Tuesday, December 20, 2016

Be not afraid

Be not afraid
I go before you always
Come, follow me
and I will give you rest

--Be not Afraid Canadian Catholic Hymnal

We have nothing to fear but fear itself

--Franklin Delano Roosevelt

10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.

--Luke 2: 10-11

We live in a time of fear. We fear the other. We have set up detention camps on Manus and Nauru to keep the refugees out. We live in a world where it is ok for politicians to make racist statements because they are "standing up for the nation or trying to make their nation great again." We are taught by the media to fear those who practise other faiths, who have different skin colours, who come from other cultures. We are afraid of anyone who in not the same as we are.

But on that first Christmas, a child was born who was to change the world forever. He taught love. He worked to strengthen community bonds and not divide them. He changed the lives of everyone. 

Is it any wonder then that the message of the angels is to fear not. God tells us to tear down barriers and not build them. God tells us to reach out to the stranger and not turn them away. God welcomes everyone, and in return we are to be welcoming to all- and that is without reservations. All means all, not people just like me. Christmas may be about peace, joy, hope and love, but that can only be given when we put aside our fears. The good news is we don't have to be afraid anymore. Blessings.

Tuesday, December 13, 2016

What we need?

All you need is love
All you need is love
All you need is love, love
Love is all you need 

*****

They say our love won't pay the rent
Before it's earned, our money's all been spent
I guess that's so, we don't have a plot
But at least I'm sure of all the things we got

*****

Daring to show my age once more, I had to post these two well known songs from the sixties. One of course is the Beatles' "All you need is love." The second is Sonny and Cher's "I've Got You Babe." Both songs leave us with the impression that with love we have everything.  It is a lovely sentiment. But is it true.

Well in one way it is definitely not true. Try not paying your bills for a few months. Then when they threaten to cut off your power or evict you from your apartment try to tell your creditors that all we need is love. Let me know how that works for you. As you know it won't work. Commercial places and service providers demand hard cold cash or plastic as payment. John Lennon and Sonny Bono won't help you there. 

But I think more importantly, these two songs are very true. It is fine to pay off all your bills, have a huge bank account, and have all of the latest gadgets. I would be willing to give up my glamourous life now and travel first class, go to the best concerts, drink the best wine, and live in a fancy mansion. But if I don't have anyone to share that wealth with what is the point. My things and possessions can't give me any comfort. My things don't care if I am happy or not. And next year, there will be new and better things that will put this years things to shame. Without someone to be with, things can bring no joy.

But if you have a loving family or set of friends to enjoy things worth, maybe it is not that bad. And if you are kind enough to share your things with the stranger, the outcast, those in need, well then your wealth and good fortune could be a blessing to others. I am always amazed at those who have had fortunate lives, and then decide to give it to a hospital to fund cardiac or cancer research. Yes these people were born blessed, but they have decided to pass on that blessing to others. This is love at its finest.

Love is an overused word in our vocabulary. We love our jobs, we love our cars, we love our dogs, we love our friends, we love our families, we fall into romantic love one with another. Someone I recently heard spoke wanted us to stop using the word. I think that is wrong. We need to spread love around. Because as we do so it grows. I love wombats for instance. There I have said it. It is not merely empty words. This has led me to protecting the environment, trying to be kinder to nature itself, recycling, reducing, reusing, more. My wombat love is different from my love for my family. But it has changed me. And hopefully has changed the word. Let us continue to live in a world where Love becomes all we need and remember "I've got you babe." Blessings.


Tuesday, December 6, 2016

The songs of Christmas

I don't make any bones about it. For me, Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year. There are so many things about it that the other seasons don't have. First of all there are the directions. My hearts leap when I see the wreathes, the trees, and lights. It's something that in our culture you don't see at any other time of the year at least to the same extent. Yes there are special lights for Dhawali, and one does see some Easter and Hallowe'en decorations, but at least in Australia, these decorations pale when it comes to the proliferation of Christmas decorations.

Second there is the element of surprise at Christmas. We buy gifts for our loved ones, hoping that they will be truly surprised. Children wait with anticipation for the visit of Santa Claus.

Third there is the spirit of fellowship at Christmas. We have special gatherings to go to where we meet others, make merry, and spread Christmas joy. There are parties at church, gathering in people's houses, festive concerts, and special worship services to mark the holidays. For a while at least, it seems people do heed the message of the angels and live in peace and harmony as it should be.

Fourth there is the food. There is the Christmas baking that gets done. There are chocolates given as gifts. There are the foods that one buys for the Christmas feast. There are candy canes handed out. There are belts that get loosened. Christmas is a time of feasting.

But what sets Christmas apart from all of our other observances is the many Christmas carols that we sing at this time of year. Some we sing for fun- Jingle Bells and Rudolph for instance. Other Christmas songs don't make a lot of sense to me anymore now that I live in the Southern Hemisphere. It is hard to sing with integrity songs like Let it Snow and Winter Wonderland when it is plus 35. It's just not going happen no matter how hard I sing. But my favourite is to sing the great carols like Silent Night, Joy to the World, Hark the Herald, and O Come All Ye Faithful. These carols remind of us of the true meaning of Christmas. These carols tell us once more the story of the child who was born in the manger. They remind us of the shepherds, of the anticipation, of the angels, of the love, of the joy of that first Christmas night. And during this time of year, we see folks from all walks of life, join together to sing these songs of God's holy love which we mark this time of year. As we sing these familiar songs, we unite as symbols of the peace and love that was given to the world that first Christmas. Blessings.

Tuesday, November 29, 2016

Getting Ready

It seems hard to believe that on Thursday we being the month of December. Didn't it just happen last year? December is always so busy what with cards to write, presents to buy, special celebrations to go to, special services at the church, food to buy, decorations to put up, and so on. It doesn't seem possible that it is that time already. But there are the tell tale signs all over that December is almost here. Nights here in Sydney are getting quite warm and humid. The elevators have been blasting Christmas carols for weeks now. TV ads are all full of Christmas gift ideas. I may not seem ready or not, but it is here with or without me.

Maybe that is why it is good we have the season of advent in the church. We enter into this few weeks at the end of November the beginning of December and we don't barge head long into Christmas, but rather we have time to get ourselves ready. We take time to think about the gifts that Christ brings to us: hope, peace, joy, and love. We hear about Jesus' parents being told about the birth of the child. We hear about the prophets of old and how God came to them and told them about the one who is to come. We hear about John preaching about the child who was to follow after him. We hear all of this before the main event. Then on Christmas eve we hear about the child born in the manger and the angels telling us that with that babe God is here and is well pleased with us. In church we have four weeks to prepare for all this. And that is good.

I write this this week not to say that the Christmas movies, the special food, and decorations are not a part of our holiday festivities. They are ways in which we get ourselves ready. The songs, the cards from loved ones overseas, remind us of the love at Christmas. The cheer that we share at Christmas is a sign of the peace and joy foretold by the angels. And the dreams that even old man Scrooge had and the resolutions made at New Year, remind us all of hope. I think these other ways of celebrating, decorating, baking, singing, card writing, all are ways in which we prepare.

But what might be different is the effects of the celebrations. In many households, once boxing day is over everything is put away until next year. There has been little change. Oh we might add a few new things to our memories of good tidings, but that can wait again until next December. But in the church, we celebrate that we are changed. The child born in the manger means that our lives have eternal significance. With the reminder of his birth, we can never go back to just the way we are for we have been changed. This is the good news. Blessings.

Tuesday, November 22, 2016

Milestones

What are the significant events in your life? What milestones do you remember? Some in my life are very important. Graduating. Getting ordained. Getting married. The day we became parents. The year I moved from Canada. I don't think I will ever forget those. Other events seemed very significant at the time, but have become less important over time: learning to drive, getting my first job, moving from primary to high school, etc. At the time they seemed to be very important. But now looking back these secondary events seem to have less and less importance.

Marking events. In one way it is very important. It gives our lives meaning. Without marking the events that we go through what is the point? Getting my first job- a job at a store in a provincial park- seemed very important at the time. I got it on my own. I applied for it, I was interviewed, I was successfully hired, I learned what earning money was all about. I also learned the value of things. I wanted to buy a pair of western boots with the money I earned. I figured that it took me about 30 hours of labour to buy them. For those learning experiences I was very thankful.

The other reality though was that it was not a great job. My boss told me on the first day that he was a very difficult man to work for and he was true to his word. I was only there three months (it was a summer job) and so it was very brief and I did not earn a lot of money. Somedays the job was exceedingly busy and I would come home exhausted. Other days the job was exceedingly slow and I had to seek out things to fill up my time. Some customers were exceedingly rude. And often I had to deal with things like mice, squirrels, and backed up toilets things that were not much fun.  Getting the first job was very important at the time. But now, it is very much less important in the scheme of my life.

As I write this blog today, some children from the child care centre are preparing for a ceremony marking their leaving the centre and going off to Kindergarten next year. For them, it is a very important event. They will have to say good bye to their teachers who have been with them for the past few years. They will be saying goodbye to friends who will be going to different schools. Right now it is a life changing event for them. However in the scheme of things, I am sure that this event will be less significant in their lives. They will have other changes, other awards, other achievements, other passages which will make this event but a footnote in their lives, but today it is very important.

And maybe that is the message for us today. Things will happen in our lives that may seem quite traumatic and life altering. Some no doubt will be- birth of children, death of a spouse, losing a job, etc. Some though will fade away. This should be a good reminder to us. Bad things do happen, but most likely they will fade away in time. We might have already experienced things which we thing are the best ever, but sometimes the best is yet to come. The huge milestones of today are but mere pebbles in the grand scheme of our lives. Blessings

Wednesday, November 16, 2016

Now what

After billions of dollars spent the US election is finally over. In one of the most divisive campaigns ever, Donald Trump was declared the president elect. It was not the result that I wanted, but in their complicated system, Donald Trump won the most votes in the US Electoral College- even though he lost the popular vote by 120,000 votes.

Trump won the election on basically two planks. The first plank was that as a complete political novice, Trump was able to state that there were many problems in the establishment in Washington DC. Stories of corruption are always bubbling up in Washington. Lobbyists hold too much influence over politicians. Omnibus bills mean that all politicians have to swallow their pride at time and vote for things they don't believe in just so that bills they support get passed. Politics in Washington does need a good cleaning out.

The second plank that elected Trump was fear and anger. Since 9/11 fear has gripped the US. The "other" is no longer welcome by many Americans- even though they talk about being the great melting pot. Since 9/11 the US has increasingly become like a fortress with figurative walls keeping the strangers out.

Anger has also gripped a large part of the US. Many states are suffering. West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin for instance have seen many of their industrial jobs shut down because of global trade, environmental concerns over coal, and other factors. Agricultural states like the Dakotas, Nebraska, and Kansas have struggled much more than the urban areas of the country. Some Americans find it increasingly hard to find work and so they blame immigrants for taking their jobs.

These two planks got Trump elected. When people are feeling good about themselves, it is easy to vote for hope and togetherness. When people are struggling, like so many Americans are, it feels better to blame and point fingers. Trump's words, abhorrent as they were to so many of us, seemed to reach out to those Americans who felt they were falling further and further behind.

But now the genie is out of the bottle. Since Trump's election hate crimes have increased around the world. Swastikas have popped up in Holland, Canada, and all over the US. People have been bashed because others thought they were gay or lesbian. People have been told to get out because their skin colour was not ivory white. Women have been told that they will never get ahead in business or politics because of their double X chromosomes. With the election of Trump, it seems ok to hate again.

This is what scares me, not the election of Trump per se. Yes Trump was not my choice for president, but politicians come and go. They may do great things or horrible things for a few years, but in a few years they will be replaced. It's like the weather in Melbourne, if you don't like it, wait fifteen minutes and it will be something else. Politicians are like that- they rise to power and then they fall. But what scares me is this increase in hatred. In my way of thinking it is abhorrent to hate the other. Everyone is a child of God no matter who they are: old, young, male female, gay, straight, white, black, yellow, whatever. Everyone is worthy of respect. No one deserves to be hated because they are of their sex, because of their faith, because of their language, because of the colour of their skin, because of where they were born, because of who they love, because they are the child God created them to be. Love has to triumph over hate. Let us strive for a world that breaks down barriers, puts aside differences, and works for the good of all people, not just for some. Blessings

Wednesday, November 2, 2016

Connections made and lost

I like to think that I am a fairly social person. Yes I am an introvert. Yes I do find a lot of social interaction to be quite exhausting. But I enjoy people. I like getting to know them. I like sharing jokes with them. I could never be a hermit. I need people.

In this modern age I have the ability to connect with anyone in the world using a computer or my smart phone. As long as we are both on line, within milliseconds I can connect with friends whether they be in Australia, Canada, the US, Britain or wherever. The thousands of kilometres between us don't matter although time zones limit when we can talk.

I realise that even though I have the ability to connect with anyone, I sometimes don't. Some people I have little in common with. Some people may have been my friends when I was a child, but we have moved on in different ways. Sometimes long standing arguments hinder my relationships with a few people. Some people cannot understand English and I cannot understand their language. Some people move in different social circles then I do (Bill Gates, Kim Kardashian, Malcolm Turnbull). For whatever reason my circle of friends and acquaintances is a minuscule part of the population as a whole.

In some ways this is understandable. The world is very vast and very diverse. I have travelled a bit, but there are great portions of the world that I will never see. People from all walks of life could join a church where I serve, but in reality there are not that many billionaires or Satanists that I come across in my line of work. Also, I am a person who well knows my limitations.  I have a few problems putting names to all of the faces that I have already met- just imagine if I had to do that with all 7 billion people in the world.

But in another way, I lose when I can't connect with others. What wisdom might they have to share with me? How might they have challenged, inspired, guided, listened, laughed with, cried with, and celebrated with me. No I am not suggesting that we can connect with everyone. But maybe we can be more intentional about keeping the connections that we already have. Let's listen and share with each other. You'll be glad you did.  Blessings.


Tuesday, October 25, 2016

Over and under selling

Picture this scenario. A friend has just seen a movie that they really enjoyed. They begin sharing their excitement with you. They tell you that this movie has everything, maybe that it is one of their top 10 favourites ever, and that you just have to go see it. You get all caught up in their excitement. Well after all if your friend enjoyed it, then surely you would enjoy it as well. But when you leave the theatre you are very disappointed. For whatever reason you hated it, or were bored by the movie. It was just not your cup of tea. You figure that your friend must be totally off his/her rocker to have enjoyed this movie. 

Has that ever happened to you? People tell you that something will be wonderful when it isn't wonderful but merely good or bad. This week I have been laughing all week. Someone invited me to a meeting that they have said will be extraordinary. Such an invitation is doomed to failure. If it is indeed a wonderful meeting all you can say is that the event lived up to its expectations. You will forget how wonderful it was just because the invitation already promised that it would be. The effect of that terrific meeting will have been lost because of the invitation. If the meeting is rather ordinary, you leave the meeting hall disappointed. It wasn't extraordinary at all. If the meeting is a good meeting but not terrific, you will have felt left down. The invitation was like my friend explaining their excitement over that movie- it built things up too much.

I think a worse problem though in the church is that we undersell our work too much. We are too self effacing. We forget about all the lives that we have touched and just put it down to "oh it is just something we did." We could share wonderful stories of all the work that we do, but instead we either forget about our stories or just refuse to tell them to others.

During the years 2008-2011, I worked for the National office of the United Church of Canada. My job was to promote the good news of all of the work that was being done by congregations, outreach ministries, global overseas partners, and the national church. It was indeed a work of love. And I was amazed at the thousands of lives that had been touched by our churches. Through the dedicated work of church men and women and the various church agencies, our United of Canada can and indeed made a difference in the world. But too often churches forgot to tell the world that they were doing this work. Not only were they not overselling their efforts, they were underselling their efforts or just ignoring them completely. We forget that others outside of our walls don't know that we struggled to make working conditions more humane, support the rights of children, support women's rights, work for peace in the world, empower people in the third world, feed and provide shelter for the hungry, and so many other things. People forget we are a vital part of our community because we forget to talk about the work we have done and are doing.

That is a great problem. We live in a world where we hear so much bad news. The community is seeking a respite from this doom and gloom. The world is looking for good news. The church's role is to preach the good news. And if we are unwilling to talk about the good news of the work that we have done, our world misses out. We need to stop underselling our works. Blessings.

Tuesday, October 18, 2016

Sometimes take a turn

I like to think of myself as a fairly organised person. When I make an appointment with someone, I arrive on time. Well if truth be told, I arrive early because I hate to keep others waiting. I make to do lists and I try to prioritise and make sure that I get everything done on my list. There are some days when I see what is on my agenda, I know what I have to do, and I work my way through it.

But the vocation of ministry is never quite that straight forward. Sometimes you receive phone calls when people ask you to come visit them and things need to be shifted. Sometimes a committee plans a surprise meeting. Things happen. Your schedule rarely goes to plan. You need to be flexible and adjust. You need to re-prioritise on the fly. 

I think the vocation of ministry is quite like life. You see we never quite know how each day will end up. There are always unexpected curves in everyone's life. A friend phones from out of the blue. You are offered your dream job, but it is hundreds of kilometres away. A loved one gets sick. You get fired. A downpour floods your basement. Your child makes excellent grades at school and the principal wants you to come in right away to talk about their future. There are those days when you get up and everything goes to plan. But they are indeed those rare days. Most days we can expect one unplanned event that will thwart our careful planning.

This is not a bad thing however. Scientists for instance, have tested stress on plants. The scientists had two sets of seeds. The first set of seeds was raised in the perfect environment. They were set in the richest of soils. They received just the right amount of light and the right amount of moisture each day. They were sheltered from the wind and protected from pests. The second set of seeds were not neglected by any means, but they were raised in less than ideal environments. They would go through times of drought and times of over abundance of moisture. They faced the occasional pest and times when they had a bit too much light or a bit too much shade. What the scientists found surprised them. The seeds raised in perfection did not perform nearly as well as the seeds that had just a wee bit of stress. A little bit of stress made the seeds hearty and strong. 

I do think it is best to be planned and organised. It just makes the world a bit easier to deal with. But no matter how organised we are, we need to be ready for those distractions that take us from our desired route. They make us strong. They make us hearty. They sometimes show us a new and exciting path. May many of your plans go well but hopefully you will enjoy life's detours as well.  Blessings.

Tuesday, October 11, 2016

I can't believe I said that

One would have to be living under a rock this week not to have heard foul words used by a candidate running for president of the United States in an interview in 2005. Whether one likes the candidate or not, and whether one was going to vote for him or not, the fact that he used such language has become a huge campaign issue. Undoubtedly, the results of the election will be affected somewhat by his poor choice of words. Some undecideds will now have made up their mind on the basis of those tapes. Some lukewarm supporters, as has been demonstrated already, will say enough is enough and change their voting preferences. Will it be enough to turn the election one way or the other- we will see come November 9th.

I don't like people who use language which denigrates someone else. Whether it is by race, creed, economic class, nationality, gender, what have you- I have come to learn in my 53 years on earth that words which slander are powerful weapons. How many dreams have been quashed, how many miracles have gone undiscovered, because some people have told other people that they are not good enough, not worthy enough, and not valuable enough to count. People who bully and intimidate prevent many people from living up to their potential. And because of that, the whole world suffers.

In saying this though, I realise that I have to be ever diligent in my use of words so as not to harm others. I have a vocation where I get to preach messages each week in front of people. My role as preacher is to share faith, to interpret, to get people to think, to challenge and to encourage. Sometimes I manage this, other times I don't. However, my role as preacher is never to harm others, never belittle, and to never bully. Hopefully, each person feels respected when they hear my messages whether they agree with me or not.

The same is true with my blog and my on line presence. I share my thoughts in order to encourage, to challenge, to provoke, and to hopefully bring some understanding to a chaotic world. On Facebook, I try to put up posts that describe who I am: a minister, a man, someone with a sense of humour, someone who is concerned with justice. I don't post foul language, because really I don't use that much foul language in my day to day life. I try to respect others because I have come to know that we get a lot more done when we treat each other fairly well rather than when we point fingers and say he did she did. I try to look for beauty in the world because when the days get cold and others seem cruel, its those bright sparks which will lead me out of darkness. I try to be respectful in my on line conversations and in posting responses because I know such things live forever and once said, you cannot put it back in the box.

Human beings have been given a wonderful gift- the gift of being able to communicate with each other.  But I think that politicians, teachers, preachers, parents, siblings, co-workers, and friends need to know is that the gift of communication is a powerful one. Communication and what's said has the power to change the outcome of everything. Our words also live on much longer than we do. So speak well to one another and let us change the future of our world. Blessings.

Tuesday, October 4, 2016

A moment of thinking, a moment for thanking

How often do we go through things just following the motions? I take for granted that my phone and my computer will work when I turn them on. I trust that my food will be cold in the refrigerator and cooked when I take it out of the over. I trust that when my traffic light turns green, yours will turn red, and I will be able to safely get out of the intersection.

But what if things didn't work out like that. Chaos ensues. We flush the toilet and instead of eliminating our waste, it overflows from the top. Traffic lights malfunction and there is bedlam on the streets. A switch doesn't work on the train tracks and thousands of lives are thrown out of kilter.

This means we should be thankful that 99% of the time these things work perfectly. I should offer thanksgiving that my morning orange juice is cold when I open up the fridge almost all of the time. But human beings are funny. We only remember the one day in six months when something doesn't work. That day becomes a disaster. We ignore the hundreds of other times when all was great.

Giving thanks. I think it is really hard when everything goes well for a very long time. When life is going along perfectly, quite quickly we become accustomed to that perfection. We assume that life should always be smooth. If I have never worried about whether the water I drink is free from dangerous pathogens, if I have never worried about where my next meal is coming from, if I have never had to be concerned about where I will sleep tonight, then it becomes easy for us to think that there will always be food, water, and shelter. We just assume that those things are a given.

But if one has been starving for a long time, imagine how grateful they must feel when they get a decent meal. If one has been unemployed for many years, imagine how wonderful it must feel to get a secure job. People who have been born with everything, lose it for whatever reason, then get rich again, also have a greater appreciation for what they have. But I think as soon as one begins to expect again that their plates will be full every night and that they will be in their own king size bed in their own place each night, we begin to forget to say thank you.

What I am trying to say is that all of us have much to be thankful for each day. During the average day, my heart beats over 100,000 times. Over 24 hours, I breathe thousands of times. It is impossible to say thank you for each of these miracles. During the average day, I will consume 8700 kilojoules of food. It is next to impossible to offer gratitude for each morsel. We need to take moments to say thank you. We need to recognise that so many times we forget to say thanks for that unfortunately is part of human nature. But we need to try ever harder to express appreciation for all that we have. Blessings

Thursday, September 29, 2016

Incidental Steps giant leaps

On one hand, life is very important and sacred. Life is a gift and one which should be valued. It is amazing that out of the remnants of the big bang, some cosmic dust got together, and life began. For me each life has eternal significance. Yet on the other hand, we know that each of the individual twist and turn in our lives are relatively unimportant. Not being one who keeps a diary, I can't tell you if September 10th, 2001 was a good day or a bad day for me. I do know that many things changed in the world September 11th, 2001. Some days are important, but many get forgotten.

Decisions are the same. Each and every day I make hundreds of decisions which have little lasting impact- what to wear, when to eat, what time to go to bed. Other decisions though have life changing impact- deciding to buy a house, run for office, or getting married. Sometimes we don't know that seemingly simple decisions will be wonderful decisions like deciding to go to a dance where one meets their spouse. 

I guess what I am saying is that we don't the impact of the things that we do. Sometimes a kind act that we do will have little lasting impact. Other times though it can make a real difference in life. We just don't know.

And because we don't know whether a day or an event will have lasting impact or not, doesn't it mean we should try to make a difference. Whether or not we can change the world, shouldn't we try to offer something positive into the mix. It might get lost in the midst of one of those thousands of days that are just a blur. It might seem quite insignificant in the midst of the myriad of things we do each day. But maybe, just maybe a little bit of good thrown into the mix might be a game changer. One simple word of encouragement to someone might be all they need to take on a massive project. A smile at the right time might be all the time it takes to change the world. Our efforts are never in vain. Blessings.


Thursday, September 22, 2016

A little bit of equality

I enjoy travelling. I like seeing new cities, exploring new paths, and coming in contact with different cultures. But one thing I don't really like are the flights to get there. Oh I don't mind flying per se. I trust the airlines and the pilots to get me to my destination safely.  But I hate the cramped seats, people who try to cram everything they can into overfilled storage bins, and the fewer and fewer services that one gets while flying in economy class.

I saw a video recently of someone travelling first class on Emirates Airlines. They had their own compartment. They had their own bar in case the flight attendants could not get there quick enough to fill their orders. Their seat folded down into a bed with duvet covers. When they awoke they even got to use the shower on the plane.

Flying teaches us that there is a difference to class. Those who can afford it are treated to great luxury. Those who can't afford it are treated like cargo.

I grew up being taught by my father that all people were created equal. Everyone was the same no matter what their background. I hold strongly to this belief. No one deserves a place higher up in the queue than someone else. Everyone should be treated the same.

Not everyone thinks that way. They believe that if you are born in a certain place, or to a certain station in life, or have the right skin colour, or were male,  then you deserved better treatment then others. Thankfully not everyone is as extreme as Pauline Hanson but I think everyone in someway still separates the world into us and them. Even I, who have always been taught that everyone should be treated equally- I still secretly feel that dog people are better then cat people. There I've said it.

But this week something happened where everyone is treated the same. The equinox happened and suddenly for one day at least, everyone shared in equal amounts of daylight and darkness. It happens twice a year. For us in Australia it means longer days and warmer weather lies ahead. For those in Canada it means the long dark winter is getting ever near. But for one day, everybody around the world is treated exactly the same.

Maybe that is a lesson for us. We spend too much time differentiating ourselves one from another. Maybe we can be like the sun on the equinox giving equal light and dark to everyone. We don't need to view the world in terms of us and them. Maybe cat people are ok.  Blessings.

 

Tuesday, September 6, 2016

Device or "de" vice

Many years back, I watched the movie Apollo 13. And I was shocked to see how primitive the technology looked. As I understand it, the computers on board the spacecraft had much less memory then our average cell phone of today. Down on earth, the "computers" that helped to run the mission had much more in common with electric typewriters then with the average lap top of today. The computers as portrayed in the movie were heavy monstrosities that were very slow and were so expensive that no one ever thought that we would have personal computers, cell phones, iPads everywhere.  So much has changed since 1969.

I have had computers for 30 years now. The changes have been immense. My first computer was an Atari 130XE. It quite amazed me. With its 128 kilobytes of Ram, it seemed so modern. Each time I wanted to make a document, I would have to load the programme in to the 5.25 inch floppy drive (that's 13.3 cm floppy drive), wait 10 minutes as I heard the programme load, then take out that disk, insert a data disk, wait a few minutes more and then finally I would get to work on my document. Then it would take another five to ten minutes to save the file once I was finished. If I wanted to use a different programme, I would have to insert another disk and wait another 10 minutes for it to boot up. Now, I complain that it takes two minutes for my computer to boot up and do everything that I need to do and that 500 billion bytes of information is not quite enough.

I know that I am a technology nerd. No I would not be able to dismantle and reconstruct a computer, but my electronic devices are part of my life. I store my photos on them. I store my music. I keep my appointments on my devices. I hardly remember anybody's telephone number anymore because they are stored in my contacts. I work from my computer. I reach an audience blog from three different continents because of my computer. I play games on my computer. Without my devices, I would feel lost.

But I was quite shocked that a tv report said that the average child spends 21 hours a week glued to their electronics. Considering there are 168 hours a week, that is 1/8 of their life. And if they sleep just 8 hours a night- that means that 21 hours out of their 112 hours of awake time is spend on games and social networking. That is just mind boggling. Parents now threaten children with loss of electronics time whereas in my day it may have been loss of tv privileges or being sent to your room.

I do not want to go back to a world where everything is done with pen and paper. Oh sure thanks to good education, I can still add, subtract, multiply and divide accurately and quickly. But it is so much easier with a machine. My handwriting has always been indecipherable and slow. Using a keyboard is so much easier. The ability to connect with others is so much easier now then it was before. But I don't think it is right to live life tethered to a machine, especially when you are young and have so much of the world to explore. Blessings


Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Not a game

Parliament opened up this week in Canberra. After the last federal election, this was the first time for the re-elected and newly elected people to meet in the house. It was a rowdy affair. Members of political parties from all political stripes were trying to prove that they were better than the other parties. There was a lot of name calling, a lot of heckling, a lot of jeering. I can't say that much will get done in this first 27 sitting days of parliament, other than trying to outdo each other who can get the best jab in and who gets the most headlines belittling their opponent.

This seems to be the way with politics right now. Too often we vote against someone rather then truly voting for someone because we support their policies. It is more about keeping some people out of office rather than keeping some people in office.

It is sad really. I think most politicians get involved in politics in the first place to make a difference. I know I will disagree with many of them on their views, but I think that each politician really does get into that profession because they believe that they are doing the best thing for their city, their state or province, or their country. They may have diametrically opposed views on what is the best thing- but still they do hold common welfare as their primary goal- at least in the beginning of their careers. Then sadly, very quickly, the primary goal of the politician changes from doing the best for society to being re-elected. In order to be re-elected, they need to prove that they are the best person for the job and not someone else. And so very soon after politicians are elected to office their prime motivation moves from helping others to besting their opponents at all costs. Hence the heckling and name calling that we see in parliament and the like.

 It is not a good way to be motivated. In life, someone who has as their prime motivation making themselves better at the expense of others has a low sense of self worth at best to a horribly vindictive and cruel character at worst. Psychologists would not call this a healthy way to view the world. If I were to apply the golden rule, I would see that I suffer when another suffers. I am built up when others are built up. My self worth is healthy only when it allows the self worth of others to increase. If my sense of self worth is unhealthy, then it will be based upon how much I can put down others.

I am not naive enough to think that everything will be wonderful if the politicians and the like just stop the name calling and decide to work together. There will always be debates. There will always be people who are forgotten by society. There will still be hundreds whose cries are not heard. There will still be those who are smug enough to believe that they are better than those who disagree with them. But just imagine, if we put less energy into the name calling, the one up man/woman ship, less energy into the game of politics and the keeping ahead of the Joneses. What might happen then? Maybe there would be a bit more assistance for the poor, a bit more working together to finding solution to problems rather than placing blame on those who are on the other side of the house. Maybe things might be just a bit nicer. Blessings.

Wednesday, August 24, 2016

Safety in numbers

A few weeks ago I was at a book study. A young woman said that they no longer felt safe in our world. What with so much news about crime and extremist violence happening in our world, this woman has begun to fear the world. Oh she is fine with people she knows. But she has observed that she can't always trust strangers so she has begun to fear the world.

In some ways I can understand her fears. Crimes do happen. Acts of extremist violence happen as well. With the television and internet, we can watch stories about crime and violence 24 hours a day if we want to and it does frighten me that such events can happen.

But in other ways, I can't imagine her fears. You see the vast majority of people that I have met, and they have been people from all races, creeds, religions, and countries are quite decent. Oh sure no one is perfect, but most people I would deem as being good people. They are concerned mostly about the well being of their families and their neighbourhoods. They don't consider hurting others to be a good thing to do. Yes there are a few who for some reason commit crimes or do horrible acts of violence. But considering there are 7 billion people in the world, they are a tiny fraction of a percentage of all people. Thank goodness.

However, that doesn't mean that we can become complacent and think that acts of violence and crime can't happen here. Because they do. No I am not advocating spying on and reporting on neighbours like a recent television ad campaign suggested we do in order to prevent terrorism. Doing that strikes me as behaviour that belonged in the Third Reich not the 21st century. But we are foolish to think it can't happen to me.

Take cyber crime for instance. I check my spam folder every few days because occasional emails from Synod or Presbytery end up in that folder. I am not sure why it happens but it does. In amongst the few good emails that I find there, I always have a few messages from people, usually childless African widows who are dying of cancer and want to give me their riches in order that I might share some with charity and benefit my family as well. If I can send them a blank cheque, they will deposit the money right into my account. I always laugh when I receive these emails. Who would be stupid enough to fall for this? No one is going to give me money for nothing. And if a person wants their money to go to charity, then I think they can make such donations themselves. They don't need me to do it.

But cyber criminals are getting smarter each day. Last week several churches and Uniting church ministers, myself included, were victims of some cyber criminals. Our names and contacts as well as the names and contacts of local church treasurers and secretaries had been mistakenly published on to a publicweb site. The crooks used this information to try to extort money by setting up fake email addresses and sending out emails saying a purchase has been made and that immediate payment must be sent. The fact that I have spam filters, my own good personal malarky detector, and internet security did not matter. The cyber criminals were able to find a way.

Such an incident did bother me. How much information is out there about us that could fall into the wrong hands? How could they do this to a church and especially my church? And what if the criminal used this information to take out a credit card or run up bills in my name. I vowed to do whatever I can to be vigilant. But I still trust others. I still believe that people are by far and away very good. I still think there are just a few bad apples out there but I refuse to live by fear.  Blessings.

Wednesday, August 17, 2016

Interdependence

In June, we held a book study here at the church on Diana Butler Bass' book, Grounded.  This month we are studying the same book in the Lower North Shore Zone of the Uniting Church. In one of the chapters it spends a lot of the time talking about Interdependence. Basically the concept is this, all life on this planet is dependent upon all living creatures and plants working together to make up a healthy ecosystem. If one species is threatened, that could topple the whole food chain. Climate change, over hunting, pollution all threaten the health of our world. Even though we humans are rather adaptable to variable climates and diets, we are still dependent on a healthy world to give us life. Too many changes threaten our very life as well.

In one way, this interdependence is hard for us to understand. For we as a species are bound to compare ourselves to others. We are prone to see problems as thankfully being over there and not here. For instance, each year surveys are published as to what countries are the best to live in. I take solace in the fact that the two countries in which I have lived always seem to rate in the top 5 most liveable countries. Other than short visits to a couple of developing countries, I don't know what it is like to live in countries on the bottom part of the list. Their reality seems so far from mine. It would be easy for me to say thank goodness I live in Australia or Canada and not somewhere else. It would be easy for me to think only of my well being and not that of others.

However, such local gazing is wrong. A North America First Nations version of the golden rule tell us that when one person suffers then we all suffer. How can this be you might say? I live in one of the top suburbs, in one of the best cities, in one of the globe's most liveable countries. I have won the lottery of life haven't I? Well in one way, yes you have. I am lucky to live where I do and to have had the opportunities that I have had, when so many people "over there" suffer.

Their suffering does effect me though. Diseases spring up in countries where there are not proper medical facilities. In our global world a single traveller can spread a disease to many different countries alarmingly quickly. Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking have been two of the greatest minds of the past 100 years. Yet how man other brilliant minds have been unable to produce theories that would benefit humanity because there was no one to teach them to read in their country. We might have our favourite authors who have inspired us, yet how many other great voices have been silenced because they live in a poor village, in a destitute country miles away from here. I suffer then because others face the hardship of war, because others are refugees, because others are illiterate, because others have no medical facilities. I suffer because I do not benefit from the rich gifts that so many people could give, but circumstances mean that they cannot share.

With this I am not suggesting that we give up everything and live just like the rest of the world. I like my computer, living in a city full of museums, concert halls, sports stadiums, hospitals, libraries, and safe drinking water. I would like to keep them thank you very much. However, maybe I need to be more concerned about my brothers and sisters around the world and how they are doing. My life would benefit if they had food to eat, safe water to drink, could go to school, had access to medical care.

In the same way, my life depends on the health of the ecosystems of this planet. I need to do what is necessary to ensure that all parts of the food chain, the oceans, the air, the fertile ground is healthy. I need to do my little part to cut pollution, to take only what I need, and to promote healthy living. My life depends on it. Blessings.

Wednesday, August 10, 2016

Let the games begin

On Saturday morning, Sydney time, the Olympic games began in Rio de Janeiro. The opening ceremonies are something that I always enjoy watching. Oh there are the boring bits, I'll admit. The speeches go on and on. I do enjoy the music and dancing, celebrating the country's history, but sometimes that gets a little confused and you always wonder which parts of the country's history is being left out. However, my favourite part is the parade of nations especially the tiny countries that have little chance of winning a medal but are just so happy to be there. There is such joy and wonder as those athletes march by.

Now some people complain about the costs of the games. Surely the billions of dollars spent on the games in Rio could have been better used assisting the poor and increasing the social safety net in Brazil.  On this point, I can see some merit. The billions of dollars spent seems to be a lot of money for a 17 day party. Yes some things like improved transit and infrastructure improvements will be of benefit for Brazilians for years. But how many multi million dollar sports stadiums does a city need when so many live in dire poverty?

But despite all of the problems and the huge costs, there are things that the Olympics bring which you can't put a price tag on. Take for instance the picture of the South Korean and North Korean gymnasts taking a selfie. Despite 60 years of war, these two young women showed that maybe peace is possible. The same way during the opening ceremonies both Palestinians and Israelis marched into the stadium. Sixty eight years of being in conflict were set aside. The refugee team demonstrated to the world that hope can come out of the midst of great despair.

In one way, the games are very frivolous. I mean what does it matter that an athlete from one country is faster than an athlete from another country? What does it matter if China hears their national anthem played many times while India might not hear their anthem at all? Life won't change for the better because of this.

But in other ways, the Olympics gives us a glimpse of what we could be. All nations coming together. All nations putting aside differences and playing together. Maybe there are better, cheaper ways for this global unity to be achieved. But for right now, the Olympics is one of the few venues where we can catch a glimpse of what it means to be one global people. Blessings.

Wednesday, August 3, 2016

Great Expectations

The past few days, I was able to go on the presbytery minister's retreat. Having never been to one of their retreats before, I went into the event with low expectations. I guess, I didn't feel like I needed to go on a retreat right then. There were so many other things I could have been doing. I have a number of things on my to do list. Secondly, being an introvert, I wasn't all that keen to go away with many people I hardly knew. Despite the fact that I am in a "people" profession, and despite the fact that I meet strangers constantly as part of my job, being introduced to new people is still a nerve wracking experience for me. And I didn't really think I needed a break right now. Oh sure I have some holiday time built up. But I do good self care I thought. So why go on a retreat.

However, as soon as I got there, many of my fears were allayed. The strangers were not that difficult to meet. We had much in common. My to do list was full, but nothing was on it that needed to be done right now. And as I sat back and did some reflection, I came to realise that I did indeed need a few minutes to just slow down and be. My expectations for the event were more than exceeded and I came back rested and recharged.

Expectations. Sometimes we go to events and we have great expectations. We have anticipated what might happen and how that will make us feel. Sometimes we get what we anticipated or even an event exceeds our expectations. Many times though when we go in with high expectations, we get disappointed. Something didn't live up to expectations. It was not as good as you had hoped it would be. This leaves us disappointed and demoralised.

However, sometimes, we leave an event pleasantly surprised. Like my retreat, we come away with more than we had hoped for and this fills us with joy. Something you had dreaded doing becomes pleasurable. This is an unexpected joy that brightens our journey.

We are only human. We are bound to have certain predispositions towards things if for example, a friend likes or hates a movie, or if someone is kind to a relative or nasty to them. Sometimes our expectations are met. But other times we get disappointed or come away with a pleasant "aha" moment. I guess my learning is not to let my preconceived ideas ruin my experience of events. By nature, we are bound to be disappointed sometimes. However, we need to learn to treasure those pleasant surprises that we find on the way.  Blessings.


Wednesday, July 27, 2016

What to do when the news gets you down

The past 2 months have been very difficult weeks in the news. Between the Orlando massacre, the crazed truck driver in Nice who killed so many, the coup in Turkey, the election here in Australia, the Republican and Democratic conventions, the Brexit vote and change of Prime Ministers in the United Kingdom, it is enough to make your head spin. We have politicians getting elected on how much they can scare people. We have media outlets who are using crisis after crisis to garner ratings. All of the news seems bad, bad, bad.

What can one do in the midst of such a barrage of disaster stories? Well there are a few approaches. The first approach is to just adopt an attitude that things are going to hell in a handbasket approach. Things are just getting worse and worse and things were never so good as in the glory days. I have problems with this approach. First of all, the olden days were anything but glorious. There was no such things as human rights or labour rights. There were things such as slavery. Secondly, the world is going to hell in a handbasket approach fails to look at the good things that are happening right now. Yes there are many problems in the world right now, but people are still kind, do heroic deeds, go out of their way to help strangers, and make the world a better place to live. These good deeds may not get the same news coverage time, but they are still happen. Curmudgeons, who see the world through dark glasses and see the past as idyllic, miss the good of now and hope for the future.

A second approach might be to turn off all the news. We don't have to watch the news or read the papers anymore. We can, in this 500 channel universe, watch sitcoms or soap operas all day long. This is what I call the ostrich approach or the head in the sand approach. I have problems with this way of thinking as well. A strong part of my makeup means that I feel compassion for others. I want to cry when others cry. I ached when I heard about the devastating tsunami in 2004 or the horrible earthquake in Haiti in 2011. Turning off the news means that I won't be aware of the needs of my global brothers and sisters. So for me being an ostrich is not a good option.

In my life time many momentous things have happened, some good, some bad- the Viet Nam war, famine in India and Bangladesh, genocide in Rwanda and Burundi, wars in the Gulf States, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the end of Apartheid, and even a few Grey Cup wins for the Saskatchewan Roughriders (my Canadian Football team). But my grandfather in his 91 years in the planet faced many tumultuous and wonderful events as well- WWI and WWII, the great depression, women getting the vote, the Hindenberg, the Titanic, the flight of the Wright brothers, and the invention of antibiotics. I don't think his history is any less topsy turvy then mine, but the difference is that now I get to see it in my living room 24/7 and with constant commentary. History has its dull moments and times when everything happens all at once. But in 100 years from now, who knows what things history will remember. To some future curmudgeons in the year 2116, today may seem like a peaceful interlude when everything was wonderful. And I imagine that there will be future ostriches who just wish that the news of their day would just go away.

Wednesday, July 20, 2016

Everyone counts

Have you ever noticed that our newscasts value some lives more than others. Last week we listened in horror to the news that someone with a truck and guns murdered 84 people in Nice. It is horrible. How could this have happened? One quarter of the nightly newscast was dedicated to this story. During the past year, other such attacks have been major news stories: Paris, Brussels, and Orlando to name a few. But googling a list of other attacks this year, it was quite frightening to realise that there are so many other places that have suffered such attrocities. Oh some I had heard mention of in the news: the attacks in Jakarta, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey, but countless other places have had barely a mention in the news Iraq, Syria, Egypt, India, Bangladesh, Somalia, and Nigeria to name a few. Why is it that some places seem so important, while others get barely a mention?

I am also amazed at how some people get such news coverage, while other people get ignored. Pauline Hanson, the senator elect, has tv cameras flocking to her door to catch her controversial statements. Donald Trump is able to make the news with one bombastic statement after another. But other politicians who work very hard for their constituents are never mentioned. Certain sports figures, like Jarryd Haynes, get almost daily coverage in the news (whether they are winning or not) while other athletes get totally ignored. One missing child gets a 10 minute story on the newscast while another missing child does not get mentioned for weeks. Why are some newsmakers such press darlings, while other news stories get no mention at all?

It seems to me we have forgotten. All lives are important. Not just some. But it is obvious from the fact that several action groups have had to call society into account and remind us that we are not a society of equality that we believe that we are.  Movements like Black Lives Matter, It Gets Better Project, the Aboriginal and Torres Island Straight Congress, and countless others all help to remind us that we have so much further to come in order that all lives are treated with the same value.

Now don't get me wrong. I do mourn for the lives of all those who were killed in Nice, 9/11, and in Paris. Their deaths are a great tragedy. I also mourn for those who were killed in other extremist attacks that barely rated a mention on our news (the people of Dhaka, Medina, Turkey, and Indonesia).  Their deaths weigh on me as well. I cry for the mother who's face is on the news talking about her missing daughter. I also cry for other parents who have missing children but the news seems to forget them. I do marvel at anyone who gives of their time and serves in politics, including those back benchers who just quietly do their jobs while others are in the limelight. Finally, I marvel at the gifts of all athletes, even the ones who finish well back in the race. Everyone is important.

We live in a world of sound bites. We have become a society obsessed with who can grab the limelight and hold our attention the longest. Both Donald Trump and Pauline Hanson know this. But we need to remind ourselves that for every camera hog, there are millions of other important stories that go untold. For every headline, there are countless other stories that have not been told. For every feature story on a politician or a sports champion, there are thousands of other people who work just as hard who go unnoticed. We need to look beyond the sound bites and the media darlings though and have compassion for all not just for some. Blessings.




Wednesday, July 6, 2016

What will you be remembered for?

A question that I have asked congregations when I have done consulting work is how the congregation is known in the wider community. What is their reputation? What would Joe or Joan Blow from the neighbourhood say is this congregation's greatest asset that they share with a community? Too often congregational members do not know how to answer this question. Or they will immediately jump to the easy conclusion that the community would miss the rental space that the church has to offer. However when I push them and say what spiritual offerings would the community miss if the church was no longer there or when I say that any community centre could be doing the same thing, many congregants seem dumbfounded. What do we have to offer?

Often times, though, when I research the congregations, I discover that they do many things for the community that they take for granted. Supporting community initiatives like taking donations for refugees, offering classes for congregants and community members alike, going to meetings about various social causes and neighbourhood concerns, offering help to the poor and needy, being a place where people can come and seek advice and find solace. Churches do this work and keep quiet about it. We in the church forget that we do contribute more than space to the neighbourhood; we provide a service. We are very shy about sharing the good news of the work that we do.

Yes there are exceptions to this understating of our case. Some congregations are all to willing to broadcast the good work that they do. Other congregations do a form of outreach ministry well for so long, that they forget that there are other needs in the community. But from what I have seen, many churches do many good works quietly and do not share this good news with anyone.

The same goes for people I think. Yes there are those who overstate the amount of help that they give to others. But most people do very little to share the good news that they are trying to make some piece of the world a better place. I think this is to our detriment. Sometimes the world can seem to be as Jacob Marley states in Dicken's, A Christmas Carol, a hard place. But if I come to understand that Mary does work with refugees, Sam supports famine victims in Africa, Nancy works with people who are depressed, and Peter assists street people, then maybe I can see light in the darkness. Just like those countless churches that quietly do so much good work, we need to share the news of the quiet work we do. Then maybe our world will seem to be a kinder place. Blessings.


Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Make the world go away

The old country and western song started Make the World Go Away. And unfortunately, in our modern world, too many people are thinking that way. They don't like people who are different. They see only problems in other countries. If only I was surrounded by people just like me, everything would be just fine. If only the others would go away.

We also have the same ideas about neighbourhoods. We believe that our neighbourhoods are perfect just the way they are. When something bad happens, we always hear people say, "I couldn't believe that that would happen here." If only all neighbourhoods were just like this one.

Well these two assumptions are wrong for the same reason. Yes other neighbourhoods might be troubled. Yes there might be some strife in foreign countries. But the thing is, we always seem to ignore the problems in our own spheres. In my own country, there are many people who are not getting treated fairly. Sad to say but it is true. Women still aren't considered for some jobs. People are discriminated against because of race. Not every boy and girl has a chance to become prime minister.  In my own neighbourhood some people are very rich and doing well. But many are unsure of how they can maintain their present lifestyle. They face crippling mortgages. There are within blocks of me families that endure domestic abuse. There are drug addicts. There are racists. Even my own neighbourhood is far from perfect. My own neighbourhood has as many problems as other places, we just hide it a bit better.

Some people want to erect walls. Keep the strangers out. They see the world as us and them and the us is always right and the them is always wrong. The only problem with this thinking is that no where is perfect. Gradually the walls keep getting closer and to closer to better. All westerners feel this way for instance quickly dissolves into all Australians feel this way when we find out our first assumption is not true and so on and so on till we find out that the only one who thinks exactly like me is me. The same holds true with religion. It is a dangerous assumption to think that all Christians think the same way, or all Uniting Church in Australia folk all think the same way, or even that everyone in a congregation all believes the same thing. To set up barriers with those who are different from us means that all of us live alone. And didn't God in Genesis say it was good that we were not alone.

I saw a poster this week that made me think. I will gentrify it a bit as its language was a bit strong. It said remember that at the heart of everything, we are all earthlings. No matter what language you speak, what faith you practise, what gender you are, or what football team you cheer for (but let's face it if you are from Canada and don't cheer for the Saskatchewan Roughriders you are WRONG!) we are all human. Whether we are Asian, married, Hindu, female, straight, old, European, celibate, athletic, gay, caucasian, Jewish, or whatever term we use to describe ourselves, we are first and foremost human. We need to remember this- we are all in this together- before we set up any more walls or establish more us's and them's.  Blessings.

Tuesday, June 21, 2016

A sad state of affairs

It was April 1st, some time in the early 1980's. A local radio station in my home province decided to play an April Fool's day prank. They had someone posing as the Minister of Agriculture in Finland. They gave him the name of Loof Lirpa (April Fool backwards in case you missed it). He went on the radio station to supposedly talk about this new development in crops in his home country that allowed wheat to be grown in the harshest winter conditions. This new wheat was not subject to frost damage, drought damage and could even survive hail. Many people could tell right away that this man was an imposter. His accent was flawed and sometimes sounded more British, or Canadian, or Chinese then Finnish. Then there was the whole premise of his story. No plant could survive the -40 Celsius temperatures of Saskatchewan in January. So many did not believe him.

But a few people were taken in by Loof Lirpa. Some farmers listening into the program phoned and asked where they could get such seeds. If it worked in Finland, surely it could work in the cold Canadian prairies. They wanted these sure fire seeds. And the provincial minister of agriculture- never a bright man at the best of times, phoned into the station wondering if Canada could improve it's trading relationship with Finland and import tonnes of these seeds into Canada. The cabinet minister and the foolish farmers were outraged when the radio station revealed this to be a hoax the next day.

Now don't get me wrong. I love good jokes. I am, as my friends and family will sadly attest, a punster. I also used to love to listen and to watch the wonderful satire programs on CBC radio and television. Being able to laugh at ourselves is something which is very Canadian. We even showed that at the Vancouver Olympic games closing ceremony when suddenly the obelisks which did not work at the opening ceremony were comically cranked into place at the closing ceremony. It made me laugh and I think God laughs with us when we laugh.

However, even though I like to laugh, I know there are times to be serious. Some things deserve solemnity. Life needs to be valued for instance. People deserve respect. Justice is important. Fairness is important. Dealing with serious issues such as sexism, abuse, ending violence, fighting discrimination are things which should be taken seriously.

I think politics is something that should be taken very seriously. Politicians make decisions that affect people's lives. But unfortunately so many politicians have become caricatures. They try to garner votes by taking outlandish positions on issues or merely finding blame in their opponents rather than offering new insights of their own. The media does not help our view of politics. The media looks at politic leaders debates not as a platform to raise different points of view but rather as a death sports where we look for the knock out punch. Politics is not entertainment. Government decisions change lives for good and for bad. We don't need a government that entertains.

All this being said, I have liked programs like the Daily Show and the Colbert Report. Political satire has been around for decades and is one way for us to think about the issues in a non-threatening way. However it is becoming increasingly hard to separate real news from fake news. Because candidates for office are making more and more ludicrous statements, the fake news seems little different from the real news. People are crying out for justice, looking to escape poverty, struggling for economic survival in a global marketplace, seeking gender equality, fighting racism, and dealing with oppression. Their needs have not changed. Yet politicians have become more like Loof Lirpa and not fantastic statespeople. We need politicians who are willing to deal with reality and not entertain.  Blessings.








Wednesday, June 15, 2016

I am what I am, and what I am is my creation- La Cage Aux Folles

Sitting with some ministers after 9/11, one minister, a man called Gary, said of the attacks, "How could I possibly do that?" No he wasn't saying that he had had anything to do with the attacks in New York and in Washington, but what he was pondering was that human beings have the ability to inflict such harm on one another. We can kill. We can fly planes into towers. We can do such evil things. We can hate. He was amazed at how hate can so take over a person that we can murder and destroy. Countless others looked for people to blame in the course of these attacks: muslims, terrorists, etc. But my friend Gary said no- it wasn't a muslim problem. It was not an issue of terrorism. It was an issue of humanity. How could we hate so?

I think we have all become rather numb to the violent attacks and mass murders since then. We have watched despicable violence happen in places such as Belgium, Indonesia, Paris, Palestine and Israel, Sandy Hook, London, Kenya, and countless other places since then. Our fingers are all to quick to point the blame at others. It is their fault. I think sometimes these acts quickly escape our notice. "Thank God it didn't happen here," we might say. But sometimes these attacks hit close to home. All of us grieved when the 20 school children and 6 adults were killed at Sandy Hook. So many hopes and dreams were cut short by a young man filled with hate. We were all left wondering, "Why this happened?"

As a gay man who has visited Orlando, I find myself filled with various emotions after the attack this past weekend: fear, rage, looking for someone to blame, seeking justice, sadness, loss of patience, and countless other emotions. As a gay man, I could have been easily have been at that club. It could have been me. I grieve for the 49 lives cut short. I grieve that someone like Omar Kateen could be filled with such hate to carry out such violence. What led him to such violence? Was it his religion? Was it mental illness? Was it internalised homophobia? Was it racism? Who knows? But how could he do it? And if he could do such an atrocity, that means that all of us have that ability to do something like that. How could I do that?

After the attack on the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in France, many people placed on their Facebook profile the words Je suis Charlie, I am Charlie. They were saying that they stood with Paris. This past weekend, on Facebook, there was a picture of Donald Trump and other homophobic people with the words I am Omar Kateen. The idea of this was that these folks hatred of gay people led to the events at the Pulse nightclub. It made me laugh for a minute but then I realised it was totally wrong in another sense. It is wrong in the sense that again it divides the world into us and them. And as long as the world is us and them, there can be an excuse for violence.

It is easy to point fingers. It is easy to blame. It is easy to criticise. As long as we view the world as good and bad, saintly and evil, it is justifiable to draw lines in the sand and declare ourselves virtuous and others demonic. But all of us have the capacity for violence. If we allow ourselves to give in to fear and hate, violence will increase and more families and more groups will be suffering losses of lives cut needlessly short. And despite what the National Rifle Association says, guns are designed to do one thing- KILL. They are not a God given right. How many more children have to die before we realise that violence and blame is never the answer? As a human, I can be filled with love and compassion or I can choose blame and anger. I choose love. Blessings.