I was a stranger and visited your church

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In the last several months I have been on the road. This includes visits to churches in Canada, Singapore, Thailand, England and Scotland.  These churches have been small and large; established and independent; and their services have been traditional, contemporary and more.  It has been a learning time on how to welcome visitors. I have seen it done well and poorly.

This reflection is written in the light of Hebrews 13:1-2. It is interesting that the first expression of brotherly love is to receive strangers well.  Behind these words there lies the old commands to care for strangers (eg Lev 19:34). Undergirding all this is the gospel grace wherein God shows hospitality to those who are strangers and even estranged from him (eg Rom 5:10). And finally, to welcome a stranger is akin to welcoming the Lord himself (Matt 25:35).

To you I am an unfamiliar face. It's not too hard to see that I am visiting as I may arrive well before the service or a little late. I don't walk in with familiar ease and may appear uncertain and tentative. I don’t know who sits where, what to do at different parts of the service, where the toilets are or what happens when the service ends. In short, I stand out from the regulars.

Who am I? I may be a committed believer who is passing through. Or a newcomer looking for a church home. Or I may be a local person enquiring about the faith. Or a desperate unbeliever seeking help and solace where I can find it. I may be on the edge of despair-driven suicide or it may be that walking into your service was a conscious choice to avoid a traveller’s temptation. Whoever I am and however long I stay, I am an opportunity for you to show God’s hospitality.

What to do:

• Give me a warm greeting as I enter, hand me any books or service sheets and help me find a seat (I didn’t know that seat was reserved for the elders!);
• Somewhere (handout, slide etc) tell me anything I need to know during the service, where the bathrooms are and any post-service arrangements ('behind the small hall’ is not a destination that I know);
• If you are sitting near me, say ‘hi’ and take an interest in me – take me over to the coffee venue and ask if you can help with information about the church or area;
• Have a welcoming team who watch out for visitors and assign someone of a similar demographic to link with me;
• Notice my name and use it when talking to me (I’ll try and do the same to you).

What not to do:

• Single me out during the service by asking visitors to identify themselves (I’m already uncertain about walking into your space);
• Come on strong with an overly heavy greeting and an evangelistic spiel when you first meet me (you don't know me yet);
• Try and sign me up for something unless I express interest (I don't like being pushed);
• Leave me standing by myself during coffee time (I’ll be the person lingering over the outdated notice board or bookstall or standing near the door).

If you don’t know what to do, just put yourself in my shoes. How do you like to be welcomed when you are the stranger and visitor?

Beyond the objectification of women

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Beyond the objectification of women

The sexual objectification of women is an often-discussed topic.

Women object to being characterised and treated as objects, and especially objects of male sexual pleasure and gratification. (See http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/feminism-objectification/ for a useful introduction.) There seems to be less discussion of the objectification of men (although note the brief mention in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexual_objectification).

I am writing this from a city that I am visiting. At times I wander down a main street for some shopping and to find food. I am frequently approached in both day and night. This is sometimes by a man waving a folder of photos and asking if I want ‘a young girl, young boy, anything?’. At other times the approach is by a female (a sex worker I’d guess) asking if I want a good time.

Who am I to these people? I am an object with body parts, desires and who is presumed to have cash to spend. I find it offensive to be thus treated and have no doubt that women find the same when they are treated in the same way.

Objectification is more than a female issue. It is also more than a matter of sexual objectification, whether of women or men.

Objectification can take many forms and be in many directions. The key thing is that a person is seen not as a ‘who’ but as a ‘what’. The objectified person is a route to some other goal. To a business, an opportunity of profit. To the demagogue, an opportunity of control. To the careerist, an opportunity of advancement. To the hero, an opportunity of feel-good heroics. The examples can be multiplied and go wider than we may expect.

The language of objectification is one of ‘I – it’, not ‘I – thou’, to use Martin Buber’s phase. It does not reckon with the personhood of humans. Nor does it reckon with the Bible’s view of humans.

In the Biblical view we are not objects or even animals, but we are creatures made in the likeness of God, bearing his image and entrusted with a delegated management of his creation (Gen 1:26-27).  God breathed his breath into us (Gen 2:7).  All this gives a high view of people, irrespective of their capacities, deeds, gender, race and such like. The seriousness of intentionally taking a human life arises because we bear God’s image (Gen 9:6). Our value as humans is further shown in God’s gracious act to send his Son Jesus for our redemption. The Son of God came to save people, not objects.

If we live out the implications of this Biblical view, we will treat people as people, not as objects to use as a means to our goals. At a basic level, it means courtesies such as greeting people personally (and by name where possible), thanking those who serve and help us (and looking for opportunities to reciprocate), giving people our time and attention when we have nothing to gain from them. At higher levels, it may mean changing family, workplace and community structures to give dignity and recognition to all people.

It’s easy to see and object to objectification when it is sexual, directed towards women and especially in gross forms such as pornography and prostitution. And it is easy to say no to the touts on the streets of a city. However, it is much harder both to see and eradicate objectification on these other levels.

I’m about to go to lunch. I guess I start by smiling at and thanking the person who serves my meal and then helping to clean my space before I leave the table. And if there is a tout, I can refuse their offerings in a way that treats them as a person and not as an object that is a means to my feelings of self-righteousness.

Film review: Ilo Ilo

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Film review: Ilo Ilo

Ilo Ilo (www.iloilomovie.com) is a 2013 Singaporean film about local family life. The film has received global recognition, winning the Camera d'Or award at Cannes 2013 and is nominated for other awards (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilo_Ilo).

It is not the best film technically, which may be partly a product of the low budget ($500,000) and local inexperience in filmmaking. However, it is still worth a watch.

The film is set in the 1997 Asian financial crisis and features a family of mother, father and son who are under external pressure (lost jobs, school problems etc) and who also face issues internal to the family (parental tension and a wayward son). This stressed family life is changed when a Pilipino maid (Teresa) is hired to help manage the son.

The film explores themes of HDB life in the period and the complex family dynamics between husband and wife, parents and child and, especially, between Teresa and the initially hostile son.

My interest is in the worldviews displayed in the film.

Several worldviews are on view.

The host family is quite godless, as evidenced in an early scene when a neighbouring maid tells Teresa that ‘God is not here’ and that she should forget her rosary. This represents the rejection of theism.

In one scene the family goes to an ancestor’s grave for prayers and offerings and even Teresa is pushed into the rituals. This however seems to have little impact of their daily behaviour and functional worldview. This represents irrelevant traditional religion.

Meanwhile the mother’s desperation prompts her to attend a promo night by a motivational speaker whose credo is ‘hope is within you’. This is the gospel of self-reliance. Even this turns out to be deceptive when the speaker proves to be a con artist who collects fees and then tries to disappear.

What is the family left with? The son tries to manipulate and improve his world by carefully tracking and betting on winning lottery numbers. This enables him to ameliorate a school punishment in an amusing scene, but ultimately it fails as he tries to win the lottery to save the family finances and keep Teresa in Singapore. This pairing shows worldview of cosmic randomness or capriciousness.

Finally the family are left with themselves. There is some irony as the scammer’s message comes true among them. They do find some hope and comfort among themselves as truth, forgiveness and generosity arise within this tortured family. The film ends with Teresa’s forced repatriation due to poverty, but each family member has been changed for the better.

This is a warm ending, but a question that extends beyond the movie remains for me. Are our internal resources sufficient to cope with, and rise above life’s challenges?

Mucking about with words

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Mucking about with words[1]

Its playtime,

Time to dip into the box

Inspecting, rejecting and selecting

Seeking the right one for the spot.

But these are not tools for fools, nor toys for the boys (and girls),

Or, maybe the best toys and tools of all.

Wonderful words,

Cajoling, bemusing, caressing, carousing and more.

Words that transport to far off places and worlds beyond time and space.

Words that beckon, berate, bemuse and bestride the universe.

Nouns, verbs, adverbs and more,

Syntactically diced, marinated, stir-fried and baked to perfection,

Prepositions, conjunctions, disjunctions blending part to part,

Master Chef for the mind.

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[1] Sept 2013 while watching my grandson Xavier play with his toys.

You know not the day nor the hour – a meditation on the nearness of death

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You know not the day nor the hour – a meditation on the nearness of death

Two things today made me think about death (not a topic that is often on my mind).

Firstly, I was on a plane that had three landing attempts at Manila airport aborted by post-typhoon storm conditions. As we suddenly surged back up and circled there was time to think about what could have been.

Secondly, I was talking with some missionaries from the south of the Philippines where a Muslim insurgency continues to take lives.

And meanwhile there are the folk who went shopping Nairobi and to church in Pakistan last weekend and who suddenly found themselves at death’s door.

People die while going about the ordinary business of life. The Lord warns that he will return at an unexpected time when life just rolls along (Matt 24:36-44). One will be on a plane whose landing is aborted, another will be shopping and yet another will be sitting at worship.

The reality is, none of us knows how or when we will die. Most can expect to die in an average age band and in a hospital of a known illness and with family surrounding. But none of us knows if that is our future or whether this is the day that we die.

So what do we do? It’s simple really: you also must be ready, for the Son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect (Matt 24:44).  Make a Will. Leave your affairs organised. Ensure your standing with God through a credible faith in Jesus Christ that is manifested in godly living. And then we are free – free to live and die in old age or free to die today.

In the event my plane landed safely and the event is fading from memory. Meanwhile news of the Kenyan shopping mall massacre will be replaced by sporting news or celebrity tales. And the Pakistani church killing barely made the headlines anyway.

Most of us will go on living as though tomorrow will have endless tomorrows and thinking that death happens to someone else. How soon we forget that day whose nearness and importance demands we give it attention now.

Derrida deconstructs

Derrida deconstructs[1]

Sometimes,

a falling leaf 

is 

Just a falling leaf

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[1] Written 9 Oct 2004 – death of Derrida

How often? The celebration of the Lord’s Supper.

How often? The celebration of the Lord’s Supper.

I was recently part of a church that celebrated the Lord’s Supper weekly – a simple act within the regular Sunday service. At around the same time I visited a Christian college that celebrated the Supper twice within four days (once at a commencement service and another at a college retreat). I have been a pastor in churches that did so quarterly and another did so monthly.

All this prompts me to ask: how often should the Lord’s Supper (or Communion or Eucharist) be celebrated?

Christian practice varies from daily celebration, weekly, monthly, quarterly, annually, spasmodically or never. A daily celebration is associated with the more liturgical churches and is probably linked to a view that forgiving grace is actually conferred in the sacrament. The Salvation Army does not recognise any sacraments. Some newer Christian groups celebrate the Lord’s Supper on no particular timing. These latter groups aside, regular celebration of the Lord’s Supper is common among Christians, however much they disagree in their understanding and administration of the event.

My Christian tradition is the Presbyterian and practice varies there. Calvin unsuccessfully sought a weekly celebration, John Knox wanted monthly and the First Book of Discipline (1562) set a rule of quarterly communion in rural areas and monthly in the towns. The latter suggests a degree of flexibility linked to the availability of authorised clergy. By the eighteenth century, an annual celebration was common. This constituted a communion season including a fast day (Thursday), a preparatory service where communion tokens were distributed (Saturday), Sunday Communion and a following thanksgiving service (Monday).

What do the Bible and early historical documents reveal?

1 Cor. 11:20 hints that the Lord’s Supper is associated with every coming together of God’s people. This is presumably a reference to the weekly meeting which had moved from Saturday to Sunday within the New Testament era (eg Acts 13:13-14; 16:13; 17:2 compared with Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:2; Col 2:16-17; Rev 1:10).

A non-Biblical source (Pliny’s Letter to the Emperor Trajan, c112AD) refers to early morning gatherings of Christians on a ‘fixed day’ (presumably, but not necessarily, Sunday) at which various activities were undertaken including a later gathering to eat ‘ordinary but innocent food’. This sounds more like a common fellowship meal than the Lord’s Supper, but it may hint at something more.

Another non-Biblical source from the early-mid second century (the Didache) says: ‘But every Lord's Day gather yourselves together, and break bread’ and gives some instructions about the manner in which the Communion or Eucharist is to be kept. Assuming that ‘bread-breaking’ equates to Communion, this is evidence of a weekly celebration.

The Biblical and historical evidence noted above seems most consistent with a practice of weekly celebration. Much is to be said for this. A weekly celebration keeps the grace of the Cross, and thus the heart of the gospel, visibly before the congregation’s eyes, whatever may or may not be done to keep it audibly before their ears. The ritual (and I use the term carefully) involved with the Supper, when coupled with a weekly celebration, helps prompt a weekly examination of ourselves before Christ and a consideration of how we see his body (arguably, both the crucified body of Jesus and the body of his church – 1 Cor. 11:29).

So, there are both early precedents and arguments for a weekly celebration. Likewise, there are later precedents and other arguments for other timings.

Note however, that precedents are not precepts, however ancient they are. This is true even when the precedents are found within the Bible for it is dangerous to mount a simple argument that just because the Apostles did something (precedent) we should do the same (precept). It is wise advice to look for an independent word of Scripture before making the move from apostolic precedent to normative precept.

Although the precedent and arguments for a weekly celebration have force, care is needed on another ground. Weekly Communion may be helpful etc, but that is a far cry from warrant to enforce it.  Col 2:1-16-17 is relevant: Therefore let no one pass judgement on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. These words were written with respect to Jewish regulations, but also have application to Christian church order. Christ is the substance of our faith and compulsion in matters of ceremonies (even the ceremony most remembering him) easily undermines the gospel.

Pehaps it is best not to be doctrinaire with respect to the frequency of the Supper or judge those who timing differs from our own. Rather let us ensure that ‘as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup’ (1 Cor. 11:26) we share the body of Christ (1 Cor. 10:16), discern the Lord’s body (1 Cor. 11:29), serve one another (1 Cor. 11:20-22,33-34 and proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes (1 Cor. 11:26).