Remembrance – more than remembering

Tomorrow is the 25th of April.

Tomorrow’s both Sunday and Anzac day, two-days-in-one. Both days are a day of celebration, remembrance, and gathering.

Once a year, we “Australasian nations” celebrate ANZAC day. Celebrate is a funny old word. To many the heart-of-the-word means party, fun, lots of laughter, games, refreshments and more photos to upload onto Facebook. While celebrating ANZAC day doesn’t mean all of those things, it certainly has celebration at its heart.

As a word celebrate’s roots are in the middle-English and Latin meaning “to frequent;” simply to frequent, to keep doing or observing an occasion with appropriate ceremony or festivity.

To observe/celebrate, we firstly remember then gather. Tomorrow that’s keeping the celebration of ANZAC day. From our remembering and gathering we participate in remembrance. Remembrance is the composition of three living engagements; identification, inclusion, and inspiration. Our remembrance is not the historic past, but the living past. Not merely living in the past or seeking to recapture it, but allowing its living memory to empower the present and inspire the future.

In ANZAC services, activities, Hui, focused-media broadcasts and connections with others, we will identify with the sacrifice of other peoples and families in the past-cost of our present freedom. In the light-of-ANZAC we include ourselves afresh in what it means to be “Kiwis and Aussies in 2010.” We allow inspiration gained in our celebration of ANZAC’s living memory to empower present and inspire future. The day is a celebration of continuity, community and courage.

Once a week Christian churches celebrate Sunday. Not just celebrate on Sunday, but celebrate Sunday. For Christian churches Sunday commemorates the resurrection of Jesus Christ, not just on Easter Sunday – but “on the first day of the week.”

Christian weekly remembrance is not just historic past; it’s the living past in the present. Not merely living in the past or seeking to recapture it, but allowing its living memory to empower the present and inspire the future. The celebration of Sunday Christian worship is a weekly “frequenting” – gathering and observing the occasion of Jesus resurrection with appropriate ceremony and festivity.

Like ANZAC remembrance, Christian remembrance is the composition of three living engagements; identification, inclusion, and inspiration.

Tomorrow, let’s think about our public gathering for ANZAC remembrance and participating in Christian church remembrance-celebration services. I could participate in one or the other, or both. It’s amazing what can be achieved on Sunday, when I plan to ... why, in the afternoon I could even shop or walk along one of my local Pacific coast beaches ... what could you do?

Chewing ideas can be a “community activity” . . .

When during some recent article-reading I came across ideas and notions for rumination which captivated my attention; a first thought was “pass these on.”

The ideas we get, ones which inspire us and could be passed on for others to “chew-on” are not really prime-revelation. They have not begun with us, they have come to us, and they’re not actually original. Sad, after all Ecclesiastes states:

“What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.”

So I passed the article, with its ideas and my rumination-notions on; closing my “E-missive” with the following summary . . .

“Yes, I’m aware such notions are not new – also conscious, not every viable perception gets ongoing consideration ... methinks it’s worth a read and ruminate”. . .

Sometimes chewing is more profitable than swallowing

Recently, or better said –- again I’ve been reading “old friend” Thomas A'Kempis, one of his thoughts with me is of “Finding Peace and Making Spiritual Progress.”

Thomas has got me ruminating on habit change.


Here’s the “cud” I'm currently “chewing” ....

Yes, I do have some bad habits in my life. Not ones which disqualify me from public ministry – they’re ones which hinder the steady flow of my lifelong spiritual formation. The answer to eradicating these habits is not just dealing “death to them” … it is capturing and dynamically living life in fervour fuelled by faith, fortitude, fun and faithfulness … in exercising the self-discipline of living my vows to be a Jesus follower. “It is hard to give up old habits, but it is even harder to go against one’s own will.” My will is really for growing in grace … so what about shifting to good habits?

Prayers - a rhythm to get with

Been thinking about prayer, again – still!!

Prayer is one of those things we do, and often tell ourselves we should do it more. Some even confess, “While I kinda don’t believe in God, I said a prayer, just in case.” As this is already the middle of January, I won’t even suggest you make prayer a New Year’s resolution, too late for that now; especially if you’ve already broken enough of your NY resolutions! So I’m thinking about another aspect of prayer and 2010.

In music, rhythm is the ordered flow of the music through time, or the pattern of durations in notes and silences in music. One isolated beat does not make a rhythm, that’s a sound, but neither does silence – silence comes between notes. It’s just like that with prayer and prayers. Prayer is rhythm, rhythmic and offers an infinite variety of rhythms.

Prayer is something we grow in, grow by and grow with. As with music there are more people who develop musical appreciation, than those who attain any level of proficiency in music’s performance skills. Musical appreciation is something many grow in, grow by and grow with. So too with prayer and prayers - we grow in our prayer appreciation.

The rhythms of music are enjoyed or experienced in private or personal settings and public ones; so too prayer and prayers.

Praying, talking to and listening to God are life-practices we can engage in personally/privately at any time, any where; just like those times when a rhythm drops into your head, you hum and even add the words. You pick up rhythm and melody by yourself; you are alive in the music. Praying can be the same. Through and building on known prayers, both childhood and adult ones like; "When in the morning light I wake, show me the path of love to take" or “Our Father in heaven ...” which can serve as a rhythm dropping from our heads into our hearts, as we say the words and add more.

Like music, prayer and prayers are important public concerts ... we know those concerts as church services. When you go to a concert, or “gig” you expect music; when you go to church, expect prayer. We go to public musical events, to hear music and get caught into the rhythm. Enjoying music privately is cool; yet so true the common saying, “there’s nothing like going to a live performance.” Getting caught up with others into the soul of the music, its atmosphere, rhythmic expectations, its renewing and refreshing, we become part of the music. You leave, and the rhythm goes with you, it’s alive in you. It can be just like that with our public prayer and prayers in church. Go along and find out afresh.

Church prayers are liturgical prayers; liturgical prayer is changing prayers in changing seasons. Like concert music the great liturgical prayers are familiar, we hear our Faith in them, and we can catch their rhythm, and discover refreshing through their rhythm catching us.

Why, this week we (you or me) could make the opportunity to get caught up with others into the soul of worship service prayers. Catch their atmosphere, rhythmic expectations, their renewing and refreshing, and become part of the prayer. Leaving the service the rhythm goes with you, it’s alive within you. - JD

Yet another great thing about praying

Prayer is one of the ways we can "keep company with Jesus" . . .

Whether or not you feel his presence - He's there, He's listening, so keep talking . . .

a.k.a. praying . . .

"How often does being listened too, seem of more importance than getting answered?"

To blog or not to blog?

Just reading a list on Abraham Piper’s blog on “Six reasons why pastors should blog”.

His take is pastors should blog to … 1. Write, 2. Teach, 3. Recommend, 4. Interact, 5. develop an eye for what is meaningful, and 6. be known ...

My response to his list and the extra expansion he gives (http://www.desiringgod.org/Blog/1156_6_reasons_pastors_should_blog/) is a big YES!!!

I love the list and expansion . . .

My thought from Piper’s thought . . .

“the discipline of posting thought for interaction and feedback gets us preachers out from behind "coward's castle" (the pulpit) and enables risk-growth opportunity to “shift my rhetoric to reality” though interactive formation ... I get to listen to the listeners ... think with the thinkers ... be formed with the formers ... “

Going around or going somewhere?

I have an older brother, which makes me the younger brother ... duh! Stay with me there’s a thought and story here . . .
When we were growing up and older, my brother was really into sports as a participator ... I was (still am) a spectator, you gotta have them you know.
His bedroom walls were “decorated” with hand-written motivational ruminations. Many inspiring, others challenging, some my first exposure to oxymorons, and the one I best recall - a confusing and “extra-biblical” sign stating . . .

“Blessed are those who go round in circles, for they shall be known as wheels”

Recently I’ve been ruminating on the circular interface of virtues (generally called values these days) and actions . . .

Virtues exist . . .

• Virtues are held by persons and communities . . .

• Virtues shape actions . . .

• Actions enhance and support commitment to have and hold existent yet dynamic virtues . . .

But that’s not the “end of the sequence” . . .

• The optimal circular action between one's outer life actions and inner life virtues/values is "inner to outer" . . .

• If I allow the reverse, outer to inner, I do a “wheely” . . . I "spin-out"

• If I function inner to outer I can be a “wheely” . . . I will be going somewhere . . .

“Blessed are those who live from the inside out, for it can be seen where they are going is where they come from”

Don’t assume thinking by cyclical-reasoning is advocating circular-reasoning . . . so much for this encyclical