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Weblog Archives: September 2002
Monday, September 30, 2002
National Forgiveness Day seems like an opportunity to ask the question: What is forgiveness?
Forgiveness is the means by which people(s) who have been estranged from one another are brought to reconciliation. It can be a single completed action, a proces to be worked through, or indeed an unaccepted offer.
In the Bible forgiveness is sometimes offered by the one offended against, as in 2 Corinthians 5.19For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people's sins against themSometimes it is the offender who takes the initiative, as in Matt 5.24. There are also situations in which a third person is the agent of forgiveness. Paul describes himself in this role in 2 Cor 5. 18,20. It is the task of the church to act in this way, as Matt 18.17 makes clear. Success is not guaranteed (Matt 18.17 again), but forgiveness is an important part of the peacemaking which a sign of "the children of God".
But what about justice? Surely justice must be satisfied before forgiveness can be offered? It is certainly possible to read the scriptures in this way. Paul's theology in Romans 3 has been taken to mean that the death of Jesus satisfies God's demand for justice and therefore makes forgiveness and reconciliation possible. I think that is a misreading of what Paul means and would argue that properly speaking it is forgveness which comes first. Forgiveness can often make forgiveness possible even when the demands of strict justice cannot be met. Scriptures can be passed to and fro in debates on this, but overwhelmingly I'm convinced that it is Paul's assertion that "while we were yet sinners Christ died" (Romans 5.8) that should be used to interpret all else. The movement is entirely God's. Our forgiveness is all grace, unearned and undeserved. Our repentance and faith is a response to that gracious offer, not a condition of it. Christians are called to forgive others in exactly this way: Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.
But of course, the offer can be refused. To accept forgiveness from another is in effect to accept their verdict of "guilty" - you cannot receive forgiveness if you are convinced you have done nothing wrong! Like any gift, forgiveness must be accepted as well as offered. The forgiveness of God does not leave us free to carry on as we were. Once accepted, it has the power to transform and renew, kindling love in the loveless, hope in the despairing and faith in the unbeliever.Posted by Richard @ 09:41 PM BST [Link]
Sunday, September 29, 2002
September 30th has been designated National Forgiveness Day:
"Forgiveness is the key that unlocks the door of resentment and the handcuffs of hate. It is a power that breaks the chains of bitterness and the shackles of selfishness". - Corrie Ten BoomPosted by Richard @ 08:13 AM BST [Link]
Friday, September 27, 2002
I've got to admit that I've been feeling a bit "cheesed off" this week. Nothing serious, just not exactly on top form. Partly it's to do with feeling oppressed by the "stuff to do" pile, which never seems to get any smaller. Whatever. Although it has been in many ways a good few days, I've felt out of sorts with myself.
But not tonight. Tonight I went to a production of the Christian Aid presentation "Feast of Life". Written by Garth Hewitt and performed by musicians and singers from local churches and Sketty Primary School, it was an energising event. A choir of children's voices singingGood news for the poorMarvellous.
Good news from the Lord!
A new world is coming
The time is at hand!
Good news from the Lord
I have to go back to my "stuff to do"; it hasn't gone away. But I'm not oppressed by it any more. Good news indeed.Posted by Richard @ 11:39 PM BST [Link]
Wednesday, September 25, 2002
Bene Diction quotes from Mark Twain's War Prayer. Here it is in full. [more]
Posted by Richard @ 11:36 PM BST [Link]
"Freshers' Fair" began today. There was I, dressed like a vicar (I'd gone straight from taking a funeral service), entering a seething maelstrom of youthfulness. In the noise and the chaos I felt like a Scout at a Boy's Brigade meeting.
And old. Very, very old.Posted by Richard @ 11:25 PM BST [Link]
Monday, September 23, 2002
A day or two ago I was involved in a conversation about the practice of adopting a baby via the internet. A search on the web reveals many sites which are full of pictures of cute babies, and with lists of the agencies’ adoption fees. Whilst the agencies protest that these fees are paid for their professional services and do not constitute ‘buying a baby’, in practice it is noticeable that white babies attract higher fees than black or mixed race babies, healthy babies ‘cost’ more than those with disabilities. Human life, it seems, has a price not a value.
There are those who will try to make this an issue about the internet, and draconian measures are often being called for, mostly by those who have little or no understanding of the way that the internet works. But this is a red herring. What this practice reveals is the increasing tendency to regard children as commodities: life style accessories rather than a deep and life-long commitment. A society in which children can be bought and sold, however that is dressed up, is a society which is suffering from a deep and fundamental sickness. “International Adoption Agencies” are a symptom of this sickness, not a cause of it.
It is too easy ‘to point the finger’ and not recognise that all of us bear some responsibility for the way that children are treated in our society. We all have a part to play; by seeing that our own children receive the respect they deserve and the discipline they need, by encouraging and offering support to our neighbours, and by offering our prayerful support to schools and teachers. The care of children is a most solemn duty placed on all God’s people. None of us can shirk our obligation to the little ones that have been placed among us.Posted by Richard @ 11:09 PM BST [Link]
Saturday, September 21, 2002
Andrew Careaga treads the verge of Jordan. And still blogs.
Posted by Richard @ 04:37 PM BST [Link]
So much to do, so little time. But this was irresistible
If you want to buy your immortality, but don't fancy hanging around in a freezer for who knows how long, this company reckon they can turn you into a diamond. Imagine that. You could become an heirloom for future generations of your family to argue over.
Posted by Richard @ 01:40 PM BST [Link]
Friday, September 20, 2002
I know this is old, having its origins in November 2000 when a certain election was held. But I wasn't blogging then, and there are friends of mine who I thought might be irritated/amused (delete as applicable) by it: [more]
Posted by Richard @ 11:45 PM BST [Link]
Thursday, September 19, 2002
The magazine New Scientist has launched what it describes as "the world's weirdest competition" - the chance to win life after death.
New Scientist brings you the choice of a lifetime.Live Later and have your body cryogenically preserved. Cryonics - the idea of freezing people when they die ready to be revived and restored to health centuries in the future- has always been controversial. Will it ever work? Here's your chance to find out. If you choose the cryonics prize your body will frozen at the Cryonics Institute in Michigan upon your death.
Live Now and jet off to Hawaii with a friend. If you'd rather leave the future to itself New Scientist will fly you and a friend to Hawaii for a week to visit the world's highest observatory. Look back millions of years by viewing the stars from Mauna Kea.
Is it me, or has the world gone stark raving mad?
Posted by Richard @ 11:32 PM BST [Link]
Wednesday, September 18, 2002
sans-coeur has a nice post on forgiveness.
Pax Vobiscum is concerned about the modesty of children's clothes. I've had a rant about this myself fairly recently. Glad I'm not the only one who's anxious.Posted by Richard @ 11:23 AM BST [Link]
British charity Oxfam is launching a new campaign today, described as a "coffee rescue plan". Prices of coffee on the world markets are at a 30 year low and as many as 25 million producers worldwide are being forced into poverty. The campaign has been launched just ahead of the meeting next week of the International Coffee Organisation which is to address the crisis.
Of course, there is nothing new about this. Producers in developing nations have always been at the mercy of the multinationals that process and market coffee in the rich markets of the west. The coffee trade is dominated by just four companies. Kraft, Sara Lee, Procter & Gamble and Nestle between them buy about half of the world's coffee crop and whilst the price of the coffee bean has dived, the profits these companies make from coffee have soared. Producers receive about 5% of the consumer price. "They know there is terrible human suffering at the heart of their business and yet they do virtually nothing to help," said Oxfam's campaigns director Adrian Lovett.
Oxfam also criticises the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank which have "encouraged" developing nations to expand coffee production for export sale leaving them vulnerable to price crashes. The present crisis is caused in part by over-production which inevitably puts downward pressure on prices.
"Fair Trade" coffee, which guarantees a minimum price to the producer, is now widely available in Britain. It still only accounts for a tiny fraction of retail sales but it is a growing fraction as more and more people realise that their supermarket decisions have a direct effect on the lives of others overseas. If we could get this message heard in the USA there would be a real chance for lifting third world producers out of poverty.
The Biblical demand for justice for the poor is unequivocal. The question is whether this demand is more pressing than our love of a bargain at the supermarket and the quest of corporate profit. I think it is.Posted by Richard @ 11:05 AM BST [Link]
Tuesday, September 17, 2002
More from the pen of Charles Wesley, a hymn written for the first anniversary of his conversion.
O for a thousand tongues to sing
My great Redeemer’s praise,
The glories of my God and King,
The triumphs of His grace!My gracious Master and my God,
Assist me to proclaim,
To spread through all the earth abroad
The honors of Thy name.Jesus - the name that charms our fears,
That bids our sorrows cease;
’Tis music in the sinner’s ears,
’Tis life, and health, and peace.He breaks the power of cancelled sin,
He sets the prisoner free;
His blood can make the foulest clean,
His blood availed for me.He speaks; and, listening to His voice,
New life the dead receive,
The mournful, broken hearts rejoice,
The humble poor believe.Hear Him, ye deaf; His praise, ye dumb,
Your loosened tongues employ;
Ye blind, behold your Savior come,
And leap, ye lame, for joy.See all your sins on Jesus laid:
The Lamb of God was slain,
His soul was once an offering made
For every soul of man.In Christ your Head, you then shall know,
Shall feel your sins forgiven;
Anticipate your heaven below,
And own that love is heaven.Posted by Richard @ 11:35 PM BST [Link]
Sunday, September 15, 2002
The gospel reading for today was Matthew 18: 21-35
then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?" Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy times seven.
Jesus words are hard to take, aren't they? I mean, how can you keep track? With so many friends, acquaintences and family members in constant need of forgiveness it can be very difficult to count the number of times we've "let them off".
So I was thrilled to discover Forgiveness Tracker for PalmOS™, a new bit of software for PDA's that combines a contact manager with some simple spreadsheet functions. It's very easy to use. Everytime you forgive someone, you simply tap their name in your list once with the stylus and the number of times they've been forgiven is incremented by one. You can call up a list of your most frequently forgiven and most recently forgiven contacts, whilst it's statistical functions allow a prediction of 'most likely to need forgiving' over a chosen period (a week is the default). This last function is a lot of fun, but only works reliably after several weeks of data has been input.
When a particular contact has been forgiven 490 times, an alarm sounds for ten seconds and their record is permanently deleted from the contact list. The name is still held invisibly though, and should you later try to include them again the name can no longer be input. The attempt is met with a flashing "Shunned" screen which is ample warning that you should no longer should have anything to do with them.
All in all, I'd say that Forgiveness Tracker for PalmOS™ is an elegant use of technology which enables Christians to more closely follow the commands of scripture and I highly recommend it.
Email me for more details.Posted by Richard @ 04:05 PM BST [Link]
Saturday, September 14, 2002
Martin Roth's blog is always worth a look. On Friday, in a post about Christians in the military, he quotes a General at a conference of Military Christian Fellowships:
"God didn’t send a committee. He sent a human leader, who had a team of 12, one of whom was a failure. So it’s crucial that someone be in charge, with authority and responsibility. “You can’t lead by committee – the buck stops with you, the leader.”He goes on to talk about the 'servant' nature of Christian leadership, which is an important message, but I think in danger of being drowned out by the initial message about being in charge. Too many Christian leaders I know of use the language of servanthood but behave as though they don't really mean it. Leadership, Christian or otherwise, operates best when it is with the consent of those being lead. Sometimes a leader will need "to put her foot down" about something, but this shouldn't be happening all the time. Consensus and trust will always be vital for effective leadership.Posted by Richard @ 11:01 PM BST [Link]
Thursday, September 12, 2002
Thanks - if thanks is the right word - to Ian's Messy Desk for the following story. Proceed with caution: [more]
Posted by Richard @ 11:11 PM BST [Link]
Andy Crouch ponders the command to love, and draws an uncomfortable conclusion.
Posted by Richard @ 09:37 AM BST [Link]
Wednesday, September 11, 2002
Be still, and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted upon the earth
Psalm 46: 10Posted by Richard @ 12:27 AM BST [Link]
Tuesday, September 10, 2002
September 11th 2001 will be remembered for a long time as a day when a terrible evil was committed. The dreadful loss of life in the heart of a major city in the most powerful of the world's nations should not be lightly forgotten.
I'm not convinced though that 9-11 deserves the title, "the day the world changed". The world is not unfamiliar with evil; the slaughter of innocents is almost a commonplace in history. Two things mark out 9-11 from the rest: it was played out on live television to an audience of millions, and it was perpetrated in a nation that had assumed itself to be beyond the reach of any foreign assailant. What changed that day was not the world, but the United States. It was the day the US realised that even with all its military power, a small but determined attack can inflict a grievous wound. In the history of the world I believe the day will come to be seen as a waymarker rather than a turning point. Even the "waymarker' analogy might be a false one, since this should be an indication of progress on a journey. If 9-11 shows anything, it is how little progress there has been in the affairs of humankind.
The tragedies of our history provide us with little comfort, and often merely repeat lessons determined to go unlearned. Massacre and misery, violent death and vile injustice are the chapter headings of our story. "Man's inhumanity to man" is a cliché, but a cliché rooted in reality.
The despair of this reality can only be tempered by one intervention. Not the military victory in Afghanistan, nor the continuing "war on terrorism", both likely only to continue the thread of injustice which is woven in history. The only event that matters, on September 11th or on any other day, is the real turning point in our history, the point at which God intervened and revealed the depth of his love. He comes in Jesus of Nazareth, bone of our bone, suffers the fate of a criminal in weakness and humiliation, and yet is raised in glory and honour - his own vindication and ours. This is God's chosen way of dealing with evil: costly, self-sacrificial love. If we are to respond to the events of a year ago, and we must, how can we dare to take any other path?Posted by Richard @ 11:51 PM BST [Link]
Monday, September 9, 2002
This hymn was written by Gareth Hill, a British Methodist minister, in response to the events of 9-11. I offer it (with his permission) in the hope that it will be an aid to reflection in the next few days.
Metre: 8.6.8.6.D
Tunes: Vox Dilecti ('I heard the voice of Jesus say') and othersWhen mountains that we thought secure
lie crumbled where we stand
and pain and helplessness endure
- all from another's hand -
Help us to bear the prophet's mark,
to stand apart from hate
and witness to the Father's call
for justice in the land.God is our strength and refuge still
though all the earth give way;
our help at every time of ill,
the light of our dark day.
And as his people in the world
we bear the scars of grief,
but echo faith's resounding note
- and still for justice pray.There is a place of holiness
where God makes warfare cease.
There is a day of hopefulness,
a promised time of peace.
So, here today, we bear the pain
of inhumanity,
but pledge our lives to live for truth
so justice may increase.Posted by Richard @ 11:17 PM BST [Link]
Posted by Richard @ 04:44 PM BST [Link]
There's a very fine post at Locust Eater titled Robot Evangelist. (Thanks to blogs4God for the link)
Here's a quote:The thing is that language defines and limits the possibilities of thought. If the content of the Christian message is reducible to a few glib, compact statements, then one must wonder if such a message is able to address the complexity and diversity of human experience in any meaningful wayQuite so. Part of the genius of the early church was to take existing words and filling them with new and unexplored meanings. AGAPE is a good example of this. But one of the things I quickly discovered whilst visiting Florida is that sometimes people use words which sound the same but which can carry very different meanings. "Pants" is an obvious example. This can make conversation hard to follow. It gets worse when you realise that people sometimes express the same truth in very different ways, so that that they may not notice that they are in agreement.
One danger of a certain kind of Christianity (found in both conservative and liberal camps) is that all those whose words do not sound exactly the same as mine, must by definition be mistaken. There is no room for nuanced thought because everything is "cut-and-dried". I wish there were more respectful listening between Christians of different traditions: real conversation rather than shouting across the divide. This would surely be truer to our saviour's intention for us.Posted by Richard @ 04:31 PM BST [Link]
Sunday, September 8, 2002
About a week ago I mentioned that I'd just put up a new website for the Chaplaincy at Swansea University, hoping that Google would pick it up. This afternoon I'm feeling just a tad smug, since I discovered that a Google search for "university of Wales Swansea Chaplaincy" brings up the new site in 4th place. To coin a phrase: "I love it when a plan comes together."
Posted by Richard @ 02:37 PM BST [Link]
Saturday, September 7, 2002
Now that I've got that bit of a moan out of the way, and I've (more or less!) finished my sermon for tomorrow, let me just say that as Synods go, today's wasn't at all bad.
There was an interesting "global" feel to the proceedings as we have a lady from Sri Lanka working with us in South Wales for the next three years and we also had a report from one synod member's recent visit to the Church of South India. It's too easy to fall into the trap of assuming that 'our' bit of the church is representative of the whole, and sometimes it just isn't.Posted by Richard @ 11:26 PM BST [Link]
Today's my (well, our!) wedding anniversary. Seventeen years and counting. So how do I spend this special day? Shall we celebrate with meals out? A party? A grand gathering? Find a babysitter and have the day to ourselves?
None of the above. Richard goes to Synod. I wouldn't mind, but this Synod always falls on the Saturday nearest the wedding anniversary. Maybe they'll give me one off for our 25th...Posted by Richard @ 10:00 PM BST [Link]
Friday, September 6, 2002
One of the happiest duties of my ministry - but also one of the most onerous from an administrative point of view - is the conduct of marriage services. There's something moving about the new beginning that it represents that always touches me somehow.
Most of the marriages ceremonies that I've been involved in have have a reading from 1 Corinthians 13: "Love is patient and kind, it is not jealous or boastful or rude..." Powerful words, especially perhaps in the context of a wedding where people come together to publically proclaim their commitment to one another. A far cry from those cheesy "Love is..." cartoons of the 1970's.
I always try to remind couples that though love is often thought of as merely a feeling, the Bible makes clear that "true love" has a huge element of decision in it. When Jesus said, "Love one another" he wasn't insisting that we all have warm cosy feelings to each other all the time. And he went on to say, "...as I have loved you." Real love is always sacrificial, and this is true for the love of husband and wife, parent and child, Christian sister and brother, even for the love that we are commanded to have for our enemies.Posted by Richard @ 09:03 PM BST [Link]
Thursday, September 5, 2002
Either this picture was faked, or someone needed to change their underclothes shortly after it was taken.
Posted by Richard @ 11:21 AM BST [Link]
Wednesday, September 4, 2002
So it's official. At a special "Circuit Service" tonight my colleague was welcomed and I was inducted as Superintendent. So I'm stuck with it - and it with me! It was a very happy service. I got to sing two of my favourite hymns (Let earth and heaven agree and Lord of creation), my colleague Alf prayed extempore but sounded though he'd been crafting for days, and our District Chair preached a very touching sermon. It was one of those occasions that 'felt right' at every level and made me glad to be here.
Wil's sermon raised an interesting point that I hadn't considered before. Almost in passing he remarked that for the people of Israel, Egypt had been a place of salvation. It was literally the place that enabled the survival of the people. In the Bible story, there could be no Israel without Egypt. But the place of salvation became a place of bondage and oppression. They needed to move on, but stayed put. "Treating an inn as though it were a home" was the way he put it.
"Moving on" is always uncomfortable, though Methodist ministers here do have to get used to it just as their congregations do. But journeying, moving on, pilgrimmage - these are essential metaphors in the Christian faith. For Jesus is always ahead of us, calling us as surely as he called 12 others long ago: "Follow me."So every day
We're on our way
For we're a travelling, wandering race
We're the people of GodPosted by Richard @ 11:47 PM BST [Link]
Tuesday, September 3, 2002
At our Local Preachers' Meeting last night my colleague Howard Long gave a very helpful introduction to the Epistle to the Hebrews. Modern readers ( i.e. me!) don't find it a very easy book but Howard underlined the way that Hebrews emphasises the uniqueness and all-sufficiency of Jesus. This was a vital message then, but just as necessary today. I'd want to add that part of the reason we find Hebrews so difficult is because it is written to a group of Christians whose culture we feel quite removed from. The jargon of the temple was familiar to them, less so to us. I'm reminded that the task of the Church in every age is to find ways of expressing the ageless truths of the gospel in terms that can be understood. But what a task that is in a "post-modern" culture where the very notion of "truth" is challenged.
Posted by Richard @ 08:30 PM BST [Link]
Monday, September 2, 2002
More from the hymnody of Charles Wesley:
1 YE ransomed sinners, hear,
The prisoners of the Lord,
And wait till Christ appear,
According to his word:
Rejoice in hope, rejoice with me,
We shall from all our sins be free.2 Let others hug their chains,
For sin and Satan plead,
And say, from sin's remains
They never can be freed:
Rejoice in hope, rejoice with me,
We shall from all our sins be free.3 In God we put our trust;
If we our sins confess,
Faithful he is, and just,
From all unrighteousness
To cleanse us all, both you and me
We shall from all our sins be free.4 Surely in us the hope
Of glory shall appear,
Sinners, your heads lift up,
And see redemption near:
Again I say, Rejoice with me,
We shall from all our sins be free.5 Who Jesu's sufferings share,
My fellow-prisoners now,
Ye soon the wreath shall wear
On your triumphant brow:
Rejoice in hope, rejoice with me,
We shall from all our sins be free.6 The word of God is sure,
And never can remove,
We shall in heart be pure,
And perfected in love:
Rejoice in hope, rejoice with me,
We shall from all our sins be free.7 Then let us gladly bring
Our sacrifice of praise,
Let us give thanks, and sing,
And glory in his grace:
Rejoice in hope, rejoice with me,
We shall from all our sins be free
