Live within the limits - you are programmed to die!

The Greek God Prometheus felt pity on humans so he did three things to make a different. He took away their knowledge of when they were going to die. No longer did they have any sense of limits. They could now attempt anything. Secondly he placed in them blind hope. They could do anything their hearts desired. Just believe in yourself and the world is your oyster. And thirdly, he took fire from the gods and gave it to humans. With this humans began to become industrious and could achieve many technological things. Humans could now change the conditions in which they lived. (Taken from E. Peterson- Working the Angles)

This is the world we live in. A psyche that has no limits nor boundaries and has a sense of limitless resource. The sense that we can achieve anything we can set our minds to. It is this very attitude that invades other lands and plunders resource. It is this very attitude that is tearing our atmosphere in two. The attitude that is dripping the icecaps into the sea. We will learn regrettably too late that we were not made for such limitless power. God has made us genetically frail so that we may die. God has reminded us in Christ that we cannot save ourselves. So why do we keep living as if we can?

The Duzi's death - Creation's marathon

Yesterday I was in a conversation with Allen Goddard the head of ‘A Rocha’ (International Christian environmental group) in South Africa and he quoted a text from Hosea that spoke volumes about South Africa and predicament it is in – Hosea 4: 1-3
1 Hear the word of the LORD, you Israelites,
because the LORD has a charge to bring
against you who live in the land:
"There is no faithfulness, no love,
no acknowledgment of God in the land.
2 There is only cursing, [a] lying and murder,
stealing and adultery;
they break all bounds,
and bloodshed follows bloodshed.
3 Because of this the land mourns, [b]
and all who live in it waste away;
the beasts of the field and the birds of the air
and the fish of the sea are dying.

The connection between humankind's spiritual dilemma spills out into our human relations and ultimately it destroys the very creation that sustains us. What one might suggest is biblical metaphor is a stark reality especially considering the Duzi river that flows through Pietermaritzburg (a town near Durban South Africa) which has I quote from the ‘Witness’ newspaper “The E.coli count of 29 000 measure in the river before the start of the Duzi canoe Marathon was 3000 higher than the 26000 that is acceptable in a functioning septic tank.” Psalm 19 guides the thinker when he ties the unspoken voice of God in creation with the “Law” or “Way” of God that when embraced brings life to all living things. “Moreover by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.” Ps 19:11.

The indescribable described?

Have you seen indescribable? I was asked this numerous times until I eventually got to watching it. If you want to know who the presenter is check out his bio. on Wikipedia, click here. If you want to watch it on the internet click here. I enjoyed the pictures from the Hubble telescope and I enjoyed much of his enthusiasm for ‘astronomical grace.’ The only problem I have was the way in which he ties up this picture you see on the blog with the omnipresence of God. This picture is some distant image in a galaxy very far from us and just because it shows up in a cross we are to get excited about it? Come on, that is like the Christian finding the face of Mother Teresa in the cinnamon rings of a Chelsea bun. That kind of thing cannot get me excited, what if you viewed it from another angle, would it still look like a cross? And if God is indescribable, then lets stop describing God. If God is so indescribable then lets stop calling God “He” all the time. I also could not help but think how I would feel if I was a Muslim watching this show. I would feel unloved and cut off from God’s love. The astronomical grace of God could be understood in that God is beyond all our human preconceptions. Understanding how small we are might actually get us to understand how petty our differences are. It could open up channels of Interfaith dialogue but instead he describes and leaves others cold.

Caught fishing

Traveled to a little dam called “Broomy” near Rosetta yesterday. It was a gusty day and the prospects of catching a slippery predator were slight. My little PFD short for “Personal floating device,” bobbed up and down in the windy South Westerly. I paddled like a duck with flippers into a quieter corner of the dam where the face of an Otter kept me company as he foraged for his recommended daily allowance. The reeds lanced through the water all around me like soldiers of the lake. The Spur-wing goose took flight, indignant of the intrusion in its sacred precinct. Up on the farm land the full moon stood buoyant between two irrigation water jets as if balanced like a beach ball. The Willows dipped thirsty into the water with their long green straws. The fly-line doing its figure of eight casting neatly between the banks in hope of a tug. These are my off days, my Sabbath, my time, my intimate moments of reverence, my Cathedral. Creation a sacrament around me imbibed with each breath, each sighting, each bird call. It doesn’t have to sing words from a hymnal or preach to convince. The silent whispering of wind, the whistle of a duck, and the splash of the Otter are the unpracticed choir that moves the soul.

Position filled

The thought today following on the previous two submissions is the extent of our understanding when it comes to comprehending the ills of life from the eyes of the Christian. Who are we to question or surmise what God is doing in all situations. We quickly take the seat of our Creator and act as if our minds are in tune with all God does. Only when we take on the position of ‘Creator’ do we find ourselves in the position to criticize what is. It is one position we cannot possibly occupy. One job application we will never be able to fill. There is no point in putting together a C.V. The position of Creator is taken.

Resurrection physics

Am I truly blessed because I have not seen Jesus risen, but yet believe it? It is much harder yes. A scientific paradigm cannot calculate mystery and wonder. No science textbook has ever wowed me into anything greater unless it has helped me ponder the indescribable and mysterious otherness of creation. Our secular brains are not meant to believe in such things as the resurrection. We are not trained to believe this way. You are blessed because you can observe life objectively. That is today’s blessing. To distance oneself from the event studied and find oneself lost in relative skepticism. I would rather be lost in mysterious wonder really. To believe that there is a greater being ushering in something more beautiful than quarks and other less appealing subatomic particles.

Today’s potential

There is great hope in knowing that every ounce of work I do for God I sow potential life. Who knows what the plant will turn out like? That is not in my domain but in the one who formed it all. What farmer knows the outcome of a crop she sows day and night into upturned soil? The work is divine. The drudgery, a divine goal in itself and not a means to an end. Too often it is seen as the slog before the results, the part that must be done, the chore in order to achieve - but who knows maybe it will result in failure. Who cares about the results when you know the potential of the seed. All people are worth the effort. All work done for the glory of the Creator is worth the effort. Not one seed we hold is without hope, all have the budding joy of becoming. Help us plant just because it has potential, not because we can predict its future.