Hear Ken give us the Greatest Hit Songs of the Bible (starting with Psalm 23

Reading Between the Lines.

Weekly school assemblies were very much apart of the timetable for many of the years I worked as a secondary school teacher. Generally, I enjoyed them, however I went through seasons when I found them a little tedious, for various reasons. 

This week I had cause to remember one such assembly. 

It was a full school assembly held in the church across the road from the senior campus and as I was running late, I had to sneak into the auditorium using a side entrance. As I drew near the assembly, I could hear the key note speaker, over the P.A., addressing the students. He was explaining that as a Yr. 8 student he had been bullied in class… When I heard this, I immediately felt negative towards the speaker and dismissed him as “yet another one of those motivational speakers who doesn’t know a lot.”

What can I say? I am not a particularly pleasant chap at times. 

In my defence, I had been having a hard day, probably with my Yr. 8 students, and was at the time swamped with correction and curriculum and so the last place I wanted to be was in a church listening to a speaker telling me about Yr. 8. 

Such was my angst, that I didn’t even want to look at him, so I hid behind a wall at the back of the church and looked out a window.

Well that didn’t last long because I started to feel quite guilty about my negativity and so I thought the least I could do was to look at the speaker and feign interest. So, I popped my head around the corner of the wall and took a look and instantly my attitude changed and from that moment on I hung on every word the man spoke. To this day I would regard him as one of the very best speakers I have ever had the privilege of listening to.

Nick Vujicic, born with tetra-amelia syndrome, a rare disorder characterised by the absence of arms and legs, was in the middle of the room on a table, telling six hundred students and staff that God had a plan for their lives. That regardless of the challenges we may face, the Lord walks with us and strengthens us so that we may be overcomers.

Seriously, you could have heard a pin drop in the church that day.

I had undergone a complete paradigm shift and the construct I had formed about this “motivational speaker” lay in ruins around my feet as I was confronted with a far more accurate paradigm. It highlighted to me that I had approached this event with a rather narrow, jaundiced perspective, which if not addressed would have coloured my interpretation of the whole experience. Fortunately for me, the event itself was potent enough to challenge my attitude.

Needless to say, having undergone this massive paradigm shift, I felt more than a little ashamed of my earlier judgement of Nick. So much so, that after the assembly, when everyone had left, I approached Nick and apologised to him for my rash judgement. In typical style he was very gracious, forgave me and then asked me to give him a hug. 

Still moves me deeply.

I left the church that day with a completely different attitude to the one I had entered with.

C. S. Lewis in his book entitled, Miracles, points out;

    “the question whether miracles occur can never be answered simply by experience. Every event which might claim to be a miracle is, in the last resort, something presented to our senses… and our senses are not infallible. If we hold a philosophy which excludes the supernatural, then if anything extraordinary happens, we can always say we are victims of an illusion. What we learn from experience depends on the kind of philosophy we bring to the experience. It is therefore useless to appeal to experience before we have settled, as well as we can, the philosophical question.”

In other words, before people can sit down and talk about the interpretation of some experience or event, they first must examine the philosophy or paradigm they have “brought to the table”. 

I would suggest, this principle can be expanded to include more than simply a discussion about miracles. The positions we hold and defend on a variety of events and topics, whether it be miracles, current affairs, theology or the football (AFL of course) can often be traced back to the paradigms which we “bring to table” and not so much the actual topic that happens to be in question at the time. Therefore, it is often worthwhile to take a few minutes to examine the paradigms first before launching into some debate as to why Collingwood should be banned from the AFL… Kidding.

In the gospels it is not uncommon to read how Jesus after performing a miracle would direct the recipients to not tell anyone what he had done. The raising of Jarius’ daughter from the dead (Mark 5:43) is but one example. Why do this? 

It seems that at least one reason was due to the paradigm the Jewish people of the time held about the Messiah and his mission when he returned. That being to deliver the nation of Israel from the yoke of oppression and restore them in all glory and power. The Messiah was seen from their perspective to be the all-conquering king. This view would have been also held to some extent by Jesus’ disciples. One of the consequences of “broadcasting” the miracles Jesus performed would have been to reinforce this paradigm which of course was not even close to why Jesus had come to earth.

Jesus came, not as the conquering king, but as the suffering servant who was to die on a cross for the sins of the whole world. Again, and again we see Jesus revealing this truth about himself, while at the same time trying to correct the false paradigm the disciples and the people in general held about the Messiah.

“For the Son of man also came not to be served but to serve and, to give his life as a ransom for many.”                                                                                                        Mark 10:45. (RSV)

Barclay in his commentary of Mark chapter 3 makes the following point…

“Jesus thought of the Messiahship in terms of love; the people thought of Messiahship in terms of Jewish nationalism… At this stage nothing but harm and trouble and disaster could come from the proclamation that the Messiah had arrived… First of all, men had to learn the true conception of what the Messiah was, and a premature announcement such as this could have wrecked Jesus’ whole mission.”

Therefore, if Jesus was fully aware of the paradigms people embraced and did not disregard them in his dealings with folk, are we not called to do the same?

Consequently, given the difficult times we currently find ourselves in and the various strong opinions about these events, I have been particularly challenged this week about the idea of paradigms and their relevance. That is, the importance of praying about and examining my own perspectives on matters and trying to understand the paradigms of others, before I “argue the point”. 

Does this mean we are not to make judgements at times and have no opinions? I think not, as doing so is part of being “salt and light” to the world.

However, can I suggest this week we try remember the words of James…

“Know this my beloved brethren. Let every man be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger, for the anger of man does not work the righteousness of God.”              

James 1:19&20 (RSV)

Blessings

Bruce.

Tattoos.

I am quite fascinated by tattoos, even though personally I regard the whole concept of using one’s body as an ink pin cushion a little daunting.

Despite this aversion, I still find the effort, skill and artistic detail expressed through tattoos quite eye-catching. So much so that I have to be a little careful when out and about- a rare occurrence these days- that I don’t stare too much at people’s “body art”.

Afterall, it can get a little tense when Jenny and I are out together and she catches me staring at some exquisite bluebird tattoo on a young lady’s arm. Surprising as this may sound to some, no amount of explanation on my part about the nature of the tattoo seems to avert the angst directed at me.

The only thing Jenny finds worse than me staring at people’s tattoos, is when I actually ask them about their tattoos. For some reason this can get me into even more trouble with Jenny. Especially if the person happens to be female, under 40 yrs. of age, and I flash my “Richard Gere” smile. Don’t understand Jen’s reaction myself…

In my defence, I would stress that I also ask men about their tattoos.

Turns out, I have had some terrific conversations with people about their body art. By far the most memorable was with a young man, Jake, who served us while shopping at Fountain Gate. We were finalising our purchases and were at the cash register and I simply could not contain my curiosity a moment longer.

Jake had the most intricate tattoo that ran the length of his arm and that centred around a single word, which I didn’t know the meaning of. So, I asked him what it meant.

Jake explained that it was the nickname for his best friend who had passed a way a few years ago. They had been very close and had done a lot of things together. Jake was obviously shaken deeply by his friend’s death and wanted to honour his memory. Thus, the tattoo.

I was very touched by Jake’s sincere desire to remember his friend which he sought to manifest by “engraving” his friend’s name onto his own body as a constant reminder of their relationship.

As I reflect upon this exchange, I am reminded of Isaiah 49:15 &16a…

“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne?

Though she may forget, I will not forget you!

See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;” (NIV)

“See, I have engraved you on my hands!!”

What a wonderful metaphor of The Lord’s mindfulness of us. That even if the almost impossible occurred and a mother were to forget her child, He will never forget us, because He has tattooed our names on his hands.

MacLaren in his commentary on this passage explains, that not only are we to draw strength and peace from this “divine remembrance, more tender than-a mother’s, but that this divine remembrance guides the divine action. “

In other words, since the palm of the hand is the seat of strength and the instrument of work, and we, the church, are inscribed upon those same hands, then the divine actions of God are always underpinned by His love and remembrance of us.

This is an important truth to remember at those times when things don’t seem to make sense and seem to be barrelling out of control.

Last week I reminded you of a face book post Julia made when she reminded us of the famous chorus… “He’s got the whole world in His hands”

This week I would like us to remember that those same hands have our names tattooed upon them as a constant testimony of God’s mindfulness of us and of the relationship we have with Him.

And that this relationship was made possible because Jesus dared to open his hands on the cross and receive the nails that pinned him there for our sins. That he will forever bear the scars on his hands, his feet, his side and his brow as a constant reminder and testimony of his love for all people.

Furthermore, we are told in 1Timothy 2:4-6 that God our Saviour…

“wants not only us but everyone saved, you know, everyone to get to know what we have learned: that there’s one God and only one, and one Priest-Mediator between God and us- Jesus who offered himself in exchange for everyone held captive to sin, to set them all free.” (MSG)

This is an open-handed invitation by the God who holds the whole world in His hands, to all people everywhere to except what Jesus has done for them on the cross and be “inscribed” forever in the palms of His hands.

Let me finish with the words from a Graham Kendrick song…

            “Come see His hands and His feet,

            The scars that speak of sacrifice,

Hands that flung stars into space,

            To cruel nails surrendered.”

May we hold this truth foremost in our minds this week as we seek to navigate these turbulent times, remembering whose hands we rest in.

Blessings

Bruce

Masks. 

The tightening of COVID restrictions last week raised my stress levels somewhat. In particular the need to wear masks in public places. For some reason, which evaded me at first, I found this development particularly unsettling.

This disquieting was heightened when I attended a regular physio appointment and was asked to wear a mask upon entering the clinic. Furthermore, I discovered they no longer were accepting cash and that everything had to be done on card. Of course, the cashless business has been on the cards, excuse the pun, for a while now, but I hadn’t been confronted by it up to that point.

By the time I got home and had placed my disposable mask in a clip lock bag and deposited it in the bin and sanitized my hands, I was feeling anything but at peace with the world. 

I recalled the days of my youth when the only things Mum insisted on me carrying when leaving the house was a clean, freshly ironed handkerchief, and at least one dollar so that the police wouldn’t pick you up for vagrancy. 

These days it is the opposite. I doubt very much if carrying a dollar is going to help in one’s defence regards vagrancy, however a nicely ironed, clean handkerchief tied around your face as a mask may do the trick in avoiding the angst of the law.  

Times have changed and I think that has something to do with my increased stress levels…

Upon reflection, I think the reason I was so disturbed by these latest restrictions is because they left me feeling that I didn’t have a lot of control of what was happening to “my world”. Furthermore, it was becoming pretty obvious that the post COVID world will look differently from the one “this little black duck” is used to.

It was the sense of losing control, that was the issue for me, and I don’t think I am the only one in this boat.

Dr Elliot Cohen writing for Psychology Today makes the following statement…

“One of the most prevalent fears people have is that of losing control. This is the fear that if you don’t manage to control the outcome of future events, something terrible will happen… The crux of the problem is the demand for certainty in a world that is always tentative and uncertain”.

Dr Cohen goes on to point out…

“So, the key to controlling your losing-control anxiety is letting go of your demand for certainty-in other words giving up your unrealistic perfectionism about reality…”

 It seems, the way forward for people such as myself is to accept that the world is an uncertain place and so I should stop trying to “accurately predict and manage the future”. 

On one level that makes a lot of sense to me, as there are many things we can’t control. Anyone who has held a screaming baby suffering from colic will require no convincing of this point. There are many times when we have to acknowledge that there are things we can’t control and need to stop trying to do so, for our own peace of mind and that of those around us.

As a member of Alanon for many years and a recovering co-dependent, this has been an important lesson for me, which I still struggle to apply at times.

On the other hand, there are things we can control and it is just as important that we identify these things as well. How we react to circumstances, who we vote for, what we expose ourselves to, what we eat, how much we exercise and what we place our faith in are just a few examples of what we can control.

The funny thing is that often I find myself running around trying to control the things which I can’t, such as other people, and neglecting to take care of the things I can control, such as my reactions to people. Needless to say, this causes a lot of angst and turmoil for myself and all those involved.

But I digress… I think Dr Cohen does make a very good point which is worth applying to life. However, do I feel better about the wearing of masks in public and the whole COVID business? 

Well, yes and no.

Although, Dr Cohen’s argument has a logical completeness, and there is much good that flows from it. I would suggest that it fails to address a need which resides deep in our being which is not addressed by the exhortation to simply embrace the “uncertainty of life”. 

What is that need?

To know that somethings don’t change and we can depend on that.

“Hang on, haven’t you just contradicted yourself?” I hear you ask.

Well, yes and no. 

One of my favourite stories is Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings”. Many of us are familiar with the strife and struggle that Frodo and his companions endured in their quest to save Middle Earth. They often battled circumstances which they had little control over which caused them a lot of uncertainty, fear, courage and loss. Yet by story’s joyful end you are left with the sense that all along there was a powerful, guiding influence at work behind the scenes. At a deeper level, there was an end goal, which was never in question.

Paul writes in Romans 8:18-21…

“That’s why I don’t think there’s any comparison between the present hard times and the coming good times. The created world itself can hardly wait for what’s coming next. Everything in creation is more or less being held back. God reins it in until both creation and all the creatures are ready and can be released at the same moment into the glorious times ahead. Meanwhile the joyful anticipation deepens.” (MSG)

It is clear from this scripture that although circumstances are beyond our understanding at times, there is a result that is never in question.

William Barclay in his commentary of Matthew Ch 24 makes the following comment…

“The second coming of Jesus conserves the fact that history is going somewhere. Sometimes people have felt that history was plunging to a wilder and wilder chaos, that it is nothing more than the record of human sins and follies…but the second coming has in it this essential truth- that there is ‘one divine far-off event, to which the whole creation moves’, and that event is not the dissolution but the universal and eternal rule of God.”

So as is often the case we find ourselves in tension, but I suggest this is a healthy tension. On the one hand, we acknowledge that there are many things out of our control where the outcome is uncertain. On the other hand, we embrace the truth that nothing is out of The Lord’ s control, that He can draw good out of all circumstances and there is no doubt about where history is going. As Julia posted on the St Luke’s face book page last week…

    “He has the whole world in His hands…”

So, we have the two perspectives which we are to hold in tension, or as Chesterton writes in “Orthodoxy”

“The ordinary man… has spiritual sight which is stereoscopic, like his physical sight: he sees two different pictures at once and yet sees all the better for that.” 

Blessings.

Bruce

Yes, it’s true that the AFL have got a lot of money.  Yes, it’s true that the AFL has lots of pressure from many stakeholders to make the season happen.  It’s also true that the pandemic has meant that people are craving more live content on their screens as the couch surfing continues.  Sport is very dominant in our culture for a variety of reasons.  Whatever our opinion about sport, AFL and its place in society, one thing’s for sure - it has pulled out all stops to make the season happen.  It’s leadership has gone to extraordinary lengths to get it out there.  The contingency planning has been strategic and almost seamless to this point.  What impressed me recently was reading an article about the group of people who were behind the planning and implementation of this unusual season.  They have been dedicated, focussed and has involved countless 20 hour work days to make it all happen.  And this is just for football!  Take a moment to think about people in senior management in our hospitals and the political sphere who are on the frontline during this pandemic.  It hasn’t been smooth sailing at all, but they are focussed, strategic and passionate about how they can serve us as a community.  During this latest round of restrictions, when motivation my waver and we feel like one day is blending into another, I want you to be encouraged by the example of people who are making significant sacrifices for you and me.  Can I also point you to the most focussed, strategic and passionate leader our planet has ever known – Jesus Christ.  Let’s ultimately look to him as he continues, through his Spirit, to renew our strength every day and bring us hope in troubled times.  In 1 Peter 5:10 it says: And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.  As we look to Jesus my prayer is that you will feel restored and strengthened in Him.

PS. If you are really struggling at the moment, please contact me and we can talk.  It’s becoming more important that we reach out for help as this pandemic continues.