One Man's Web
From the text: This is not a story about the repudiation of purity rules. It is a story about restoration of community. I emphasise this because I have been strongly influenced by the idea that Jesus opposed the purity rules of his society because he saw purity was the antithesis of compassion. Levine points out that there was no law against Jesus touching the leper, or healing him. Indeed,
Scripture assumes…that people will contract impurity as a matter of course. Impurity is not prohibited, and being impure implies no moral censure. The system cannot [simply] be transposed … to a moral key except as metaphor (for example, having an “impure heart”). An impure person—a menstruant, a leper or a mourner—is not thereby a sinner, nor is a pure person necessarily righteous. … Jesus was a Jew of his own time rather than a left-leaning liberal of ours.
The pericope four times uses the purity system term clean in a positive manner, and Jesus sends the man to the priest, instructing him to offer the normal offering for his cleansing. Jesus shows his respect for the Law. There is no repudiation of the temple system at this moment. As Levine notes, the very fact that the leper came to Jesus challenges the idea that lepers were not allowed in public... Read on >>>>
How do we live without being overwhelmed by despair as the outlines of the new Nero's regime became clear? What practical things can we do to maintain perspective?
Most people who read this article are better off, and safer, than the vast majority of people who have lived throughout history. And we are likely to remain so, despite this new Nero. The Doomsday Clock has been close to midnight for all of my life, and in many respects, Nero succeeding Biden is just are more emperor. The United States has done pretty much what it wants in the world long before the first-arrival of Nero. Objectively, nothing much has changed. The world is, as my colleague Nathan notes in a sermon draft, "a total shit show out there… " After commenting on the horrors being perpetrated by Israel, they say "We could work our way around the globe – Ukraine, Sudan, Yemen, Burma, Venezuela – and the stories don’t get any better." The question is how to live so that the horrors of the world do not drive us to despair despite all its beauty and wonder.
There are things we can do. Some involve disabusing ourselves of false notions of "progress" The others are behavioural changes that I have found to yield significant alterations in my perspective. These are not based on a few ideas dreamed up since November 5. I write as a depressive personality who too frequently struggles not to give in. to total despair.
First, the theology: Our basic task is to "inhabit" the Christian story rather than being sucked into the stories told by empire. Perhaps the key thing to remember is that loved by God though we are, we are not special above other people, and are not owed a particular privilege in the universe. The idea that we are somehow special is one of the key idolatries that sneak into our faith life. Rather than being special, we have lived in a momentary bubble in history where many of us "ordinary" people have been rich beyond the dreams of our grandparents. This is not our right. Indeed, when the prophets cry out at the rich we are likely in their sights.
For a small moment in history, we in Australia have been one of the more privileged vassal states of the bickering empires. And I have relaxed in my fortunate status, forgotten my complicity with those in power, and have been seduced by my privilege to feel as though it is somehow owed me, rather than being a moment of good fortune which is now fading... Read on >>>>
Hi Jan,
At Goolwa Bakery yesterday, a couple of magpies strutted up and requested their share of our lunch. I broke off a bit of meaty pastry and suggested to Wendy that she try for a photo. Maggie was a bit impatient and jumped up on my knee and took the treat! After that, the two of them stood in front of us and serenaded us at length!
Tonight, at Nino's in Victor, a Wattle Bird sashayed across the next table, and then cool as you like, skipped onto ours and started cleaning up one of our plates--the table is a bare two feet wide! At least we were eating outside; they have a Murray magpie they have to keep shooing out of the shop! We saw it walk in like it owns the place! The waiter shooed it away, arms akimbo, and it ducked around behind her and kept heading into the shop!
Across the water from where we are staying, behind a bit of shrubbery, someone puts out some sort of food that the gulls like. There's a few of the light-weight Silver Gulls have a go, but they seem mostly to get seen off by the Pacific Gulls. There was a huge commotion a couple of mornings ago; Pacific Gulls honk louder than a quarrel of bin chickens!
What's really amusing is that, every few minutes, a gull flies down the middle of the canal (Encounter Lakes) in case some dopey fish is too close to the surface, but they all do a quick detour over that one lawn each time they come past!
[Archived here]
Once, I had a small website called The Children in the Garden. Claudette was a frequent visitor.
My suspicions were confirmed this afternoon when one of our companionable backyard crows was chatting with me while I watered the garden. They forgot themself and picked a strawberry right in front of me.
I noticed that despite them ignoring the water everywhere else, they immediately made for the slug trap when I splashed some water in it. I've been thinking we had the biggest drinking slugs in the country, because they have been draining the trays and getting away. I now hypothesise the crows eat the slugs and then finish the beer.
Hypothesis confirmed: I went out to the garden at dawn and found a healthy crop of slugs pickled in beer. When I returned at lunch time both were diminished. Later, when I was digging out sweet potato Claudette came to visit and sat down about three feet away. She took a long look at the strawberries and did not touch them. Sadly, this is not out of respect for me, but only because there are no ripe ones left.
She then went to the snail trap and had a slug of beer. If crows could smack their lips, that's what she was doing! Clearly, beer marinated slug goes down well!
[Archived here]
