Lent: Tiger Woods and Mary MacKillop
- February 22, 2010
There has been much comment about Tiger Woods’ apology for his adultery: is the apology sincere or hype or hoping to regain sponsors? Whatever your conclusion of his motive, and surely we must be generous in attributing the highest motive – genuine reconciliation, the words of the apology are profound. Note his recognition that temptation lurks so very near and is so very alluring,
I thought I could get away with whatever I wanted to. I felt that I had worked hard my entire life and deserved to enjoy all the temptations around me. I felt I was entitled. Thanks to money and fame, I didn’t have far — didn’t have to go far to find them.
I was wrong. I was foolish. I don’t get to play by different rules. The same boundaries that apply to everyone apply to me.
These words are particularly apt for reflection at the beginning of Lent.
Lent is a time for review of life, for reflection and examining the inner places of our heart in the day to day struggle to be totally reliant on and committed to God.
The Rector of Devonport noted Tiger Woods’ apology made due to his behaviour and the news of Mary MacKillop’s recognition as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church in commenting insightfully on the significance of the daily decisions made by of each of us. Mary MacKillop, like all of us, was faced by daily decisions about the pathway she would walk. Each decision we make shows something of who we are.
Yesterday’s (Lent 1) Gospel reading from Luke 4 on the temptations of Jesus Christ are set at the beginning of Lent to show us who Jesus is – the promised Messiah who will exercise his Messiahship in complete accord with God’s will. What do Jesus’ responses to these testings demonstrate? – they demonstrate his person: who he is.
And so for us, the decision we take when faced by temptation reflects both the person we are and the person we will become.
May this Lent be a time of reflection and revision of life in accord with God’s will.
May the Holy Spirit so work within us that we be increasingly transformed into the image of Christ.
Lent is about God not iPods
- February 16, 2010
As we enter Lent some bishops have taken it upon themselves to call for an environmentally friendly Lent: Give up your iPods for Lent – bishops. I beg to disagree. What’s my problem? In a word, reductionism! - reducing Lent from its focus on reconciliation with God to acts of service.
Lent is about getting our relationship with God in order. This includes reflection on life and our due acknowledgement of our failures before our merciful God and forgiveness through the atoning death of Jesus Christ. I agree that true contrition and repentance involves penance and acts of service. But reducing Lent to worthwhile acts including giving up chocolate,
… spending a day without using technology such as mobile phones or iPods, the 46 daily suggestions also include eating by candlelight, cutting meat and vegetables thinner so they cook faster and flushing the toilet less often
loses sight of reviewing our relationship with God and accepting forgiveness and reconciliation and hope through the death and resurrection of Jesus.
I am not arguing for an iPod and chocolate laden Lent but a Lenten spirituality of reconciliation and home coming to the God who loves us in Christ.
Clergy: God’s call?
- February 15, 2010
(Roman) Catholic priests in Australia are overworked and in increasingly short supply, and this has prompted some dioceses to recruit clergy from overseas. But how ethical is it to take priests from countries such as India, where they may be needed? Is it time for the Church to look at more radical solutions?
Earlier this year, the Vatican proclaimed June 2009 to June 2010 as a Year for Priests, during which time Catholics are encouraged to remember their priests through prayer, and to reflect on the role and function of the clergy. – David Rutledge (Encounter, ABC Radio National)
The Encounter program reflects on,
A problem that’s been troubling the Catholic church in the West for some years now: a drastic shortage of priests. Since around the mid-1970s there’s been a marked decline in vocations among young men, and while some say that things are improving, and that the crisis will pass, there’s no doubt that the church in the West currently has an ageing clergy, which is increasingly stressed from overwork and unable to provide the proper pastoral care that the job demands. In Australia, particularly in rural areas, priests often have to cover vast distances, and parishioners miss out on regular mass which for many is the most important aspect of Catholic life.
Full ABC Radio National Encounter interview with David Rutledge of 17 January 2010 available here.
- In what ways is the supply of Anglican clergy in Australia and in the State of Tasmania similar and dissimilar to the Roman Catholic Church?
- Should we seek assistance from overseas clergy?
- In what ways can we continue to encourage Anglican lay people to consider ordination?
God’s Valentine
- February 12, 2010
This weekend many people world-wide will be celebrating Valentine’s Day (14 February).
Like most special ‘days’ commercialism has taken over and sometimes the real meaning of the day has been forgotten. Read the history of Valentine’s Day here
So, amidst all the chocolates, cards, roses and gifts we may give to family or friends that we love, may we take the time to stop and reflect and say thank you to God, our #1 Valentine, who loves us so much.
The ultimate fate of Earth
- February 12, 2010
My thanks go to Geoff Buckman who directed me to this timely book by the late Ray Stedman, What on Earth is Happening? What Jesus Said About the End of the Age. Read his book, here.
Ray’s book focuses on the Olivet discourse from Matthew 24-25, where Jesus tells us about the end of the age. As the Editors so rightly mention, “In light of current events in the Middle East and heightened interest in Bible prophecy…the book has never been more timely and relevant.”
“I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come…What I have said, that will I bring about; what I have planned, that will I do.” Isaiah 46:9-11
Wouldn’t you like to know the future? If it were possible, wouldn’t you like to lift the curtain of tomorrow and read the future as if it were a history book? Well, there truly is a Book of future history, the Bible…many of its prophecies have already been fulfilled with astounding precision and reliability. The rest are either being fulfilled right now in our newspaper headlines, or they await an inevitable fulfillment in a certain future. The message Jesus delivered from the Mount of Olives … predicted the destruction of the city of Jerusalem (AD 70)… outlined the perils of that period between His first and Second Coming – the age in which we live…He looked past present day to a time called “the end of the age”… His prophecy of the end of the age culminates in His own return to earth and the dawn of a new day.
Once we’ve read the Olivet Prophecy, understood it and know the end of the story, Ray asks, “What will we do about it? What will our response be? There can be only one answer to that question, the same answer that our Lord has given us: Watch! The One Great Word is Watch!” In Matthew 24 & 25 Jesus emphasises the need to watch. “Watch out that no one deceives you. Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.” Ray writes, “Watch out! Be ready! Keep watch! Stand firm to the end! This is what it means to watch and wait for the Lord’s return.”
MARANATHA! (Come Lord Jesus)
See also Apocalypse now or 2012 or ?
Church should support Charter of Rights: Brennan
- February 10, 2010
Jesuit Frank Brennan continues to push the Charter of Rights, as we await the National Government’s decision on a Committee’s Report into this matter. The Report Committee was chaired by Frank Brennan.
Churches would be in a better position to allow judges to override any privileges some church leaders might be granted by elected politicians, he said.
Fr Brennan insists the charter won’t impede upon any religious freedoms.
“I could not see the charter itself, and its faithful implementation, working any harm to the freedom of religion,” he told the conference.
“We as a church can do better in promoting justice for all in our land.”
Full article, Churches urged to back charter of rights by Susanna Dunkerley, in SMH 8 February 2010.
For the Address in which Frank Brennan develops his thoughts and reflects on his own commitment as a Christian to public policy formation see, The Church as Advocate in the Public Square: Lessons from the National Human Rights Consultation.
Section 3, page 7. The Place for Human Rights
Section 4, page 12. Church Concerns with the Victorian Charter
This is not an address to read when tired! But it is valuable in gaining an insight into one of Australia’s leading ‘public Christians’ – whether you agree with him or not. 
In this latter regard I note Karin Sowada (a Christian also involved in the public square) in her provocative Top 7 Political Trends in 2010, stating in her No. 6, an opposite view on the Charter of Human Rights to Frank Brennan’s,
6. The Charter of Human Rights is a dead duck. Attorney-General Robert McClelland said as much in a recent interview with the Financial Review. We will get a beefed-up parliamentary committee (or committees) to oversee our human rights obligations. (For a pdf document of Sydney Diocese position on human rights, click here ) Likewise, the Federal Freedom of Religious Belief Project will go nowhere. What is happening in Britain under a strident ‘rights’ agenda is so scary that even moderates in Australia won’t want to go there. (For a pdf document of the Sydney Diocese FRB submission, click here).
In the Image of God: Human Rights-Religion
- February 9, 2010
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood. (Article 1)
Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person. (Article 3)
Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance. (Article 18) – The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (30 Articles)
Encounter (ABC Radio National) takes up this topic in a recent broadcast (31 January), In the Image of God: Human Rights and Religion.
As the debate over an Australian Human Rights act continues, Encounter explores some of the ideas which drive our modern, secular conception of universal justice and equality. While this owes much to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations in 1948, the ideas behind it lie at the ethical heart of all religious teaching. They’re deeply rooted in ancient religious and philosophical thought, and in the work of theologians from medieval times to the Enlightenment and beyond.
In 2009, Catholic Cardinal George Pell led a delegation of church leaders to Canberra to raise strong concerns about the impact of a national charter of human rights on religious freedom.
We strongly support human rights, but we don’t think a charter such as this is necessary or even effective in protecting the rights of the most vulnerable people in our community. It may in all likelihood make things worse, particularly in the area of religious freedom. (THE AUSTRALIAN, 23 October 2009, Clergy unite over human rights charter)
Listen to the Encounter broadcast, here. Read THE AUSTRALIAN article here.
The Burqa: more than clothing
- February 5, 2010
A historical look at the veil, its political use and abuse and its place in the hearts of those who wear it, points out the Hidden danger in tampering with the veil by Sally Neighbour, The Australian February 01, 2010
LIKE the Americans waging war in Afghanistan, the French demanding their government ban the burka would do well to look back in history at the experience of others who pursued a similar path.
The article urges the French people to consider the advice of the US Ambassador to Persia, William Hornibrook to the Shah of Persia in 1935:
“When the suggestion is made that the veil should be removed from Muslim women, His Majesty steps upon something which is far more important to the Islamic mind. He steps upon a tradition of longstanding, a custom which has been observed for centuries, and does violence to the feelings of his own people. It may be stated with certainty that the great majority of Muslims are enraged as a result of the reform.”
One of the challenges of living in a multi-faith society is to understand and empathise with the convictions of people who believe and so live in ways distinct from one’s own.
I have written more generally on this issue Burqas and religious freedom and its near neighbour Swiss minaret ban is bad. In Malaysia, sadly, the Government has appealed the victory for religious freedom gained when Cns retain use of ‘Allah’ in Bible. It is salutory to reflect on The West’s fear of free speech.
Theological Education and Islam
- February 4, 2010
Dr Ida Glaser, Associate Tutor at Wycliffe Hall Oxford and Director of the Centre for Muslim-Christian Studies in Oxford, wrote a stimulating article titled, Theological Education with Islam in Mind, from the newsletter of Wycliffe Hall Oxford, Hilary Term 2010.
Nearly one in four people is a Muslim. What does this mean for a college equipping future church leaders for engagement with the world that ‘God so loved’?
There is a polarisation amongst evangelicals about responses to Islam: should we be confrontational or should we be eirenic? The question arises about our mission to Muslims as well as about our socio-political relationships with Islamic communities and our theological responses to Islam.
Being truthful about Muslims – Who are these Muslims to whom we are responding? Where does this particular individual in front of me fit into his/her community? What informs their beliefs and actions?
Laying foundations for faithful responses – Are Muslim views of family and community sometimes nearer to biblical models than western Christian views? How should we think about the Qur’an’s interpretations of biblical figures?
Being truthful about ourselves – Who are we, not only as Christians, but also as members of our various socio-political groupings as church, parish, ethnic group and country? How does that affect our perceptions and relationships?
Faith, hope and love? – What really matters to these people and how can I minister to them? How can I help the people in my church to embark on the journey towards biblical, Christ-like relationships with Muslims?
Read the full article (page 4) in the newsletter here.
‘Euthanasia booths’: a martini and medal?
- February 1, 2010
Extreme pro-euthanasia comment re ’Euthanasia booths’ being made readily available on street corners for elderly people to help solve the problem of an ageing population, provokes an insightful response:
Here, the age-old human goal of giving people longer, fuller, healthier and happier lives where we are no longer expected simply to work and then die but to work and then live is treated as a weird and destabilising pursuit.
In my travels and conversations it is clear to me that one important driver of the marginalisation of the elderly is the much commented high rate of change in society. Australian sociologist Hugh MacKay has written extensively in this area. This is especially clear in communications. Think of email, photography and its transmission, social networking, DVD recording of TV programs, ipods, and the oft mentioned telephone call from grandparents asking for grandchildren to visit and tune their TV, Video cassette, DVD, etc. If ‘the oldies’ cannot tune a TV set and organise their set top box, ‘What is there to learn from them?’
The treatment of the ageing population as a problem really reveals today’s lack of imagination and human aspiration. Incapable of celebrating humanity’s leaps forward, we instead see our success stories in medicine and living standards as something bad. Unable to come up with solutions for making elderly people’s lives more pleasant through allowing them to work, paying them higher pensions or finding other ways to include them in the social make-up, we label them burdens. And with an eco-mindset that insists there are far too many people, we find ourselves referring to the elderly as a carbon footprint too far.
Amis’s idea for euthanasia booths is bizarre. But unless we challenge today’s anti-human outlook ,which treats people as polluters and human ambition as dangerous, then we may find more people asking: What’s the point of old people?
My response: Old people are people! They are made in the image of God. Each and every person is a gift from God, made in the image of God. Therefore, whether people be young or old they are immeasurably valuable. Life is to be honoured and lived at each and every stage of life. It is as we nurture our communal soul in the varying seasons of life that we cultivate a compassionate and deeply spiritual society. Indeed, the failure to nurture the deep inner life of a society brings forward Euthanasia’s end: a suicidal society.
‘What’s the point of old people?’ you ask. I ask, ’What’s the point of life?’ The Jesus answer, ‘to love God and our neighbour as ourselves’. If its good enough for Jesus, its good enough for me! Let’s embrace life. All of life. Life in all its seasons. Together. A healthy society. A deeply rooted and spiritual society; living the Jesus way.
See the full article from The Weekend Australian at Longevity is a triumph, not a problem by Brendan O’Neill who is editor of spiked in London (www.spiked-online.com).