Tis the season to be essays…. or something like that. Another essay has been written, although this was completed a little while ago and Ive been stewing on it and modifying bits for the last little while.
The essays, and the year, march on however….
I guess this means that another essay is done. This time on how Wisdom Literature helps our understanding of mission theology.
Today in chapel we had the privilege of hearing from Peter Brain, the recently retired Archbishop of Armidale, speaking on the topic of thankfulness. His brief message struck a chord with me, especially with the degree to which our society and culture is somewhat less than thankful for the things that we have.
At the moment this is probably best seen with the Australian response to the Olympic medal haul, and the accusations that are flying around in response to the less than optimal results.
All too often this sort of attitude pervades our churches and our Christian walk as well, rather than being thankful for even the little things that we do have in life. How much does the whinging and negativity of our world spill over and threaten to drown the church. How much would we, and our communities be changed by being thankful for what we have, even things as little as the sunset.
In all of this I’m reminded of the power of being thankful, and of the transformative attitude which that brings. I don’t think I’ve seen it presented more clearly than in the life of Mary Karr, a poet and essayist. She writes:
So Tom suggested that I start thanking God as I went through the day. And I said, ‘What are you talking about?’ He said, ‘Well, you know, if your car has a flat and somebody stops and helps you, just say thanks.’ I said, ‘That’s ridiculous.’ But again, over time I started doing it, and I found a kind of quiet core ‘south of my neck’ is the only way I can put it, where I began to get some sense of peace or certainty or clarity or quiet, just a kind of quiet.
…
But all of a sudden it was almost like the world bloomed into being. I realised that I had been so focused on complaint for most of my life that I had just missed a lot of the good things that were going on. My world view, which I had thought of as so ‘realistic’ because I didn’t believe in God, was in fact very warped by a kind of naturally depressive state of mind. It’s almost like the world was black and white and it started to bleed into technicolour before my eyes.
You can read more of her story here: http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/encounter/unlikely-catholics-addiction-conversion-and-poetry/3255234 it is certainly a powerful testimony to God working through thankfulness.
Personally its a challenge to me as well, all too often I find myself beset with a complaining spirit, rather than stopping to give thanks, and in talking to the people around me I don’t think I’m in any way unique in this.
Perhaps we should all be stopping more often to give thanks in life, and how much of a difference would this make in our walk?
It seems very strange that an entire semester has passed already, but indeed it has, and we have marked the end of semester with the usual venerable exam week; then it will be holidays.
One of the great opportunities which Ridley offers is the chance to get a hands on experience of various sites and places which have helped shape the Christian faith, such as Israel, Palestine and Jordan; or Turkey Greece and Italy; and even the heartland of the reformation: Germany and Switzerland. The reformation tour is of particular interest to us through the various readings which we have done, and also my interest in Reformed history. However, unfortunately, the Ridley tour, while it would be great, is out of our budget as a couple.
So then, what is this holiday that I have seen on the Book of Faces, and written about here on the blog, you ask? Well, in lieu of actually being able to join in on the Ridley reformation tour we have decided to go on our own tour, courtesy of all of those pesky frequent flyer points that I’ve accumulated over the years of having to fly for work. So, while saying thanks to all of the jobs that have flown me around in the past, we cashed in most of our points and got extremely cheap flights to Europe. In addition seeing as this year will probably be the only time in the foreseeable future that we have a whole six unencumbered weeks free at the same time, we decided to make the most of it and go for pretty much the entire holidays.
Over the next five weeks, leaving on Saturday, we will be travelling around Europe and the UK roughly following an extended Reformation tour. I have plotted our rough itinerary in Google Maps below:
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Along the way we will be catching up with some family who will be there at the same time. My dad will be in Heidelberg for a little while before a conference in Spain, and so we will be catching up with him there. Its a great opportunity to be shown around Heidelberg as my parents spent several years living there while studying at the university.
In the UK we will be meeting up with Gill’s parents as they are currently there for the Queens Jubilee celebrations, and some other family gatherings; as well as meeting up with Gill’s family who live in the UK.
As we travel we are hoping to be able to update the blog with things we are learning and a few photos. We will be trying to document our travels in the same fashion as the Ridley students have to for the assessment for their course, and we will be taking some reading material on the journey. The first two books on the reading list are a pair of biographies, firstly Calvin, by F. B. Gordon and secondly Luther by Kittleson.
Keep an eye on this space for updates from Europe, and our thoughts on the books. We are very grateful for this opportunity to be able to travel and learn more about the reformation as we do so, and many thanks again to all of my previous employers who have had a hand in making this happen 😉