She only asked if she could go home once, and was quickly distracted by a passing motorbike.
‘Are you there yet,’ she asked often, as if her presence was barely of note.
A song came on, and I sang along quietly, ‘better than a hallelujah’. A stillness joined us, and a deeper Presence.
‘You’re a champion I said,’ when we arrived. And her smile of acceptance was worth the journey.
The Wollemi Pine (and I may also qualify) is often referred to as a ‘living fossil’ and one of the greatest botanical discoveries of our time.
In September 1994, NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service officer and canyoner David Noble, came across some trees he didn’t recognise in a deep canyon of Wollemi National Park. They were what we now call Wollemia nobilis or the Wollemi Pine.
These tall and striking trees were thought to be extinct and grow only 150 km from Sydney.
We found ours in the plant nursery of Big W, Erina, and it has had a noble life in one of our inner city courtyards for the past three years. Secretly I have come to believe that Big W stands for Big Wollemi…
Anyway, as if responding to increased rainfall and no doubt a recent influx of new soil and fertiliser, Big Wollemi is becoming even scruffier and confusing by spouting new growth off very old branches which sometimes form at unusual angles to the original branch.
At the same time, it has developed a large waxy protuberance in the centre at the top which has made me quite nervous, especially since I watched Day of the Triffids last night. Which reminds me to ask, did anyone else devour John Wyndham novels as kid or am I the only one…
I’m certain the protuberance is nothing sinister, but giving the rarity of these plants, and the relatively short time they have been bred in captivity (if that’s possible for a plant) I’m hoping it is going to bring forth something truly pre-historic, such as a baby pterodactyl… but more likely just new branches…. If you don’t hear from me again, presume it was the former. (I also watched Jurassic Park 2 and 3 recently. Sorry.)
Western society – especially the white, European, inner city, educated elite – is little more than a secular-atheist backwater when compared to the vast ocean of faith and religious fervour that dominates most of the planet.
And this was clearly on display last week with two major events bringing God to the front pages of newspapers and onto prime time television.
Sweeping the planet from Rome was the ardour of Mary MacKillop’s canonisation which eventually overcame the most cynical media hack and had them sincerely discussing miracles, faith, worship and the value of a genuinely humble, self-sacrificial life.
Simultaneously we had the remarkable rescue of the Chilean minors and 90 point headings on major Australian dailies screaming, ‘GOD AND THE DEVIL FOUGHT OVER ME AND GOD WON!’Read More »
My Friend the Mercenary by James Brabazon is one of the most brutal, true stories you may ever read and yet streaming through it is a remarkable and unlikely friendship.
Brabazon was just beginning his career as a documentary maker and war-correspondent when he was invited to film rebels fighting against dictator Charles Taylor in Liberia, west Africa.
He was introduced to one of Africa’s most notorious mercenaries, Nick du Toit, who had an ambiguous history as part of South Africa’s special forces at the tail end of apartheid.
As James discovered, the sheer need to survive turns the theoretical world of objectivity on its head but also allows friendships to forge that might not otherwise exist.
Alongside the brutal description of rebels executing government soldiers and in one case cutting them up and eating their heart, there is a remarkable, tender portrayal of friendship between two men of different backgrounds.
After Liberia, James is invited by Nick to film the overthrow of the government of Equatorial Guinea. He is part of a small band of mercenaries who are working for the instalment of an exiled leader to replace yet another brutal, corrupt ruler.Read More »
My New Year’s resolution to post to Utterance every day in 2010 has hit its biggest challenge recently thanks to a condition a good friend describes as ‘head miles’.
I first heard him use the phrase when I asked him why it was he stayed awake all night, most nights, walking the streets.
‘Oh, I just walk around and do lots of head miles,’ he replied calmly. He put it down to a combination of schizophrenia and the drugs used to treat his condition. I can claim neither as contributing factors for my mental mileage.
Unfortunately I also cannot claim the same positive side-effect of doing lots of walking. The phenomenon has dried up quite a bit since the City to Surf although I have turned to cricket in an attempt to stay fit. That, and about a kilometre quick-march as part of my journey to work each day.
Having watched a great deal of the big game of cricket on a small box in recent years, I was clearly lured into a false sense of my own ability. In a team made up of much younger men, including my sons, it has been somewhat embarrassing to discover my body simply won’t cooperate.
During the first game, not only did I manage to go out to bat with my pads on the wrong legs, wearing left-handed batting gloves and with my helmet in an oddly sight-reducing position, but I pulled my ham string fielding in the slips.Read More »
We’ve all heard the saying ‘there’s light at the end of the tunnel.’ I certainly hope that is the case for you right now.
But many of the tunnels we drive through are lit throughout which kind of messes with the metaphor.
And it raises for me a seriously important question, one that first came to me while driving through a brightly lit tunnel under the edge of Parliament House in Canberra last Friday night.
Why do we light road tunnels at night? It’s dark outside so why can’t it be dark in the tunnel?
See, I’m on to the really big issues now. Next it will be why is it that when people get on the bus they will seek out the empty seat until you have 40 people sitting alone on double seats.
The next person who gets on is so confused that there are no empty seats, that they’d have to sit next to someone, that they stand up and look miserable.
Mmmm, I’m on fire tonight.
I woke up to a radio interview with a celebrity lawyer saying how he would have loved to defend Jesus in his crucixion trial.
The lawyer went on to say he would have gotsuccessfully defended Jesus and that Jesus was a great philosopher and reforming rabbi who had less to do with Christianity than Paul.
It was Paul, the lawyer continued, who had turned following Jesus into separate religion rather than a Jewish sect.
Objection your Honour, I said in my groggy head. Paul was a religious Jew who initially opposed followers of Jesus visciously before a dramatic change saw him become the foremost follower of Christ. Something more than philosophy going on here I think…
As if to underscore my thinking, I was walking to the bus half an hour later when I saw a discarded card from a trivia game lying on the footpath. For some trivial reason I felt compelled to pick it up.
The fourth question read, ‘Who wrote two famous letters to the Corinthians?’ I think you can guess the answer. Something more than trivia going on here I think…
And for you trivia buffs, here are the rest of the questions:
What city did the Mormons establish as their headquarters in 1847?
What movie told of Anna Anderson’s claim to be a Russian czar’s daughter?
What daughter of Czar Nicholas II is said to have escaped death in the Russian revolution?
What does copra come from?
Who were the only two Australian boxers to be world champions at the same time?
Use comments for answers…
When Jesus told his small band of followers that they would make him known to the ends of the earth, he unleashed a socio-spiritual revolution that continues to change our world today.
And the message they would carry was that as we learn to love God, love our neighbour and love ourselves – in that order – a new community of grace and truth is possible.
These largely uneducated and insignificant disciples never conceived of this mission and the community it would produce as being possible apart from a living encounter with the words and very reality of Christ himself.
On Monday, Tim Flannery released his new book Here on Earth: An Argument for Hope and some of what he proclaims sounds eerily similar to the mission proclaimed by Jesus, but with a new god at its core.
An extract from the book appeared in Saturday’s Sydney Morning Herald under the heading, ‘To the ends of the earth we must go’ – either an accidental or deliberate recalling of Christ’s words.
And while the focus of the extract is human responsibility for causing – but also potentially repairing – environmental degradation, there is a deeply spiritual tone to the article.Read More »
‘If you travelled on a Sunday you would notice, as you moved out from the inner city to the outer suburbs, that the church services attract bigger crowds. Conventional religious belief is stronger. This explains why these electorates do not warm to the Green agenda of euthanasia, abortion, gay marriage and adoption. The fascinating thing about Green supporters is that their natural habitat is not the open spaces or the pristine forests but the crowded cafes and asphalt alleys of high-density, inner-city living.’ Peter Costello writing in the Fairfax press today.
It’s not the first time this inner city Green phenomenon has been pointed out but the first time since the Greens held the balance of power in the Senate, and to some degree, in the House of Representatives.
A few suggestions – more churches in the inner city; a viable alternate political party with strong environmental and social justice policy that more closely reflects Christian views in other areas; think, engage, critique and comprehend the culture in which you live.
Sy Rogers is a Christian minister, married father and a man who lived as a woman for two years in preparation for a sex change operation.
Around that time, as he ventured into an average American church, he learned something of the real meaning of love, a message he shared in Sydney on the weekend, some 20-30 years on.
Feeling that the word ‘love’ has been over-used and stripped of meaning – we love our family but also love our new shoes – he replaced it with the word ‘value’.
‘For God so valued the world, the he gave His only Son…’ or ‘Greater value has no one than this, that they lay down their life for their friends’.
He said love – or his definition for it – value, is delivered, communicated or made real to others through three things:
1. Acceptance – which says ‘I’d rather have you messy than not have you at all.’ Because someone is valuable to God and valuable to us, we accept them as they are. This is where love/value begins.
2. Accountability – which says ‘because you are valuable I won’t leave you where you are, but hold you accountable towards a better day’. It’s the kind of accountability that doesn’t leave a friend playing dangerously on a busy highway, but says ‘ for your own good, because your valuable to me, get off the road’.
3. Affirmation – which says ‘I’m going to show you that your valuable, not just by what I say, but by how I treat you.’ Affirmation is when we communicate that what happens to someone we love, matters to us – rejoicing with those that rejoice, and weeping with those that weep. We need affirmation because of insecurity – ‘a fancy word for fear, a fear that says “I doubt my value”‘.
May your day be full of the giving and receiving of acceptance, accountability and affirmation because you are of great value!
The trappings of Christianity are precisely that, a trap – just ask Teresa Lewis or Mary MacKillop.
When we adhere outwardly, publicly or religiously to Christian faith but deny its inner, personal change, eventually we – and others – are snared in a trap of our own making.
What tends to happen is that the appearance of being a good Christian becomes an ever broadening disguise, hiding the real turmoil within. We would have been better to deny the appearance and be honest about the reality.
As guilt and condemnation do their insidious work, and as we have more to lose if our charade is exposed, we work harder on the exterior, becoming even more lost on the inside.
Jesus gave the simple example of the religious leader coming to pray, full of hubris, flaunting his religious superiority but in reality being further away in God’s eyes than the scorned tax collector who stood at a distance, ashamed of his wrong-doing, and seeking mercy and forgiveness.
Extreme examples in today’s world come to light with the execution of a US woman and the one-time excommunication of soon-to-be-Catholic-saint, Mary MacKillop.
Teresa Lewis was executed in Virginia on Friday afternoon (AEST) fo arranging the killings of her husband and a stepson over a $US250,000 insurance payment.
Amazingly, Lewis had the appearance of a strong Christian and even prayed with her husband in bed before getting up and unlocking the door of their home to let in the killers.
The Sydney Morning Herald reports that Lewis admitted her life had been marked by outrageous bouts of sex and betrayal even as she ‘hewed to the trappings of Christianity’.
‘I was doing drugs, stealing, lying and having several affairs during my marriages,’ reads a statement by Lewis. ‘I went to church every Sunday, Friday and revivals but guess what? I didn’t open my Bible at home, only when I was at church.’
Which is why a Christian life marked only by ‘meetings’ is not a true marker of discipleship. Jesus said that while we would find his presence in the company of other believers, so too among the poor, in serving others and in a heartfelt searching of our own hearts.
Mary MacKillop by all accounts was someone known for these qualities which is no doubt why she was responsible for exposing the paedophilia of a priest, and then excommunicated for her troubles.Read More »
Two buses and half a develoment day later and I’m enjoying a few moments gazing across the beach at Bondi.
One man wears a hooded dressing gown, towel wrapped around underneath, speedos in hand.
Two Asian tourists sit on a low brick fence, drinking water and chatting happily.
Three ancient mariners have plodded their way up from the beach where the salt water was good for their splotchy legs. Four dog paws pad past, with a slight sway in my direction for a closer look.
Five green-shirted girls learn to surf, first on the sand, then with their blue-shirted instructor in the surf.
Six minutes until I’ve got to be back discussing culture, climate and case scenarios. Sevens white-topped waves roll in to say goodbye.
I’ve had my share of run-ins with online atheists, ready to drive me into the ground for being a person of faith, and that’s fair enough, after-all I am sticking my neck out here, on purpose.
But it’s interesting to see that even atheists are getting sick of the new breed of aggressive atheism which spreads the message that anyone who believes in God is a moron.
Check out ‘Please God spare us the born-again atheists’ from The Punch .
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has called on world leaders to attend a summit in New York next week, to accelerate progress towards the Millennium Development Goals, aimed at halving world poverty by 2015. Newly appointed Foreign Minister, Kevin Rudd, will be attending.
In the meantime, some good news from Britain today with these comments from British PM David Cameron in an article regarding the Pope’s visit:
‘The Holy See is a partner in pursuit of the Millennium Development Goals, which will be discussed at United Nations headquarters in New York again next week. For our part, we are totally committed to meeting the UN target of spending 0.7 per cent of our national income on aid by 2013. And we want to ensure that the money we spend goes to those who need it most. Sustainable economic development is closely linked to political stability and security. A world in which there is a yawning gap between the rich and the poor will be more dangerous and less secure for all of us.’
Come on Jules and Kev, don’t let the Brits get the jump on us!
Meanwhile in the same article, which touches on the beatification of Cardinal Newman while the Pope is in the UK, David Cameron says:
‘Cardinal Newman once said that one little deed, whether by someone who helps “to relieve the sick and needy” or someone who “forgives an enemy” evidences more true faith than could be shown by “the most fluent religious conversation” or “the most intimate knowledge of scripture”.’
So Oprah is coming to Australia just before Christmas, including a show at the ‘Oprah House’ on December 14.
Made me think of some other great arrivals around Christmas time and the counter-cultural nature of the Messiah’s mission – just as shocking today as it was then.
While Oprah is bringing her own audience of 300, Jesus had a few animals, shepherds and mum and dad.
Oprah is arriving on a jet plane with a crew of 150, while an unborn Jesus arrived on a donkey with no room at the inn.
Oprah will take over the Opera House with her American audience, crew and ‘thousands’ of Australian fans. When Jesus arrived at Christmas, the angels sang opera but only a shire of shepherds noticed.
Oprah’s visit is expected to be great for Australian tourism although we expect Austria may also get an unexpected boost. Meanwhile Jesus’ visit has sent people travelling all over the planet for 2000 years starting with Persian magi and including many who died for their efforts in pursuing His purpose.
Oprah no doubt will have her detractors but ‘all publicity is good publicity’ in the wild world of television. Jesus had a few detractors too and we know how that turned out.
I do love Oprah’s generosity in springing this great gift on her audience, self-serving as it may be, to a greater or lesser extent.
I do love God’s generosity in giving Jesus, the one purely altruistic act of history, which can be received freely, no strings attached. And the good news is that it is good news forever, not just for this season’s rating period…
The threatened burning of the Qur’an by a Florida pastor created international headlines and now a Brisbane atheist has used pages of the Bible and the Qur’an to roll fake joints and smoke them.
And while journalists waste time over these peculiarly western debates, we hear nothing about the very real plight of millions of Christians, many in Muslim countries, where such freedoms are not enjoyed.
For example a young Laotian woman had her Bible burned (pictured) by villagers who believed it was causing her mother’s illness.
‘My villagers still hate me and mock me, like they mocked Jesus on the cross. It is the world’s right to hate us or to love us. But for me, I will follow Jesus.’
Many people like this young woman are assisted by Voice of the Martyrs. You might wonder why we need such an organisation in the 21st century but there are more Christian martyrs today than ever before.
VOM says, ‘In restricted nations around the world, Bibles are burned, shredded or confiscated every day. Those opposed to the gospel can destroy Bibles, but they cannot destroy the faith of those like ****’.
To read many other heart wrenching stories of the persecution of Christians – the burning of their Bibles, churches and bodies – visit Voice of the Martyrs.
We do enjoy remarkable freedoms in the west, rarely known on our planet or throughout history, very much brought about by a Christian world view that says every life is sacred and deserves dignity, freedom, opportunity and life.
This should be extended to people of all faiths and Koran burning or Bible ‘smoking’ are ridiculous parades of ego.
But there is something that would help balance the debate. Whenever we stand and affirm that Muslims, for example, should receive the same freedoms in Australia or America as anyone else, it would be inspiring to hear those voices, especially Muslims, speak up and say they would like to see the same freedoms for those persecuted for their faith in Muslim or other restricted countries.
Someone recently told me God would kill me in a flood. The rainbow reminds me God has promised to never again judge the world punishable by flood. Not even me. To the contrary, he finished all earthly punishment on a Roman cross 2000 years ago, his Son the subsitutionary bearer. As we know, there are still floods and many painful things, but these are the result of a groaning disharmony in creation.
Death by flood, burning Korans, suicide bombs – these are not God’s way of dealing with us. Rainbows are…
After two days of rain – warm and still relaxing – the sunshine invited us out for an early morning walk, along the breakwall and down to Port Macquarie’s Town Beach. And a reminder of where we stand…
I wrote this poem on my phone, hence the short lines and meter. Clearly some angst on this particular day…
Suffer into Freshness
Is there a faith that is safe
From fading vacuous jargon
And well-intentioned simpletons
Who trample through the garden?
The further I remove myself
From religious ways of thinking
The more I notice emptiness
And sentiment that’s sinking.
Is this a sign of my decline
Into a heart that’s hardened?
Or a clearing of my sight
To metamorphing pardon.Read More »
As a wobbly sounding plane flies over head through the cloud and light rain of an early Leichhardt morning, I consider another staple of inner west life, the Inner West Courier.
It has thrown up a spiritual conundrum, a coded message of religious reality in our time. Actually, it’s just demonstrating the bleeding obvious…
On page 12 of the August 31 edition, a story celebrates the awarding of the Australian Writers Guild Kit Denton Fellowship Award to Petersham resident George Casti for his script I Want to be Slim.
Great, I think. Good to see some local talent being rewarded and $30,000 can make all the difference as a writer seeks to stave off poverty and establish their craft.
I read on to see what his script is about: ‘…award judged on courage and excellence… Catsi’s “anti-Hillsong” script won… religion is a very polarised area… satirical script is about the Rev Slim Limits and his performance in getting the masses to follow his evangelical ways.’
Mmm, so George gets $30,000 to perfect his script, poking fun, in a courageous and excellent way, at a section of society that, obviously, it is perfectly appropriate to ridicule. The Courier report is matter-of-fact, as if we shouldn’t be surprised that a local church is award-winning, satire material.Read More »
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