Plushy sward

This is from a Hopkins poem describing the retreat of the physical sense as a way of obtaining a transcendent experience of God. I''m not sure about the philosophy, but the poetry is beautiful, and it was this verse that called me into the poem:

O feel-of-primrose hands, O feet
That want the yield of plushy sward,
But you shall walk the golden street,
And you unhouse and house the Lord.

From The Habit of Perfection.

Michelangelo & David

Michelangelo Redeems Broken Marble

In 1463, members of the City Council of Firenze (Florence) Italy decided they needed a monument to enhance their city. They commissioned a sculptor to carve a giant statue to stand in front of city hall. Someone suggested a biblical character wrought in the neoclassical style, an expression of beauty and strength.

They approached Agostino di Duccio, who agreed to their terms. Duccio went to the quarry near Carrara and marked off a 19-foot slab to be cut from the white marble. However, he had the slab cut too thin. When the block was removed, it fell, leaving a deep fracture down one side. The sculptor declared the stone useless and demanded another, but the city council refused. Consequently, the gleaming block of marble lay on its side for the next 38 years, a source of embarrassment for all concerned.

Then, in 1501, the council approached another citizen, the son of a local official, asking him if he would complete the ambitious project, using the broken slab. Fortunately for them, the young man was Michelangelo Buonarroti. He was 26 years old, filled with energy, skill, and imagination. Michelangelo locked himself inside the workshop behind the cathedral to chisel and polish away on the stone for three years. When the work was finished, it took 49 men five days to bring it to rest before the city hall. Archways were torn down. Narrow streets were widened. The people from across Europe came to see the 14-foot statue of David relaxing after defeating Goliath. It was even more than the city fathers had envisioned. The giant stone had been transformed from the massive fractured waste of rock to a masterpiece surpassing the art of either Greece or Rome.

Leadership 10/4/07

Pursuit of holiness

Just finished Thomas a Kempis, onto Jerry Bridges now. here's the first quote:

Our first problem is that our attitude to sin is more self-centred than God-centred. We are more concerned about our own "victory" over sin than we are about the fact that our sins grieve the heart of God. We cannot tolerate failure in our struggle with sin chiefly because we are success oriented, not because we know it is offensive to God.
(16-17)

Spring

LOVELY spring: Beautiful spring!
The woods with vocal welcomes ring,
And we a grateful offering bring
To our God who sends the spring.
Shaker hymn, "Welcome Spring"

Science

Whilst having some degree of respect for scientists, I feel that complete trust is misplaced. These are the people who said, after all, that Windscale was safe and that Haribo sweets contain food.

This nervous approach has been justified after a scientific journal ("What's on TV") published an article detailing a new project. It said:

The 6 Billion Dollar Experiment: one-off documentary looking at a hugely expensive experiment involving a large Hadron Collider - essentially an attempt to recreate the Big Bang.

OK. Now, I already have troubles with this philosophically and financially, but the real problem comes in the next sentence:

If it is successful, the LHC could provide the key to understanding the very essence of the universe, but the failure could lead to the creation of a black hole.

Doesn't anyone suspect there might be something wrong with one of these outcomes? Now, I am only an amateur but over the years I have accumulated understanding in several branches of science (mostly from watching Dr Who) and I know that the proper scientific term for this project is: totally, catastrophically, brainlessly, stupid.

What worries me nearly as much is why don’t other scientists see this? Why don’t they stop them? The only answer I can think of is that they know this experiment is a waste of time and won’t work, but is part of an ongoing competition between different universities to see who can get the biggest grant for the most stupid project.

But even so, what is wrong with the people who control the actual funds that supplied the six billion dollars? How did they arrive at the point of awarding the grant? What does it tell us about financiers?

“Let’s see…Hadron Collider…if successful may help us understand the beginning of the universe (practical applications: zero)….if unsuccessful may create black hole (practical applications: total destruction of planet earth, the solar system and everything else for 50 squllion miles)…hmmmm: great! I wonder if there’s a Happy Meal franchise in this?”

I despair.

The Old 100th!

This is my 100th post, since being persuaded by Dickie Mint to get one last July. I will let George Herbert do the talking:


The Dawning

Awake sad heart, whom sorrow ever drowns;
Take up thine eyes, which feed on earth;
Unfold thy forehead gathered into frowns;
Thy Saviour comes, and with him mirth;
Awake, awake;
And with a thankful heart his comforts take.
But thou dost still lament, and pine, and cry;
And feel his death, but not his victory.

Arise sad heart; if thou dost not withstand,
Christ's resurrection thine may be:
Do not by hanging down break from the hand,
Which as it riseth, raiseth thee:
Arise, arise;
And with his burial-linen dry thine eyes:
Christ left his grave-clothes, that we might, when grief
Draws tears, or blood, not want an handkerchief.

Removing roof tiles

Roof-tile Syndrome is when we are so caught up in the preaching of Jesus, we turn our backs to the needs of those still outside the building. We become barriers and not gateways. It's when we care more about keeping things intact than about restoring lives that are shattered. It's when we're more upset when stuff gets broken than excited when the broken are mended. It's when church gets reduced to the preaching of Jesus so that we fail to notice that we're seeing very little of the forgiveness and healing of Jesus. It is when we are so fearful about upsetting the religious folk (or homeowners) in our midst that we stop taking risks to get people to Jesus.

It's when my program, my office, my title, my privilege, my influence, my comfort takes precedence over others' needs.

It's when the church exists for itself; to hell with the rest of you.

Mark Buchanan

Obsolete children (genetics)

So let’s say baby Sophie has a state-of-the-art gene job: her parents paid for the proteins discovered by, say, 2005 that, on average, yielded 10 extra IQ points. By the time Sophie is five, though, scientists will doubtless have discovered ten more genes linked to intelligence. Now anyone with a platinum card can get 20 IQ points, not to mention a memory boost and a permanent wrinkle-free brow. So by the time Sophie is twenty-five and in the job market, she’s already more or less obsolete—the kids coming out of college just plain have better hardware….

It’s not [, Gregory Stock adds,] “so different from upgraded software. You’ll want the new release.” The vision of one’s child as a nearly worthless copy of Windows 95 should make parents fight like hell to make sure we never get started down this path. But the vision gets lost easily in the gushing excitement about “improving” the opportunities for our kids.

–Bill McKibben, Enough: Staying Human in an Engineered Age (2003), 34-35
as quoted on Fire & Knowledge

Peterson on life in death

The land of the living is obviously not a vacation paradise. It's more like a war zone. And that's where we Christians are stationed to affirm the primacy of life over death, to give a witness to the connectedness and preciousness of all life, to engage in the practice of resurrection.

We do this by gathering in congregations and regular worship before our life-giving God and our death-defeating Christ and our life-abounding Holy Spirit. We do it by reading, pondering, teaching, and preaching the Word of Life as it is revealed in our Scriptures. We do it by baptizing men, women, and children in the name of the Trinity, nurturing them into a resurrection life. We do it by eating the life of Jesus in the bread and wine of the Eucharist. We do it by visiting prisoners, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, welcoming the stranger, healing the sick, working for justice, loving our enemies, raising our children, doing our everyday work to the glory of God.

When I go through a list like that, the first thing that strikes me—and I hope you—is that it's all pretty ordinary. It doesn't take a great deal of training or talent to do any of it. Not the training of a brain surgeon, let's say, or the talent of a concert pianist. Except for the preaching and sacraments part, children can do much of it as well or nearly as well as any of us. But—and here's the thing—all of it is life-witnessing and life-affirming work. And if the life drains out of it, there is nothing left: It's just Godtalk.

Eugene Peterson, Leadership April 07

Skunk

In a poem about meeting a skunk one morning, and fearing it's awful, deathly,scent, Mary Oliver says:
[it is]
unendurable
like tragedy
that can't be borne,
like death
that has to be buried or burned-
but a little of it is another story-
for it's true, isn't it,
in our world,
that the petals pooled with nectar, and the polished thorns
are a single thing -
that even the purest light, lacking the robe of darkness,
would be without expression-
that love itself, without its pain, would be
no more than shruggable comfort...

from "A Certain Sharpness in the Morning Air"

Subverting the devil

I try to subvert the devil by giving thanks. Desire triggers a prayer in me, something like this: Thank you, God, for giving me eyes to see and for sight. For giving me dreams to dream and for dreaming. For the beauty that suffuses the world.

It's not a formula, and it's not a given. It may not work for everyone. But for me, it's a way out. I refuse to wallow in guilt over getting caught in sudden delight, something that God—as I readily point out to him—wired inside me. So I thank him instead. Once an honest conversation takes place between me and God, the misguided desire loses its intensity. "There, there," I say to it. "You've made your point. I am alive in a beguiling world."

Agnieszka Tennant, Christianity Today, 29/3/07

Dying slowly

Healthy people often say they want to die suddenly, says Ira Byock, author of Dying Well and director of palliative medicine at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, yet quick deaths leave much uncompleted. They are the most difficult type of death for families to accept. "In contrast to an abrupt, easy death," writes Byock, "dying of a progressive illness offers precious opportunities to complete the most important of life's relationships."

Often relationships cannot be completed—which Byock defines as having nothing left unsaid—without forgiveness. From the Cross, Jesus says, "Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they are doing." Jesus forgave the very people who mocked and killed him. If we hold grudges or harbor anger, those who work with the dying say, peaceful deaths only come after we offer forgiveness. Forgiving is a Christian duty throughout our lives, but it is an essential part of the work of dying. Seeking forgiveness is equally important. Asking for forgiveness helps complete relationships with friends and family. And knowing that we need forgiveness helps us overcome the temptation of spiritual pride.

Rob Moll, Christianity Today 5th April 2007

Choosing elders 6 (preparation)

Stop thinking short-term. Like a good shepherd of sheep, think and plan long-term. Look for young men in their teens and early twenties who show spiritual interest and potential. They are your future leaders. God has placed them in your care for moulding. Don’t fail them!

...Give potential leaders gradually increasing responsibility in serving, leading, and teaching. Strategically open doors for ministry for them in the church. This is the best training ground. Monitor their service. Communicate with them regularly about how they are doing. And invite them, for a specified period of time, to visit your elders’ meetings. This is another significant training ground. Cast the vision before them that shepherding Christ’s blood-bought flock, the church, is truly fulfilling work. It is a high calling and privilege to care for God’s people.

Part of the responsibility of pastoral oversight is to see that there will be qualified shepherds to lead and teach the flock in the future. It is your job to take the initiative in this matter, to reach out to young, potential shepherds, to be proactive and not reactive, to take interest in their lives and future, to spend time with them, to direct them, and to warn them of the many dangers young men face (1 Tim. 4:16; 2 Tim. 2:2, 15, 22). Continually be mindful that you are an example to them, and encourage them in their own spiritual growth. You have the power to influence key individuals for God and the future of your church. Use that influence or you will lose it.

Alexander Strauch, 9Marks Feb.07

Choosing elders 5 (plurality)

In place of such human alternatives, we have pondered afresh Christ’s words on worldly leadership: "It shall not be so amongst you." We have learned how important it is to immerse ourselves in what Scripture teaches about plural leadership and to be vigilant about ways in which the biblical pattern can be subtly eroded. For example, members not fully committed to eldership may still be seduced by the siren song of single leadership, eyeing the deceptive attractions of powerful preacher-pastors around them and longing like ancient Israel for "their own king." New elders or pastors, though grounded in plural leadership, may need to adjust to the way a principle like mutual submission, which has broad application across different cultures, must find local expression amongst a particular group of elders. We know that ahead of us lie the dangers of established eldership: the risk that plurality may relax its watch and dwindle by degrees into a comfortable club which, in effect, abdicates leadership to a CEO pastor.

Philip Pedley, 9Marks Feb07