At a wedding I conducted at Kings College University chapel Aberdeen last year the best man tried to be cocky about the existence of God. This was a few minutes before the service started and I felt somewhat decidedly not in the mood. In the vestry he joked how if we had time he would intellectually spar with me, because he had read The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins. Smiling I gave the quote from the psalmist; 'The fool has said in his heart there is no God'. We scoffed at each other. He was very soon to get a bigger headache than the one caused by the stagger the night before. (Who has a stag night before their wedding these days?) As he stepped out of the vestry into the courtyard one of God's winged creatures dropped what seemed like divine judgement. I have never seen such good targeting since Bomber Harris returned from his dam busting mission. The burly man delayed our ceremony as he screeched for Head and Shoulders to resurrect his mop.
Its not easy arguing the Christian faith and the existence of God these days. But I think we can get solace that what goes around comes around. Sunday's reading from Acts 17.22-31 shows that Paul faced an intellectual climate not unlike our own. Athens was not the glorious centre of civilisation that it had once been and had been in decline under the shadow of Rome. Yet it retained something of cultural hub popular with philosophers and devotees of the ancient Greek religions. To be able to lecture here you had to get a license and although the society was fairly liberal the license was not automatic. Some preachers and lectures could be seen as a danger to the status quo.
In his debate Paul encounters two schools of philosophy; the Epicureans and the Stoics. The Epicurians believed the gods,if they existed, were disinterested in us. The world as they saw it was solely material constructed from atoms. When you die that is it. The Stoics held that God was the universe and all of us emanate from it. We are all part of God and our divine spark returns to God after our death. It's not a great intellectual leap to see that this compares closely with much of the culture and thinking of today, especially here in this country. The Christian who lifts his or her head above the parapet is often confronted by either athiests or new agers, Epicureans or Stoics.
Paul's genius is that he didnt bring out old tired arguments but addressed these armchair philosophers in their own intellectual dialect. Now and again I have heard red-faced evangelists get into wild arguments with scoffing athiests and a lot of scripture is thrown around with arguments about Jesus saving. The athiests simply side-step the Scripture because it has no authority to them. They have intellectually built up an Aunt Sally, a vision of religion that does not match the reality. Likewise the New Agers will calmly inform us that all religious institutions are destructive forces that will wash away when the Age of Aquarius come in. Each us, is our own God, they let us believe. It is very difficult to argue with these folks since one group is invariably evasive while the other is slippery.
Paul's words begin with reference to the altar of the unknow god. He then beautifully uses an old philosophical quote about the God in whom we move and have our being. God is unknow to the Epicureans because they are more comfortable with the idea of a distant deity. The arguments are simpler if you either dont believe in God or think he's not really involved. It then becomes culturally unfashionable to believe in an involved God. Today, as then, athiesm is largely intellectual laziness and cultural snobbishness. It is a lack of willingness to go deeper. In a similar way the Stoic's God is unknown because he impersonal. New Ager philosophy largely dismisses the personal God because its easier to fashion God into our own image.
We are not going to get anywhere unless we begin on the same wavelength and speak to the culture as it is. It is no good pulling out proof-texts in the Bible. Rather we need to begin with where these people are at, only from this point will we be listened to. Many struggle to see how God allows suffering in our world and it is our task to gently and humbly unfold the mystery of God in Christ on the Cross. St Peter strongly admonishes us to always have our defence arguments ready. But these are not just intellectual arguments, but a witness to a whole spirituality or what he calls 'The hope that is within you'. (1 Peter 15b)
If we are feeling nervous we should recall the words from Gospel, Jesus promises us the Advocate, the Holy Spirit (John 14.15-21). Not only will the Advocate give us the words we need, but the same Spirit will give us the joy of knowing that we are loved by the universal Father. If we carry this joy and day by day make more room for love, then spiritual orphans will catch a glimpse too of him who said "You will see me, because I live, you also live." (John 14.19)
Friday, April 25, 2008
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Tony's Story
In August 2004, Tony Burke was one of five men from different walks of life picked to go to Worth Abbey for a BBC reality TV show called the Monestery. Tony arrived at Worth without a clue about religion and God. In his own words;
Tony worked as an editor of on-line adult magazine and went into the whole thing as something of a joke. After a while he began to respect the monks and their community life but by the end remained a sceptic, if not a respectful sceptic.
At his last meeting with his mentor Brother Francis, the monk placed a stone in his hand and told him that our task in this life is to find out the name that God has for us in heaven. Tony froze. The cameras rolled. Again in his own words,
Deeply moved by what had just happened, Tony experienced a call, an answer. God existed. There was something in it. It wasn't just grown-ups dressing up. Or something to do on a Sunday before the pubs opened. He wasn't looking for it. He wasn't willing it to happen nor was he expecting it to happen, but it did. It was real. Soon he left his job and got work outside that industry. Where is he now. You will find him regularly sitting in a church somewhere, quietly, enjoying God's presence. He's fallen in love with love.
The words of today's gospel ringed home; "The gatekeeper opens the gate for him (Jesus), and the sheep hear his voice." John 10.3. Tony was moved by two experiences, first the amazing community of monks who really slog at intergrity and spirituality. The Acts of the Apostles tells us day by day the Lord added to the number of the church. Why? Because they too lived an authentic Christian community. Some of what they did might not be practical for us today, but the point is that they tried and people outside saw something good and inspiring in that. The lesson for any church, parish, congregation is that working at being the 'Body of Christ' is worthwhile. Acts of the Apostles is not a business plan for marketting or blueprint for a hippy commune. Its simply telling us to sweat it out, to work hard at being a Christian community. A good community will help people be spiritually open.
The second experience, the decisive one, that moved Tony was his encounter with the living God. The Holy Spirit roared through him, shook his old self off. Jesus said, "The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice." (John 10.3). Tony probably went on the BBC show for a bit of a laugh, out to disprove it all. In the end he experienced something akin to the voice of the Good Shepherd. As Brother Francis said Tony found heard his name in heaven. When we find our name in heaven, we know our calling, and even in the worst struggles, the peace of God rests with us. If in this reading from John, the Church is the gatekeeper, then sheep are those who seek God.
God wants to fill our hearts with his voice. Maybe for some it is the first time, perhaps for others it is a on-going experience of renweal? I believe, that God dares us. What can we lose? But be warned, for some, there will be no choice, the voice will unexpectadely roar through you.
http://www.worthabbey.net/bbc/tony.htm
"God doesn't exist. Church is for old people who smell of wee. Priests are running from life. Theologians are on a meal ticket attempting to answer the unanswerable question of the existence of God, and will
flesh it out until they retire to Spain... etc."
Tony worked as an editor of on-line adult magazine and went into the whole thing as something of a joke. After a while he began to respect the monks and their community life but by the end remained a sceptic, if not a respectful sceptic.
At his last meeting with his mentor Brother Francis, the monk placed a stone in his hand and told him that our task in this life is to find out the name that God has for us in heaven. Tony froze. The cameras rolled. Again in his own words,
"I was hit by something I'll never forget. It was like I'd taken a new drug and felt paralysed and unable to speak. It lasted about a minute."
Deeply moved by what had just happened, Tony experienced a call, an answer. God existed. There was something in it. It wasn't just grown-ups dressing up. Or something to do on a Sunday before the pubs opened. He wasn't looking for it. He wasn't willing it to happen nor was he expecting it to happen, but it did. It was real. Soon he left his job and got work outside that industry. Where is he now. You will find him regularly sitting in a church somewhere, quietly, enjoying God's presence. He's fallen in love with love.
The words of today's gospel ringed home; "The gatekeeper opens the gate for him (Jesus), and the sheep hear his voice." John 10.3. Tony was moved by two experiences, first the amazing community of monks who really slog at intergrity and spirituality. The Acts of the Apostles tells us day by day the Lord added to the number of the church. Why? Because they too lived an authentic Christian community. Some of what they did might not be practical for us today, but the point is that they tried and people outside saw something good and inspiring in that. The lesson for any church, parish, congregation is that working at being the 'Body of Christ' is worthwhile. Acts of the Apostles is not a business plan for marketting or blueprint for a hippy commune. Its simply telling us to sweat it out, to work hard at being a Christian community. A good community will help people be spiritually open.
The second experience, the decisive one, that moved Tony was his encounter with the living God. The Holy Spirit roared through him, shook his old self off. Jesus said, "The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice." (John 10.3). Tony probably went on the BBC show for a bit of a laugh, out to disprove it all. In the end he experienced something akin to the voice of the Good Shepherd. As Brother Francis said Tony found heard his name in heaven. When we find our name in heaven, we know our calling, and even in the worst struggles, the peace of God rests with us. If in this reading from John, the Church is the gatekeeper, then sheep are those who seek God.
God wants to fill our hearts with his voice. Maybe for some it is the first time, perhaps for others it is a on-going experience of renweal? I believe, that God dares us. What can we lose? But be warned, for some, there will be no choice, the voice will unexpectadely roar through you.
http://www.worthabbey.net/bbc/tony.htm
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Mystagogia
Some years back when I was giving a series of sermons on the structure of the Bible one elderly parishioner complained she didnt need all of this since she'd done her confirmation classes as a teenager. My reply was that possibly may have been a long time ago and each of us, as disciples of Christ, have a duty to on-going learning and formation.
In the past few decades the Roman Catholic Church has revived the ancient Mystagogia. This is the period between Easter and Pentecost when converts and catechumens learn more about the Faith. It was common, for example in Ambrose time, for a newly baptised person to make their first communion at Easter but not fully understand what it was about until they received teaching. At its best Mystagogia can be a time when we can sit down and learn a bit more about the sacraments, the Christian life, stewardship, etc. Mystagogia is then about learning how we live out the Christian life.
The prayer of Thomas Merton seems fitting reflection on this.
"My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope that I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it. Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and will never leave me to face my perils alone."
Thomas Merton
In the past few decades the Roman Catholic Church has revived the ancient Mystagogia. This is the period between Easter and Pentecost when converts and catechumens learn more about the Faith. It was common, for example in Ambrose time, for a newly baptised person to make their first communion at Easter but not fully understand what it was about until they received teaching. At its best Mystagogia can be a time when we can sit down and learn a bit more about the sacraments, the Christian life, stewardship, etc. Mystagogia is then about learning how we live out the Christian life.
The prayer of Thomas Merton seems fitting reflection on this.
"My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope that I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it. Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and will never leave me to face my perils alone."
Thomas Merton
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