This may not be my most coherent post, but this one is as much for me as anything. I've just been lying in bed with thoughts rushing through my head, so lets see how we go.
I am amazed by the places that ministry takes us, the privileged, private places that we are allowed into by the people around us.
The first place I visited was that of a desert, speaking with a lady who has worshipped at the same congregation for 17 years, but still does not feel like she belongs. I can only pray at the moment, there is not only a great need for her to forgive, but also a lot needs to be forgiven.
The other place was that of great celebration. Two of my friends needed to get married in January for visa reasons, but also wished a ceremony for their friends and family. As they did not wish a specifically church wedding, I was able to help them when they asked. In the planning progress, I still was able to keep God as a small part of the service and they graciously allowed me a Bible reading, some short words of advice, and a prayer at the end.
What really surprised me was the lack of pressure. I was not marrying these people (even in a hypothetical where I was acting as a legal celebrant), they were marrying each other, in addition I believe that any gifts given by me are given through Christ. Thus I was merely a facilitator, a friend not only offering to help their day smoothly but also helping them in crafting and giving vows to each other. This was easy, I've sorta got used to going in front of people and saying words of faith. What is not so easy is now realising that I hold a special place in these people's lives by my connection with such a special event. The gifts I have been given have been used and thus passed on, but the glory needs to go to the giver rather than the vessel.
How can we do this better? Perhaps I need to stop thinking of witness in instantaneous terms and think in terms of the opportunity for witness long-term that this has drawn me into.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Friday, July 27, 2007
What makes us happy?
I was having lunch with a friend who is a playwright, and not a Christian. He remarked on the way that I have become a happier person over the last five or so years, and this has contributed to his theory of the two things people require to be happy:
It is through Christ that we have the gift of forgiveness for ourselves and others and, as we were told on Monday, "releasing us from the fear of our history." Our relationship with God both brings us peace and something to live for. What is scary for me is that my place in the world seems to be that of the nomad.
What makes you happy?
- A clear sense of values and living a life in accordance with it
- Having something in life to look forwards to
- Being comfortable in your own skin
- Having a place in the world
It is through Christ that we have the gift of forgiveness for ourselves and others and, as we were told on Monday, "releasing us from the fear of our history." Our relationship with God both brings us peace and something to live for. What is scary for me is that my place in the world seems to be that of the nomad.
What makes you happy?
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
It is finished?
It's been a while since I blogged, but I've been working on my congregation's web page.
Yesterday we had a ministry team retreat and were encouraged to think on God, God's ability to change us and the acceptance of our own humanity.
The final session used (among other things) some writing by the martyred Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador titled "A Future Not Our Own" (You might want to Google it).
When I read this I was reminded of the words of Jesus on the Cross, "It is finished."
This is ridiculous, almost offensive!
Jesus entered his ministry proclaiming the words of Isaiah, yet at the time the one who claimed to be the bringer of that grand proclamation is hung, broken on an instrument of torture. Mission accomplished?
The world moved on, people were still lost, hungering, thirsting, sick and imprisoned.
At that moment, Jesus was mindful of his own humanity. He was in a body, at one moment in time. He had one set of legs, one heart, one mouth, yet Jesus changed the world beyond description. it still is an object of wonder to me that Jesus submitted to death, the ultimate acceptance of humanity. His earthly ministry was finished, but God's work in the world continued, and continues...
Are we humble enough to accept the limitations of our own bodies and situations? This is not a cop out, we are called to be bold and audacious for the gospel. On the other hand, are we like Christ, humble enough to accept that we have only a limited part in God's plans? I will die, but God's plans will live on without me. I can take risks, because God's plan will not stand or fall on my witness. A call to work with diligence, but without fear, is one that is well worth listening to.
Yesterday we had a ministry team retreat and were encouraged to think on God, God's ability to change us and the acceptance of our own humanity.
The final session used (among other things) some writing by the martyred Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador titled "A Future Not Our Own" (You might want to Google it).
When I read this I was reminded of the words of Jesus on the Cross, "It is finished."
This is ridiculous, almost offensive!
Jesus entered his ministry proclaiming the words of Isaiah, yet at the time the one who claimed to be the bringer of that grand proclamation is hung, broken on an instrument of torture. Mission accomplished?
The world moved on, people were still lost, hungering, thirsting, sick and imprisoned.
At that moment, Jesus was mindful of his own humanity. He was in a body, at one moment in time. He had one set of legs, one heart, one mouth, yet Jesus changed the world beyond description. it still is an object of wonder to me that Jesus submitted to death, the ultimate acceptance of humanity. His earthly ministry was finished, but God's work in the world continued, and continues...
Are we humble enough to accept the limitations of our own bodies and situations? This is not a cop out, we are called to be bold and audacious for the gospel. On the other hand, are we like Christ, humble enough to accept that we have only a limited part in God's plans? I will die, but God's plans will live on without me. I can take risks, because God's plan will not stand or fall on my witness. A call to work with diligence, but without fear, is one that is well worth listening to.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
A note of caution...
Sometimes you need a bit of forewarning about where your ideas might take you...
I tried out the children's talk last weekend, but the congregation was only small.
When I was handing the drinks out to the children, one said "Why don't you give a drink to everyone?"
Suddenly even those people who did not like lemonade were asking for an empty glass, or a half one.
Who would think saying a prayer of thanks over a drink and then consuming it together would be so precious?
Ooops, I forgot what eucharist means (prayer of thanks). After our moment together, and me not giving people long enough to reflect, the rest of the service seemed like an anticlimax, like me coming on to sing a solo Rolf Harris medley after a U2 concert.
I wanted people to see the sacred in the everyday, but you can't do that without touching God and being changed.
After all the fun we've had about the use of dealcoholised wine at the Eucharist at college, I wonder what they'd think of lemonade! After all, its not about what we do but the recognition of what God has done and continues to do.
I tried out the children's talk last weekend, but the congregation was only small.
When I was handing the drinks out to the children, one said "Why don't you give a drink to everyone?"
Suddenly even those people who did not like lemonade were asking for an empty glass, or a half one.
Who would think saying a prayer of thanks over a drink and then consuming it together would be so precious?
Ooops, I forgot what eucharist means (prayer of thanks). After our moment together, and me not giving people long enough to reflect, the rest of the service seemed like an anticlimax, like me coming on to sing a solo Rolf Harris medley after a U2 concert.
I wanted people to see the sacred in the everyday, but you can't do that without touching God and being changed.
After all the fun we've had about the use of dealcoholised wine at the Eucharist at college, I wonder what they'd think of lemonade! After all, its not about what we do but the recognition of what God has done and continues to do.
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Goodbye minister, mentor and friend
This morning I have received news that the person originally appointed to be my field education supervisor has passed away after over six months of incapacitating illness. He is part of the reason why I started the blog with its title, as he encouraged me to retain my connections with science as something that gives a particular distinctiveness to my ministry - and to contribute to the diversity of the church.
It is both good news and sad news, and I feel very much for the congregation and his family, but I cannot get past the enormity of the change of attitude towards death we have in Christ.
I feel grief and loss, the absence of a wise man who had contributed so much, and held the potential to contribute more to my formation in ministry.
Yet I cannot get past his gain and legacy, the people he changed and his work that lives on.
I feel pain, the recognition of human existence, the mortality of myself and those I love.
Yet I cannot get past the joy for a friend's life lived in Christ to the end.
I feel the absence of a leader, a man who was sure that Christ leads us on into the world and constantly called us to look for our own signposts.
Yet I cannot get past the fact that he has run his race, and is receiving his reward, but the road leads on for us all. Our work is not yet done, we have our own joys and sorrows to face.
I feel loneliness, never again to meet in this world with a man with a huge capacity and openness for love, and particularly think of those who were most close to him at this time of loss.
Yet I cannot get past the joy of a faithful man who gets to sit at the feet of his master at last.
Goodbye minister, mentor and friend.
See you later, once my own race is run...
It is both good news and sad news, and I feel very much for the congregation and his family, but I cannot get past the enormity of the change of attitude towards death we have in Christ.
I feel grief and loss, the absence of a wise man who had contributed so much, and held the potential to contribute more to my formation in ministry.
Yet I cannot get past his gain and legacy, the people he changed and his work that lives on.
I feel pain, the recognition of human existence, the mortality of myself and those I love.
Yet I cannot get past the joy for a friend's life lived in Christ to the end.
I feel the absence of a leader, a man who was sure that Christ leads us on into the world and constantly called us to look for our own signposts.
Yet I cannot get past the fact that he has run his race, and is receiving his reward, but the road leads on for us all. Our work is not yet done, we have our own joys and sorrows to face.
I feel loneliness, never again to meet in this world with a man with a huge capacity and openness for love, and particularly think of those who were most close to him at this time of loss.
Yet I cannot get past the joy of a faithful man who gets to sit at the feet of his master at last.
Goodbye minister, mentor and friend.
See you later, once my own race is run...
Friday, July 13, 2007
Who is my neighbour
When thinking about who is our neighbour, what came to mind is the current myth of self-sufficiency. I buy my products with my money and it is my right to enjoy them for my own purposes. right?
We still maintain the good habit of thankfulness to God when we say grace, but what does this mean in our disconnected world? And so I came up with my children's address.
I will bring several aluminium cans of lemonade and ask the children about what it means to say grace (They already know about this).
When they say it is giving thanks to God, I will ask if the person who purchased it had served God, and the how about the people who made it.
My working life had been in the aluminium industry, and I will show them my old work uniform and explain to them how thousands of people contributed to making the can. In one can of soft drink we have thousands of neighbours, who have contributed to our lives and us to theirs.
We then will prayerfully drink glasses of lemonade together as we thank God for all the people who helped made it.
Prayerful consumption as a way of recognising neighbourhood in a seemingly disconnected consumerist society? Hmmm, its almost crazy enough to work.
We still maintain the good habit of thankfulness to God when we say grace, but what does this mean in our disconnected world? And so I came up with my children's address.
I will bring several aluminium cans of lemonade and ask the children about what it means to say grace (They already know about this).
When they say it is giving thanks to God, I will ask if the person who purchased it had served God, and the how about the people who made it.
My working life had been in the aluminium industry, and I will show them my old work uniform and explain to them how thousands of people contributed to making the can. In one can of soft drink we have thousands of neighbours, who have contributed to our lives and us to theirs.
We then will prayerfully drink glasses of lemonade together as we thank God for all the people who helped made it.
Prayerful consumption as a way of recognising neighbourhood in a seemingly disconnected consumerist society? Hmmm, its almost crazy enough to work.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
A strange way to answer a question
This week I have been at a media training course. We were told that whenever we face the media we need to have a clear idea of the message we wish to convey, or the interviewer can dominate the discussion. This may seem a little domineering, but we see similar behaviour in the life of Jesus.
One of this weekend's readings in our church is that of the Good Luke 10:25-37 and I have been preparing my sermon on this for a while.
One of the interesting things I found in this account was the way in which Jesus did not answer the question. Jesus was essentially asked, "Who am I compelled by the law to love?" Jesus' story essentially gave the answer to "Who may act towards you in love?" We have lost the sense of outrage that this story would have caused in the original community. The behaviour of the Priest and the Levite would have been totally understandable, as they were subject to Levitical laws that would not let themselves be made unclean for anyone other than a blood relative. There are historical accounts of Samaritans killing dozens of pilgrims travelling from Galillee to Jerusalem about the time of Jesus, and only a chapter or so earlier we hear the disciples asking Jesus to call down fire and destroy a Samaritan village. Are we ready for the parable of the Good Moslem, or the Good Communist?
One other thing this also brings out for me is the concept of neighbourhood in the unexpected. Are we able to accept charity from those we think of as being lesser than us or threats to us? God's grace and love is universal, there are story after story of unexpected heroes inside or outside of the Hebrew community all through the Old Testament. Even a donkey manages to get a word in! The man dying on a cross in abject loneliness and agony is the saviour of the world! When we go forth to do the work of God in the community, are we ready to accept God working through those we go to serve? Are we too proud to accept the widow's mite so valued by God for the love and sacrifice with it shows? Are we willing to accept the love of the hurt and broken? Are we willing to listen for the word of God through the witness of the young, the frail, or those who we just don't seem to get along with? Perhaps we have to be stunned like the hapless traveller to accept the gifts that God sends us through these people.
Finally, I haver been looking at some writing by Moltmann in "The Crucified God" in preparation for the coming semester and some of his comments on the church are rather pointed and suitable for this meditation:
"The cultic division between the religious and the profane is potentially abolished in faith in the Christ who was profaned by crucifixion. Thus the eucharist, like meals held by Jesus with sinners and publicans', must also be celebrated with the unrighteous, those who have no rights and the godless from the 'highways and hedges' of society, in all their profanity, and should no longer be limited, as religious sacrifice, to those who are members of the same denomination.
The Christian church can re-introduce the divisions between those who are within and those who are without, only at the price of losing its own identity as the church of the crucified Christ" (p 40)
Who is worthy of our love? Only those who are worthy of the love of God... and that distinction has been obliterated by grace.
One of this weekend's readings in our church is that of the Good Luke 10:25-37 and I have been preparing my sermon on this for a while.
One of the interesting things I found in this account was the way in which Jesus did not answer the question. Jesus was essentially asked, "Who am I compelled by the law to love?" Jesus' story essentially gave the answer to "Who may act towards you in love?" We have lost the sense of outrage that this story would have caused in the original community. The behaviour of the Priest and the Levite would have been totally understandable, as they were subject to Levitical laws that would not let themselves be made unclean for anyone other than a blood relative. There are historical accounts of Samaritans killing dozens of pilgrims travelling from Galillee to Jerusalem about the time of Jesus, and only a chapter or so earlier we hear the disciples asking Jesus to call down fire and destroy a Samaritan village. Are we ready for the parable of the Good Moslem, or the Good Communist?
One other thing this also brings out for me is the concept of neighbourhood in the unexpected. Are we able to accept charity from those we think of as being lesser than us or threats to us? God's grace and love is universal, there are story after story of unexpected heroes inside or outside of the Hebrew community all through the Old Testament. Even a donkey manages to get a word in! The man dying on a cross in abject loneliness and agony is the saviour of the world! When we go forth to do the work of God in the community, are we ready to accept God working through those we go to serve? Are we too proud to accept the widow's mite so valued by God for the love and sacrifice with it shows? Are we willing to accept the love of the hurt and broken? Are we willing to listen for the word of God through the witness of the young, the frail, or those who we just don't seem to get along with? Perhaps we have to be stunned like the hapless traveller to accept the gifts that God sends us through these people.
Finally, I haver been looking at some writing by Moltmann in "The Crucified God" in preparation for the coming semester and some of his comments on the church are rather pointed and suitable for this meditation:
"The cultic division between the religious and the profane is potentially abolished in faith in the Christ who was profaned by crucifixion. Thus the eucharist, like meals held by Jesus with sinners and publicans', must also be celebrated with the unrighteous, those who have no rights and the godless from the 'highways and hedges' of society, in all their profanity, and should no longer be limited, as religious sacrifice, to those who are members of the same denomination.
The Christian church can re-introduce the divisions between those who are within and those who are without, only at the price of losing its own identity as the church of the crucified Christ" (p 40)
Who is worthy of our love? Only those who are worthy of the love of God... and that distinction has been obliterated by grace.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
What's the picture?
I suppose I'd better do something to explain the picture I have for this page. For those scientifically inclined it is the 3dz2 orbital density plot. It is one of many places of mystery that I found in my studies in chemistry.
For some people, the explanation of things by science can cause a reduction in the level of beauty or wonder in them. For me, the further that I delved into science the more things I found that were full of beauty and wonder. Whether they are the wonderful balances seen in ecology or the absolute perfection seen in the properties of certain chemicals for life, I found they added to rather than removed from my sense of faith. I believe that science and wonder can co-exist, I see no difference in the wonder of God parting the Red Sea by miraculous event or by the extremely coincidental event of a major undersea land collapse occurring at the most absolutely opportune time (as was offered as a debunking of this story by an atheist friend to me last year). What's most important to me is that I don't let petty debates about mechanisms of God's activity either get in the way of approaching the world of science with rationality or, most importantly, from approaching my relationship with God through faith in Christ crucified.
For some people, the explanation of things by science can cause a reduction in the level of beauty or wonder in them. For me, the further that I delved into science the more things I found that were full of beauty and wonder. Whether they are the wonderful balances seen in ecology or the absolute perfection seen in the properties of certain chemicals for life, I found they added to rather than removed from my sense of faith. I believe that science and wonder can co-exist, I see no difference in the wonder of God parting the Red Sea by miraculous event or by the extremely coincidental event of a major undersea land collapse occurring at the most absolutely opportune time (as was offered as a debunking of this story by an atheist friend to me last year). What's most important to me is that I don't let petty debates about mechanisms of God's activity either get in the way of approaching the world of science with rationality or, most importantly, from approaching my relationship with God through faith in Christ crucified.
Sometimes God acts in strange ways...
One of my greatest struggles of going into ministry has been that of worthiness. I have often caught myself struggling to accept I am worthy to lead humans, let alone to serve God. It is often more easy to see what we lack than the gifts we have been given.
To some extent, thinking on the fact that participation in God's plan is an act of grace freely given by God to humanity has corrected this. It is not a matter of our worthiness but God's grace, as I said yesterday.
Then I read one of my scheduled Bible readings for today. It included Acts 16:16-18. In this passage Paul and Silas are harassed by a person possessed, who continually proclaimed their identity. I don't know if any of you have ever worked with those who have diminished mental capacity, but I know from experience how hard it can be to convey a message to the wider community while being enthusiastically and continually interrupted by someone with a limited sense of boundaries. After two days, it would be no wonder that the ministry team would have been more than a little frustrated and annoyed.
In a moment of what seems to me like sheer frustration, Paul casts out the demons in Jesus' name. While it is not one of Paul's greatest moments, it is a moment where Christ was present and active through Paul's ministry. I believe that if Paul was genuinely concerned about this woman on his own basis, he would have done this much earlier. It was not through Paul's love, but through the love of Christ that this woman was healed.
So what does this mean for us in ministry? To me, it shows that Christ is able to do great things with and through people, despite their weakness and even uses a moment of weakness to bring profound change to the life of one of the most disadvanteged in the community. While I don't believe that this means that God does not strengthen us and change us on our walk, it does serve as a reminder of the unconditional love of God for us and the strange ways in which God is free to work in the world. If we get too hung up on our needs to be worthy for ministry, we deny the grace that is inherent in our call.
To some extent, thinking on the fact that participation in God's plan is an act of grace freely given by God to humanity has corrected this. It is not a matter of our worthiness but God's grace, as I said yesterday.
Then I read one of my scheduled Bible readings for today. It included Acts 16:16-18. In this passage Paul and Silas are harassed by a person possessed, who continually proclaimed their identity. I don't know if any of you have ever worked with those who have diminished mental capacity, but I know from experience how hard it can be to convey a message to the wider community while being enthusiastically and continually interrupted by someone with a limited sense of boundaries. After two days, it would be no wonder that the ministry team would have been more than a little frustrated and annoyed.
In a moment of what seems to me like sheer frustration, Paul casts out the demons in Jesus' name. While it is not one of Paul's greatest moments, it is a moment where Christ was present and active through Paul's ministry. I believe that if Paul was genuinely concerned about this woman on his own basis, he would have done this much earlier. It was not through Paul's love, but through the love of Christ that this woman was healed.
So what does this mean for us in ministry? To me, it shows that Christ is able to do great things with and through people, despite their weakness and even uses a moment of weakness to bring profound change to the life of one of the most disadvanteged in the community. While I don't believe that this means that God does not strengthen us and change us on our walk, it does serve as a reminder of the unconditional love of God for us and the strange ways in which God is free to work in the world. If we get too hung up on our needs to be worthy for ministry, we deny the grace that is inherent in our call.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Into the great unknown...
Hello, and welcome to my blog. This is a new thing for me, but I'm willing to try it for a while and see how it all works.
I've only put limited information about myself in my profile, but those who know me will know me and it'd be a little too easy to identify me if I speak too much about myself. Hopefully I'll be able to say enough to keep things interesting.
To kick things off and let people get some idea of at least how I think, let's start with a little bit of thought that came out when I was thinking about preaching lately. My supervisor kept telling me that I can only ever preach my own gospel, and this got me thinking. So here's the latest version of the gospel of Bunsen.
God loves us
God calls us
God renews and transform us
God has a future we are blessed to be able to participate and share in.
This is an awesome task;
we cannot do this on our own.
We can only do this through
It might not be much, it may not be theologically complete, but it (like me) is a work in progress.
I've only put limited information about myself in my profile, but those who know me will know me and it'd be a little too easy to identify me if I speak too much about myself. Hopefully I'll be able to say enough to keep things interesting.
To kick things off and let people get some idea of at least how I think, let's start with a little bit of thought that came out when I was thinking about preaching lately. My supervisor kept telling me that I can only ever preach my own gospel, and this got me thinking. So here's the latest version of the gospel of Bunsen.
God loves us
God calls us
God renews and transform us
God has a future we are blessed to be able to participate and share in.
This is an awesome task;
we cannot do this on our own.
We can only do this through
- the Father's unimaginable and immeasurable grace,
- the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ,
- and the power and gifting of the Holy Spirit.
It might not be much, it may not be theologically complete, but it (like me) is a work in progress.
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