Tag: Theology and Spiritual Reflections

Many decades ago, when most uni students could not afford a second-hand car, hitchhiking was always an option. In those days it was safe; by putting your thumb out on the road-side within  minutes you could be sitting in the front or back seat of a car having a friendly chat with a kind motorist.

There was, however, one major drawback: uncertainty. Hitchhikers had no timetables; they could wait minutes or hours for a ride. I once found myself in the Nevada desert (USA) standing in a  long line of hitchhikers. Some had been there several hours and none of us knew when the next car would stop. We also never knew whether the ride would be for 5 miles or 500. But if you were  young with little money and a sense of adventure it was a great way to travel.

The days of hitchhiking are well and truly over. It is dangerous and illegal, but I can’t help thinking there are parallels with this pursuit and ‘the road less travelled’ that Jesus calls us to. When  Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee and saw Peter and Andrew, his brother and later James and his brother, John, Jesus invited them to “Follow Me” (Matthew 4:18). Maybe these fishermen had  heard rumours about this carpenter/preacher. Maybe they had even listened in on one of his teachings or witnessed a miracle. Perhaps they felt a little bit like hitchhikers.

It has happened. The deed is done. No going back. On Thursday 11 September, by the grace of God, the leading of the Spirit and the goodwill of the Uniting Church in WA, I became the moderator. One of the  questions I have been frequently asked over the past few months is what a moderator actually does.

In starting out, one of the things that I am trying most to do is to listen and I am even trying to listen deeply. Listening is often the first step in the healing process. Listening to words, listening to sighs,  listening to heartbeats and heartbreaks are part of the art of listening. Listening to tone and to tenor as well as to what is said and not said. Being a disciple means to listen without judgement and prejudice.  Listening attentively is one of the most powerful ways to connect with another human being. When we listen to the deepest hurts and hopes of another, we affirm his or her very personhood.

Jesus was the best listener of all. He often listened to others before doing much talking himself. We see this after his resurrection when two of his followers were walking and talking on the road to the village of  Emmaus. Jesus “came up and walked along with them” (Luke 24 v 15). Luke then adds “they were kept from recognising him” (v16). Finally, Jesus joins the conversation without them recognising who  he was. He listened to the two travellers, but they didn’t seem to listen to him.

It seems to me that the notion of some choices being ‘life-giving’ and others being the opposite is pretty well established in our secular context. I have heard the expression used in relation to lifestyle choices  concerning such aspects as diet, recreation, vocation and voluntary service towards others. Sometimes actions can be described as life-giving in the most literal sense, as when someone is rescued or revived  from an accident of some description, or helped to turn back from a path of self-destruction. Here, we do well to remember that many people have been robbed of all that is life-giving by the abusive actions of others towards them. In such circumstances, it may be something as simple as the  unconditional acceptance by another that is life-giving.

Through the gift of faith, and the guidance of scripture, we can learn much about the Christian understanding of what is life-giving. What we find  there is striking affirmation of these understandings that are widespread in the secular context. It is as if, as human beings, we are hard-wired to know what is good. The difference is, of course, that in the Christian understanding the source of life is God and that which is life-giving is that which accords with the kind of life that God intends for us. We find this spelled out in the book of Deuteronomy as Moses  speaks with the Hebrew people about how God expects them to live when they enter the Promised Land. “Choose life”, he concludes, “so that you and your descendants may live ….” (Deuteronomy 30: 19b)

Paul Tillich once said, “Here and there in the world and now and then in ourselves, is a new creation”. One could not have a better summary of our life in faith. Every ounce of who we  are as God’s people has to be reflected in action. Who we are, how we live and who we belong to are all tied up in the life we lead, both as individuals and as a church community. We  do not exist as human beings with little boxes for this or that, but as a complete integrated package. Heart, mind, soul, hands and feet.

Jesus, for so many people an object of worship,  but not a political or social activist, focuses our attention. We do not belong to Jesus because he saves us for a life elsewhere. We belong to Jesus because he shows us how to live here and now with God as our centre, how to live with love, and how to live in community with others. You only have to read the Sermon on the Mount to understand his vision for a new social order. As Lorraine Parkinson suggests, it is a blueprint for the best possible world.

The focus for this edition of Revive concerns Action! The Uniting Church in Australia has a strong reputation in the community for action, especially in areas of social justice and  rightly so, although I have the feeling that for many of us a lot of that action is by proxy. On the whole I think we are pleased to see election resources published, wellinformed critique  made of public policy by the President and the occasional public demonstration such as that in which the 13th National Assembly engaged on the steps of Parliament House  in Adelaide nearly two years ago. I think more widespread in the Uniting Church, as far as the practical engagement of members is concerned, is quiet, behind-the-scenes service to  those in need through our many and varied community services.

So why does the church engage in such action? Is it coincidence that those who are committed to church membership are also concerned about the struggles of those who are doing it  tough? Or is there a fundamental connection? I think it is the latter.

Rev Geoff Blyth, retired Uniting Church minister, preached recently at St George’s Cathedral, Perth, for their celebration of John and Charles Wesley, the founders of Methodism. Following is Geoff’s sermon on ‘The Hymns of Charles Wesley.’

A You-Tube video clip turned up on our computer which caused us great hilarity and quite a deal of thought, if not nostalgia. It is called: “Methodist Blues” The singer, Garrison Keillor, makes reference to many of the characteristics of Methodism. But the lines that have stayed with me the most are these:

“Now Methodism was started by John Wesley, not Chuck Berry or Elvis Presley.”

Methodism was started by John Wesley

When I retired as a Minister of the Uniting Church in Australia in 2001 I went with my wife, Esme, to take up a one-year appointment with the Methodist Church of Britain in the Kirkoswald Circuit and the ten congregations up and down the Eden Valley in Cumbria. Not only were we exposed to the People called Methodist, we stood on the spot where John Wesley had preached to the people of Gamblesby, right there near the barn where the whole village turned out to hear him. I preached regularly at Temple Sowerby where at the chapel door there was a stone and plaque declaring that: ‘John Wesley preached here in this village on two occasions…’