25 July 2007

Holy baptism, Unholy baptism and our stuff.

There's been so much going on lately that i haven't been able to reflect on it properly and therefore haven't blogged. I could list stuff, but that would be arduous for me and tedious for you. Instead i'll try and identify themes and commonalities amidst the nonsense. One of the central issues is undeniably money and possessions. At WBC lots of thought and talking has recently been done around questions of ownership, generosity, humble living, idolatry of wealth and ways of playing outside the 'rules' of contemporary western consumerist culture. Part of this has been about helping people to realise how wealthy we are, how wealth centred we are and how contrary that is to, certainly my understanding of, the gospel of Jesus Christ.

This becomes somewhat awkward, ironic and perhaps inappropriate in a locality, and now virtually a country, which has had all it owns destroyed by what some people are accounting as an act of God.

It's also massively to my shame that it takes something like this to happen on my doorstep for me to pray anywhere near fervently about the weather. When comparative events take place elsewhere in the world (usually far more destructively) i'll think "oh God, why?" or "please help them" and then have my tea. This situation however has brought out the real hypocrite in me and shown what my response ought better look like to international events. Somehow these things shouldn't happen here; our buildings are made of concrete, we have the internet, satellites, cruise control and pop-charts. Yet here we are with mini- infrastructures way out of control, literally a wake of destruction and further communities at the mercy of clouds abilities to retain water... and people keep asking me what i want for my birthday!?

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