Unity

Listen to this:
"How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity! It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron’s beard, down on the collar of his robe. It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the Lord bestows his blessing, even life forevermore.." – Psalm 133:1-3 (NIV)

These particular verses were shared with me at a Salvation Army training course that I was fortunate enough to go to last month. The words keep reoccurring; cropping up pretty much every week ever since, so I guess I am meant to share it out to a wider audience.

As God's people we are called to work together to a common aim; not to fight, bicker or quarrel. As you might imagine this can be difficult, given the different personalities that make up a church fellowship... However, I am assured that it is possible, with the assistance of the Holy Spirit. And, best of all - if we can actually pull this off... work together in harmony, in unity - it's like a special anointing on all of us.

Aaron, Moses’ brother, was the first high priest and was anointed with olive oil on his head (usually this was just a drop or two). Such anointing is symbolic of receiving a blessing from God, a consecration for a specific task. However, the reading assures us that unity in the fellowship will be rewarded by a special and particularly generous blessing. Look at the symbolism - it's like the anointing oil is freely running down, cascading down the leader's face, onto his beard and even his clothes.

The 'dew of Hermon' mentioned in verse 3 is another symbolic description of an abundant, refreshing sprinking. Showers of blessing, indeed.

Isn't that something to be worked for?

The Fortress Of Solitude

We were looking at some verses from the Psalms at church this past weekend, in particular Psalm 18:2. The NIV translation reads as follows:

"The Lord is my rock,my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold."

As part of the Message, my officer used an illustration about Captain America's shield; how it was made, how the hero used it. A good illustration for a Marvel Comics fan like myself - it sparked off so many thoughts in my head, including this very blog post.

When arriving home, I started to think about the other words in this reading. The Lord is my fortress... And I hope fellow Marvelites will forgive me if I switch comics company allegiances for a little while. These verses sparked off thoughts about Superman.

The character of the Man of Steel has always had particular spiritual significance to me (remind me one day to blog about the similarities between Kal-El's life and the life of Moses), but I've come to appreciate him at a different level after realising that this American cultural icon, one of the mainstays of the DC Comics Universe, the Big Blue Cheese - is an introvert.

Think about it.

Here we see a person who strives to change the world for the better in his own way. He shuns publicity pretty much all of the time. His alter ego, Clark Kent, is almost a textbook introvert, a "mild-mannered" loner, a wallflower. Unpopular, weak, overlooked. And yet, hidden within him there is a heroic side to his character which leaps into action when he needs to get stuff done. 

But even this Superman persona, with its incredible strength and unique abilities, shows introvert qualities. He needs to get away from it all from time to time to recharge. He needs what he calls his 'Fortress of Solitude'. In the comics, this is a safe place where he can get away from it all to think. It's miles from anywhere, often depicted as located in the Arctic. Not too far for our hero, though...

In fact, the idea of such a retreat isn't unique to Superman. The concept and name of the 'Fortress of Solitude' first appeared in the Doc Savage pulp novels from the 1930s and 1940s. Doc Savage, who was known as the Man of Bronze (!), built his Fortress of Solitude in the Arctic and retreated to it alone in order to make new scientific or medical breakthroughs, and to store dangerous technology and other secrets.

I'm really pleased that my Lord offers me the same type of Fortress. As an introvert myself, I need to avail myself of this on a regular basis in order to function better before I go out to 'save the world'. My Lord provides an opportunity to spend time alone with Him whenever I need it. Somewhere safe. However, unlike Kal-El's fortress, ours is just a prayer away.

Time: Above And Beyond

This blog entry has been inspired by last week's Bible Study at my church. It's on the idea of time - and how God exists throughout the whole of time. Here's some ways that people have described God:

Everlasting

The Ancient of Days

Immortal 

Who is - Who was - Who is to come

His view of linear time is therefore quite different to us: Hear this description of God from the Message translation of Psalm 90:4: "Patience! You've got all the time in the world — whether a thousand years or a day, it’s all the same to you."

Having trouble understanding that? OK, spend one hour watching your favourite TV show, and then another hour doing something extremely boring. The same hour - but I assure you that hour will seem to pass at a quite different rate. Or you would wish it to! It's not the same for the Father. God exists throughout time - when He sees you, He sees not only who you are - but who you were - and who you can be/will be... He can stop and savour each moment. Skip back and forth as He would want. Awesome thought.

Some people have told me that God exists outside of time, that He is timeless. Not so. He exists throughout time. And we, poor beings, stuck in linear time, living life a day at a time, sometimes have difficulty with regard to that. And how often due we wish to stop time for a while, or fast forward through a difficult spot. How often do we have trouble moving on...

When thinking about this sort of thing, though, my mind goes back to the Star Trek episode 'Emissary', the pilot episode of the 'Deep Space Nine' series. In the show, Benjamin Sisko takes command of a space station following the violent death of his wife Jennifer some years earlier. In the episode he encounters alien entities in a wormhole which is adjacent to the station. The aliens have a different view on life; they have difficulty grasping Sisko's corporeal and linear existence. To them, past, present and future are the same. Sisko uses baseball in an effort to explain - you pitch a ball not knowing for certain what will happen.  

Whilst trying to explain 'living life a day at a time', the entities point out that Sisko continues to return to the moment of Jennifer's death (living in that moment, rather than in the present). Sisko then comes to the realisation that he has been grieving over the loss of his wife - rather than moving on with the rest of his life...

More to follow...

An Adventure In Space And Time

Ever wondered what all the fuss is about? Why all this talk about 'Doctor Who'? Perhaps this drama might give you just a little glimpse into how this show evolved into what is now the longest-running science-fiction television series in the world...

"An Adventure in Space and Time" retells the story of the First Doctor William Hartnell (David Bradley) and producer Verity Lambert (Jessica Raine) as they set out to create a Saturday tea-time family drama in 1963. Brian Cox plays the BBC head of drama Sydney Newman, with Sacha Dhawan playing Waris Hussein, who directed the first story. Lesley Manville will play Heather, Hartnell's wife.

The 90 minute docu-drama is written by Mark Gatiss. This is due to air on the BBC in the week before the special 50th anniversary episode is aired on 23th November. 

It's All About Others

Others. I've been challenged by this word before. I've blogged about it (see here); been encouraged to make a difference to others in my own society.

That's why I was excited to hear about NOW.

National Others Week runs from Sunday 3rd November to Saturday 9th November. Participants aim to give a helping hand to someone in need; or to surprise someone with a random act of kindness. Perhaps it's a way to start refocussing your life...

Why not get involved?

http://nationalothersweek.com/uk/

The Tenth Doctor

David Tennant's incarnation of The Doctor is particularly light-hearted... at least on the surface. The Tenth Doctor's persona seems to have a tendency to babble, mixing apparent nonsense with nuggets of vital information. He develops closer ties than ever with his companions, their friends and family than he ever did in any of his previous versions.

However, beneath the surface this version of the Time Lord reveals intense emotions in play. One of this Doctor's recurring lines is the fact that he is "so sorry" for what has occurred - or what is going to occur. The shows begins to explore the loneliness of the character, with Time Lord longevity described as a curse - while his human companions all someday leave him and eventually die, he continues on.

The Tenth Doctor wears a four-buttoned suit, a shirt and a tie, a light brown overcoat (reportedly given to him by Janis Joplin) and trainers. He also dons a pair of glasses from time to time - and even a pair of red-blue 3D glasses! The character speaks with an Estuary English accent - unlike Tennant whose natural accent is Scottish English...

Taking over from Ecclestone in 2005, Tennant would appear in 36 stories (47 episodes) until handing over to Matt Smith in early 2010.

Not Funny

"What's wrong with you? Can't you see that we are just having a laugh with you?"

OK, I think I've got it now. If I don't quite see the joke, now it's my problem. It is my fault. I've had a "sense of humour" failure.

Is that right? Is that normal?

Because, apparently, I'm not on my own. Some of us can't see the joke about:

• Ridiculing ethnic minorities by using derogatory terms for them, 'tarring' them all with the same brush.
• Pigeonholing people as 'tramps' or 'scroungers' or some such comment - without getting to know them, trying to understand even a little about their circumstances.
• Manipulating the truth, 'spinning' a story, just so you can put yourself in a better light.
• Deriding someone's activities at the weekend, just because they've made a different choice as to how to spend their free time.

I don't find it funny. Not any more. Perhaps that's why I need to speak out.

Sense of humour failure?

Perhaps I've haven't even had a sense of humour to start with. Not in this context.

Yeah, that's probably it.

:)

A Few More Definitions of Joy

"Joy is to fun what the deep sea is to a puddle. It's a feeling inside that can hardly be contained." - Terry Pratchett, A Hat Full of Sky

"You ought to live your life with such freedom and joy that uptight Christians will doubt your salvation." - Steve Brown, A Scandalous Freedom

"I define joy as a sustained sense of well-being and internal peace - a connection to what matters." - Oprah Winfrey

"Joy is the settled assurance that God is in control of all the details of my life, the quiet confidence that ultimately everything is going to be alright, and the determined choice to praise God in every situation." - Rick Warren

Loud Noises!

A while ago now, I had become aware that there were a number of people who could be found sitting on their own in the loudest pubs. Now, I doubted at the time if this was for the company; you couldn't talk even if you wanted to, the din was just overwhelming. They weren't socialising, could it be just for the music? Or was it because they wanted the cacophony to drown out their own thoughts - bad memories, overwhelming feelings, perhaps their own conscience?

I tried an experiment the other day. In an effort to gain insight into a little of this, I took out my personal headphones (which I must admit I use a lot of the time as a social defence), unplugged the MP3 player and tried just to listen to - nothing in particular. Trying to understand why real life would need drowning out...

I experienced:

• The train carriage to work, where conversation was kept to a minimum. Some read books, others listened to music, caught 40 winks, typed on a laptop, tweeted. In a carriage of 150 or so, only two people talked. I wasn't one of them.
• The city streets, the hustle and bustle, where you make a beeline for your office, avoiding the 'chuggers' and free newspaper distributors. Hardly a problem. Probably well advisable to keep the headphones out if you are crossing the road...
• The workplace, where small talk about last night's football mixes with arguments over office politics and 'storms in teacups'. Ugh - can I put the headphones in again please? I promise to take them out if the phone rings...
• The coffee shop at lunchtime - here at last was a place of calm where you can relax and be yourself for a while. Not the person you 'need to be to get through the day'. Here was the place that I found people chatting. Yay! Although, even here I found the coffee shops were still a little noisy due to piped music. At least the refreshments were better than the office. Note: I understand that others preferred the pub down the road. That's fine, other places of refreshment are available...

What did I get out of the experience? A profound insight into the way that some of us have kind of lost the art of conversation. We have been blessed with a plethora of gadgets that assist us in communicating with friends on the other side of the country, even the world - but we struggle with talking to our neighbours, even our family members in the same room.... We have become adept in shutting others out, controlling our lives by avoiding unnecessary social contact. Yes, even me - with my 'headphone' trick.

As a society, we have exchanging the quiet chat with mates for solitary time with a soundtrack of 'loud noises'. Are we scared of letting others in? In letting real life in? In letting God in? 

I've taking this on board as a bit of a challenge. Not for me to continue to 'shut the world out', but for me to come up with a way to help others to come back out into the world.

Picture: Brick Tamland (Steve Carell) from "Anchorman: The Legend Of Ron Burgundy". You'll get the reference if you've seen the film...

Finding My Purpose

"Ah … ! What’s happening?
Er, excuse me, who am I?
Hello?
Why am I here? What’s my purpose in life?
What do I mean by who am I?"
- the thoughts of the 'innocent sperm whale' from The Hitch-Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy, by Douglas Adams.

I'm coming to the end of the book 'The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For?' by Rick Warren - and have come up to the part where it asks you to define your purpose in life, to write it down to ensure you can retain your focus. Thinking about what to write has been at the back of my mind for a couple of days now - although it seems to be mixed up with a few other things - particularly the quotation about the whale from the Guide (my mind can be a strange and chaotic mixture of wisdom, stray thoughts and ephemera)...

In an effort to pin things down a little, I've been surfing the net to obtain additional background information on 'purpose'. Here's a few quotations that I'm mulling over today...

"The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honourable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well." ― Ralph Waldo Emerson

"The purpose of life is to contribute in some way to making things better. " ― Robert F. Kennedy

"Remember that our Heavenly Father knows us perfectly and knows what's best for us .... Surely, His knowledge is greater than ours. We just have to have faith in Him. If we don't, well, that doesn't change what happened, it just makes us more miserable because we refuse to trust His will. Our Heavenly Father wants us to have joy. And happiness. But we need to look for those opportunities that give us joy. If we don't, what would be the purpose for existing?" ― Jeri Gilchrist

There's also something in the back of my mind which seems to be relevant to today's blog entry. Somehow. These are words from a worship song called 'The Power of Your Love' (by Hillsong). The words simply won't go away today. It's linked to this topic. The lyrics say:

"Hold me close
Let Your love surround me
Bring me near
Draw me to Your side.
And as I wait
I'll rise up like the eagle
And I will soar with You
Your Spirit leads me on
In the power of Your love"

There's something inside me, so vital, so desperate to be heard, nagging away, insistent that I get ready to spread my wings; encouraging me to fly. Not just to plummet helplessly, like our friend the whale. To soar, unfettered, on the currents of air. This persistent prompting encourages me not to give up, to keep on trying. To that end, here's a smattering of quotations about flying - including another quote from Douglas Adams!

"If you hang out with chickens, you're going to cluck and if you hang out with eagles, you're going to fly." ― Steve Maraboli

"Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return." - Leonardo da Vinci

"There is an art, it says, or rather, a knack to flying. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. … Clearly, it is this second part, the missing, which presents the difficulties." - Douglas Adams