Forces Awaken

I'm very excited.

We are so very near to two big events in the calendar - one secular, the other religious. The first is the release of the new Star Wars film this week (I've got my tickets for a 3D showing on Wednesday (going solo... Han Solo), and a 2D showing with friends on Thursday. Here's a fan re-edit and mash up of the trailers:

The second of course is Christmas... the time of year when Christians like me celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, the new hope that the law and prophets spoke of in the Old Testament.

I've been thinking a lot lately about what links these two very different events personally, in my own mind. I've found it very interesting and poignant that all through the promotional months we have seen precious little of the main protagonist of the original trilogy - Luke Skywalker.  Fans have been getting very anxious about it, some are worried it means that Luke has turned to the dark side, others think he won't be in it much at all... still others have come up with the (crazy) idea that Adam Driver's character (Kylo Ren), is actually Luke and the casting of Driver is all part of some big conspiracy. I share the anxiety but not the fear. We've all become hung up on the question of "Where is Luke Skywalker"?

However, I keep going back to what J.J. Abrams said about accepting the job of director for Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens. He said that originally he was not going to take the job on, but then he was told the synopsis by Star Wars producer Kathleen Kennedy. It was a single question - "Who is Luke Skywalker?" That single concept turned him around 180 degrees... and he was on board from that moment on. He has since been quoted in interview as saying:

“The idea that Luke Skywalker now, nearly 40 years after the movie came out, I started thinking he would be as good as of a myth to people who are 19, 20 years old. The idea of a new group of young people, not knowing who he is or who any of the characters were, is the beginning of what became the story of the film.”

And there in a nutshell is what for me is connecting the release of the new Star Wars, with Christmas. Let me adapt that Abrams quote and alter the subject... because I actually think it says something quite important about the subject of faith:

“The idea that Jesus Christ now, nearly 2,000 years after his public ministry, I started thinking he would be as good as of a myth to people who are 19, 20 years old. The idea of a new group of young people, not knowing who he is or who any of the characters were, is the beginning of what became the story of the film.”

You see therein lies the heart of the matter.  As Christians we get so hung up about demanding "Where is Jesus?" in the festive celebrations... but that's defensive and about fearing what we care about will be ignored by others.  True evangelism isn't driven by the fear of rejection... it's driven mutually by the love of the subject  and the love of the uninformed audience. We actually need to move the question on.  We need the question to be "Who is Jesus Christ?".

One of the main trailers for the Force Awakens has a line of dialogue between Rey and Han Solo, it literally made the hairs stand up on the back of my neck. Rey is talking to Han about the history of the Rebel Alliance and mentions that there are stories about what happened. Han's response is brief and to the point:

"It's true. All of it. The Dark Side, the Jedi. They're real."

That it is Han Solo who speaks this way of the Force is deeply significant; after all in the first movie he appears in, his view on the Force is very different, telling the young Luke Skywalker:

"Kid, I've flown from one side of this galaxy to the other, and I've seen a lot of strange stuff, but I've never seen *anything* to make me believe that there's one all-powerful Force controlling everything. 'Cause no mystical energy field controls *my* destiny. It's all a lot of simple tricks and nonsense."

That's quite some turn around.

It may well be that Han's concept of the personal significance of the Force isn't much different, but for him to have come forward as a kind of reluctant evangelist and state "it's real", is immensely powerful.

The changing views of Han Solo

For the record, I'm not saying in any way that Jesus is a myth... I'm saying quite the opposite. I'm merely saying that if we want to stop people seeing Jesus as a myth, we need to move on from repeating stories to them that they already know (when they know them), and show the reality of Christ in how we live.

Often people get hung up on dressing Christianity up, be it with the bells and smells of tradition or an explosive light show that would put even Michael Bay to shame; but actually if we took a step back we'd see the simplicity.  It all boils down to conviction - a person or a group of people stepping forward and demonstrating with sincerity that it happened... that Jesus was, is and always shall be real and has had a tangible presence in their life.

Han Solo is not a Jedi... in fact he was (and almost certainly still is), a bit of a rogue. He can't levitate X Wing fighters and furniture and he can't perform mind tricks... but what he can do is be honest about his loyalties and the things he has seen.  I think what I'm saying is that for Christians, it doesn't matter how the Holy Spirit has gifted us in relation to things like prophecy, healing, speaking in tongues, leading, teaching and the like... we might think we are fairly lacking in any or all of those areas, but God still speaks through our everyday lives and we should not underestimate the power, relevance and importance of our own day-to-day testimony. It's because Han Solo has known Luke Skywalker and the Rebel Alliance that he is able to speak with total conviction about their reality. Likewise because we have known the presence of Jesus in our own lives we too can speak of him with conviction:

"It's true. All of it. The sinful nature, the Saviour. They're real." 

Over to you:

• What excites or worries you most about the forthcoming Star Wars film?
• What excites or worries you about Christmas?
• Is Christmas true for you? All of it? Is it real?

Unmercifully Blessed

In recent days I've found myself thinking about and re-exploring  the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant. It's a story of Jesus that only appears in one gospel (Matthew), it features a man who having a great debt faces terrible punishment. at the last minute his master has a change of heart and mercifully forgives the debt. Shortly after this, the servant tracks sown another man who owes the master a debt and threatens him with the same punishment he narrowly avoided, when the master hears about this... he reverses his decision and comes down on the unmerciful servant like a tonne of bricks.

In hindsight, the point of the story post Jesus death, resurrection and ascension is quite clear to us because those of us who are Christians recognise that in Christ, God forgave each and every one of us an unpayable debt, and therefore we accept the importance of forgiving others their own sins, however manifold.

However, I believe that the parable has applications beyond the obvious.

Why do we always assume that this attitude only applies to God's grace in respect of the bad things he has forgiven us? I put it to you that in fact, this applies equally to God's providence - the good things he gives us. When God blesses us, should we not equally acknowledge that we also don't deserve the good things he gives us. When we see people who have not been so fortunate or have yet to experience blessing in a particular way, should we not be merciful to them? Should we not remember what it was like to manage day by day before God blessed us? Should we not recognise in others, the difficulties and trials we may once have walked with and escaped, or may have completely avoided simply because God chose to bless us in a particular way?

The most obvious, stand-out example for me is the concept of marriage and the family. Time and time again I see people move into family life (with or without children), and they go through a personality change. I'm not talking about the increase of responsibilities and the change in priorities - these are natural. What I'm talking about is a personality swap that seems to occur. Where once you could joke around with your friends, the humour is lost and actually becomes offensive to the point they feel feel they have to defend one another. These are just the first few subtle cracks of an invisible chasm that begins to widen as time goes by, one that begins to create two tiers within the church... haves and have nots; one that has led to the idolatrous worship of the family unit within the Church... where those who do not meet the criteria are seen as eccentric lepers who we find discomfort in being around, whose presence embarrasses us and who we don't like to talk about because they have become so foreign to us.

In some ways, attitudes like this remind me of the final scene in Invasion of the Bodysnatchers:

It may sound ridiculous, but sometimes it really does seem sometimes like you can strike up a conversation with someone you once knew following a positive change of circumstances... and they just react as if you are some kind of aberration, foreigner or alien. The idea that your friends have become replaced by pod people is laughable... but the feelings associated with it are also not very nice.

There's another parable that Jesus told (this time in Luke's gospel), it's the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus. In this tale, a man who has been abundantly blessed with the things of this world remains blissfully unaware of a poor man named Lazarus who can only hope that leftovers might come his way.  However when both men die, the situation is reversed and Lazarus enjoys the company of Abraham in heaven, whilst the rich man longs for drops of water to cool his tongue from the heat of Hades. Isn't it telling that Jesus doesn't even bother to give the rich man a name? Because of their attitudes, the rich man is temporal and Lazarus is eternal. It is a tale of two chasms - the lateral and eventually... the vertical.

This then is another take on the temptation to be unmerciful. Had the rich man remembered where his blessings came from, had he been mindful of Lazarus... he could have a voided his fate.

So in conclusion then, what am I saying? Am I suggesting that if you are married with kids, you've had your lot in life and if you forget your single friends you are in danger of hellfire? No, of course not. I was merely using the paradigm between the married and the single as an example as it is the one that is most prevalent and relevant to me (and I should add that it isn't even universally true... I am blessed with several groups of married friends who treat me well).

No this isn't my point at all. My point is simply this... that each and every one of us has an obligation to recognise the manifold ways that God has blessed us... and not hoard it from or lord it over the people around us. there must be no ivory towers in God's kingdom.

Let it not be said of us that we are "unmercifully blessed". Instead, let us seek ways of  using our blessings to raise others up. Let us use what God has given us to bless others.

I'd like to finish with a quote from Ridley Scott's take on Robin Hood. I think it sums up in many ways the kind of attitude we should have with regard to the undeserved providence we may find ourselves the beneficiary of:

"We can't repay our good luck with bad grace, it invites darkness."

First (and Last) Contact

Happy first contact day!

As any self respecting Trekkie/Trekker will be aware, April 5th is an auspicious day in Trek lore; this date marks the moment when for the first time, the human race made first contact with an alien species (the Vulcans).

Zefram Cochrane Greets A Vulcan in Star Trek: First Contact

Because the date falls in Holy Week this year, it has caused me to ponder the nature of first contact and how in some ways it relates to the great act of reconciliation performed by Christ on that terrible, precious and wondrous day, some 2,000 years ago.

"But wait!" I hear you cry, "Star Trek has nothing to do with religion. In the 24th century, humanity is completely secularised and has no belief in a deity".  I could cite several facts that dispute the absolutism of this claim from the show's own canon... but my aim here is not to say "Star Trek is religious" but rather instead to look at an event from Star Trek's timeline and look at how its subsequent effect parallels a spiritual truth. That said, if you want to read more about the case being made for religion in Star Trek, I thoroughly recommend the insights in this article by Chase Masterson, who played Leeta in Deep Space 9.

What really stands out to me about the first contact scenario in Star Trek, is that contact is prohibited with a species until they have passed a certain milestone... the achievement of warp drive (the rationale being that for a species to have acquired the technology necessary, they must have reached a certain level of intelligence and peaceful coexistence). Prior to April 5th 2063 in Star Trek's history, it is only through misadventure or villainy that humans encountered aliens at all... and they certainly don't have a day to day relationship with the visitors.

This to me is in many ways very similar to our spiritual condition and how we relate to God. In the ancient past God spoke to our ancestors and forefathers through prophets and teachers who were specially appointed by him. However we weren't able to broaden our horizons and have an intimate relationship with him, due to our brokenness and sinful nature (our way of life that was centred around selfish living and hostility towards God's desire for us to be dependent on Him). What we needed was a game changing event that drew us nearer to God... not a technological milestone, but a spiritual one.

In Star Trek, humanity finally passed the milestone of warp drive through Zefram Cochrane's development of warp technology and his first flight aboard his spaceship, The Phoenix. There was an irony in the design of the Phoenix... it's first stage engines were originally part of a nuclear missile... and so it was that a symbol of death and destruction became integral to the ushering in the dawn of a new age of peace and happiness on the planet Earth:

This for me is in many ways exactly what Jesus did for us on that other universally acknowledged symbol of death - the cross. It was Christ's willing sacrifice on the cross that made it possible for people to become close to God in a properly established relationship. Jesus Christ - The Alpha and Omega, the First and Last... became our first contact. The cross became the warp signature that lit up the night sky and brought us firmly into God's spotlight.

There are a couple of very important differences of course.  Zefram Cochrane was one man among many... if he had not invented warp drive, then it would certainly have been achievable by another character at some point in the future of humanity. Jesus was and is not just another human being. He was in his very nature, God as well as human.  There could never be another Jesus... only he was able to bridge the gap between man and God because of the fact that he was uniquely both.

Technology can be developed by many people but atonement was only achievable by The One.

As I previously mentioned, in Star Trek the achievement of warp drive is seen as an indicator that a race is refined and sophisticated enough to be worthy of contact by advanced alien species... but the cross exists because the very opposite is true. We are not worthy... we are not ready, but when God looks at the cross he sees us as ready because he sees us through the lens of his Son, Jesus.

As we move towards Good Friday, we remember the milestone that made our own personal first contact with God possible.... and just as the Vulcans descended to Earth to commune with those first humans, Jesus Christ stands at the threshold of each of our lives with the deep hope and intent that we too, will commune with him:

"Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me."

Revelation 3:20

The Most Important First Contact You Will Ever Make.

Jesus said that he had come that we may have life and have it in abundance... to the full!

In knowing him, may you live long... and prosper.

Things to share:

• Have you made "first contact" with God? What was it like for you?
• What are your thoughts about religion and Star Trek?

#Vigil2012

A few nights ago, I had an odd moment of inspiration.

I decided to pull into church on my way back from work. This is not something unusual or extraordinary in itself, I often drop in on the way home, to find a moment of respite and quiet to gather my thoughts... and pray for the church's development for a few minutes.

However while I was there on this occasion, my mind drifted towards what different people do in Lent. I'm not a great person for giving things up, for which I have my reasons (I think if you are going to give something sinful up, you should do your best to give it up as permanently as possible... and not just for 40 days; I also believe fasting is something that should be enacted out of personal conviction as and when needed and not enforced primarily by the liturgical calendar).

However, there's one thing I do that if the weathers holds out, I cherish doing every year. On the night of Maundy Thursday, I travel to the edge of town and I sit and meditate for a while... usually about an hour. My method has evolved over time but my reasoning and purpose have always remained the same.

You see I'm very mindful of the moment in the Gospels where Jesus found himself emotionally isolated from his friends, due in no small part to their weariness:

"They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.”  He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled.  “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” he said to them. “Stay here and keep watch.”

 Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. “Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”

Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Simon,” he said to Peter, “are you asleep? Couldn’t you keep watch for one hour? Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” 

Once more he went away and prayed the same thing. When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. They did not know what to say to him.

Returning the third time, he said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Enough! The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners."

Mark 14:32-42

Jesus prayed alone in Gethsemane

Knowing that God is not bound by time, I like to try and do my part... to keep watch for one hour. To think, pray and meditate about Jesus... in support of Jesus while in the past he is wrestling with his emotions in the garden. The very first year I did this, I went inside the local church to do it. However as I walked back home at about 3am (I was far more hardcore about it then), I decided to pause for a final moment of reflection in the park. It was then that one of those unique moments of magic that we so often miss if we are not alert to them, occurred. The church clock struck three times and over on the hills bordering the town, I heard a single lamb bleating.

That one moment defined the whole experience for me and gave me cause to try whenever I could to repeat the exercise al fresco. Following my time on the geographical Gethsemane, I went a step further and took to meditating on a hillside overlooking my town. Doing this has given me added insight because there is no light except that which you bring with you. Every noise you hear could be an animal or suspicious farmer wondering what on Earth you are doing. Every time the occasional car headlight sweeps past you from afar, you feel very exposed. These emotions have added to the experience for me... the psychological discomfort and insecurity they breed, help me to feel in a very small way, that I am sharing a minute glimpse... a microscopic  deposit of the kind of emotions that may have been with Jesus that night, many years ago.

The reason I'm bringing this up now and not merely at the time I do it, is because this year, I feel I'd like to encourage others to do something similar. This is why I've given my post a Twitter hashtag for a title. I am hoping to drum up a little support for the idea by using the hashtag #Vigil2012.

I don't imagine in a million years this is going to go viral or global... but it's something special and meaningful that I have appreciated over the years, that I want to be able to help others to discover and share in themselves.

I do appreciate that people have family commitments and in some cases a trip out into the wilderness might be inadvisable and dangerous. Do what you must to make it work for you in your personal circumstances... go in a group, or use a small room or open church, but spend the time however brief... and you won't be disappointed.

So spread the word with #Vigil2012 and if you do get involved, please let me know how you get on... I would be genuinely interested to know and share in your experience.

Blessings

Nick

Necessary Diversions

I've been thinking a lot about how some diversions can be incredibly important, even if we don't know it at the time.

Sometimes on "The Way" we have to go a bit out of our way.

Having got home from work incredibly late last night, I found my way wandering towards the supermarket to pick up something that could vaguely be described as dinner. On the way there I ran into a friend's dad who was returning from the pub. This particular friend has had a few problems and has been off radar for a while, so I decided to enquire as to how he was and chatted to his dad for a few minutes. In the course of the conversation I discovered that my friend was in the aforementioned pub. We went our separate ways and I continued to the supermarket. I was going to text my friend but in my heart I believed the right thing to do was to go and meet him. Having left the shop I made my way to the pub, found my friend and chatted to him for about an hour or so... checking up on him and putting the world to rights.

We don't live to ourselves alone and sometimes we have to accept that on our own personal journeys, situations or opportunities are going to arise that require us to go off on a tangent into unexpected places or circumstances.

If we look at the Bible there are plenty of examples of this. Some come through an act of God, others come through consequence and still others come through a conscious decision. To quote just a few of these examples: Joseph was diverted from life at his father's side by his brothers' choice to sell him into slavery; Moses was diverted away from Egypt and into Midian after he beat an Egyptian oppressor to death; Elijah was diverted to Mount Horeb after pronouncing judgement on the prophets of Baal; Jonah diverted himself when God called on him to preach to the Assyrians in Nineveh... and the apostle Paul was diverted to Macedonia by the Holy Spirit, when he tried to get to Bithynia.

In each of the situations listed above, God uses the traveller's change of direction to bring about a change in their character or their calling... or to directly benefit the lives of the new people he encounters. Joseph ascended to  position of power where he became an instrument of salvation both for Egypt and his own people. Moses was brought to a place where his fugitive self would dwindle as he learned how to become a shepherd... first merely with sheep... but later a shepherd of Israel. many generations later, Elijah found himself at the exact same spot - both geographically and emotionally. Elijah had just witnessed the might and power of God manifested in an awesome public display, he had every reason to feel confident; yet he found himself fleeing in terror at the threat of repercussions to his ministry. How many of us have experienced that very same emotion? How many of us have ridden the crest of a spiritual wave and felt overexposed, naked and vulnerable when the momentum has ebbed away? I would wager it happens to a great many people.

Jonah's notorious disobedience resulted in an arguable enhancement of his prophetic ministry. When God called him to account and caused him to end up inside the belly of a great fish, Jonah found himself stewed in its gastric juices. He repented, was delivered and became the inheritor of a literal "big fish" story. The city he was being sent to (Nineveh), was a centre of Dagon worship at the time. Dagon was to all intents and purposes a manfish god. Imagine how much his gastric bleached appearance coupled with his bizarre account would have amplified his message and ministry.

When Paul tried to travel from Mysia to Bithynia, we are told the Holy Spirit would not allow him to cross the river Rhyndacus (which served as the border). We are not told quite how that worked... but the subsequent vision that Paul received led him in the direction of Macedonia instead... which led to a series of eventful stories from his ministry... not least of which was his miraculous "non-escape" from jail. 

However, my favourite diversionary story comes from the ministry of Jesus:

That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.”  Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him.  A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped.  Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

Jesus Restores a Demon-Possessed Man

They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes. When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an impure spirit came from the tombs to meet him. This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain. For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones.

When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. He shouted at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In God’s name don’t torture me!” For Jesus had said to him, “Come out of this man, you impure spirit!”

Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”

“My name is Legion,” he replied, “for we are many.” And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area.

 A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. The demons begged Jesus, “Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them.” He gave them permission, and the impure spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned.

Those tending the pigs ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. Those who had seen it told the people what had happened to the demon-possessed man—and told about the pigs as well. Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region.

As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.”

Mark 4:35-5:19

Most people treat these two stories above as separate isolated incidents. I find this strange as the narrative clearly indicates that the stories flow into one another. I have long held the belief that Jesus got in the boat and faced the fierce squall because he was travelling to meet and release the Gerasenes demoniac. Not only that, but it appears this was also the one and only reason he did it... because no sooner had he driven Legion out of his victim, he was back off in the boat again to raise Jairus' daughter on the other side of the Sea of Galilee.

I think this is fantastic because it demonstrates that there are no mathematics, numbers or equations in God's compassion. Everything Jesus does is motivated by love - amor propter caritatem (love for love's sake). Whether the cause is one person... or the entire human race, the cost is never too high. Jesus put himself and his apostles in harm's way, for the benefit of one individual (at least I'm sure that's how the apostles saw it at the time).

The needs of the many...

In Star Trek, there is a wonderful philosophical revolving door that mirrors this concept. In Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Spock lays down his life to save everybody aboard the Enterprise. As his body begins to fail due to being saturated with radiation poisoning, he presses himself up against the glass partition that separates him from Captain Kirk and points out that he did it because "the needs of the many, outweigh the needs of the few... or the one". It's a touching and very sad scene and the philosophy behind it has caused the line to be quoted frequently ever since.

The needs of the one...

However in the very next film in the series - Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, this very concept is turned completely on its head as Captain Kirk and the rest of the main characters risk their careers, the USS Enterprise and their very lives in a desperate bid to recover Spock's body and reintegrate it with his katra (soul), which is residing inside Doctor McCoy. When the resurrected Spock asks Kirk why he did it, Kirk replies "Because the needs of the one, outweigh the needs of the many".

One of the great traps religions often fall into is a focus on the collective at the expense of the individual; this leads to a bureaucratic form of management that is more suited to machinery. On the other hand, other religions fall into the other pitfall of focusing on personal enlightenment and development which can become a form of isolationism if done out of context.

Neither of these concepts really match the one that the Church was modelled on. As a Christian, I believe the great thing about a relationship with Christ is that value is place on the individual as well as the collective. The model the Church is supposed to follow is that of the body. As Paul so eloquently demonstrated in his first letter to the Corinthians, though we make up one body we equally have our place and have our own value. If one part suffers or has a need, the rest of the body suffers or shares that need. If you injure your leg,you will shift the weight of your entire body to ease the burden on that leg.

We are not machines and we are not amoebas. If we are truly serious about being a body... a family, then we need to accept that we too will sometimes have to "shift weight". We can't always go our own way and do our own thing. Yes, we may have a certain calling or way of doing things... but being a Christian means accepting that we can be diverted from these things for the sake of Christ.

I'd love to hear any thoughts you may have... specifically with regard to (but not restricted to) the following questions:

• Have you ever been significantly diverted by God in your Christian life?
• Do you have any personal examples of "The needs of the many are greater than the needs of the few"?
• Do you have any personal examples of "The needs of the few are greater than the needs of the many"?

Unexpected Journeys

Merry Christmas everyone!

I decided to write this post in response to a minor pang of guilt I experienced last night.

I was sat in the Midnight Eucharist service at church and listening to the vicar as he started his Christmas sermon. All was going well enough when he used a phrase... three little words that completely threw my concentration and caused me to tune out completely; just three words.

The phrase he used was "An unexpected journey". I have no idea how the next 5 minutes of the sermon went because I ended up mentally going here instead:

Yes, my mind had drifted over to The Shire. In fairness, I'm pretty psyched about The Hobbit, the trailer has only recently been released and I've been watching it quite a bit through sheer excitement. However whichever way you cut it, that probably wasn't the best time for me to choose to go off daydreaming... was it? Although... that said, some might argue my timing was perfect ;)

By way of recompense, I decided to write a little  bit on The Nativity that filled the gulf left by my lapse in concentration.

It occurs to me that there are a number of unexpected journeys involved in the Nativity story. First you have Mary... the young virgin pledged in marriage to Joseph. I am sure the last thing she expected was for an angel to appear in her pantry and advise her of God's plan to bring about the birth of the Messiah through her. Then there is Joseph. I am equally certain that the last thing he expected while he was working on a door frame, was for his fiance to tap him on the shoulder and advise him that she was carrying a child... let alone God's own son.

What of the shepherds tending their sheep? Did they expect the night sky to erupt in an explosion of light and rhymes as angels pouring out of the heavens announcing the arrival of the Christ child? Of course not. Or the Magi? Even if in their ruminations and studies they had anticipated that such a special child was coming into the world... they had no inkling whatsoever into the manner that child would arrive... or where he would be born.

All of these people were faced with circumstances that felt very alien to them; and each of them were presented with a difficult choice.  Mary had to choose whether she would be willing to carry God's child inside of her for 9 months and raise him to manhood knowing the potential difficulties society would throw at her. Joseph had to decide whether or not to honour his marriage commitment to Mary given the unusual story she was presenting him with... and the burden of raising and providing for a son that was not his own, while all the time hearing the jeers of scoffers and whispers of gossipmongers whose prejudice condemned his family. The shepherds had to decide if they were going to act on their trippy experience... possibly risking their already rubbish jobs, in order to see a baby whose significance they did not understand. The Magi had travel across half the Middle East picking up very expensive trade products based on a whimsical calculation over the movement of interplanetary bodies that might easily have proved baseless... especially when they got to Jerusalem and found things weren't as they assumed.

You see, with Jesus nobody knows what to expect. This was a key point that her majesty The Queen raised in her Christmas speech earlier today:

"God sent into the world a unique person - neither a philosopher nor a general, important though they are, but a Saviour, with the power to forgive."

It is as true today as it was then. In Jesus, nobody knows quite what to expect. People miss out on knowing and experiencing who Jesus is because they look at him through the lens of their own perceived wisdom and expectations. The Pharisees and Zealots failed to recognise Jesus when he appeared because they were anticipating a warrior king, a general. Similarly today, people mistakenly relegate Jesus to the same league as the philosophers and teachers of old - a line of thinking that C.S. Lewis robustly refuted in his Liar, Lunatic or Lord argument.

As a Christian I accept that Jesus Christ is far more than a decent man and a good teacher... but more than this I accept that his sovereignty as part of the Godhead and his role in my own life, give him the authority to step into my life and call upon me to set foot on unexpected journeys... to undertake unexpected things, constantly.

You may be reading this and not actually be a Christian and if so perhaps this is the beginning of an unexpected journey of your own. Confronted with the possibility that Jesus may be more than you imagine or understand him to be, are you prepared to invite him in and find out what his real agenda is in your life and the life of those around you?

Like Bilbo Baggins, if we set off on our own unexpected journey with Christ, we will find that we will have quite a tale to tell... and wherever our journey takes us, we too will be changed. To journey for Christ is to journey with him...

...and that changes everything.

Are you prepared to begin your own unexpected journey?

Mirrored Resolutions

"If if you're gonna prove to them that you're world class bobsledders, then you'd better look like world class bobsledders!"

Coach Irv Blitzer - Cool Runnings

We are more than a few days into our mutual voyage of discovery that is 2011. The shores of the past year are now just a line on the horizon... and as I look forward to the times to come, I find myself reflecting on a few resolutions I have made (yes I eventually came up with a few).

I took a long hard look in the mirror and came to the conclusion that whatever I am... I need to straighten a few things out. There are areas of my life where I don't take myself seriously enough; there are also other areas where the reverse is true - the charge could be made that I take myself far too seriously.

At work, in the past... I have normally just worn a smart shirt and pair of trousers. I have been content to be seen as a cog in the machine and to allow people (if they have so wished), to project that image onto me. I had an epiphany (now that's good ecclesiastical timing), and decided to raise my game somewhat. I dashed out in the week and got my self a couple of washable suits... and from now on I'm going to wear a full suit to work. I hope the message is clear.  After several casual inquiries as to whether or not I had a job interview and the odd humorous remark, it should be becoming apparent that the suits are here to stay.

I am not making a statement about my working conditions... I am making a statement about myself. I am saying that from this moment on... in the sight of others.... I am treating myself with self respect.  This is not about vanity and as much as it is about making a point to others... it's about making a point to myself. Nobody suggested I should do this, nobody pressured me or suggested it would benefit me to do this. I felt in my heart it was the right thing to do... and have gone with it. In the Isaac Asimov book Bi-Centennial Man, the (then) robot protagonist - Andrew, begins his pursuit of individual freedom from a place of servitude...and does so by choosing to wear clothes.

I quoted the film "Cool Runnings" for a very good reason... in order to be accepted as athletes, the Jamaican bobsled team couldn't take to the tracks wearing civvies... they needed to look the part. Yet, near the climax of the film they understand something of equal importance: looking the part and being equal in appearance is merely the start of the journey... it is not the end of the journey. They try emulating their rivals warm up routines... but this ends in embarrassment and only furthers the ridicule they receive from the other teams. The truth they realised is that looking the part and stepping up to the plate does not mean that you close the door on who you are as a person. They take to the track one more time and warm up using a routine that reflects their own culture.  Their efforts are rewarded when they race down the track and set a blistering time.

The biblical David was exactly the same. When he faced off against Goliath, he rejected all efforts to kit him out in regular (and ill fitting) armour. Instead he marched out with a sling and five smooth stones... and the armour of knowing his life and his destiny were in the hands of his God.

And as we know the story so well... the rest as they say, is history.

The Goliaths of our  day are not always so literal... nor are they always an external adversary. Low self esteem, doubt, fear... all of these could easily be classed as Goliaths. However, you don't need me to tell you who or what your Goliaths are... if like me you take a good look in the mirror or meditate in prayer... they reveal themselves for what they are sooner or later.

All you need to know about your giants and your demons... is that you have to knock them on their backsides. Sooner or later... if you are going to get to the good stuff or the meaningful things in life, you have to go up to the big nasty man on the bridge... and knock him flying into the water.

You can pace up and down the river bank for hours, days, months or years. You can turn back and settle for less than what you are... but there will always be a nagging feeling... something gnawing at you within, urging you to go back and be who you are supposed to be.... and explore the possibilities of who and what you can become.

But the trouble with demons and giants is that they aren't known  for their respect of human beings. If you go up against them in your own strength... sooner or later you are going to find an opponent that is too hard to beat. You ride to war... but not to victory.

In The Lord of the Rings, Aragorn faces similar peril. For all of his years he had been wandering in the wilderness, fighting evil in the guise of a ranger. However, when the things that he cherishes the most are threatened, he finds his assets are wanting.

It is at this point that Elrond offers him a potential solution. If Aragorn assumes the mantle of king, he can overcome the mountain in his way... but only Elrond holds the secret to unlocking that destiny... Anduril, flame of the West.

Similarly we can go up against our mountains, giants, demons, dragons... whatever you want to call them... but we need the One who can unlock the way for us to do that. There is one human name that these beings do respect.

Jesus.

Like Aragorn, we need the authority of a king in our life's journey. If we invite Jesus Christ into our lives... we gain that authority. For as Paul writes:

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, and gave himself for me.

Galatians 5:20

King David knew only too well how much providence and blessing could flow from the hands of God in the face of adversity. If you read Psalm 18, he talks of having the power to advance a troop, scale a wall, bend bronze, subdue nations and make strongholds fall.

I don't know about you... but when I look at some of the challenges and promises that rise up along the road ahead, it's very reassuring to know the God of Heaven and Earth offers to walk with me.

Peace be the Journey (Cool Runnings).

A Very Miner Miracle

Like many of you, over the past 48 hours I have been held captivated and enthralled by the unfolding drama of the mission to rescue 33 Chilean miners from the darkness and isolation of the shelter they had become trapped in, following a cave-in in July.

The story touches everyone of us who have been monitoring the situation... because it strips away some of the more selfish aspects of human nature and elevates the more noble elements that we would prefer to define our species by. Furthermore, the people directly affected by the events in Chile represent a good cross section of us. There were extroverts, there were introverts; every adult age group was represented by at least one of the miners... and when you bring their families into the equation... every single age and gender group in the human existence had some kind of representation.

Their story has encapsulated the full spectrum of human emotion; from fear and despair in the early days following the accident, through relief and tender hope upon the discovery that all 33 miners were still alive, to the spectacular joy and ecstasy that have unfolded in the past two days as one by one, each man has been successfully retrieved from their collective subterranean tomb, deep beneath the surface of Camp Hope. Underpinning all these emotions and chief among them, was love. It is love that provides the attachment that is necessary for us to experience negative emotions when disaster or danger looms. More importantly it is love that sustained the comradeship between the trapped miners, that fuelled the hope and faith of those waiting anxiously above... and it was love that drove and galvanised the efforts of the rescue workers strive ceaselessly until the mission to retrieve the miners was accomplished.

Chile's President - Sebastian Pinera, has played a very active role on the scene at Camp Hope and has seen his personal approval rating rocket to 71%. He has subsequently has vowed to improve conditions in mining and the country as a whole. He clearly senses a See-change for Chile in terms of it's perception overseas, it's domestic morale and fortitude and crucially it's economy. I watched him talking on television before I travelled to work this morning... he was adamant in making clear his vision and aim for a new emergent Chile that shakes off it's developing world stigma and becomes a stable Latin American developed economy.

I wish him and all his people well with that... I genuinely do. I just hope that in doing so, they don't lose sight of their character and sacrifice the wonderful qualities that have made the recent news such a joy to behold... disappear. You see... the problem with self-sufficiency is that it fools us into forgetting our accountability. The more comfortable we are in our environment, the easier it is to forget that we still depend on so much from God and neighbour alike.

There were several clear shots of miners emerging from the capsule and hugging relatives bearing a tee shirt with these words emblazoned on the back:

"Porque en su mano están las profundidades de la tierra. Y las alturas de los montes son suyas".

The translation is a verse from Psalms:

"In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him."

Psalm 95:4

The text immediately below that reads:

"De Él es la Honra y la Gloria"

... which translates to "His is the Honour and the Glory."

We were flooded with images of miners falling to their knees in prayer:

and there were quotes like this from the miners:

"I was with God and the Devil. They fought. God won".

In times of trouble, these very ordinary men and women know where to go for help... and they have the humility to give thanks to God... very publicly without any shame.

To an increasingly secular West... it is literally AND metaphorically half a world away.

Maybe it's tied up in superstitious religious custom... but it's hard to deny when you watched these events unfolding... that whatever lies on the outside... these people had a deep and devout faith.

While my heartfelt wish is to see the people of Chile find the prosperity that they seek... I would hate to see them lose the riches the already possess... riches which many in the West have foolishly turned their back on and casually cast aside without daring to examine what is there.

I want to leave you with a final thought... one for all of us.

Psychologist James Thompson said during the BBC News coverage, that:

"The miners went through 17 days of pure hell before they were found, 52 days of modified hell as they awaited rescue, and must now feel they are close to heaven."

It occurred to me that this mirrors the spiritual journey of humanity. In the same way that the miners were separated from civilization and trapped in darkness by fallen rock, the human race was separated from God's love by our sinful nature... our brokenness... our rebellion. This was our pure hell.

God did not give up on us. He sent Moses and the prophets and divine agents to witness to us, to guide us and give us direction as to how we should live while we were trapped by our sin. If we live moral lives in our own strength... this is where we are at. We may be acting out of love and kindness to one another... but make no mistake, we are still trapped in our sub-heavenly tomb by virtue of our brokenness. This is what we can call our modified hell.

In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.

Hebrews 1:1-3

By his death on the cross and his glorious resurrection, we have the means to leave our prison and experience being close to heaven... before one day actually getting there by his grace.

So I guess the question I want to finish with is... where are you:

Pure Hell?

Modified Hell?

Close to Heaven?

There are no right or wrong answers... only honest ones. All I ask that you do is consider what you want to do with your answer to that question... and act upon it.

Doctor Who: The End of Time

I couldn't let the week pass without a review or at least a passing comment with regard to David Tennant's swan song as the 10th Doctor (but who's betting he'll be back for a multi doctor adventure in the future... even if it's just for Children in Need).

Before I go any further I have to claim bragging rights on Wilf's involvement (albeit inadvertent) in the 10th Doctor's demise... I totally called it back in November!

In terms of plot mechanics, a lot of RTD's usual problems were there (too many plot threads coming from nowhere and leading to nothing); I happen to think this is a bad habit that has come from his pathological need to pull the wool over the eyes of the fans - he leaves too many red herrings that get in the way of the story.

That aside, I found the plot very moving (particularly the last half). I was very excited at the prospect of seeing the Time lords again and equally sad to see them return to their doom. I was hoping for a sort of reset, where the Doctor becomes a renegade on the run from his race again... it certainly looked like it was going that way. I have heard speculation that the questions left by reintroducing Rassilon (albeit temporarily), the identity of the unknown Time Lady... and what happened to The Master, may actually be a set up for future Moffat stories.

Whatever you think of the plot, Tennant and Cribbins completely stole every scene they were in together.... particularly this scene in part one:

and.... well I shall come to that in a bit.

I know that Andrew and Alastair both have reservations with regard to what they perceived as an over sentimental last 20 minutes. However, I for one am a bit of a sentimentalist myself... and due to my empathic nature, I was hooked.

During The Doctor's farewells (claiming his reward... I more than think just a little that this was RTD using artistic licence to claim his own reward by saying his own fond farewells to characters he had enjoyed writing for), I was particularly touched by the farewell to Mickey and Martha and Sarah-Jane. You could see the mark of doom and what was coming written all over The Doctor's face... kudos to Tennant there. Of course, only we as the audience... and Sarah-Jane truly perceive what the Doctor's expression is saying.

Then we had the big moment... the regeneration scene. Some say it was overdone - the TARDIS exploding and catching fire might seem wrong from a purely in universe perspective... however I think it works. I believe it's bending the fourth wall without breaking it. It's an "in universe" acknowledgement of Tennant's massive contribution and importance to the revival of Doctor Who as a franchise. Yes it became popular again with Ecclestone... but Tennant magnified and consolidated that popularity and became so well established as the Doctor in the public consciousness, that he displaced even Tom Baker as the nation's favourite Doctor.

The Doctor betrayed a slither of deep anxiety and sorrow... just enough to tug on the heart strings and let us consummate the emotional response...

"I don't want to go!"

And we didn't want you to go either...

Cue the dramatic music and the special effects and the TARDIS grieved with us as flames and explosions rocked through the console room.

 

I have to say that when I first saw Matt Smith appear, I wasn't too thrilled... but seeing that scene again and again does kind of warm you to his interpretation a little. When I look at him I do see a few of the other Doctor's in him... which stands him in good stead.

and here is a sneak preview of things to come:

 

I just wanted to finish by commenting on the scene just prior to the Doctor's farewells. Apart from the cafe scene and Tennant's last words, it's the part which had the biggest emotional impact for me:

I saw this entire scene as The Doctor's equivalent of Gethsemane. Like Jesus, he had an opportunity to escape his fate and do so much more. The Doctor was under no obligation to save Wilf... he had strayed into that booth of his own accord and yes... he was an old man. past his years.  The Doctor could have achieved countless more wonders and amazing tales in  his current incarnation. There was no rational reason why the Doctor should have elected to make the supreme sacrifice.

And yet there was the perfect reason... LOVE.

The Doctor lay down his life for Wilf because he loved the person of wilf. He saw beyond the  mere circumstances... what mattered most to him was that here was a man whose well-being meant something to The Doctor.

So The Doctor literally substituted himself for Wilfred Mott.

In the same way, Jesus Christ literally substituted himself for us.  Jesus did not have to die. He could have called legions of angels down and ruled us as a god amongst men... leaving  the countless generations of the human race to be born after him , to wilt and die in our brokenness.  Being in very nature God, he could have done whatever he wanted. We didn't deserve the sacrifice he made... and if we saw him we might tell him so, just as Wilfred pleaded with the Doctor.

But Jesus loves each one of us so much that he saw it as an honour to lay down his life for us.

Too often we think of sin in the vilest terms and perhaps when we think of it's universal consequence, that's appropriate. However Wilfred Mott was not vile... he was a good man. He just ended up in a very bad situation... the wrong place, in the wrong time. Like a sheep he merely went astray.

Most of us probably don't consider ourselves vile...

... but we are broken and we have all strayed in to a very bad place by virtue of our broken nature.

Like Wilf we find ourselves encased inside a radioactive time bomb which we can do nothing about. We don't have The Doctor to come and rescue us from our fate...

but we do have Jesus:

"You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

Romans 5:6-8

Normality

Recently I've been involved in a couple of discussions on the subject of normal behaviour.

Truth be told I have NEVER really considered myself normal. I developed this attitude towards myself (and indeed others), during my formative years. I think I was first inspired by observing an American spoof commercial where two men are standing in a busy street waiting to get opinions on the benefits of their product from passers-by; they claim to want to find out what the ordinary person on the street has to say about their product. As they are talking, the camera zooms out and we see that everyone in the street is betraying a streak of eccentricity. Some are walking funny, some are dressed funny, some are using strange modes of transport... but ALL of them are unique... and the ad men confess glibly that "they are still waiting for an ordinary person to come along".

Yes it's a silly advert, but it made a strong impression on me as a child... something evidenced by the fact I can still recall it to this very day.

You see to me, there is no such thing as an ordinary person. In fact, so convinced am I of this notion, that I find it distasteful when people try to claim the centre ground of normality for themselves.

I accept that there is a scope of what we would call "normal behaviour" in society... but I believe that is primarily about laying the ground rules for what is acceptable in terms of how we treat one another.

If you've read my older posts, you will know that I have always been wary of following the crowd. If I feel something is hyped too much and I'm not already into it, chances are I will be resistant to the idea of taking exposing myself to it.

It is not that I consider friendly encouragement and inspiration from peers as entirely a bad thing... i just think it is very important that we discover things for ourselves.

The things we care about, the causes, doctrines and principles we believe in... all of these we must claim as our own. We cannot walk along a path that others dictate - along that road lies ruin.

So rather than seeing the vast majority of the human collective as "normal" or "ordinary", I much prefer to look at each individual and celebrate them as extraordinary.

Nobody occupies the same point in space and time as you, nobody will have quite the same effect on the people around you, as you will. Nobody else has been given the words you have been given to say, nobody else will feel quite the same about the people around you, as you will.

You are unique... and you should not hide this gift, nor shun the blessings and yes, even responsibilities that come with it. Nobody could fill your shoes.

You ARE unique... but before you let that go to your head... just remember, so is everybody else!

It's not Christmas yet, so I'll refrain from quoting It's A Wonderful Life. However the sentiments expressed in that film are absolutely true.

Another good illustration is the following clip from Dead Poet's Society:

I don't want to slavishly conform to the expectations set on me by others... in some cases , I want to walk in the way that is right for me. Sometimes that will mean I agree with the expectations laid before me, other times it means I'll throw them utterly out the window.

To conclude though, to live an extraordinary life, I believe there is one person and one person only, who is worthy of emulation - Jesus Christ:

"If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself and became obedient to death—

even death on a cross!

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

Philippians 2:1-11

I really do believe that sums up the debate perfectly. If we are to truly serve Christ as unique individuals, we should not overly covet a popular position at the very centre of society. If everyone stayed near the middle, how would anyone ever be rescued from the edges?

So wherever you are in the diverse spectrum of human characteristics and interests, may God bless you an continue to strengthen you in your unique and extraordinary ministry to the other people around you in your everyday life.

N