I’ve spent a fair amount of time this week talking to people about what things used to be like. I’ve been with families preparing for the funerals of their loved ones, who remember what family life used to be like when they were growing up. I’ve had conversations with people living in Cavour Street in Etruria who have lived there through all the changes of the last fifty years. Through the closure of industries, the demolition of one lot of houses and the building of another lot. I heard about how close knit that community used to be. To be honest, I suspect that in these conversations there were, in some cases, rose tinted glasses being worn, but, mostly, the memories of the things being recalled were good memories, that make life today seem a bit flat, disjointed, with communities that aren’t as strong and more people that are lonely and lost.
Most of the people that I spoke to seemed to have lost something that they remember having, and they aren’t sure if they are ever going to find it again.
In contrast, our first reading this morning encourages those who hear it to remember in a different way. Rather than looking back, remembering that things were better then and worse now, they are told to look back and remember that things were worse then and are so much better now.
You see, this letter was aimed at Gentile Christians. It was written to those who knew that in the past they had been completely excluded from God’s people. They were without hope, they didn’t know God. They were in darkness. They had no promise from God for their earthly lives, or for what would happen when their earthly life ended. They were all at sea.
But not anymore. Something had changed. There was a shift from the way that they used to live, and now they lived in a different way.
Continued here...
Sunday 19 July 2009
Thursday 9 July 2009
Say no to cynicism.
Cynicism. Ezekiel faced cynics, Jesus faced cynics, and Paul faced cynics.
Those of little faith. Those who could not see past the ordinary. Past the slightly odd priest who was prone to have visions and dreams that were hard to understand. Past the man who we grew up with, whose brothers and sisters we know. Past the man who built our house. Past the funny little ugly tent maker. There is a lack of imagination, a lack of openness to something new, a lack of vision to see what is here now and what is coming soon, because of the limited experience of the past.
It seems to me that cynicism is one of the hall marks of our culture in this country right now. Throughout public debate and news stories is a deep current of mistrust. There appears to be an underlying assumption and idea that most people lie most of the time, and that we are being misled.
I believe that this is so corrosive to the human soul that it is heart breaking. How can we live in community if we don’t trust people? It seems to me that down this road lies isolation and loneliness. Cut off from each other, with no common ground on which to meet, we end up alone.
And this is not to say that there is not, in some cases, grounds for mistrust and dismay. It is almost as if over the last fifteen years there has been a vicious circle in place in our society. Repeated episodes of deceit and lack of openness by public figures in authority, political and church leaders, have led to a reduction in trust in our leaders, and this in turn has led to a reluctance on the part of leaders to be open about failings and mistakes.
It is one huge mess that is characterised by a lack of truth, a lack of forgiveness, a lack of openness, a lack of generosity and a lack of trust. Our country is in a mess.
Continued here...
Those of little faith. Those who could not see past the ordinary. Past the slightly odd priest who was prone to have visions and dreams that were hard to understand. Past the man who we grew up with, whose brothers and sisters we know. Past the man who built our house. Past the funny little ugly tent maker. There is a lack of imagination, a lack of openness to something new, a lack of vision to see what is here now and what is coming soon, because of the limited experience of the past.
It seems to me that cynicism is one of the hall marks of our culture in this country right now. Throughout public debate and news stories is a deep current of mistrust. There appears to be an underlying assumption and idea that most people lie most of the time, and that we are being misled.
I believe that this is so corrosive to the human soul that it is heart breaking. How can we live in community if we don’t trust people? It seems to me that down this road lies isolation and loneliness. Cut off from each other, with no common ground on which to meet, we end up alone.
And this is not to say that there is not, in some cases, grounds for mistrust and dismay. It is almost as if over the last fifteen years there has been a vicious circle in place in our society. Repeated episodes of deceit and lack of openness by public figures in authority, political and church leaders, have led to a reduction in trust in our leaders, and this in turn has led to a reluctance on the part of leaders to be open about failings and mistakes.
It is one huge mess that is characterised by a lack of truth, a lack of forgiveness, a lack of openness, a lack of generosity and a lack of trust. Our country is in a mess.
Continued here...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
