Detail from the font in Winchester Cathedral
But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 2Pe 3:8
The Uvdal Stavkirke (Stave Church) in Numedal district in central southern Norway. It dates from the end of the 1100s and was remodelled into a cruciform shape in 1720. It is one of about 30 that remain in Norway today.
Below is the more ornate Gol Stavkirke now found in the Norsk Folkemuseum in Oslo on the island of Bygdoy. This was built in about 1200 and moved to the present site in 1885.
John of Salisbury quoted Bernard of Chartres (circa 1100 AD) who said, “We are like dwarfs on the
shoulders of giants, so that we can see more than they, and things at a greater distance, not by virtue of any sharpness of sight on our part, or any physical distinction, but because we are carried high and raised up by their giant size.”
What a profound thought! As C21st people there is an arrogance in our spirit that we know it all or can know it all. In science, technology, medicine and a whole host of other areas we puff out our chest. We even decry the feebleness and simplicity of earlier generations. We fail to understand what Bernard did. Our understanding, education or knowledge only came about because of the mighty works of others. In fact, we are the dwarfs and they are the giants.
It hearkens back to an earlier time that is found in Genesis 11. Then, as now, there was a supreme arrogance in humankind. They thought they could do anything, including, building a tower to the heavens so that “we may make a name for ourselves.” Pride wasn’t in short supply.
God thwarts their plan by confusing their language.
My question is this? How do we maintain a proper and healthy perspective today? How do we actively place ourselves in a continuum of history rather than seeing ourselves as some sort of apex of it?
The Bible has some handy reminders. First of all we are created beings. We are beholden to a supreme God for our existence. Our gifts and talents come from Him. Secondly, we have rebelled and sinned. Our understanding is not as perfect and sharp as it should be or could be. We are constantly in need of grace. We see that in our failures; in the evil that many of our clever creations engender. We made computers but there are those engineering viruses. We made the internet but pornographers run rampant with it. We made penicillin but super bugs have developed.
Modern humanity should learn from the giants on whose shoulder we stand. We only need to think of examples such as Galileo and Copernicus for whom their research was an extension of their faith and acknowledgement of God. Much of maths, philosophy, science and medicine was driven because of faith, not despite it.
We think we are so big but we have jettisoned a Biblical concept of family, life and morality. Socially today, we are disfigured and ugly. Just look at the murders that occur within broken families, riots, corrupt politicians and myriad other example that slap us in the face every day.
The people of Babel were humbled by God. They became confused and spread throughout the earth. We too need to be humbled. We are created creatures. We were created to worship God – not ourselves. Self worship has got us into the moral morass we see today. For the Christian, humility starts at the cross. The journey commences before a Saviour who came to give us life to its greatest extent – eternal life in an eternal kingdom. With this fresh set of eyes we reflect on science, medicine, family, society and the multitude of other areas that make up what we call “life” and ask: How does my Creator want me to use, utilise and serve Him and my neighbour with the gifts he has give me?
The giants of the past weren’t perfect either but what set the true giants apart from the rest was that they knew and depended on their God. If there was ever a moment in history where that realignment with God was needed, especially for us in the West, it is now.
In my devotions at present I am being reminded of sin; the original sin, my sin, even your sin and the consequences.
The photo (left) reminded me of consequences. I imagine that many, many years ago an enterprising person went around this cemetery planting cypress pines with the aim of beautifying the place. Little did he or she realise that in 120 years, the cute little sapling would dominate the grave.
Little did Adam and Eve realise … little do we realise the lie, the cheat, the disobedience, the selfishness, the arrogance, in fact, any of the sins we tend to call “little” or “white”, have an impact on ourselves, others and our relationship with God. We just let them shoot, grow and develop. Sometimes the consequences are not there for us to see immediately. Sometimes, like the cypress tree, it will only be evident in the distant future. That is when the full impact is revealed.
For the Christian, forgiveness is always at hand. We are usually not slow at appropriating it. I must add, I’m all for it. However, we often forget about confession, reconciliation and restoration. There are consequences to deal with. The hurt, the anger and the disappointment, often weighing on people who are close to us, still needs healing. Bridges need to be built. We still need to ask, “Will you please forgive me.” Sometimes the answer might be,”No. I’m not ready yet.” That is a consequence we need to live with.
Yes, God forgives, and He looks at His children through Christ coloured glasses. He sees us as guiltless and innocent through his son but that mustn’t stop us from taking steps to stop the cypress trees from growing in places where they can do great damage.
Oatmeal (courtesy Flickr)
One of my favourite poems by the late Spike Milligan is called “Porridge” (see below). Whenever ‘porridge’ is mentioned, my wife or I will blurt out a line from the ditty, such as, “Why is there no monument to porridge in our land …?” or “Oatmeal OBE”, usually in a wobbly Scottish accent. Amongst our girls it’s film quotes. Lines from favourite films (in suitably dramatic accents) will be thrown in at appropriate places. How often have we heard, “I am a military man. I want a military meal.” (Toys). “Mustard! Don’t lets be silly.” (Alice in Wonderland). And there are hosts more; too many to mention.
It caused me to pause and think. How much is our speech seasoned with helpful aphorisms from God’s Word? Direct encouragements, challenges, comforts, wisdom and more can be declared directly from the Bible. In order to do that however, we need to know the Word and have it inwardly digested. Rather than our fill of mindless TV or internet trawling, we need to spend time taking in and appropriating God’s Word. No I am not ‘anti film’, in fact I love a good movie and I also enjoy the banter that our family has with film and other quotes. Where would I be without a good Mark Twain quote? Far more life enhancing though, is to know and share where life to the full comes from.
The ordinances of the LORD are sure and altogether righteous. They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb. Psalm 19
How much time are we spending, not just reading, but ingesting, memorising and clothing ourselves in the living Word of God. The theologian Karl Barth believed that the Word of God came alive (my words) when it was acted upon – other than just being dry words on a sheet of paper. The Hebrew word ‘dabar’ which means ‘word’ or ‘talk’ cannot divorce itself from the action it is declaring. In fact, Jesus is the Word come to life in human existence. Our challenge is to clothe ourselves in the “dabar’s” of God and speak and be the Word of God to each other and the world around us.
… and Spike’s suitably bizarre poem …
Porridge
by Spike Milligan
Why is there no monument
To Porridge in our land?
It it’s good enough to eat,
It’s good enough to stand!
On a plinth in London
A statue we should see
Of Porridge made in Scotland
Signed, “Oatmeal, O.B.E.”
(By a young dog of three)
For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd;he will lead them to springs of living water.And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” Rev 7:17
How vast the canyon
Riven by me
Between us.
How prohibitive the distance
That I have stretched
Between us.
How impossible the mountain
My brokenness has heaped
Between us.
But the cross
Bridges,
Restores
And surmounts
All my sin has accrued.
My Amen …
… beyond words.
The other evening, in a weaker moment, (my wife says I am lying – I had been wanting to rewatch it for a while) I watched the Blues Brothers again. The unbelievable mayhem and pandemonium was still as funny as it was all those years ago. It was their tag line that got me thinking, “We’re on a mission from God.”
Once Elwood and Jake understood their task, nothing would stop them. The Illinois police, Nazis, a maniacal ex girl friend, The Chicago police and the army all failed to halt their progress. They were single minded and did not count the cost, to themselves (or anybody else for that matter).
The thought crossed my mind, “What if Christians were like that?” How would the world look? If we go back to the apostle Paul: imprisonment, beatings and riots did not thwart his real “mission from God.” William Wilberforce, William Booth, Loren Cunningham (YWAM) are just three amongst a myriad of examples who were on their “mission from God”. There are the many unkown (to us) in Asian, African, South American and Chinese Churches who are quietly (and sometimes not so quietly!) carrying out their missions.
In Australia there were the Dutch migrants who revitalised Christian education in the 1960s and 70s with the Christian Parent Controlled School movement which has since morphed into Christian Education National. Their impact went far beyond their numbers and nationality. The idea of unschooled Dutch migrants setting up and running schools was considered laughable by many. Fifty years later thousands have flocked to these and similar schools around Australia.
The fact remains though, that in western countries, like Australia, we need spiritual Elwoods and Jakes, or should I say, Pauls and Williams and Lorens to halt the slide into godlessness; a godlessness and spiritual paucity that that is feeding the hopelessness that so many feel today. What is required is a vision of what God’s Word calls for, and a passion and zeal to see it carried out. It requires people who know and understand to the core of their being that they are “on a mission from God”.
I would love to hear from you what you believe the “missions from God” are for Australia and Australians today.
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matt 6:19-20
Normally when we think of being indifferent we conjure up a “couldn’t care less” attitude.
St Ignatius, the Counter Reformation Reformer, uses the term in a totally different way. His definition of the word suggests, rather, a sense of detachment. He doesn’t say that the things of this world are unimportant but he suggests that we need to develop an attitude where God’s priorities take precedence over all. So God’s will becomes the key motivation for our lives – not money, nor pleasure – nor even the length of our life.
What St. Ignatius is acknowledging, is that the command of Jesus in the sermon on the mount, is a radical reorientation of our lives. It confronts the attitude of the “tacked on faith” that our lives so often portray. Too often, faith is that insurance policy, that little extra that gives our life a deeper dimension, or faith is that element that stops our lives being as shallow as that of so many people around us. “Indifference”, however, declares that “tacked on faith” is not what God wants for His children. Our Creator wants lives anchored in Him, not in the transient trappings of this world – no matter how alluring and tempting they may be.
Does this mean that Jesus is calling for an ascetic other worldliness? Not at all. Jesus enjoyed a party just as much as the rest of us. (See Tim Chester’s “A Meal with Jesus”). Our problem is that we often confuse the things of this world with ultimate meaning. Our wealth, fame, house, possessions, or my case, books, is what, so often, gives our life meaning, rather than our relationship with God and our place in His Kingdom. That is why Jesus gives us the warning about our heart and our treasures. That is why he says it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. We so easily confuse the temporary niceties for eternal realities.
Secretly we think that Jesus’ command and St. Ignatius’ injunction cause us to be hard done by. Somehow we are missing out. But let us reflect more deeply. Does the God who sent His son to die on the cross for us, whose son is right now preparing a place for us, who dwells within us with his Holy Spirit, who pictures a city the streets of which are paved with gold – is this a God who wants to short change us and deprive us? Or is it that He has greater things in mind for His people and it is just our feeble baby like like imagination that clamours for the dross rather than wait expectantly for the gold.
The New Conspirators: Creating the future one mustard seed at a time, Tom Sine, IVP 2008.
In 1980 Tom Sine challenged western Christians in the “Mustard Seed Conspiracy” to use their wealth in small seemingly insignificant ways to make a real difference in the world. He heightened that call in 1999 in “Mustard Seed versus Mac World” when he explored the dangers of Globalism and the consumer culture and suggested ways in which, via the mustard seed metaphor, Christians/the church could respond in Biblical ways.
“The New Conspirators” maintains the metaphor and the call. Written before the GFC occurred, it nevertheless says much to challenge us .
He starts off by taking us on a journey, exploring how “new conspirators” are being and doing church, in what Michael Frost would call this “Exilic” age. Sine explores 4 models: Emerging, Missional, Mosaic and Monastic. I found this section particularly exciting as it revealed ways in which church can be relevant in an age that (in western cultures) is rapidly turning its back on the Christian faith. This section also shows that there is no one answer and that our God given creativity is a key to how we make ourselves relevant.
In the next section Sine asks to what extent globalisation is shaping our culture (and imagination) . This scenario becomes the basis for his call that Christians have been called to create life transforming alternatives – alternatives that take regard for all sections of society – in particular the vulnerable.
He concludes by giving us five imaginative challenges with regard to the world as it is, stewardship, mission, community and entrepreneurship.
This is a challenging book, but unlike many that can be deflating by revealing a disheartening picture that is too immense, Sine’s mustard seed approach, littered with current examples of effective action, is spirit enlivening. If you are challenged by what it means to be a relevant Kingdom worker in this post GFC globalised economy, in which the Kingdom of Christ is being marginalised – take heart and instruction from this book. After all, it only requires a mustard seed.
P.S. This book has handy questions at the end of each chapter that can be used to engender discussion and action.
Travels from Ur 