A New Awareness of the Groaning

I'm hesitating, even as I sit down to write out these thoughts.  They seem so very....Christian.  It's the faith that I ascribe to, though a word whose public expressions and definitions I don't always love.  And yet, these are the things I've been pondering lately, and that is what this blog space has been for nearly six years now - a place to write out the bits and pieces I'm pondering.  To wrap words around those thoughts and give them form.

I'll probably never forget the first time I became aware on a deep, internal level, that Christ's death was necessary in part because of me.

It happened nearly two decades after I first invited Him to be the Lord of my life, kneeling next to my mom, against an itchy couch, on dark brown shag carpet.

I was in a Catholic church, and it was Palm Sunday.

Catholics mark Palm Sunday differently from the culture in which I'd been raised.  Protestants are joyous, celebrating the triumphal entry.  Services are full of construction paper palm leaves and children waving them, marching around the auditorium, singing Hallelujahs.  Two decades or more of observing faith, and I was pretty sure what I'd find when I sat down in a pew for a Saturday evening mass. 

I was wrong.

A few moments acknowledging the palms, the triumphal entry at the beginning, and then the account of the Passion.

It was a responsorial reading.  The priest read the role of Jesus, others the role of the major players, and the congregation, well, we read the part of the crowd.  And so I stood there, crying out with a hundred or so strangers, "Crucify him! Crucify him!"

It was a bizarre and personal experience, fully unexpected, and bearing with it a deep thankfulness for grace.

I found myself thinking about that moment again this past Sunday, as I read a professional code of ethics for one of the classes I'm taking.

Again, it feels odd to say this openly, but as I read the ethical code, I was struck deeply by the fallenness of the world.  As I read the code I thought about how codes of ethics, particularly this one, designed to protect those with limited abilities, mentally, emotionally, or physically, would be so unnecessary if we only loved and valued and respected life.  If there wasn't sin, and a fallen nature, we wouldn't need this.

It is, quite frankly, an uncomfortable, and unpopular thought.  It's not one that sits easily, even for me, and I ascribe to the theological beliefs from which it comes.  It feels intolerant and judgmental.

And yet, we have code after code designed to protect those who should not need protection - the weak, the ill, those who have some sort of limitation.  Code after code of things that should be common sense if we simply valued people, loved them deeply as ourselves.

I don't have conclusions to draw.  The moment of awareness on Sunday caught me off guard, and has left me uncomfortable all week.

I'm thinking a lot about the passages that speak of all creation groaning for redemption, for resurrection, to be made new.  And this week, as I sit with these questions, these awareness, as they make me uncomfortable, as I think about things I've been reading, as I follow news stories from Africa, the Middle East, Japan, I feel that groaning, and I pray for things to be made new.

Sad to Read This

Some of you know that Peru is a nation that God has placed on my heart for a whole lot of reasons, and I tend to follow any international news headlines that come up from Peru fairly closely.

There was an article that I came across in the BBC news today that made me sad on several levels.  On the level of someone who cares about the rights of indigenous people, and on the level of someone who prays for the country of Peru, and on the level of someone who cares in increasing amounts about environmental destruction and sees the refusal of the Peruvian president to sign this bill into law as an open door for destruction of the Peruvian amazon, clothed in the guise of "development."

Peru Leader Rejects Indigenous Land Rights Law

Oldest Image of Christ's Apostles Found

Have I mentioned recently that I loved the brief time I spent in Rome a couple years back?  That the church historian in me could quite happily spend days and weeks and years there?  That I had a number of profound experiences with God there, including experiencing Ash Wednesday mass in St. Peter's?

I liked Rome.  A lot.

It made me smile, today, then, to see this headline in the BBC news about an ancient image of some of the apostles that was uncovered just recently in one of the catacombs in Rome.  (The catacombs are definitely on my list for the next trip.)

Worth Checking Out

In today's edition:

Today's post from Donald Miller on knowing your work style seemed timely, since I'm definitely in the middle of a period of frustration with my job again.

I loved this post:  We are the Morning People

The recent knife attacks against Chinese school children, that are raising the issue of mental health in China continue to both sadden and fascinate me as they unfold.

Fear the Deer

Let me clear that I know nothing about whatever sport it is that has the "Fear the Deer" chant in Wisconsin.  Actually, as I just demonstrated, I don't even know what sport it is that we're dealing with.

I am, however, always amused when crazy news stories come out of Wisconsin, mostly because my mom was born and raised there, and we love to tease her that those from Wisconsin are a truly strange and unique breed.

With that said, this news story made me smile today.  (And send it via email for my mom's reading pleasure on her return from holidays later this week.)

This and That

A collection of stuff worth reading and watching this morning:

A video of Governor General Michaelle Jean's apology to Rwanda for Canada's indifference during their genocide.

An article about forced sterilizations and the impact of China's one child policy.

A blog post with a Christian perspective on stewardship of the environment.  I particularly liked the statement "Dominion should not equal destruction."

Anne Jackson on being exposed.

Donald Miller on telling the truth.

Dana linked to this very cool way of viewing the Sistine Chapel.  It brought back very fond memories of how profoundly that room touched me when I visited, and how I wished I could have spent hours simply taking it in, instead of the maybe 10 minutes that I was able to spend there.

This article on the fact that Jamie Oliver is putting his own funds behind his vocal campaigns for better food and eating.  I am so on board with this idea that if we stop eating processed crap and start eating more healthy, home-cooked meals, we can make a huge difference in some of the health crises that seem to be on the rise, and I love that Oliver is putting his money where his mouth is.

Article on the Most Recent Haiti Quake

I mentioned this morning that I'd heard via email that there had been another earthquake in Haiti very early this morning.  News article on the quake, magnitude 4.7, here.

Feeling Slightly Vindicated

This article in the Calgary Herald this morning has left me feeling somewhat vindicated.  I've been having billing issues with Enmax for 8 months now, have called them on a monthly basis, and there is still no resolution.  Twice now, they've submitted the resolution request, but submitted it with the wrong information, leading nowhere.  There's nothing like good customer service!  Let's just say that the next time I move (I cancelled my utilities for this move, since I won't need them at Grandma's) I won't be setting up my utility account with Enmax.

Encouraging News for Haiti

G7 Nations Pledge Debt Relief for Haiti

It's not done yet.  But it's good news.  A step towards the right direction.

Everyone Out

They're used helicopters to airlift the last of the tourists stranded at Machu Picchu by mudslides earlier this week to safety.

Another Miracle

Another young woman was found alive in the rubble in Haiti yesterday.

Another Haiti Article

I'm sitting here checking facebook and catching up on some article reading, and came across this article from the New York Times about Haiti that a friend had posted to facebook.  It's definitely worth the read.

Alive, After 11 Days

Rescuers pulled a man, alive, from the rubble in Haiti today, 11 days after the earthquake.

On Haiti

Tomorrow night I'll be attending a benefit concert for Haiti relief.  If you're in Calgary, and interested in attending, let me know and I'll give you the details. The funds raised go to the work of Samaritans Purse and Compassion

In the meantime, Steve Bell had a great article about Haiti on his blog this morning.

And these two headlines caught my attention:

Plush Golf Club Houses 50,000 Refugees

Floating Hospital Provides Succour for Few

Interesting Article on Depression

I found this article on the change in approach to treating depression in the UK to be quite fascinating.

Praying...

Praying tonight, for this family.

Peru's Sacred Glacier is Melting

I found this photo essay about Peru to be quite fascinating.

Praying today (again) for that country, and the opportunity to be there.

Not Educating Girls is Costly

I found this article, which appeared last month to be quite fascinating. Following up on the theme of issues surrounding women that I raised with yesterday's link to the photo essay about maternity care in Guinea Bissau, this articles argues that a failure to educate girls hampers their earning potential, and thus keeps the economy of a country from performing as well as it could.

Life and Death in Guinea Bissau

This photo essay on the challenges of maternity care in Guinea Bissau was incredibly striking to me when I came across it recently, and I thought I'd share it here.

Who Counsels the Counsellor?

This article, which appeared last month, was quite striking in the way it describes the toll of being in a warzone not only on those who are there as soldiers, but on those whose role it is to help the soldiers cope.