Bishop John | an Imaginary Diocese blog

Peace making shot down

Posted on January 6, 2011 by Bishop John

So often it is the peace makers or ‘moderates’ within a tribe, group, clan, party, who are considered by the hard liners of that group to be the most dangerous to its aims.

Now we have the tragedy of the killing of the moderate Pakistani governor of Punjab, Salman Taseer: a severe blow to minorities and peace making.

Taseer championed the rights of Christian and other minorities and openly took on the powerful religious parties that backed blasphemy laws.

Over the years, these laws have been used to harass and victimise Pakistani Christians. Among them is Aasia Bibi, a 45-year-old Christian mother of five from rural Punjab, who is in custody for alleged blasphemy against the prophet Muhammad. Her supporters claim that the allegations arose from personal disputes with other women in her village.

Taseer and his daughters visited Aasia Bibi after she had been in custody for some 18 months. He described Aasia Bibi’s punishment as “harsh and oppressive” and appealed to the Pakistani President for a pardon. Taseer also described the prosecution of poor members of religious minorities as a mockery of Pakistan’s Islamic heritage.

Few Pakistani politicians have had the courage to oppose such laws so openly and brazenly. Religious law has become a tool of state-sanctioned oppression of the most vulnerable of all faiths. Congregations of attention-seeking imams join forces with corrupt police to arrest and even kill alleged blasphemers on the flimsiest of evidence. Personal scores and commercial disputes are dealt with in this irrational manner.

Pakistan’s religious right, along with their supporters in the small business sector, had called for Taseer to be sacked. Pakistan’sThe News International reported that 100 activists from the Tehrik Tahaffuz-e-Khatm-e-Nabuwat (Movement for the Preservation of the Doctrine of Finality of Prophethood) rallied and cheered after Taseer’s slaying. They carried placards and handed out sweets.

On New Year’s Eve, Taseer sent this message into Twitterspace: “I was under huge pressure sure 2 cow down b4 rightest pressure on blasphemy. Refused. Even if I’m the last man standing”. It remains to be seen whether any other politician will be brave enough to stand in the way of Pakistan’s religious right.

And so our lament: “How long Oh Lord!” [Psalm 13]

Article, Shot down for opposing the religious right.

Elder abuse: a fraction reported

Posted on January 5, 2011 by Bishop John

US Study finds: that a fraction of elder abuse cases are reported.

The Sacramento Bee newspaper published a short article on December 31, 2010 written by Anita Creamer on a Cornell University study that proves that only a fraction of elder abuse cases are ever reported.

The article stated:

New research from Cornell University’s medical college suggests that the incidence of elder abuse and exploitation is far greater than experts had expected.

The study, which is not available online, compared the number of cases reported to law enforcement, agencies that serve the aging and other authorities with those mentioned in 4,000 random phone surveys of people 60 and older.

For every elder abuse case reported to a mandated enforcement agency, the survey found, 23.5 unreported cases occurred. What’s more, for each case of financial abuse of elders reported to authorities, 43.9 actually occurred – and 57.2 cases of neglect occurred.

It appears that society needs to recognize the tragic problem of elder abuse and institute policies that will enable law enforcement to protect elderly people.

Further to that, society needs to admit that certain policies will only increase the problem of elder abuse. Policies such as legalizing or “turning a blind eye” to cases of euthanasia and assisted suicide.

At least the Canadian government has made the prevention of elder abuse a government priority.

Article from Alex Schadenberg, http://alexschadenberg.blogspot.com/2011/01/study-finds-that-fraction-of-elder.html

Euthanasia: points to clarify

Posted on January 4, 2011 by Bishop John

Helpful points to make in your ‘Letters to the Editor’ re common misunderstandings in euthanasia from Paul Russell, Director, HOPE: Preventing Euthanasia & Assisted Suicide www.noeuthanasia.org.au –

“In the Weekend Australian, Christopher Pearson included in his regular column a finely crafted reflection on why euthanasia law is wrong: Test of conviction on a life and death issue.

“In today’s edition (Monday Jan 3) the letters to the editor section featured five responses attacking Pearson. In each response there’s a fundamental error either of fact or by misrepresentation of Pearson’s salient points.

1. Robert Crawford (Nambour QLD) implied that Pearson had said that all pain can be controlled. He did not. He correctly observed that modern palliative care medicine had substantially diminished the issue of pain in end-of-life care.

2. Ina Borger (Marion SA) played the ‘religious sectarian card’ and suggested that ‘the people should decide’ using a ‘personal story’ of a Dutch relative juxtaposed to ‘hanging or cutting your wrists’ making the false suggestion that Pearson had argued for such gruesome ends.

3. Peter Brown (Byron Bay) seems to want to discredit Pearson’s entire argument based on one line about suicide, wondering whether palliative care is really ‘readily available’. Standard tactic of the pro-death movement: sell fear.

4. Clive Huxtable (Beaconsfield WA) claims that Pearson had said that suicide methods were legal and readily available. He did not.

5. Ron Gray (Kalinga QLD) plays the sectarian card and also paints a rosy picture of the Netherlands’ death culture.

“In my observation, not one of these correspondents attempted a rebuttal of Pearson’s main arguments. The respondents may be genuine – suggesting that their replies simply pick up on one of their own issues OR they may be campaigners themselves for whom direct debate is a distraction from the point they want to make and something that they rarely engage in.
“Action Please: We need as many letters to the editor as possible to ensure that our side of the debate gets the same sort of coverage in tomorrow’s edition as their side did today. Please send an email to: letters@theaustralian.com.au and include in the text your full name and postal address as well as a contact phone number.”

Thank you, Paul, for this instructive way of engaging in ‘Letters to the Editor’ and engaging conversation.

New year! Eternity? Whatever.

Posted on January 2, 2011 by Bishop John

As we contemplate a new year why not pause a moment to ponder all the forever and ever years of eternity? Punch has some suggestions for a rarely considered Aussie ‘BBQ stopper’: “What do you think happens when we die?”

If life is like driving down a straight road, most people would consider death to be a sharp right-hand turn at the end of the road. Everyone goes around the corner eventually – but what is around that corner? Is it good news or bad news?

Sure, you can use your imagination and hope that there’s a Krispy Kreme store selling delicious jam-filled, dentist-delighting donuts, but that store won’t be there just because you want it to be. It’s either there, or it’s not. And so surely, before you come around the corner, you want to be sure of what will be there – so you can prepare yourself appropriately.

If it’s a donut store, you want to prepare yourself by not having lunch. If it’s a flooded roadway, you want to start slowing down. If it’s a cliff, you want to slam on the brakes. So the next question is – is it possible to know what is around that corner before we get there? . . .

The Christian message isn’t a new message, and I can anticipate many objections to what I believe and why. My point isn’t to convince you to believe what I believe, nor to defend the Christian gospel in a couple of paragraphs.

No, my purpose is to urge you to work out what you do believe, and to make sure you’ve got some evidence and ultimately some confidence, to back up whatever that might be. Don’t go round that last corner blind-folded. The consequences are simply too great to just cross your fingers and hope for the best.

Article [with thanks to Andrew Reid], What do you think happens when we die? and nearly 500 very varied comments when I last looked.

See, Mr Eternity – Book Review, here.

New Year reflection 4 action

Posted on January 1, 2011 by Bishop John

Thought provoking sermon for reflection and action/ praxis as we enter a new year.

The title coming from one of my favourite poems,

We ask God to forgive us all that we have done or left undone in the past year. We claim to be Orthodox. To be Orthodox does not mean only to confess the Gospel in its integrity and proclaim it in its purity, but it consists, even more than this, in living according to the Gospel; and we know that Christ comes to no compromise with anything but the greatness of man and the message of love and worship. We can indeed repent because who, looking at us, would say as people said about the early Christians, ‘See how they love one another!’ Who would say, looking at us, that we are in possession of an understanding of life, of a love which makes us beyond compare, which causes everyone to wonder: Where does it come from? Who gave it to them? How can they stand the test of trial? And if we want this year to be worthy of God, of our Christian calling, of the holy name of Orthodoxy, we must singly and as a body become to all, to each person who may need us, a vision of what man can be and what a community of men can be under God.

Let us pray for forgiveness, we who are so far below our calling, let us pray for fortitude, for courage, for determination to discount ourselves, to take up our cross, to follow in the footsteps of Christ whithersoever He will call us.

At the beginning of the war King George VI spoke words which can be repeated from year to year. In his message to the Nation he read a quotation: “I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year: give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown, and he replied: “Go out into the darkness and put your hand in the hand of God; that shall be better to you than light and safer than a known way”.

This is what we are called to do, and perhaps we should make today a resolution, determined to be faithful to our calling and begin the New Year with courage. Amen.

Sermon, ‘At the Gate of the Year’ by Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh. See last year’s, 2010- Walk with ‘The Light’.

Annual spiritual check-up

Posted on December 30, 2010 by Bishop John

A Model for an Annual Spiritual Check-up

Director of Ministry Services, Paul Cavanough, presents this gift to us at the end of another year of our ministry together: ten questions any person could use as an annual review of his or her discipleship and ministry:

Prayer
How has your prayer life been this year? Blossoming? Fading? Faltering? Open? Routine? Is this an area that needs more focus for you?
Learning
What have you studied this year (formally or informally)? What have you learned?
Worship
Are you worshipping at least weekly? How has that time been? Highs? Lows? Are you taking time to prepare or “just showing up”?
Leader Skills
Do you sense that your capacity to lead has increased? Are you observing the leadership of others? What are you learning?
Community Building
How are you helping your congregation to thrive, formally and informally?
Action
Where have you been visible in your faith? What blocks you from action?
Serving Others
Where have you served God this year?
Sense of Growth
Where do you feel you have grown this year-spiritually, emotionally, in terms of relationships, or in terms of knowledge?
Balance
How is your sense of living a balanced life? Do you keep Sabbath?
Growing Edge – Stretching Beyond the Comfort Zone
If we accept that we are not living in the fullness of the kingdom, where are you called to focus in the coming year?

Patricia Hayes, former Alban Consultant.

Sex: waiting improves marriage

Posted on December 30, 2010 by Bishop John

In a society that prioritises the here and now of the hormonal rush over the long term, I am not sure how a TV soapie would treat this latest research finding:

“Couples who avoid sex before marriage end up having happier, more stable relationships, and a better time in bed, according to psychologists.”

“Couples who hit the honeymoon too early, that is, prioritise sex promptly at the outset of a relationship, often find their relationships underdeveloped when it comes to the qualities that make relationships stable and spouses reliable and trustworthy”.

“Regardless of religiosity, waiting helps the relationships form better communication processes, and these help improve long-term stability and relationship satisfaction,” Busby said.

Article, Holding out improves marriage.

Christmas Day Sermon 2010

Posted on December 26, 2010 by Bishop John

CHRISTMAS DAY 2010 – St David’s Cathedral Hobart

Bible Readings: John 1:1-14 and Colossians 1:15-20

NOTES FOR SERMON

CONTEXT: Cathedral Church with Christmas theme, “Christmas is cooking at the Cathedral”

“MASTERCHRIST: DOES YOUR CHRISTMAS HAVE A MISSING INGREDIENT?”

OUTLINE

Introduction
Revelation
Response/ Invitation
Reconciliation

INTRODUCTION

My grandmother made a lemon meringue pie – it is the best lemon meringue pie in the world!

How do I know it is the best lemon meringue pie in the world?

Because I eat lemon meringue pie at every opportunity, everywhere!

But nothing has ever compared to my grandmother’s lemon meringue pie.

And yet, a strange fact: no matter how wonderful my grandmother’s lemon meringue pies were; without lemon they were not a lemon meringue pie!

And so to my recipe for Christmas:

For my Christmas recipe, Christ is the essential ingredient.

Without Christ, Christmas just isn’t Christmas.

1. REVELATION

At Christmas God became human.

The astounding news of Christmas is that God so loves us that He becomes one with us in our humanity.

One of the names of Jesus Christ is, ‘Emmanuel’ which means ‘God with us’.

Christ is “God with us”.

Christ reveals God.

Christ is the Word of God: God communicated to us.

Hear the opening words from the Gospel according to John: (1:1ff Amplified Bible)

“ ¹IN THE beginning [before all time] was the Word (Christ), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God Himself.

²He was present originally with God.

³All things were made and came into existence through Him; and without Him was not even one thing made that has come into being.

⁴In Him was Life, and the Life was the Light of men.

¹⁴And the Word (Christ) became flesh (human, incarnate) and tabernacled (fixed His tent of flesh, lived awhile) among us; and we [actually] saw His glory (His honor, His majesty), such glory as an only begotten son receives from his father, full of grace (favor, loving-kindness) and truth.”

Incredible! Amazing! Earth shattering! World saving!

I entitled my CHRISTMAS MESSAGE published in the Tasmanian newspapers today – WikiLeaks and Jesus Christ

Jesus and WikiLeaks! – What do they have in common?

WikiLeaks has been revealing the secret thoughts of diplomats and national leaders. We Australians are divided over whether WikiLeaks is a hero or a villain.

I suggest to you that if revelation is the name of the game, then WikiLeaks and Jesus Christ have a lot going for them:

both WikiLeaks and Jesus Christ seek to reveal what is hidden; both want truth outed; both seek the welfare of the city.

But it is also true that both founders are persecuted; both make enemies of the powerful; both are attacked; both attract condemnation and affirmation.

We ask: *Does the revealing of new information bring benefit or harm?

WikiLeaks may benefit the people by increasing the accountability of political and powerful leaders; albeit through their fear of the truth being made known!

But some feel that WikiLeaks may harm the reputations or even imperil the lives of people and agencies. How? By revealing stupidity, deceit and pettiness.

*I see a deeper meaning behind it all. I see WikiLeaks as a metaphor for divine meaning.

Please listen carefully.

Jesus Christ may benefit the people by inviting them to be reconciled to God and to one another as He reveals humankind’s true spirituality, centre of being, identity and purpose.

Jesus Christ may harm the religious establishment by revealing the true centre of God and showing the falsehood of empty religious ritual and legalistic religion. Jesus Christ may harm the powerful by revealing the power of sacrifice and love.

A further question: *Where is truth to be found?

WikiLeaks says by revealing all the information.

Christ says that in his own person, the way, the truth and the life are found.

*How is transformation achieved?

WikiLeaks proposes the information highway.

Christ proposes spiritual renewal through turning from ego to Christ; to love of God and neighbour.

Christ proposes transformation through turning to Him!

Christmas is the revealing of Christ.

In revealing Christ, Christmas reveals God.

This is what we proclaim today.

This is what we sing today.

This is what was proclaimed by the earliest Christians.

This is what was sung by the earliest Christians. (Colossians 1:15-20)

*We affirm with confidence:

To know Christ was to know God
To see Christ was to see God
To believe in Christ was to believe in God
To receive Christ was to receive God
To hate Christ was to hate God
To honour Christ was to honour God

Therefore Christ can say, “whoever has seen me has seen the Father”. (John 14:9)

What a claim! Is it arrogance, madness or could it be true?

In Christ, God the Father is revealed.

2. RESPONSE/ INVITATION

Christ reveals God and invites us to be reconciled to God.

This invitation in response to the revealing of God in Christ is integral to the Prologue of the Gospel according to John (1:12):

“But to as many as did receive and welcome Him, He gave the authority (power, privilege, right) to become the children of God, that is, to those who believe in (adhere to, trust in, and rely on) His name.”

Christ invites us to receive Him, to welcome Him, to believe in Him.

Those who trust in Christ become children of God.

This is a significant part of my own journey to become a Christian: *Relate the story of Dennis asking me, “John, have you received, trusted in, taken hold of Christ?” . . .

Christmas is an opportunity to strengthen our decision to trust in Christ or perhaps for some to make that foundational decision to trust in Christ, to become a Christian.

*Relate the story of Ian making the decision to become a Christian on Christmas Day. “I have a question. Does anyone recall what program is on TV at 8am this Christmas morning on Channel 7? Yes, “Should We Cancel Christmas?”. Let me tell some of Ian’s story on the road to Christ on Christmas Day. . [Segment Four of TV -Vimeo] . .

Christ invites us to place our trust in Him.

3. RECONCILIATION

I have a vision: “a healthy church … transforming life”

I yearn with all my heart for Tasmanians to be committed to Jesus Christ.

We are to be reconciled to God.
We are to live for Christ.
We are to love one another.
We are to present everyone mature in Christ.

We proclaim Jesus Christ as

a Baby in a manger
gentle Jesus, meek and mild
Teacher, Prophet, Priest and King
Resurrected and Ascended Lord at the right hand of God the Father.
Redeemer, Peace-maker, Reconciler
Son of God

As we see Christ’s grandeur and majesty, our worship, faith and obedience will grow.

This Christmas, be sure to put Christ into your Christmas mix.

Christ is the essential ingredient that makes God’s recipe for life nourishing and fulfilling.

Now, I confess to you that my Christmas recipe is even better food for life, than my Grandmother’s lemon meringue pie!

Take time to discover the Christ of Christmas:

God revealed in the person of Jesus Christ;

the Baby at Bethlehem;

the miracle of “Christ with us”; the miracle of Christmas.

AMEN.

John Harrower, Bishop of Tasmania

See, Christmas Message – WikiLeaks and Jesus Christ.

Christmas greeting in art

Posted on December 25, 2010 by Bishop John

Thanks to Tim Dyer.”Download in High Res for a closer look. This is created on www.tagxedo.com using the text of Matt 1,2 and Luke 1,2. Then edited in paint.net. For a 2M version http://dl.dropbox.com/u/950363/Nativity6.jpg ” Tagxedo turns words — famous speeches, news articles, slogans and themes, even your love letters — into a visually stunning tag cloud, words individually sized appropriately to highlight the frequencies of occurrence within the body of text. Enjoy.

Bishop’s Christmas Message 2010

Posted on December 25, 2010 by Bishop John

WikiLeaks and Jesus Christ

The secret thoughts of diplomats and national leaders have been pouring out at a great rate from WikiLeaks, and Australians are divided whether they are heroes or villains.

If revelation is the name of the game, then WikiLeaks and Jesus Christ have a lot going for them: both seek to reveal what is hidden; both want truth outed; both seek the welfare of the city.

But it is also true that both founders are persecuted; both make enemies of the powerful; both are attacked; both attract condemnation and affirmation; both founders are brought to trial.

Will the founders receive a fair trial? Does the revealing of new information bring benefit or harm? WikiLeaks may benefit the people by increasing the accountability of political and powerful leaders through the fear of the truth being made known.

But some feel that WikiLeaks may harm the reputations or even imperil the lives of people and agencies by revealing stupidity, deceit and pettiness.

I see a deeper meaning behind it all. I see WikiLeaks as a metaphor for divine meaning. Jesus Christ may benefit the people by inviting them to be reconciled to God and to one another through the revealing of their true spirituality, centre of being, identity and purpose.

Where is truth to be found? WikiLeaks says by revealing all the information. Christ says that in his own person, the way, the truth and the life are found.

How is transformation achieved? WikiLeaks proposes the information highway. Christ proposes spiritual renewal through turning from ego to Christ and love of God and neighbour.

Christmas is the self revealing of God, through Christ.

Take time to discover the Christ of Christmas.

John Harrower

Bishop of Tasmania