meets ocean at dawn

anne contemplates

marram grass seed (like tumbleweed)

east cape travels

2010-01-21T10:07:00.004+12:00

These are pictures of the Raukokore Church and environs. The church is a quite magnificent landmark on a beautiful bay on the Bay of Plenty side of the Pacific Coast Highway.

North Island sojourn

2010-01-21T08:22:00.002+12:00

Anne and I had 3 wonderful weeks up north this summer - first to Nelson for a wedding then over Cooks Strait to Taupo, Waihi Beach and then around remote East Cape. I snapped quite a few pictures around the Cape - mostly in black & white. I'll load the ones I liked the most on over the next few weeks.

Oliver looking over the couch

2009-11-18T10:05:00.002+12:00

shingle day

2009-11-09T18:35:00.003+12:00

A friend who works in the commercial side of the road building industry made it possible for us to get the stones for the glasshouse... we are very grateful.

The condition was that we had to pick it up this week as he is tied up for a while after that.

No problem... two trips in a hired tandem trailor (able to hold about a tonne of shingle) to the pit did the job. One pile is larger stones, and one pile is smaller ones... the reasons will emerge as the project gets underway.

The stones are stored until needed - I think there is a surplus but there is a hen house to build so the design for that might be altered to use the materials on hand.

the coolest wee dude in our lives (so far!)

2009-11-09T18:33:00.001+12:00

Oliver showing very good taste

2009-11-03T20:20:00.003+12:00

Look at this wee cute guy chewing on an extremely tasteful CD!

glasshouse 2

2009-11-03T18:43:00.005+12:00

Sam and I had a dig around for an hour today, clearing the site for the glasshouse and shifting the potatoes (carefully!) so that they wouldn't be where the building will take place.

The slight slope will make it challenging with the foundations with something like a 40cm drop to contend with. I have an idea of how to do it, so we will see...

I had some useful conversations with staff at Bunnings - a great chap in the paint department gave me pointers on the importance of getting the foundations and framing right to cover for freak winds - he has made his own glasshouse (but not using river stones!), and a chap in the buildings supplies department was helpful on the quantities of wood etc for the foundations - especially the spacing. Consequently on Saturday I purchased 7 metres of 100x100 timber (H4 grade) and some pre-mix concrete which we worked out would cost about the same as buying cement and driving to some place to purchase the builder's mix to make the concrete. We also purchased some boxing timber and the first roll of wire for the sides of the house (more on that another time). One of the problems with having timber for underground faoundation is rotting. While the H4 treatment is the answer, when wood is cut up as I will be cutting much of it into 60cm lengths, the untreated cut surface is exposed. I have had to purchase a fungicide spray to put on these surfaces. Buying tanalised timber for the foundations and framework goes against the grain somewhat - I would love to not be able to use any nasty stuff that takes away the clean-green thing I am trying to so with this project. But the cost of using other materials - macrocarpa for example is prohibitive. The concession is that no plants will be planted in anything having contact with these materials... as far as I can make out I will be able to keep these poisons out of the food chain.

I'm keeping an inventory of expenses and will publish that as time goes by.

The windows attached to the fence are part of the plan. They are stored against the fence until needed. I now have three large windows (like the one pictured) for the sides and a door with attached frame - half of these were gifted, including one frame with double-glazed glass in it - this will be used on the shady south-west facing side of the house. The windows pictured were gifted by Glenn & Anthea Livingstone from just up the road. As a gesture of thanks for the windows Anne and I will be making a donation to the Samoan folk at St Paul's Trinity Pacific in the city to help with people affected by the recent tsunami. Nancy and Allan Morgan contributed the double-glazed window and we will give them a plant voucher for their new garden in thanks. These donations will appear on the inventory as costs - I'm a great believer in honouring people's generosity as a way of encouraging people to be generous - sometimes paying it forward and sometimes paying it back in kind.

Next step: surveying, the holes dug, boxing and foundations placed.

I also scored some sheets of iron for the henhouse (next project) - I was driving past a skip full of old iron off a house roof and asked the guys of the stuff could be salvaged. I managed to find four good pieces that would fit in my vehicle. Sam and I went back for more a little while later with the trailor, but the skip had been picked up. What a waste!

Mart's glasshouse

2009-10-24T17:49:00.007+12:00

I am about to start on the glasshouse I have designed, trying to use as many recycled products as possible to keep the costs down and save the world. I am not sure about the saving the world bit, but I think it will feel better eating tomatoes and lettuces from the glasshouse knowing that the place they grow in was made with as many re-used products as possible. Here's the site...

a week away in Hawea

2009-10-20T09:28:00.005+12:00

a few pics from the Hawea trip... including a tree, fern and lichen from Haast Pass, Lake Hawea looking into the western reaches, and on the way home Lake Pukaki with Mt Cook (Aoraki) looking rather splendid .

Oliver 5 months

2009-10-20T08:50:00.005+12:00

The little chappie was having some fun at our place yesterday - swinging on a bouncer thing very pleased with himself...

and a few days before he had a play with Moby the cat!

a new toy

2009-09-04T10:55:00.006+12:00

It has been almost 21 years since I purchased my last stereo for $800 - an un-inspiring Goldstar thing, but at least it had separate components so that I could upgrade when possible, or necessary. the CD player lasted 10 years or so - the turntable was always poor, and the amp, God bless it, stood the test of time even though it was very limited. The speakers had been replaced with old trusty large wooden Akais from the rack days of the early 1980's.

Finally, thanks to a kind IRD return I have been able to upgrade. Good old Bob Brown's Hi Fi shop in Christchurch (http://www.bobbrownshifi.co.nz/) had a lovely Bose unit at an affordable price and I installed it yesterday.

What a contrast in sound!

I have yet to give it the full on blast it deserves, but a new day has dawned and I am thrilled! That it also runs DVDs and provides the sound for the TV (that I hardly ever watch) is just an added bonus.

Walter Brueggemann quote

2009-08-21T09:35:00.003+12:00

A Love Affair With More - Walter Brueggemann
Though many of us are well intentioned, we have invested our lives in consumerism. We have a love affair with 'more'---and we will never have enough. Consumerism is not simply a marketing strategy. It has become a demonic spiritual force among us, and the theological question facing us is whether the Gospel has the power to help us withstand it.
Source: Christian Century, March 24, 1999, via Ministry of Money newsletter

Oliver is 3 months old today!

2009-08-20T20:09:00.002+12:00

Rodney Hide's ultimatum

2009-08-20T19:54:00.006+12:00

Silly old Rodney Hide - here's what you do when someone tries to corner you with an ultimatum (in this case Rodney has declared to the Prime Minister that if it is decided to have any 'Maori seats' on the Auckland Council and he is out as Local Government Minister) - SACK HIM NOW!

Whether there ends up being Maori seats or not (and I think there should be - this is the kind of way we honour the good principles of the Treaty of Waitangi) - he can't behave this way. He didn't get elected as the Government and he is lucky to have any voice at all. Sack him now!

And more... Hide is playing the Winston Peters game - being the populist, playing to people's prejudices... especially on race. Of course there is a constituency of people who are anti-Maori and who think that it is reasonable for the manuhiri (visitors) to dominate the tangata whenua (people of the land - Maori) - it is easy enough to build a base from these people. But Rodney has forgotten something important - he has been granted a place in the cabinet of the Government. The Government does not exist to appeal to disaffected constituents - the Government exists to serve the people - all the people. As Local Government Minister, Rodney has to look out for all NZers, and in this case, ensure that all of the people are served by leaders who will understand them. In a NZ, that means a partnership with Maori because we are in a treaty relationship. Maori should be at the table in the leadership of the proposed Auckland supercity for this is the context of NZ life - especially in a City Council that will be quite massive.

John Key, be warned - if you don't sack him now you will only have a worse Rodney on your back in a year or two. Anyway - he is a dictatorial Local Government Minister who doesn't seem to be interested in listening to the voices of those who are democratically elected to serve their towns and cities - and we need better than that. Sack him!

I'm at risk!

2009-07-31T14:42:00.003+12:00

It hit me the other day, there is another person close to me who I would die for if there was something I could do that might prevent his being hurt.

I was holding my grandson Oliver, and I realized that the net of those who I care deeply for has spread.

Now, I don’t know what the odds are of my being killed by putting myself in harms way as a substitute for someone else, I imagine the odds are very low.

But it has just hit me that the odds of this happening have to increase the more my children breed.

Do my children realise what risk they are putting me in if they think of having children?

Oliver is the only grandchild so far – I think I have a good chance of not meeting an unfortunate end protecting him – but I need to talk to my children about what they are doing to my chances of a long life if they have any more children, for I know that if an out of control car was heading towards anyone in my family circle I would do what I could to protect them, even if that meant shielding them from the worst of the impact. I wouldn’t think about it – there wouldn’t be time – I would just do it.

I know I would give my life for any of them because to a degree I already have.

I am sure that my life has already been shortened by a few years through the fear and anxiety I have suffered as my children have weathered the storms of life.

When I am not thinking of my life ending prematurely, because of out of control motor vehicles careering towards them, I figure that a few years less life at the end of my life when I might be frail and more incoherent than I am now might not be the worst thing – so I suffer this possibility accordingly and hope for a good number of years yet.

But the addition of Oliver into the family circle has got me worried. I am now at risk!

John Boyne's The House of Special Purpose

2009-07-22T09:48:00.004+12:00

I've just finished reading this - a good story offering a perspective on the fall of the Romanov dynasty in Russia from a servant who escaped to England and built a life. While some aspects of the story (the identity of his wife, for example) were kind of obvious fairly early on, and the outcome was kind of heralded at the start simply because of the decision to mix the time frames up, it was very enjoyable and informative.

The Shack

2009-07-14T11:27:00.003+12:00

I read this remarkable book while up at Hanmer Springs (hot pools in the Canterbury foothills) with the youth group. I can't think of a better book that depicts the way that God is One but Three in an easily accessible way than this. The practical reality and relevance of the Trinity in human life is stunningly depicted... the challenge and critique God offers to human independence is quite wonderfully crafted in the story, and the impressive 'slam-dunking' of the way we presume to judge others (and presume to know how God does) remains for me the highlight of the book.

It is a must read!

Anne and I are beginning to gather a bunch of copies for study groups at St Stephen's - it will be fun!

I commented to a friend that I believe that this story will promote the relevance of Trinitarian Theology in human life more than any other book ever written simply because it is so accessible.

http://theshackbook.com/aimages/bookmarkad.jpg

oliver coming along nicely

2009-07-06T18:56:00.004+12:00

Here is the wee fella at 7 weeks old - growing nicely!

the referendum (again)

2009-06-23T10:47:00.003+12:00

My earlier comment referring to Jesus not advocating violence in any form might get a rise from someone... is smacking violence?

I'm saying that smacking is violence - and in the case of adults smacking children, it is in the realm of the worse kind of violence (even if in most cases it is a relatively mild form of it).

Let me explain myself...

1. violence in my view is when one inflicts pain on another using force

2. the violence can take various forms, e.g physical and verbal

3. there are different levels of violence - some are minor some are major, but they are still acts of violence

4. I believe it is better to use this violence as a defining term in relation to this issue rather than smacking because of the ambiguity surrounding the way people talk of smacking. A smack can mean different things to different people... one person's idea of a smack could be a light use of the hand, someone else's idea of a smack might be a forceful striking... both can be regarded as a smack but the effects of them quite different. The values of the people involved are vastly different even though the same term is used.

5. smacking, especially using one's hand against a child is a dangerous form of violence. The adult is stronger and has little idea of the impact of their hand on the body of a child. Smacking with a hand has an impact on the deep tissue of a child rather than on the surface tissue where there might be a momentary sting but no lasting tissue damage. If a parent used a plastic ruler as an alternative, the damage to deep tissue is greatly minimised, but please be clear, I am not advocating this form of smacking either, because...

6. the violence involved when one individual is clearly dominant over the other is of the worse kind of violence. It is bullying, it is intimidating, it is abusive, and it violates the other. It is the worst possible example of 'good' parenting that we can give to our children, for it suggests that violence is an appropriate way of handling conflict. The Gospel way of handling conflict is completely opposite - forgiveness, turning the other cheek, 'blessed are the peacemakers,' serving, humility, and thereby inspiring love

7. Finally, I believe (with Leunig below) that violence begets violence. Often I have seen a child who has been hit then hit out at whoever is further down the power 'chain' than them. Smacking a child perpetuates the myth that violence sorts something out. Where do we get this idea from? I can admit that there is a case for some violent intervention to stop the violent abuse of another - e.g. the overthrowing of the Nazi regime etc etc - but that is not to imply that this sorts everything out... it creates a whole new set of problems and it escalates other forms of violence... the violence involved in the carpet-bombing of the civilians of Dresden and Tokyo, and the dropping of nuclear bombs on the civilians of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was a level of violence far in advance of the violence the allies were attempting to quell... wars have not ceased... the arms race has escalated and not reduced as a result of the allies 'winning' WW2... etc etc

the referendum

2009-06-23T09:03:00.003+12:00

In NZ we have a citizens initiated referendum before us on the issue of child discipline.
The referendum is on the question: “Should a smack as part of good parental correction be a criminal offence in New Zealand?”

Already the main Government parties have criticised the ambiguity of the wording and indicated that they will not be acting on the outcome of this non-binding referenda anyway. So, at one level it is a waste of time - yet at another, it gives us something to talk about.

I like the way Joanne Black in this week's NZ Listener indicated that she will be too busy washing her hair to participate in the postal referendum being conducted over the months of July and August!

What is hugely disappointing for me in this debate (of several years now) is the role many Christians are playing in it. The most vocal advocates for smacking children are prominent Christians. I find this to be a deeply disturbing departure from the teachings of Christ, whose Beatitudes, (Matthew 5) among other teachings, do not advocate for violence in any way whatsoever.

There are a couple of websites set up around this issue for people to reflect on... one for a YES vote and one for a NO vote.
http://yesvote.org.nz/ is more to my liking even though I think the presumption of 'good' in the referendum is dumb
The other site is http://www.voteno.org.nz/ and is fronted by Simon Barnett, a prominent broadcaster who is Christian.
Here's an article I enjoyed written by a Napier City Councillor... tp://yesvote.org.nz/2009/06/19/baldock-balks-when-asked-for-proof/

The Church's Primary Task

2009-06-10T09:15:00.003+12:00

I receive a daily email from http://www.inwardoutward.org/

Today's quote from John Howard Yoder's The Politics of Jesus on the church seems pertinent in a season where everyone seems to be running around trying to make the church bigger when the primary task is that it lives unfettered by consumerist notions of what is successful.

"The very existence of the church is her primary task. It is in itself a proclamation of the Lordship of Christ to the powers from whose dominion the church has begun to be liberated. The church does not attack the powers; this Christ has done. The church concentrates upon not being seduced by them."

God's generous welcome

2009-06-09T09:39:00.003+12:00

Here are some of the observations Eugene Peterson makes in Christ Plays In Ten Thousand Places (2005) p17-21, about God's generous welcome as he contrasts the stories of Jesus & Nicodemus and Jesus & the Samaritan woman at the well (I added little bits & pieces along the way as part of the sermon this last Sunday):
1. The vocabulary is easy to understand. The metaphors describing how God is at work are known to everyone for they come out of ordinary life. With Nicodemus it is birth; with the Samaritan woman it is water. We all have sufficient experience of those two words to know what is going on without further instruction. We all know what birth is: our being here is proof that we were born. We all know what water is: we drink it or wash in it several times a day. And the metaphor common to both stories, wind/breath, is also plain. We all know what wind/breath is: just blow on your hand or take a deep breath, just look at the leaves blowing in the breeze.
2. The first story is about a man; the second is about a woman. There is no preferred gender in the Christian life. How important it is to state this fact! There is no preferred gender! It is still the case that significant parts of the church say that the generous welcome of God to people has certain conditions on it according to what particular sperm out of many thousands happened to fertilise the egg in a woman’s womb. Why should what God’s Spirit wants to do be limited by our human traditions?
3. The first story takes place in a city, the centre of sophistication and learning and fashion; the second on the outskirts of a small town in the country. Geography has no bearing on perception or aptitude.
4. Nicodemus is a respectable member of a strictly orthodox sect of the Pharisees; while the Samaritan woman is a disreputable member of the despised heretical sect of the Samaritans. Racial background, religious identity, and moral track record are neither here nor there in matters of how the Spirit works.
5. The man is named and the woman is unnamed. Reputation and standing in the community doesn’t seem to count for anything.
6. There is also this: Nicodemus opens the conversation with Jesus with a religious statement, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God.” Jesus opens the conversation with the woman by asking for a drink of water, a sentence that doesn’t sound the least bit religious. It doesn’t seem to make any difference in the Christian life who gets things started, Jesus or us, or what the subject matter is, heavenly or earthly.
7. In both stories a reputation is at risk: Nicodemus risks his reputation by being seen with Jesus (that’s why he went to him under the cover of darkness – he wanted to minimise the risk); Jesus risks his reputation by being seen with the Samaritan woman. There is a sense of ignoring conventions here
on both sides, a crossing of the lines of caution, a willingness on both sides to risk misunderstanding.
Look at how wide the welcome of Jesus is… a man and a woman, city and country, an insider and an outsider, a professional and a layperson, a respectable man and a woman whose reputation is in serious question, and orthodox and a heretic, one who takes initiative and one who lets it be taken, one named and the other anonymous, with one a human reputation is at risk, and with the other the divine reputation is at risk. But there is more…
8. In both conversations “spirit” is the pivotal word. “Spirit” links the differences and contrasts in the two stories and makes them aspects of one story. In both conversations “Spirit” refers primarily to God and only derivatively to the man and the woman: In the first conversation the Spirit gives birth (“So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit”); Spirit is an agent, a source, a cause of the birth that makes a person able to “see” and “enter”. In the second conversation, God is Spirit; the consequence is that we worship him in spirit and truth. It is only because God is Spirit that there is anything to say about what we do or don’t do.
9. Finally, there is this: Jesus is the primary figure in both stories – Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman provide the occasion but it is Jesus who provides the content. I wonder if we need to rediscover this when we talk about what kind of church we want to be. In these stories we see that in everything that has to do with living, Jesus is working at the centre. We welcome because Jesus has first welcomed. We understand things because of what Jesus reveals.

old and new music in my life!

2009-06-05T15:04:00.007+12:00

The last few weeks have had a little influx of good music to listen to...

Paul Simon's Hearts & Bones released in 1983 has long been a favourite, but I only had it in LP format, thus it was only listened to every four years or so. I imported a CD last month - it is great to have it back as a familiar friend. The outstanding tracks (in my opinion) are: 'Hearts & Bones' and 'Train in the Distance' but most of the tracks are likable. Al di Meola's guitar solo on Allergies is wonderful. Three of the session musicians Paul Simon uses appeared on Simon & Garfunkel's Concert in the Park - Steve Gadd (drummer extraordinaire), Richard Tee (keyboards) and Anthony Jackson (bass) - they also happen to play with Al di Meola in his excellent Elegant Gypsy album.

Next has been Bob Dylan's Together Through Life - in some ways a mixed bag, but with some absolutely wonderful songs in the mix - bluesy, folky, rough, & humorous (My Wife's Home Town is delightfully wicked). The outstanding tracks in addition to My wife's..., are the opening track Beyond Here Lies Nothin', Forgetful Heart and It's All Good. The older Bob gets the better he sounds!

Ben Harper's new album (with Relentless 7) White Lies for Dark Times is a lively rock album. I am not a great fan of Harper (the exception being his excellent work with the Blind Boys From Alabama), and I only listened to the album in the shop because I had a bit of time. Well what a surprise it is! The band are a bunch of very able musicians who let loose on some memorable songs in a strong album. There are a few slower songs that work well to balance the hard rock of the opening tracks. It is a gem. The standout tracks are many - track 2, Up To You Now is amazing - especially the way it sounds after the opening track.

Last but not least is The Decemberists' The Hazards of Love. This Oregon-based folk-rock group are a sensation. They are eccentric - they produce sounds and songs that are certainly nor mainstream. This concept album needs to be played sequentially - it is a story in 17 parts. The music ranges from light acoustic to moments of hard rock - the singing is unusual - the new female singer in the band sounds kind of off-key at first - but her style suits the band's style quite wonderfully. I loved their first album on a mainstream label, The Crane Wife, and this follow-up album is every bit as good.

I've been spoilt rotten this month just some weeks after lamenting that I hadn't listened to much new music in the last year that had left a lasting impression.

soundings: sunday coming

2009-06-05T14:57:00.003+12:00

This week we are celebrating Pentecost (a week late!) with worship at 10am and morning tea at 11am, that will link with a children & families celebration event that our children & family worker and children's leader have organised.
I’m doing some thinking about how the Spirit works in relation to two stories from early in John’s Gospel – Jesus & Nicodemus, and Jesus & the Samaritan woman at the well. There are a number of interesting conclusions to be drawn along the theme of ‘generous welcome’ that are pivotal in our life together as a serving church. Eugene Peterson's excellent chapter Clearing the Playing Field in his book Christ Plays In Ten Thousand Places has proved to be a great resource.

a quote from Jean Vanier about community

2009-06-05T14:50:00.002+12:00

Everything will resolve itself through love.

Stop wasting time running after the perfect community.

Live your life fully in your community today.

Stop seeing the flaws – and thank God there are some!

Look rather at your own defects and know that you are forgiven

and can, in your turn, forgive others

and today enter into the conversion of love, and remember, pray always.

Jean Vanier in Community and Growth

Oliver again

2009-06-05T14:23:00.002+12:00

It is all good news with the wee guy - putting on weight, feeding well, sleeping longer and all that! This week we had a little catch up...

Oliver

2009-05-23T10:20:00.007+12:00

Oliver is doing just great. The consultant gave the all clear last night. Every thing that should be working at this stage is working - he has just been taken off all moniters. He is feeding three hourly, which given that he is Sam's son, is to be expected. We are so pleased and relieved!

I shot these photos around tea time last night - the flash was irritating Oliver a bit so I attempted some shots in the low light - I'm quite pleased with the result. The neo natal intensive unit is a remarkably tranquil place (when there isn't a crisis) and these photos seem to have picked up the mood.

Oliver

2009-05-22T11:30:00.002+12:00

Oliver has done wease!

One day soon someone is going to grumble that he keeps on peeing in his nappy, but today, let us rejoice in the miracle of the passing of urine - a great and beautiful and much underestimated thing!

Oliver's progress

2009-05-22T09:18:00.001+12:00

Oliver is tracking along ok - he had the evening without oxygen support last night
- his lungs are still crackly (this is an advanced scientific term that most of you won't understand but it empowers me to use it)
and his kidneys have yet to do the right thing and release the right stuff in the right direction (again, another advanced...I'm full of it today!).

Oliver!

2009-05-21T11:11:00.005+12:00

Oliver has arrived late on 20 May! 5lb 9oz for the imperial ones among us. It all got a bit traumatic with an emergency caesarian and his needing to be resuscitated - so he's in the neo-natal intensive care unit - he seems ok but it will take a while for everything to stabilise - so we keep praying. Carley is doing ok and Sam is all grins.

pigs

2009-05-20T11:03:00.003+12:00

Isn't it a shame that in New Zealand pig farmers require laws to police how they care for their animals - laws that get down to exactly what the minimum width of a sower cage should be and how many days a sower can be left in the cage at any one time...

These standards might permit the highest yield of offspring possible, and might fatten the pigs faster for the market - but there are other standards that should be foremost in farmer's minds, these are ethical standards that cannot be measured by a ruler, where the well-being of the animal is the paramount standard.

Pigs are intelligent animals and I believe that they should be farmed in such a way that their access to open space is the minimum standard.

http://www.farmsanctuary.org.nz/animal-welfare-education/factory-farming-pigs.html

Zerubabbel

2009-05-18T15:44:00.001+12:00

He's still holding out... thus he gets to keep the working name a day or two or three longer. Sam's recent grumble about sitting around in the maternity hospital is "I've had to be mature for two days in a row!"

Zerubbabel

2009-05-16T10:12:00.004+12:00

My son Sam is about to be a Dad. The arrival of Zerubbabel (Anne's and my working title for the wee guy before he is formally named) was supposed to be yesterday - he has other plans and his poor mum is going through a lot of prodding, poking and waiting.

Among other things, I anticipate he is soon to be the first baby on my blog - a great honour indeed!

Mart 48

2009-05-15T09:58:00.009+12:00

Yep, that day is fast coming when people officially mark the fact that I have got older. I like the presents, but why the cards that rub it in, why the 'there, there' pats on the head from my children, why the fuss? And to top it off, the mother of my first grandson is in labour! I am too young to be 48, and too young to be a grandfather!

Anyway, as is my custom, I have put together my CD collection of the songs I have enjoyed the most over the last year. They are not ranked, rather, they are mixed. They either flow nicely into each other or provide startling contrasts, though the first track is rather sublime and deserves the first place.

On the whole the songs are mellow - maybe that is the aging thing - and there are some songs from the 1970's by The Moody Blues & Supertramp, and even a track from the 1960's from The Beatles. It has been a year of collecting Beatles, Supertramp and Moody Blues Cd's - I have loved these bands for a long time but had stuff on tapes and LPs. My favourite albums by each band are: Abbey Road (though A Hard Day's Night is a close second), Crisis? What Crisis? and A Question of Balance. However, the Beatles track I have chosen is off Magical Mystery Tour, and the other Supertramp song was originally on Even in the Quietest Moments. I haven't found a copy of Rodriguez's Coming From Reality CD yet, otherwise I would have had his fabulous To Whom It May Concern on the list.

I also want to express a word of lament - it is harder to get Cd's in this country. This love affair with downloading is undermining the CD industry - I (probably operating from a getting old perspective) love handling the CD - I love browsing the sleeve - I love the tactile placement of the CD into the machine. I love being able to put a collection of Cd's together in the machine and pushing 'random play', and I love removing one of the Cd's if it doesn't quite fit. I love these things in the way I loved LP's.

A few songs didn't make the cut because they didn't fit onto the CD - one of them, Isn't it Amazing by Hothouse Flowers has been on a past compilation and it should be on here as well - and Falling Slowly & Motherland were also on last year. That is a tribute to the quality of their music as I have listened to those tracks many many times and still love them.

Of course, this is a U2 year with the release of No Line on the Horizon. There are four songs that could also have made the cut - they do make it hard!

Where possible, a sample of the song is included.

Mart 48
#1 moment of surrender - U2 [from No Line on the Horizon]
The Edge has created one of the most beautiful and simple guitar solos on a track with Bono in fine voice and a signature U2 theme well-explored. The best track since With or Without You? - I think so but my son Josh thinks I'm nuts - he likes Get On Your Boots - of course!
#2 magic - bruce springsteen [from Magic] http://www.last.fm/music/Bruce+Springsteen/Magic/Magic
I love this album - I'm a relatively recent Springsteen fan - it seemed that the Trade Towers needed to come down before I was ready for him.
#3 falling slowly - glen hansard & marketa irglova [from The Swell Season] http://www.last.fm/music/Glen+Hansard+and+Marketa+Irglova/_/Falling+Slowly
#4 live with me - massive attack [from Collected] http://www.last.fm/music/Massive+Attack/_/Live+With+Me
This man's voice is stunning - a moving love song.
#5 unknown caller - U2 [from No Line on the Horizon]
An unusual song - a nice surprise on the album. I wonder if it is a sign of where music might go in the future.
#6 question - the moody blues [from A Question of Balance] http://www.last.fm/music/The+Moody+Blues/_/Question
There are many songs I could have chosen - I'm a pre-1972 Moodies fan.
#7 sandrevan lullaby - sixto rodriguez [from At His Best] http://www.last.fm/music/Rodriguez/_/Sandrevan+Lullaby check him out at http://www.sugarman.org/index.html
I was introduced to Rodriguez (who only produced two studio albums) in 1982. He comes from the social comment school of songwriters. He has quite big following in South Africa but never really made it in his native US.
#8 motherland - natalie merchant [from Motherland] http://www.last.fm/music/Natalie+Merchant/_/Motherland
Great social comment about the spread of concrete - Josh the skater likes concrete but I don't.
#9 two of us - supertramp [from Crisis? What Crisis?] http://www.last.fm/music/Supertramp/_/Two+of+Us
I found Crisis... in the excellent Penny Lane second hand CD store here in Christchurch (http://www.pennylanerecords.co.nz/) - it is probably the least valued of the wonderful series of 1970's Supertramp albums, but one I love to listen to as a whole.
#10 cash - the panics [from Acoustic - various]
I don't know anything about this band, but this track, accidentally ripped onto my songs list, has become a favourite.
#11 cortez the killer - neil young [from Live Rust] http://www.last.fm/music/Neil+Young/_/Cortez+the+Killer
The track on my collection is a live one - Will Jensen (late of Sunset Cinema http://www.myspace.com/sunsetcinemanz and now in the rather unusual Brains http://www.myspace.com/brainsmorebrains) had this track playing a lot over the summer. And to his delight, Neil Young played it at Big Day Out.
#12 hearts and bones - paul simon [from Concert in the Park]
I have had the original track on the Hearts & Bones LP since it came out in 1982, and now have the CD on order. Sublime!
#13 breathe - U2 [from No Line on the Horizon]
Brian Eno rates this and Moment... as two of the best U2 tracks he has been involved with. That's quite a statement from the co-producer of The Joshua Tree and Acthung Baby!
#14 i am the walrus - the beatles [from Magical Mystery Tour]
John Lennon at his wicked best. My recent access to this song has been though the movie Across the Universe, Bono's excellent version of I Am The Walrus from the movie nearly made it instead of the original.
#15 from now on - supertramp [from Anthology] http://www.last.fm/music/Supertramp/_/From+Now+On

quote

2009-05-08T14:32:00.001+12:00

"Grown-ups never understand anything for themselves, and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them." Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Christ at the centre

2009-04-08T13:56:00.001+12:00

Colin McCahon

An excerpt from my Passion Sunday address:

The Trial
What was the choice?
For Pilate: Do I set free a murderer or an innocent man?
For the crowd: Do we call Jesus Lord or do we demand him crucified as an imposter?

We have to choose not out of our certainties – because some things are not always provable using the many formulas and devices of thinking…

Is Jesus Lord or is he not?

Is what he says, and who he is, the truth?
In the trial Pilate asks Jesus ‘what is truth?’ – Jesus remains silent. Jesus remains silent, for Pilate to work it out,
for the watching crowd to work it out and for us to work it out.

‘Grace and truth come through Jesus Christ,’ says John in his prelude…
If we want to know the truth – it has a face and a name…
I AM… the alpha and the omega – the One at the beginning and the One at the end.

Jesus dares us:
Let me provide the basis by which you address what you understand to be true.
Let me be the framework through which you build your worldviews.

I AM the way the truth and the life
– let me be at the centre.

And from the centre
I will walk to the deepest place of human suffering on order to be with you.

Easter words

2009-04-08T13:51:00.002+12:00

Roddy Hamilton produces some great material on his Mucky Paws page: http://abbotsford.typepad.com/abbotsford/

Here's one that Anne and I are working with this Easter:

Rebellious Welcome
When our table is open only to members
may we find a new table
When our community is open only to those who are polite
May we find a new community
When we sing the songs familiar only to us
May we find a new song
O that the Gospel were for nice people
the beautiful the famous and the clean...
But God
you welcome the lost
you feed the hungry
you honour the prostitute
you kiss with the leper
you eat with the sinner
you break bread with the stranger
It is a hard Gospel for our world
all closed up against what we do not know
protective of what challenges us
avoiding what we do not understand
It is a hard gospel to be open
welcoming
affirming
growing
faithful
redeeming
But it is the gospel nonetheless
When we use our faith to shift us away from the stranger may we find a new faith
When we use the church to avoid what happens on the outside may we find a new church
When we use the Bible to divide us into sheep and goats may we find a new bible
Hear us
O God of welcomes
O God of grace
So be it

Apparatus of religion

2009-03-25T10:04:00.004+12:00

Excerpt from a recent sermon I preached at St Stephen's, reflecting on St John's version of the cleansing of the temple

...Because of Jesus, the apparatus of religion is no longer necessary (the term 'apparatus of religion' was coined by Bishop Lesslie Newbigin in his excellent commentary on John's Gospel, The Light Has Come) John, in his gospel, understands this and emphasises it. T

he apparatus of religion takes many forms. In this story the apparatus is the temple, and its associated activity, along with King Herod’s great work of rebuilding and renovation (so far 46 years in the making and still with scaffolding). The work of renovating the temple was an act of humans securing for future generations the fact of God’s dwelling among them in this holy transcendent place – a place where Jewish men and women, along with certain converted Gentiles, could gather where God has provided the ‘mercy seat’ where sin is put away through the ritual sacrifice of animals.

The problem of the apparatus of religion is that the place and ritual become necessary for God’s mercy to be received. The temple is human-made (and in not too many years it will be destroyed by the Romans) and the rituals act as boundaries for who can received mercy. In the temple cult was God’s mercy freely available to the Gentiles? No. Nor was it freely available in the earliest part of the church’s life where up until Acts 9, salvation in Christ was understood as only being for the circumcised and their families.

In how many ways has the church through the ages put religious apparatus in the way of what God has been doing in Christ? Un-baptised infants not being able to be buried in the church graveyard… the unbaptised not welcome at the Table… children not able to receive Holy Communion… women not able to fully participate in the church where Paul himself claims that there is no longer Jew nor Gentile, slave nor free, women or men, all are one in Jesus Christ [Galatians 3:28]. Yet how often do we put impediments in the way?

There has been an example this last week of the ways the Christian faith has turned into a religion. Speaking in Africa, Pope Benedict commented that the availability of condoms somehow increases the spread of HIV-AIDS. I guess that the thinking is that if condoms are easily available then more people will have sexual intercourse and therefore the potential for the transmission of HIV increases. But isn’t it more logical to concede that while the use of condoms might indeed mean that more people are having sexual relations, they are at least having protected sex, are therefore are much less likely to transmit the virus?

The real point the Pope is making is that the HIV virus would not be spreading at such an alarming rate if people were not having sex prior to marriage and not with anyone other than their spouse once married.
Perhaps he is also indicating that the virus would hardly have spread at all under such constraints. But of course that is theoretical and idealistic, and not how the world is in reality, and this is what makes the African announcement considerably controversial.

Is it reasonable to ask ‘Can the church adapt its message in light of the reality of people’s lives?’ It can, but only if it can also let go of some of the apparatus.

The point I am trying to make in light of Jesus cleansing the temple, is that when Christianity is a religion – with institutional rules and laws, such as what I believe to be a misguided notion that the only purpose of sexual intimacy is for procreation, then Christianity becomes something other than what it should be.

Christianity becomes a prescription of laws to be obeyed and a guide for ethical living rather than a joyful response to live freely in the salvation that Jesus has secured for us, despite the imperfectness of our response to him.
The newspaper this last week added a shocking story to illustrate the difficulties associated with the kind of comment the Pope made. In some country in recent years a 9 year old girl was found to be pregnant with twins. It transpired that she had been impregnated by her stepfather. Her doctors performed an abortion. The church leaders acting out its condemnation of abortion, excommunicated the girl and her doctors, but did not excommunicate the stepfather. I am not offering an opinion about the rights or wrongs of abortion, but reflecting on the apparatus of the Christian church, which, acting as a religion, condemns one action as a sin worthy of excommunication, but does not consider the prior action as being morally reprehensible enough to also be condemned in the same manner.

And more than that, what is the foundation of the notion of excommunication? On what grounds does the church exclude people? This is the kind of apparatus of religion that has become attached to Christianity that I believe is incongruous with the teachings of Jesus Christ, who taught and lived a gospel of love, grace, forgiveness and restoration.

The apparatus of religion goes when Jesus comes to town.

Breathe

2009-03-12T10:24:00.003+12:00

I'm really enjoying the lyrics and song Breathe from No Line on the Horizon.
It wasn't an initial track that caught my attention - but the reference to the cockatoo is one of the album's most humorous moments.
The song is a signal to us all of what posture we take into life, especially when we are bombarded by bad news stories, worst case scenarios (bird flu, global recession etc), and people peddling self-help ideas based on their doom-based theories. 'There's nothing you have that I need' is a great line for people who seem to think they have to have everything and get devastated when inevitably the bottom falls out of their extravagance.
There is an alternative: 'got a love that you can't defeat' is a great line to use as you poke your nose at the doomsday soothsayers who are alive and well in the church as anywhere. The closing lines sum up the God-centred alternative ... have a read:
"Breathe"
16th of June, nine-oh-five, door bell rings
Man at the door says if I want to stay alive a bit longer
There’s a few things I need you to know
Three

Coming from a long line of
Traveling sales people on my mother’s side
I wasn’t gonna buy just anyone’s cockatoo
So why would I invite a complete stranger into my home
Would you?

These days are better than that
These days are better than that
Every day I die again, and again I’m reborn
Every day I have to find the courage
To walk out into the street
With arms out
Got a love you can’t defeat
Neither down nor out
There’s nothing you have that I need

I can breathe
Breathe now

16th of June, Chinese stocks are going up
And I’m coming down with some new Asian virus
Ju Ju man, Ju Ju man
Doc says you’re fine, or dying
Please

Nine-oh-nine, St. John Divine on the line, my pulse is fine
But I’m running down the road like loose electricity
While the band in my head plays a striptease

The roar that lies on the other side of silence
The forest fire that is fear so deny it
Walk out into the street
Sing your heart out
The people we meet
Will not be drowned out
There’s nothing you have that I need

I can breathe
Breathe now
Yeah, yeah

We are people borne of sound
The songs are in our eyes
Gonna wear them like a crown
Walk out, into the sunburst street
Sing your heart out, sing my heart out

I’ve found grace inside a sound
I found grace, it’s all that I found
And I can breathe
Breathe now

U2.com > News > No Line On The Horizon Widget

2009-03-07T09:22:00.001+12:00

U2.com > News > No Line On The Horizon Widget

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No Line on the Horizon has arrived

2009-03-02T14:10:00.005+12:00

I’ve been enjoying the first few listens to No Line on the Horizon and it has been fun. I managed to secure the poster and Griff the dog seems to at least like the poster!
As I expected, U2 have gone to another frontier with their music. Yes it is still them but they have kept growing. They number among the few bands/musicians who keep offering something refreshingly new each album. Others that come to mind are/were The Beatles and David Bowie. Some like Bruce Springsteen (and please understand, I am not complaining!) have taken lyric writing to new heights and at times matched them with new sounds, but basically, there is a well-trod style of music on offer. And others like The Rolling Stones have never moved on musically from their better days in the 60’s and very early 70’s. But U2 they just keep on getting better. Remember to listen to this music up loud!
The collaboration with producers Brian Eno & Daniel Lanois has also made it to a number of song-writing credits, and these number among the best tracks.
Here are my initial impressions song by song :
No Line on the Horizon: A welcome return to some of the Euro-style sounds of the brilliant Zooropa. I always thought that that sound was something special and it is great to see its return in many of these songs. Here’s an interesting thought and theological challenge – is Bono suggesting that the girl is the Spirit and that the Spirit puts no lines on the horizon – no distinctions, and changes everyday for us? I’ve always struggled with the line that God never changes if it means that we try to be prescriptive about how God can or cannot act. I admire God’s ability to meet me up close or far away, being there believing in me when I’m doing what I should and when I’m wallowing in what I shouldn’t.
Magnificent: Bono and Edge’s lyrics exploring the theological theme of love/God leaving a mark, even a scar, is a great reflection on the call on us to be faithful despite the inevitable wounds we will get if we are getting following Jesus right. Best line: “This foolishness [the cross?] can leave a heart black and blue, only love…can leave such a mark, but only love…can heal such a scar.”
Moment of Surrender: A mellow beat with more theological richness: “It’s not if I believe in love, but if love believes in me.” This a great antidote to the evangelical overemphasis on us having to do something to be right with God. Surrender is a great U2 theme from their earliest days and well-explored here in one of the album's best tracks.
Unknown Caller: “Cease to speak that I may speak, shush now.” My initial favourite song – beautiful guitar, great singing and something very special in the ending... Turn it up loud, follow the words, hear the call to ‘shush’ and let God speak, and then… an organ warming up to Edge’s distinctive simple guitar playing…a recognition perhaps that that’s what we’ve been getting over the years, God speaking through the distinctive U2 sound.
I’ll go crazy if I don’t do crazy tonight: I haven’t found my way into this song yet. It has too much of the sound of All that you can’t leave behind in it, or Crumbs from your table.

Get On Your Boots: lovely Edge guitar and vocals. The first single, a wonderful video and the catchy song of the album serving to open the doors to a new audience just like The Fly, Discotheque, Elevation & Vertigo. Actually I think that if you put all of these songs together they kind of work out to be the same. A nice point though: that men stuff up the world (submarines and gasoline) and the greed and war escalates, and its time for the women to take over – get on your sexy boots!
Stand up Comedy: A grand Led Zeppelin-style opening, great music and a wonderful call to get in the frame and do something about standing up for love – of the faith hope and love Jesus variety. The line "God is love, and love is evolutions best day" is a thoughtful no-lines-need-to-divide contribution to the endless and mindless creation vs evolution debate that seems to absorb modernism. Bono’s self-depreciating line: “Josephine be careful of small men with big ideas.” is a bit of fun, but also a truism - Napoleon was short, Bono is short, come to think of it, so am I! But I like the call Bono makes to soul rockin’ people to come on stand up (say Yes) and then sit down (lay down) for God’s love.
Fez-Being Born – named after the city where the early recordings of the album were made starts calmly with the distant cry ‘Let me in the Sound’ and then follows with some more of that lively Euro-style beat reminiscent of Kraftwerk’s great Autobahn, with a hint of U2’s New Year’s Day, before turning into something quite new – the voices together and birth. I wonder if this should have been the first track – it reminds me of the impact Zoo Station had when I first listened to Achtung Baby – a new sound – the stretch out into something almost out of reach like a high note Bono has to be in the right mood to hit. This reaching out for what seems ungraspable is part of U2's genius - musically they go there but so too they do with their lyrics. There is a poetic simplicity to the words of Fez, and this song is for me the albums highlight.
White as Snow: an unusual song from U2 – commandeering an old folk melody and finding new words. It is quite special – faith, doubt and the realisation of the ‘lamb as white as snow.’
Breathe: Musically still to grow on me, but I love the line: “I’ve found grace inside a sound, I found grace it’s all that I found, and I can breathe, breathe now.”
Cedars of Lebanon: moody, thoughtful, and the boys sing well together again.
No Line on the Horizon 2: ends as it starts.

Gran Torino

2009-02-24T08:50:00.003+12:00

Anne and I went to a free screening of Clint Eastwood's latest movie Gran Torino yesterday. (It was free in that my sister and her partner had given us two movie passes!) What a movie!

Clint Eastwood is at his snarly best trying to live in his changed neighbourhood after the death of his wife but surrounded by people of other nationalities and small-time gangs.

Next door to him is a family of Hmong immigrants (from the Vietnam, Laos, Thailand area). Slowly these people break through his defences to the point where he acts, in a stunningly selfless act of redemption, to rid them of an element who will never allow them any freedom. The redemption theme is multifaceted in this movie. Eastwood's character, Walt Kowalski finds a way towards healing the scars from his Korean War experience, he begins to find his faith thanks to the persistence of the local Catholic priest who proves to be more than you might expect, and his neighbours who he considers his enemies prove to be closer than his family. The climatic redemptive act is for you to find out, but for me, it has the scent of the gospel all through it.

Eastwood at 78 is reported to have said that this will be his last role in front of the camera - I hope not, but maybe this movie is the redemption of Dirty Harry. Maybe it is also indicating a way forward for his own people as they look upon those they consider their enemies.

The Good Life

2009-02-24T08:43:00.003+12:00

Do you recall the Story of Stuff that I posted on my blog last year?
The same outfit have just posted a 3 minute reflection on youtube called The Good Life
I encourage you to take a few moments to watch it. Click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McvCJley78A

'no line on the horizon' pre-review

2009-02-20T12:53:00.003+12:00

Neil McCormick - very long-time U2 friend, writer of 'U2 by U2' and "I was Bono's Doppelganger' and rock writer for The Telegraph has penned a very good pre-review of the new U2 album due for release in 10 days (I'm counting)... here's an excerpt...

"...what a place for a band to be, in orbit around their own myth, making music that bounces off the inside of a listeners skull, charged with ideas and emotions, groovy enough to want to dance to, melodic enough to make you sing along, soulful enough to cherish, philosophical enough to inspire, and with so many killer tracks it might as well be a latterday greatest hits. It is, at the very least, an album to speak of in the same breath as their best and what other band of their longevity can boast of that?"

I can't wait!

Read the full thing by hitting http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/neil_mccormick/blog/2009/02/16/u2_no_line_on_the_horizon__full_review_plus_what_bono_really_thinks

Your name is safe in the mouths of those who love you.

2009-02-20T12:36:00.005+12:00

I did the talk at the Commencement Service of the Rochester & Rutherford Hall at Canterbury University last night. R&R is a residence hall with around 180 students - I'm one of the part-time chaplains there.

Here is an excerpt...
A friend sent me an email with some quotes from children on love… some are hard case and some are quite profound…
Karl - age 5 'Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on after shave and they go out and smell each other.'
Chrissie - age 6 'Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs.' Emily - age 8 'Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My Mummy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss' Bobby - age 7 'Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen.' Lauren - age 4 'I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones.'

This one in particular stood out…
Billy - age 4 'When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth.'

I think the reading we heard from Isaiah is fundamentally about God saying that our names are safe in his mouth –
I have called you by name and you are mine – whatever goes on – the ups and downs, I will be with you, I will never leave you or abandon you.

Whose mouth is your name safe in?
How might you minimize the risk of someone using your name in an abusive manner
or in a way that diminishes you?

As a church minister I get to do a few interesting things – one of the highlights was when I was invited to be a part of an evening series of talks aimed at the Year 10 girls and their parents, on the subject of sex.

The other speakers were talking about body and health things but the Principal wanted someone to talk about values and stuff like that, and I was asked. What an opportunity!

The reaction from the girls when I mentioned anything to do with sex was really quite wonderful… and the reaction from the parents was equally good.
The girls went ‘ooh’ and the parents… well, they tended to look at the floor!

I figured that if the minister dared to talk about these matters in a frank and open way then the girls and their parents might find it easier to talk
– because it is better to be able to talk about it than have it treated as something shameful.

Among the things I put to the girls were these observations:
Guys see having sex as a conquest more than girls do
– do you want to be a notch in some guys belt?
Guys are more likely to talk about their sexual exploits than girls
– do you want to be talked about in that way?
Guys are more likely to name their sexual partners
– do you want your name being broadcast in such a way?

I was talking to a bunch of girls but what I was saying is equally relevant to guys…
Do you want to be the kind of guy who treats women as objects to satiate your desires?
Would you want your life-partner to also be understood as some sort of trophy in another guy’s cupboard of memories?
Would you like it if your sister or daughter was understood diminished in this way?

The point is this: Is your name going to be safe in the mouth of the person you are thinking about being intimate with?
Be careful. In the journey of finding yourself, which is so much of what university life is about, don’t lose yourself.
Don’t settle for something less just because you now have incredible freedom.
In what ways can you let the words and actions of ‘I love you’ always be something precious in your life.

thoughts on balance

2009-02-12T18:12:00.002+12:00

I got a bit excited on Sunday... (in the sermon that is)...
"Balance. The Giver of Life calls us to a life of faith as a response to all that is given – balance.
I will be your God – and you will be my people. “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” [Deuteronomy 6:4-5] Balance – I and Thou. And, “Love your neighbour as yourself.” [Leviticus 19:18] – more balance.

We also have a sense that we creatures are to live in balance with the creation – there has to be some balance in how we live so that this earth can continue to sustain us.
There are many signs that we have are not living in a balanced way.
We pollute the air and are seriously undermining the delegate structure of the earth’s atmosphere.
We take from the land more than we give back to it.
We seek short term profit at the expense of sustainable living, and we expect others to have less so that we can have more.
Love your neighbour as yourself is a call to balance.
And God balances things… w
here we are cautious God is reckless
– a party thrown for a lost sheep,
a boy welcomed home,
a party and people invited from the edges of the town…
a woman allowed to pour precious oil on his feet as she wipes them with her hair.

Where we offer a half-measure, God counters with cup running over.
Where we say no to people God says yes.
Where we are half-hearted God counters with total self-giving.
Where we say ‘I will love you if…’ God says ‘I love you anyway!’

The unforgiveable is forgiven,
the betrayer is kissed,
the weak are held up and the strong have a few truths pointed out.
Balance.

Not blandness, not mediocrity, not the soft-option
– but an extravagant counterculture of grace.
That’s God’s way – that’s the way that the church,
called into being by Jesus, is to live – extravagant grace.

Bushfire

2009-02-12T18:00:00.008+12:00

My thoughts & prayers have been in Victoria this week. A friend sent these images...

a 737 taking off from Melbourne

The boy with no shoes

2009-02-06T10:25:00.002+12:00

William Horwood's books have long been among my favourites - in particular Duncton Wood, Skallagrigg and The Stonor Eagles. It has been interesting, in reading this book, to see how his early life experiences shaped the approach he took to his novels...

There is a lot of heart in this memoir - as well as courage and hope... it is fascinating to reflect on how at just the right times in his early life he had caring adults about him who believed in him.

Of anything Horwood has written, this story could easily be turned into a film, a film to rival Frank McCourt's Angela's Ashes.

BIG DAY OBAMA!

2009-01-21T19:28:00.003+12:00

I got to the tv at 5am and enjoyed watching the inauguration. I liked the lower key nature of his speech - facing reality rather than campaigning... quite appropriate.
Happy next day when the hard work begins!

Get on your boots

2009-01-21T09:57:00.003+12:00

"The future needs a big kiss…"

That’s the opening phrase on U2’s new single… yeah - that's got to be the hope for people who pray 'Your kingdom come'! And of course, the future is a big kiss!
Listen to it at: http://www.last.fm/music/U2/_/Get+On+Your+Boots

U2's new album No line on the Horizon comes out in early March

Alice Walker letter to President-elect Obama

2008-11-12T10:44:00.000+12:00

Open Letter to Barack Obama from Alice Walker Nov. 5, 2008
Dear Brother Obama,
You have no idea, really, of how profound this moment is for us. Us being the black people of the Southern United States. You think you know, because you are thoughtful, and you have studied our history. But seeing you deliver the torch so many others before you carried, year after year, decade after decade, century after century, only to be struck down before igniting the flame of justice and of law, is almost more than the heart can bear.
And yet, this observation is not intended to burden you, for you are of a different time, and, indeed, because of all the relay runners before you, North America is a different place. It is really only to say: Well done. We knew, through all the generations, that you were with us, in us, the best of the spirit of Africa and of the Americas. Knowing this, that you would actually appear, someday, was part of our strength. Seeing you take your rightful place, based solely on your wisdom, stamina and character, is a balm for the weary warriors of hope, previously only sung about.
I would advise you to remember that you did not create the disaster that the world is experiencing, and you alone are not responsible for bringing the world back to balance. A primary responsibility that you do have, however, is to cultivate happiness in your own life. To make a schedule that permits sufficient time of rest and play with your gorgeous wife and lovely daughters. And so on. One gathers that your family is large. We are used to seeing men in the White House soon become juiceless and as white-haired as the building; we notice their wives and children looking strained and stressed. They soon have smiles so lacking in joy that they remind us of scissors. This is no way to lead. Nor does your family deserve this fate. One way of thinking about all this is: It is so bad now that there is no excuse not to relax. From your happy, relaxed state, you can model real success, which is all that so many people in the world really want. They may buy endless cars and houses and furs and gobble up all the attention and space they can manage, or barely manage, but this is because it is not yet clear to them that success is truly an inside job. That it is within the reach of almost everyone.
I would further advise you not to take on other people's enemies. Most damage that others do to us is out of fear humiliation and pain. Those feelings occur in all of us, not just in those of us who profess a certain religious or racial devotion. We must learn actually not to have enemies, but only confused adversaries who are ourselves in disguise.
It is understood by all that you are commander in chief of the United States and are sworn to protect our beloved country; this we understand, completely. However, as my mother used to say, quoting a Bible with which I often fought, "hate the sin, but love the sinner."
There must be no more crushing of whole communities, no more torture, no more dehumanising as a means of ruling a people's spirit. This has already happened to people of colour, poor people, women, children. We see where this leads, where it has led. A good model of how to "work with the enemy" internally is presented by the Dalai Lama, in his endless care of his soul as he confronts the Chinese government that invaded Tibet. Because, finally, it is the soul that must be preserved, if one is to remain a credible leader. All else might be lost; but when the soul dies, the connection to earth, to peoples, to animals, to rivers, to mountain ranges purple and majestic, also dies. And your smile, with which we watch you do gracious battle with unjust characterizations, distortions and lies, is that expression of healthy self-worth, spirit and soul, that, kept happy and free and relaxed, can find an answering smile in all of us, lighting our way, andbrightening the world. We are the ones we have been waiting for.
In Peace and Joy, Alice Walker

The real America - a John Oliver perspective

2008-11-07T15:13:00.004+12:00

If you want to be scared and humoured all at once take a look at this John Oliver interview (from The Daily Show with Jon Stewart) out on the campaign rallies of Obama and Palin.
http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=189163&title=Obama-and-Palin-Rallies-of-Fear

I think John Oliver is quite wonderful!

YES!

2008-11-06T08:23:00.002+12:00

YES!

Thank God, yes!

Now, can he be given room to do what he needs to do? I hope that he can wrestle the powers and not be too wounded by them.

go Barack go!

2008-10-31T14:07:00.003+12:00

Less than a week... come on America - take the step into someone offering a hopeful difference - even we little ones in New Zealand aknow that this one matters - and anecdotal polls over here suggest we are over 75% sure that you have to go with Obama for President! Do it! And if you are Republican and you are just not sure then if you can't vote for Obama then at least stay home and don't give the world Sarah Palin. Don't trust the wink!

hope in the younger generation

2008-10-31T14:02:00.003+12:00

A colleague sent me this - thinking that I would find it resonated with some of my points of view.

He and I agree that it is in the vein of the Australian cartoonist Michael Leunig's work.

Anotherland

2008-09-30T14:57:00.003+12:00

Dave Dobbyn - one of NZ's finest musicians has released his new CD, Anotherland. I wondered how he would move on from his acclaimed Available Light album, but he has - this time with some blues-style horns and deep dug spirituality. I'm loving the album more and more as I listen to it.

You can check Dave out for yourself on his website: http://www.davedobbyn.co.nz/anotherland.html

Little People

2008-08-23T14:29:00.004+12:00

I discovered a great blog - someone's creative angle on the world through little people 'installations' in the cityscape. Here are a few pictures... this person has a way to go to get 'up' to the level of Banksy's social commentary though the McDonald's spaceman 'Life as we know it' is getting there (see the site http://little-people.blogspot.com/)

watermark community church

2008-08-19T10:01:00.002+12:00

I found the following YouTube ad on the Ship of Fools page... I've been looking at doing some advertising for our church - the biggest trouble is whether we can deliver... we're just not great exponents of the 'prosperity gospel' - our budget is too small and we are just a little bit unwilling to deliver whatever people want...
I don't know, maybe it is just this dumb idea we have that Jesus should shape us to his way rather than we shaping him to whatever suits us.
But this ad... it is amazing... I might join because I want a world trip and just can't afford it...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAg1rRbxrGY

Across the Universe

2008-08-15T15:53:00.004+12:00

Ahh... finally - my pick for film of the year (even though it was released in 2007).

This week we went to Across the Universe, directed by Julie Taymor. It was brilliant!

The music - all Beatles songs (33 I believe) well sung by the cast with very groovy arrangements, that fitted into the clever story... the costumes, choreography and sets were excellent... even Bono made a cameo as Dr Robert. If you haven't seen this movie and you like the Beatles or lived a bit in the 60's (or wished that you did!) then watch it. It is out on DVD in the Northern Hemisphere but on at the Academy theatre in Christchurch, NZ.

I bought the CD today (deluxe version as it has more songs)... truly wonderful!

The Moody Blues

2008-08-07T12:08:00.004+12:00

I've been in a Moody Blues phase of late... purchased a few CDs and pulled out others. Along with my brothers, I prefer the pre 1972 albums, up to the time they went into a four year recess and Mike Pinder left (Mike is my favourite 'Moody')

The albums I have brought are A Question of Balance, Days of Future Past, and In Search of the Lost Chord. Probably the only songs known by most people are off the 1967 Days... album (Forever) Tuesday Afternoon and Nights In White Satin. The sleeve notes of these remixed CDs add to the experience.

My favourite Moody songs are: Ray Thomas' For my lady, & Legend of a Mind and Mike Pinder's When we are freemen & Melancholy Man.

The album of that era I find the most inaccessible is Threshold of a Dream - mainly, I suspect, because I didn't ever listen to it when my older brother sent me Moody's tapes in my later teenage years in the late-70's.

The only Moody's LP I ever purchased for myself was 1981's Long Distance Voyager - I love the opening track Justin Hayward's The Voice and his Forever Autumn song on Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds musical is a long-standing favourite song.

Is anyone 'out there' a Moody's fan?

Vacation Over

2008-08-07T11:48:00.003+12:00

I haven't really been on vacation (apart from a wonderful week in Sydney, Australia) - I'm involved in a process in our church that has mostly kept me silent. While it is still going on and I haven't heard anything, I've decided that I'll blog anyway!

Three things that have pushed my buttons:
1. World Youth Day in Sydney. While Anne and I didn't go over to be 'pilgrims' in this mega Roman Catholic Youth festival (Pope Benedict included) - we did enjoy catching up with our German 'daughter' Hannah who was a pilgrim - and mostly enjoyed the buzz in the city. What intrigued me the most (and this probably reflects NZers unease with flag-waving) was that the pilgrims mostly wandered the streets in their ethnic groups, singing and chanting as they waved their national flags. I would have thought they would have been more interested in mixing together - I'm sure that must have happened, but it didn't seem to be happening. I don;t believe we will address the world's concerns or even celebrate the Christian faith by flag-waving.
Nevertheless, the colour and vibrancy was neat, the city was grand and the heightened police presence was a welcome and pleasant security.
2. a few good novels - Water for elephants - a very thoughtful and readable adventure in a 1930's circus train - highly recommended! My name was Judas by C K Stead (a NZ novelist) - while from the angle of modernist skepticism it is an interesting perspective on the whole Jesus adventure that I am aware many buy into, thus it is useful to trawl this particular ocean. And, Mark Haddon's A Spot of Bother a fun romp into the messed up lives of a British family and their rising above their troubles.
3. William Stringfellow - I'm reading Free in Obedience again and just love his provocative perspective on the church. The book was written in the mid-60's in the US - he addresses the church and its role in the city and its too willing participation in death (denial of Christ's sovereignty) - I'll get back on this as I read more.

ducks

2008-06-02T14:51:00.003+12:00

All the ducks are swimming in the water!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8yx4k4tzqE

Mart hits 47 years with his favourite music from last year

2008-05-27T16:40:00.003+12:00

Another birthday has passed… as I have done for the last three years, I compiled the group of songs that I have enjoyed the most this last year. The list is not in order of preference, but in order of what I think makes a good mix. I don’t listen to the radio to find new music – it is much more hit and miss than that, thus the collection comes entirely from cds at home… I don’t know why I put this list up on the blog… musical taste is so subjective, why would anyone want to listen to what I listen to? Before you run off and buy anything I’ve listed, do ask yourself that question!

#1 The Decemberists The Crane Wife Pt 3 (from The Crane Wife) My daughter Hana introduced this – for Anne, Sam, Josh & I it is a Gold Coast, Australia song – we hired a car, we had one CD, this was the opening track.
#2 Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova Falling Slowly (from The Swell Season & the movie Once). This just qualified – Anne and I watched Once just three weeks before my birthday.
#3 Cowboy Junkies December Skies (from Early 20th Century Blues) The album is made up mostly of covers – it is my favourite Junkies album… this song starts with references to September 11 – sadness and lament for humanity as the 21st century gets underway.
#4 Crowded House Pour le Monde (from Time On Earth). Crowded House are back – we saw them in concert and they didn’t play this song! What confidence to leave the best track out from the play list. What a problem having so many good songs to choose from!
#5 David Gilmour On An Island (the title track from On An Island) We have watched the live DVD more than listened to the CD and had to include something from the maestro.
#6 Liam Finn Second Chance (from I’ll Be Lightening). Liam Finn’s quirky debut solo album is a masterpiece. He goes into strange territory with his rhythms and excels.
#7 Natalie Merchant Motherland (the title track from Motherland) Her participation in the Junkies Trinity Revisited led us to seek out this album.
#8 Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds Into My Arms (from The Best of…) A moving love song.
#9 The Decemberists Summersong (see above)
#10 Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova When your mind’s made up (see above)
#11 Cowboy Junkies Misguided Angel (from Trinity Revisited) This album is a musical and visual feast… 20 years on the Junkies revisit their second album and the church it was recorded in and do the same set with several other musicians in attendance, including Natalie Merchant and Ryan Adams. The DVD has been watched over and over again.
#12 Crowded House English Trees (see above)
#13 Eric Clapton & Billy Preston Isn’t It a Pity (from Concert for George) A year after George Harrison died a band of friends got together and gave a concert… wonderful stuff! The Junkies covered this song on Early 20th Century Blues and I was torn over which version to include.
#14 Liam Finn I’ll Be Lightening (see above) This song is verse, verse, verse & chorus… strange and brilliant with Neil Finn on bass.
#15 Eric Clapton with Paul McCartney While My Guitar Gently Weeps (from Concert for George) Eric bleeds for his friend – one of my all-time favourite songs.

kingdom of God

2008-05-27T11:17:00.003+12:00

I was talking about the kingdom of God with the youth group the other night... I suggested that the kingdom way is more often seen when you are on the way, living into its way, than seen for what it is by a wondering bystander (and of course as soon as you begin to see it it turns out to be bigger than you could ever imagine and thus something you will never really get).

I shared some little examples of how I live in the kingdom way... like my attitude at the supermarket. Quite often when I'm walking through the car park, if I see a trolley left where it souldn't be, I walk it in and put it away even if I have no use of it myself. No one sees this, no one cares whether I do this or not... I don't do it to score points with people, to feel good or even think that God will treat me any differently than God already treats me... I do it primarily because I live into another reality where I treat people as I have been treated by God in Christ... Someone might need that parking space and a trolley is in the way...

someone has to collect the trolleys, at times in some pretty horrible weather, and I imagine that that person having to go and get a trolley from some obscure corner of the car park might feel resentment towards others and might find whatever job satisfaction they have harder to find on that day...

so I serve...

I try to live this way in all facets of my life and fail on most fronts most days... but God is not finished with me yet...

soundings

2008-05-15T10:37:00.002+12:00

Soundings

(my weekly email to St Stephen's folk)

At St Stephen’s this week we are focusing on the theme of Creativity…
It has been sparked by a combination of the set readings and a painting that Amos Dalkie has recently completed that he will bring along to show… it is quite lovely.

When you think about what creativity is what comes to your mind? I tend to think immediately of the creative arts – music, painting, needle-work etc. And all too soon I lament my lack of such talents…
But does our view have to be so limited?
What if we were to widen our view and think about creativity as partnership in God’s creativity… (Michelangelo’s ‘hand of God in creation’ picture from the Sistine Chapel depicts the partnership)… what then?

Here’s a warm-up quote… “Creativity is a way of living life, no matter what our vocation or how we earn a living.” [Madeline L’Engle]

Now that is a wide view and no one gets excluded because they may not be as able to paint as well as Michelangelo or Amos Dalkie!!!

You've got to live it to get it

2008-05-09T13:28:00.004+12:00

Yesterday I made a comment regarding Colin McCahon's elusive art... and Jesus' Kingdom being similarly elusive...
Anne found the following quote from the dancer Anna Pavlova: when asked "What do you say when you dance?"she replied "If I could tell you I wouldn't dance."

For me the Kingdom of God can't be grasped by any other means than being immersed in it... you've got to live it to get it.

And another U2 lyric just to introduce a bit of Kingdom paradox... from the song City Of Blinding Lights:
"The more you see the less you know
The less you find out as you go
I knew much more then than I do now."

So to conclude... you can't grasp the Kingdom except by jumping in, and once you jump in you find you can't grasp it... so jump!

Go Barack Obama

2008-05-08T17:13:00.004+12:00

I'm hoping a praying that the Democrat Party nomination will go Obama's way - and soon - he heralds a new season and boy do we need a new season...

Hinewai

2008-05-08T16:23:00.006+12:00

Last weekend I went with some of the St Stephen's youth group to bunk down at the lodge at the Hinewai Reserve on Banks Peninsula, over the hill behind the town of Akaroa. The weather was blizzard-like, but apart from a 1-30am water-leak on the first night and a long clean-up operation, we were cosy and warm in the beautifully converted shearing shed and there was a long-enough break in the weather for us to go tramping along some of the upper tracks.

The reserve was established 20 years ago with the intention of fostering the regrowth of the native vegetation - when the trust began its work there were a few pockets of kanuka (kunzea ericoides), totara (podocarpus totara) and red beech(nothofagus fusca), but mostly paddock and virulent introduced gorse (ulex europaeus)... but with the removal of grazing animals, serious work at reducing the rabbit and possum population along with the avoidance of fire, the regeneration of bush has been stunning. The work is overseen by a small group with Hugh Wilson, a botanist, who is the resident manager - he is quite a character!

We used the context to look at issues facing the planet and how we might begin to address them from a Christian perspective.

The opening photo is a view of the reserve with the lodge to the left and down to Otanerito Bay in the distance. The gorse was conveniently in flower, but if all goes well, in another ten years it won't be there at all - the forest will have used the gorse as an incubator and then killed the gorse off once the gorse was starved of light. In many areas this has already occurred.

The second photo is of the others in the group taken in front of a red beech tree. It is rare to have beech forests near the coast on the eastern side of the south island.

The third image is the Fuschia Falls - just a short distance from the lodge. The native fuschia (fuschia excorticata or Kotukutuku) has prospered in this environment.

one has to believe to see

2008-05-08T11:09:00.012+12:00

I've just spent half an hour reading William McCahon's article about his father's art in A Question of Faith. (Colin McCahon is New Zealand's foremost modernist artist.) The article made a very good point about the difficulty most people have had interpreting McCahon's paintings and the artist's unwillingness to explain the art for them - McCahon seemingly took seriously the notion that if people have eyes then let them see. In other words - one has to believe to see . There's a U2 line from the song Walk On that goes - You're packing a suitcase for a place none of has been, a place that has to be believed to be seen.

I've been doing a lot of thinking about Jesus' Kingdom of God of late. I like the way that Jesus alludes to its nature but refrains from giving explicit detail - he paints a picture of it, but one will only get the dimensions of it by entering through the narrow gate (him).

It strikes me that people's attempts to break 'entering Jesus' Kingdom of God' into easy steps, clear pictures and formulations is misguided.

This of course presents an ongoing challenge to the preacher - to respect the mystery and not play with the listeners by suggesting that they can easily get what Jesus is on about. I like that Jesus sidestepped those who tried to pin him down. I like the way that as soon as you try to box Jesus he slips away and pops up somewhere else.

I like that McCahon, committed to the way of Jesus, left his art to do its own talking.

Here are a few McCahon paintings... one of my favourites is Otago Peninsula (1946) it is in the Dunedin City Library... I walked in one day and asked one of the staff if she could point out the Colin McCahon piece - she didn't know there was one there, nor did she know of the brilliant Ralph Hotere and Nigel Brown works. I found it soon enough. If you stand in the stairwell and look up it stares you in the face. (It was approximately 8 metres from where the woman worked!)

Another I have included is simply titled One. It has McCahon's trademark triangle in the corner - the Trinity... hinted at in the Scriptures but not easily understood... but the nature of God nevertheless - the truth despite us.

See more McCahon works at http://www.mccahon.co.nz/browse.asp

free tibet

2008-05-07T12:03:00.002+12:00

Here's a clever cartoon from the Melbourne Age paper - over here in NZ one or two athletes have also stated that if the chance came to offer some resistance to the powers they would take that opportunity up...

Story of Stuff

2008-04-29T11:28:00.004+12:00

Have a gawk at this site - a wonderful way of showing how the stuff we buy comes to be where it is and at whose expense. www.storyofstuff.com

Surrounded by the Perilous Poozers of Pompelmoose Pass

2008-04-19T09:54:00.006+12:00

I'm working on tomorrow's sermon and being helped by Poozers!
My parents encouraged me and my siblings to read - books were always part of our birthdays and Christmases. Dr Suess was a favourite with his wacky language and brilliant artwork. He was also something of a subversive, taking the opportunity to point out a few truths to the world. My favourite is Yertle the Turtle. I have used that story as part of a presentation on The Powers & the Church. It went down particularly well in Vanuatu. As Anne and I were planning for this Sunday I remembered the story I had trouble in getting to Solla Sollew where the character is surrounded by the Perilous Poozers of Pompelmoose Pass all because he is trying to find a place where he will be free from troubles. Of course there is no such place. The character heads back home understanding that he has to tackle the troubles rather than run from them.
Anne and I will share the story at church.
Here's where some of my thoughts are heading...
Sometimes our wounds are overwhelming [like it is in the Dr Suess story] Do we run from what surrounds us, threatens us, and wounds us? Or do we walk into the situations and find our way through despite our wounds?
Do we run from our troubles or find a way to make the best of them?
Personally I think that our wounds heal better when we face them rather than try to deny them. But don’t you think for a minute that I am here to tell you that there is a clear way to handle difficult situations. Sometimes stepping back from a troubling situation is the best option, and sometimes making the best of what you have is the best option. And both alternatives can leave you with deep wounds that are hard to heal. But facing the reality of these wounds is, by and large, an essential part of their healing. Trying to escape life’s wounds by heading off to Solla Sollew ‘where they have no troubles, at least very few’ isn’t going to get anyone that far in the long-term, because troubles in life are not optional.

river tragedy

2008-04-17T16:05:00.008+12:00

The following cartoon in today's The Press is a fine example of how we should respond to the tragic loss of six 16 year olds and their teacher in the waters of the Mangatapopo River, in the central North Island this week. While there is a great deal of hand-wringing about why such things happen, and while there will be the necessary enquiries as to whether the right safety precautions were in place, and while many will look for someone to blame (the usual human practice of seeking a scapegoat), Mike Moreu captured something about what we can do now that needs few words...
[see this and other cartoons by Moreu on http://www.stuff.co.nz/693207a17217.html]

Leunig on Anzac Day

2008-04-17T09:15:00.003+12:00

Michael Leunig usually reserves his words for the characters in his wonderful cartoons - but a few years back he wrote an opinion article for Anzac Day in the Melbourne Age newspaper. I uncovered it this week - it is worth a read...

Here's a snippet:
"Anzac Day, it seems, must now be done with bluster, hoopla and media hypnotism. Like the landing and the campaign itself, there is something appalling about this in the eyes of many Australians new and old - some disgraceful misuse of humanity by the wielders of political and economic power."

And I cannot resist another snippet, as he has a go at the appalling Onward Christian Soldiers hymn that in 20 years in ministry I have never chosen for a service (though once someone else chose it and I had to put up with it)...

"Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war, With the cross of Jesus going on before.
Christ, the royal Master, leads against the foe; Forward into battle see his banners go!" This drab, common little hymn, this melodramatic Anglo jihad song was taught to us in the 1950s, and in Sunday school or religious instruction class we were often heard singing it. The volume and gusto we usually displayed came from the intuitive belief that if we sang loudly and vigorously enough we would somehow have the choral momentum to go the distance and get through it quickly - a bit like running fast over hot coals.
To sing it on the back foot might mean that the song would become so feeble as to break down and groan to a halt, leaving us stranded forever in the dull wasteland of its meaningless words.
The lyrics seemed to be more about a rampaging gang of morons than a wandering prophet who espoused radical love.

My grandfather Lloyd Campbell Stewart fought in Italy in 1943-45. He returned but said little - my father recalls that he came back a different man - dark hair replaced with grey - but more than that, distant. On Anzac Day I want to remember the cost and sacrifice without glorifying warfare. I believe that war is ugly and dehumanizing - a denial of God's creativity. Even though at times a stand has to be taken...

Read more...
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/04/26/1177459869956.html

artistic scary facts

2008-04-03T09:00:00.005+12:00

I've just found the following site 'Running the Numbers. An American Self-Portrait' by Chris Jordan, where he depicts the reality of waste in massive displays that are made up of the thing he is talking about. Sounds complicated but click below and all will be revealed.

Depicted here are two million plastic beverage bottles, the number used in the US every five minutes - the second two images are zoomed in.

http://www.chrisjordan.com/current_set2.php?icl=7

Good old Huckabee

2008-03-28T08:50:00.002+12:00

QUOTE OF THE WEEK [from Sojourners]
As easy as it is for those of us who are white to look back and say, "That's a terrible statement," I grew up in a very segregated South, and I think that you have to cut some slack. And I'm going to be probably the only conservative in America who's going to say something like this, but I'm just telling you: We've got to cut some slack to people who grew up being called names, being told, "You have to sit in the balcony when you go to the movie. You have to go to the back door to go into the restaurant. And you can't sit out there with everyone else. There's a separate waiting room in the doctor's office. Here's where you sit on the bus." And you know what? Sometimes people do have a chip on their shoulder and resentment. And you have to just say, I probably would too. I probably would too. In fact, I may have had ... more of a chip on my shoulder had it been me.
- Mike Huckabee, offering his perspective on the preaching of Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

Split Enz in Christchurch

2008-03-26T14:42:00.002+12:00

And a few days ago we took my old school friends Tony and Carolyn Bunting to see Split Enz in the Westpac Centre in Christchurch. What a night! The band were in great form - playing all those songs that we grew up with as if they were still 25 years younger! I had all of their records from the True Colours/Frenzy era onwards but had never seen them live. We were dazzled by the set, lighting and costumes (thanks to Noel Crombie's brilliance) but the musicianship was the highlight... brilliant keyboards, guitar, bass and drumming and then the Finn's singing. It was good to see Neil Finn playing in the band that formed him - he and Tim Finn were a great tandem act - in Split Enz they both offered as much as each other, whereas since then Neil's light has shone brightest.

It was also fun being in an audience of people predominantly my age and older! The opening band was The Phoenix Foundation a rising star in the NZ music scene who I hadn't really heard before.

How spoilt we are - Crowded House in November and Split Enz in March - awesome!

Juno

2008-03-26T14:32:00.003+12:00

Anne and I watched the movie Juno yesterday (before the movies stopped showing it!). It was great! It dealt with the serious issues of teenage pregnancy, infertility, parenting, and what makes for a good relationship with humour and grace. It didn't seem to be like most American movies which can at times seem a bit too far removed from reality or the script a bit corny. This could have been set in NZ or Australia given the style, the undergirding humour and the gentle way the issues were handled.
We enjoyed seeing Alison Janney (CJ in The West Wing) in a different role as Juno's stepmother. Both the parents in the movie modelled something very good - a few deep breaths, seeing the lighter side of what loomed as a dark situation, cna being slow to judge and quick to care... good stuff! Highly recommended!

Barack Obama takes us to a greater threshold

2008-03-22T20:04:00.003+12:00

Obama's recent speech on race issues and politics could have just been a defence of his different views to his pastor or worse, using his pastor as a scapegoat - a political discard (Easter revisited!) - instead he opens up a whole new dimension of how everyone needs to give some thought to where next and how people want to be... it is a powerful speech written by Obama himself - no speech-writers here... thus we gain a great insight into his heart...
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/03/18/obama-race-speech-read-t_n_92077.html

an idea for Easter that sounds reasonable!

2008-03-20T08:48:00.004+12:00

Last year some people from my church presented me with this little card they picked up in England - facetiously suggesting that it might be an idea around here! I tried it out but there were no takers! But this is a new year - a new Easter...

Holy Week

2008-03-19T10:39:00.001+12:00

There is a green hill far away,

Outside a city wall,

Where the dear Lord was crucified,

Who died to save us all.

We may not know, we cannot tell,

What pains He had to bear;

But we believe it was for us

He hung and suffered there.

Vanuatu Truck Purchase

2008-03-11T10:26:00.003+12:00

THE EBULE TRAINING CENTRE
IN PORT VILA, VANUATU HAS A NEW
TRUCK!

Rob Meier (pictured with a couple of students) recently purchased a Citroen diesel 1.9 litre, 2002 model with 78,000 km on the clock. It has a 3 month mechanical warranty and drives like a dream. It is very multifunctional with room enough for full size sheets of plywood lying flat. The cost was 1.350 million vatu, and rego and warrant a further 112,000vt. This leaves sufficient money for the insurance and maintenance for the next year.

Thanks for your help!
Once again it has been proved that anything is possible when a few people get together. We are very grateful for the support from seventy-two households, churches or businesses. We are reminded of Jesus sending out 70 (or 72) saying: “The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest.” We risked asking, and the harvest was plentiful! Well done!

Martin & Anne Stewart March 2008

rubbish free

2008-02-26T08:39:00.003+12:00

I've just been reading www.rubbishfreeyear.co.nz/ - a Christchurch couple attempting to live rubbish free all year. They offer great tips for recycling, avoiding waste etc. They have hens - we've been thinking about getting some as well as we try to live more simply.

who looks?

2008-02-26T08:05:00.003+12:00

In the latest magazine of Spanz (my denominational magazine which can also be viewed online at http://www.presbyterian.org.nz/) my colleague Fyfe Blair (from Highgate, Dunedin days) and I contributed some ideas about blogging - you can read the article here: http://www.presbyterian.org.nz/4800.0.html.
I am rather cautious about the whole concept of blogging and even more so after reading Ben Elton's latest and excellent novel Blind Faith. Elton exposes how many of the things of our culture can be taken too far, get too serious, be too personally invasive etc etc.

In the last week I've had a couple of encouraging emails from overseas ministers who say they enjoy my blog - which is encouraging (though I have no idea how they found their way to it). But I do wonder how many people do look, and whether those who do might have any suggestions about what kind of content they enjoy and would like more of.
Would you dare to email me martin@ststephens.co.nz or hit the comment header below and share a thought?

address at rochester & rutherford halls

2008-02-24T08:06:00.002+12:00

I've picked up the chaplaincy responsibility at R & R Halls - a student residential college at Canterbury University. We had our commencement service and meal last Thursday. I gave the following address on freedom and boundaries, mentioning among other things a reference to Yann Martel's Life of Pi and the outcome of the Tea Ropati rape trial...
I wonder how you are going as you settle into life in Christchurch, at University and at R&R in particular.
Because of talking with you tonight I’ve thought a lot about my own experience starting at university – living in a hall and what it was like (Knox College in Dunedin for me).

Actually I revelled in the residential hall experience – after a few days of adjustment that is. I recall dealing with the competing feelings of excitement at the great adventure of it all, along with the grief associated with moving away from a life I had known and enjoyed… everything had changed…

I think home-sickness is a lot about the grief associated with letting go what was good and safe and secure… it affects people differently because some people are more attached to the life of home than others…
In my observation, come the second weekend away, almost all home-sickness finds its rightful place – not so overwhelming, more a gentle reminder that you are loved and you are missed and that whatever this place becomes, there is always another place called home.

Mostly I recall the sense of freedom associated with shifting away and going to university. It was great – I had entered another world with significantly fewer constraints – if I was absent from something no one checked up on me – if I wanted to go out I could – if there was something on that I wanted to go to I did.

Are you enjoying that freedom?

But I also recall the sense of security that went along with that freedom because of where I lived – the security of knowing where my next meal was coming from – the comfort of a warm place to sleep at night surrounded by my things – the sanctuary of being in a community of peers, many of whom I got to know and enjoy and whose support I valued.

As much as I revelled in the freedom of being at university, I also valued the boundaries that were in my life, especially because of being in a hostel. I could go out but there was always a base to head back to.

That’s the strange thing about freedom – it seems to need boundaries around it for it to exist.

I’ll try and explain.

There’s a great little novel by Yann Martel called Life of Pi. Have you read it? It’s mostly about a boy who ends up on a lifeboat with 227 days with a tiger named Richard Parker. Pi’s father owned a zoo in India and they were relocating to another country when the ship sunk. The bit about freedom that I found fascinating was Pi’s observation about whether the animals in the zoo were freer in the wild or in the zoo. He observed that in the zoo the animals could relax in a way that they never would in the wild. Surrounded by fences they were free of the threat of predators and free of the worry over their next meal. Zoo life was almost stress-free for these animals – and they generally lived much longer because of it.

I think it was the same with my children – by having some rules and boundaries they have been able to be free to grow without great stress in their lives. They have known lines that are not to be crossed (mostly for their safety and my sanity), and they have known who is in charge, and as they have grown those boundaries have loosened as they have been ready for more independence. Around me at times have been other parents who have not provided such boundaries – their children act out, always seemed to be over-tired, and many of them struggled among their peers and in their schooling. They were stressed. Why? Because those kids were in charge before they were mature enough to handle the responsibility – those kids were in charge, whereas the adults should have been.

What do you get if life has no boundaries? Anarchy. Of course, every so often the boundaries need to be challenged. That’s the problem with boundaries – the fences can get too high and too unyielding and they begin to oppress people. But if there are no boundaries then people have no security – no safe-guards and no freedom.

I don’t know if you are familiar with the 10 Commandments [Exodus 20:2–17 and Deuteronomy 5:6–21]. The ‘thou shalt not’s’ of the Old Testament. For a long time I kind of resented the way they were used in the church as a kind of stick to beat people around with. But lately I’ve come to understand their role as being the boundaries for human freedom. Kind of like a fence that we can live within and be free. The commandments were given to Israel when they were in the desert having escaped enslavement in Egypt and before they entered the Promised Land. These boundaries were about how the people could be truly free in their new land and how they could achieve that freedom by being attentive to how they were before God and before each other.

I want to suggest that if there are not some good boundaries in place in your new life in Christchurch then you will be vulnerable to some things that might cause you considerable harm and distress and work to rob you of your freedom.

I don’t know if you caught up with the outcome of the Tea Ropati trial a week or two ago. He was acquitted of a rape charge. It appears that the woman who had laid the complaint of rape was grossly intoxicated and in a blackout phase (which doesn’t mean she was comatosed but rather that she could function but without any clear memory of what was going on). But it also appears that Ropati was aware of that state and still pursued a sexual encounter with her.

Was it rape? No, the court determined. But was it honourable on Ropati’s part? No, but there is no law against being dishonourable. Was the woman free? Hang no, she was incredibly vulnerable – very at risk, and fundamentally she put herself into the position where it was unclear whether the sex was consensual or not. She didn’t have appropriate boundaries in her life. But neither did Ropati – who also had a partner and family. Both of them have a lot to think about.

The Apostle Paul had given thought to the freedom that he experienced in Jesus Christ. He saw that once he had been a slave to a life of having to get everything right in his own strength – and he had even overseen the killing of followers of this Jesus thinking that he was right. But it all changed for him in knowing Jesus.

“It is absolutely clear that God has called you to a free life,” he wrote to the church in the region of Galatia (modern day Turkey). “Just make sure that you don't use this freedom as an excuse to do whatever you want to do and destroy your freedom. Rather, use your freedom to serve one another in love; that's how freedom grows. For everything we know about God's Word is summed up in a single sentence: Love others as you love yourself. That's an act of true freedom. If you bite and ravage each other, watch out—in no time at all you will be annihilating each other, and where will your precious freedom be then?”

My prayer is that as you enter this new season in your lives and enter into the adventure of it, that you will also find your security and thereby your freedom in some of the boundaries offered to you in the discipline of study, the loyalty of new friendships, and especially in your life in this Hall. Keep yourselves safe and God bless you and keep you! Amen.

Mart the Rev

Moving

Christchurch earthquake

Second article for The Press

my bog blog

Caloundra and environs pics

Oliver today (13 months)

article for The Press

Mart 49 music compilation

Oliver makes 1

Oliver & Sam last week

Summer reading

Tasman Bay on the way north

East Cape 4

East Cape 3

east cape travels

North Island sojourn

Oliver looking over the couch

shingle day

the coolest wee dude in our lives (so far!)

Oliver showing very good taste

glasshouse 2

Mart's glasshouse

a week away in Hawea

Oliver 5 months

a new toy

Walter Brueggemann quote

Oliver is 3 months old today!

Rodney Hide's ultimatum

I'm at risk!

John Boyne's The House of Special Purpose

more reading

The Shack

oliver coming along nicely

the referendum (again)

the referendum

The Church's Primary Task

God's generous welcome

old and new music in my life!

soundings: sunday coming

a quote from Jean Vanier about community

Oliver again

Oliver

Oliver

Oliver's progress

Oliver!

pigs

Zerubabbel

Zerubbabel

Mart 48

quote

Christ at the centre

Easter words

Apparatus of religion

Breathe

U2.com > News > No Line On The Horizon Widget

No Line on the Horizon has arrived

Gran Torino

The Good Life

'no line on the horizon' pre-review

Your name is safe in the mouths of those who love you.

thoughts on balance

Bushfire

The boy with no shoes

BIG DAY OBAMA!

Get on your boots

Alice Walker letter to President-elect Obama

The real America - a John Oliver perspective

YES!

go Barack go!

hope in the younger generation

Anotherland

Little People

watermark community church

Across the Universe

The Moody Blues

Vacation Over

ducks

Mart hits 47 years with his favourite music from last year

kingdom of God