I selected these verses from the lectionary — and then had to think why. In part it was Alte posting (from a thread she had deleted) a comment from Daegus on the neo pagan syncretism that was occurring in the Catholic Mass. Daegus passionately loved his mass, and his rant was a thing of beauty. But, Alte added this to the post.
I would also like to note that — as a former dancer — I am absolutely against liturgical dancing. Not only is it a perversion of the liturgical tradition (more akin to the goings-on in the Roman temples than in the Christian house churches), it can also provide a sexual temptation to the men in the congregation.
Being distracted by women in lycra (or less) keeps me from thinking about God, the world, and what our duty is. Then I read Cameron (who enjoys reading Treasury briefing documents) who noted:
A big part of Phil Goff’s current story is that Labour left the books in great shape, and that in 2008 the incoming Government inherited zero net debt. This is the big lie that Labour is trying to sell, and it banks on the public having worse memories than your average gold fish.
It seems that people want us asleep. Now to the lectionary
Romans 13
11Besides this, you know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers; 12the night is far gone, the day is near. Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; 13let us live honorably as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy. 14Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.
It’s pretty clear that the time of Jesus’ return is closer now than it was when Paul wrote. It’s also clear that we cannot account the days we have. Over lunch I met a colleague. He cannot at present have a social life — and his teenage son is suffering — because his wife is dying. When we marry we believe that we will end up at a good old age, together.
Grerp is looking around her environment. She says…
Personally, I feel that America is getting less and less benign by the day, and I do not think I’m alone in that. Big Government and Big Business have almost finished consolidating their control over food, oil, money, medicine, housing – all of the stuff we need to live. We may still be able to do things about that, but in the shorter term, we need to be able to take care of ourselves and learn to pool our resources so that we can stay safe, warm, fed, and housed. The people you know and trust will be a stronger safety net than anything the government will provide. Human beings are programmed to care about the people they know and not care about the people they don’t know. Strengthen your safety net by getting out there and getting to know your neighbors.
Now, returning to the issue of dancing… and gratification of the flesh. As Christians, we are called to moderation and not to be ruled by passions. We are not (most of us) called to lives of radical self denial. We are to be the world, and by our lives change it for the better. To do this, we need to see what is around us.
But the current situation in the Western world is under stress. We are in a depression. As in the 1930s, the mass media is feeding us gossip about various celebrities affairs (or what they said on twitter), food TV (encouraging gluttony), action TV and video games (encouraging wrath) and multiple iterations of desperate housewives (encouraging lust, in both men and women). If we are concentrating on these things, we are ineffective. We are asleep.
But… the signs of economic and social collapse are around us. It is time to be awake.
A good friend of mine once told me there’s a disclaimer on the dollar bill – “In God We Trust”
He said “Don’t be fooled its power. This is just a slip paper. In God We Trust because no amount of these papers will ever exempt you from God’s judgment.”
So many Americans these days think money is magical. If only they had more money, all their problems would be non-existent. They could do whatever they want, go where they want to go, purchase whatever they desire. With enough money, they’d finally be happy.
People today never consider God might be a solution to their problems. They never think that maybe they could be happy without large amounts of money or material possessions.
But… the signs of economic and social collapse are around us. It is time to be awake.
Now that’s a rather pessimistic outlook. Times are tough but aren’t they always?
Life isn’t supposed to be easy. Nor has life has never been easy [at least not since the Garden of Eden]
Perhaps these tough times will remind people of the simple blessings they take for granted [Health, Family, Friends].
Or maybe I’m just a naïve dreamer….
My approach is to be optimistic and cheerful except when planning. When budgeting or developing a project, use the worst case scenario. Then, if it goes off ordinarily well, you will feel you have done quite well, and the books will look good.
In my view, money is a tool that you can use to solve problems. In good times you build up a reserve. In bad times it goes. Bad times can be personal (nasty divorce, horrible illness) or national. It’s like insuring your house and car — most of the time it is a pain, but if the house goes, you have a way out.
What you have to understand is that the government is fragile and cannot solve problems for you (individually) or for the nation. (It can allow the people in the nation to solve those problems). I’ve lived through a few crashes. I was in high school during the oil shock, I lost money in the 1987 crash, and the early 90s were not fun. I can recall the period of decline called the 1970s and early 1980, during which the unemployment rate in my country was very high and farmers (New Zealand makes most of its money in agriculture) were going bankrupt.
These periods usually last about three years and are over. This one… is not. In NZ (where I live) we entered recession in 2006 and would have climbed out this year. An earthquake took care of that.
But I fear for the US. Your debt is out of control, and you are inflating your way out of it. The NZ dollar used to be 50 to 55 cents American — it is now around 75 to 80 cents. The Aussie and Loonie are now worth more than the greenback. What’s happened is that the US has slipped.
Now, when I was 19 I was sheltered from much of this. I don’t know how you support yourself, but at that age I was attending university and living at home. I had a choice of universities — but times were tough and there were four kids, so I worked holidays and my parents fed me. This time around my food bill is up about 50 to 100 dollars a week — and this is not completely the teenage boys being continually hungry. My mother and father note the same thing. Fuel is now over two dollars a litre. Interestingly, electronics and furniture are cheaper. But you can’t eat an ipod, or keep your house warm with it. I have friends, running businesses who are making well below minimum wage and are back eating ramen noodles to make payroll.
We are worried about our debt. But the US is beyond rescue. If the Federal gov’t does not default, expect the State and municipal bodies to do so. My daughter and son-in-law are now living on a military base (they got caught in a severe downturn in Ontario three years ago, and we have had to bail them out of that hole, but they are doing OK). The military will be fed, if not paid.
What you need to worry about is that crime — street crime, fraud, bribery, black markets etc — gets worse during a depression. People trust less.
There is a reason I live in Dunedin, and it’s not the climate. It is that the city is small, sustainable, and has good schools. Dunedin has ridden out depressions & is now a university town with design and high tech industries. If I was in the US, I would be in a good neighbourhood, know my neighbours — or move to where I was in a good neighbourhood.