from my life to yours - part 2

it is instructive to note that the first minute and a half of this conference was marked with an extended befuddlement over the microphone...our director fidgetting and asking  ..."can you hear me?"....."now"? ....."what about now?"....i could hear him fine i was sitting in the back of the room i could hear the man's voice as clear as a bell without a microphone it baffles me to wonder why we are so damn dependent on these contraptions they've inserted themselves into our lives and cannot be extracted...they fulfill my oft neglected prophetic announcement of some 10 years ago or more...the mechanical mandate of the amplified sound devices...."YOU CANNOT  'NOT ' USE THE DEVICE"










conference #2

AM I ALIVE?
IS THE CHURCH A PLACE OF ABUNDANT LIFE?

these were the first questions of the day
and they lead to questions of leadership

all of us baptized into christ's passion death and resurrection
into his KINGSHIP
are beholden to LEAD
in life giving ways as led our SAVIOUR
when he led the way

what better example than the story of the prodigal son

Fr Timothy stated point-blank
our challenge as a church is to get beyond the insidious language of
MANAGEMENT
somehow the church has assumed this rhetoric of the
secular humanist agenda this language of utility
of practicality of getting everything continually in order
and keeping it in order
nothing so militates against healthy christian living
as this MANAGEMENT mindset

(  i found this rhetoric so enchanting that i found myself dreaming
of being at a party   ...   at 10 in the morning)

God's style of GRACE seems to be something else
if it is management it is something we rarely get a chance to behold
for it defies what we might consider good order

GOD IS ALWAYS YOUNGER THAN WE ARE  -  augustine of hippo

the christian admonition to serve is an invitation to leadership
for a servant to recognize that he or she is working
in      GOD'S GRACE
we serve everyone

a story is told of a very big name Dominican arriving
at a Dominican house in England and there's a man there to meet him
the important Dominican says  VERY WELL BROTHER NOW WHERE'S MY ROOM
up on the second floor  -  came the humble reply
OK THEN THERE'S MY SUITCASE
up the stairs they trudged
servant attending guest
NOW BROTHER WHEN IS DINNER  and etc. etc,
when they arrived at his room
AND BROTHER I SHOULD LIKE TO HAVE A WORD WITH THE PRIOR
after a pregnant pause came the reply
I AM THE PRIOR

WHEN WE MAKE PEACE
WHEN WE DARE TO SPEAK TRUTH
WHEN WE MAKE THE INITIAL GESTURE OF
forgiveness
THEN WE LEAD
by taking the role of christ as our paradigm
we avoid trying to climb

THE GREASY POLE OF SUCCESS

our great drama  ---->

CHRIST HAS DIED
CHRIST IS RISEN
CHRIST WILL COME AGAIN

this is the festival of our life work

a most sensitive part of christian leadership
is the necessity of letting things die letting things go
so that
THE NEW CAN BREAK IN GRACEFULLY

who will shed his dignity
who will stand naked and vulnerable
who will lead the way to self-effacement
who can stand to be discarded
by the ways of the world

in the PRODIGAL story the son the bad boy
returns to take his place as the son of his father
his humble self-recognition takes him to the point
of willingness to be a mere slave
his father   (  the true prodigious one  )
insists that order is restored
by his rushing out to meet the wayward lad
by calling for a festival
by entering into the mysterious enchantment
of christian forgiveness and reconciliation

and o that other proud son
that son who is indignant
that son who cannot believe his eyes
that son so hurt
so demeaned by his father's lack of perspective
by this completely  uncalledfor  display
of generous charity
IT IS JUST TOO DAMN MUCH

here a distinction is made between
someone BEING A PROBLEM
and someone  HAVING PROBLEMS

it is never a good thing
to treat a fellow human being as A PROBLEM
for
we are to be the gaurdians of one another's DIGNITY
and thus

'TIS FITTING TO BE MERRY
'tis right to lead the way to the party

(   'tis a glorious expression to be the perpetrator of joy"   )

Jesus himself began his spoken ministry
at a wedding festival

We are always presented with a choice
to use the language of God's gentle LOVE
or the language of conflict

there's a story of ARCHBISHOP TUTU
arriving at a check point at some important place
in south africa maybe 20 years ago
the gaurd at the gate looked him in the face and said
WE DON'T ABIDE GORILLAS HERE
desmond responded with
O BUT I  DO

one great thing to keep in mind always

EVERYTHING IS LESS IMPORTANT
THAN THE PASSION DEATH AND RESURRECTION
OF OUR LORD






remember the key word for the week

LOLL

learn to LOLL








.