What can we discover about the nature of temptation and our response to it from this text?

Like Jesus, temptations come to us at our points of strength, not weakness. The stronger we are, the greater the temptations. The closer we get to God, the closer the Evil One moves in on us. "The higher the intention, the more demonic the power," Gordon Cosby.

UrbanSeed:church Lenten Reflections

First Sunday of Lent

“There is a threshold, it seems, where either the spirit cracks or some steel enters the soul.” - Graeme Barrett.

Recall when you experienced a difficult situation that called for your endurance.
Talk to God about the ‘cracks’ in your spirit that this situation may have left you with, asking for God’s healing. And celebrate the inner strength and wisdom that this situation has brought you.

Posted by marcus at 10:38 PM | Comments (0)

Vetamorphus Matt 4-13

February 11, 2005

Questions from Urban Seed's Vetamorphus Peer Group Week 1 and 2: Matthew 1-13
Meets at "The Den" in Melbourne's Chinatown, Wednesday arvo's!

Matthew 7-13

Interpretation Hint of the Week
Break text up into:
1. Episodes: Movie scenes for a DVD cover! Find names or keywords for each scence. What connections can you find between scenes? Why structure the story like this? What does the structure of these scenes suggest about meaning?
2. Characters: Why are characters characterised in this way?
3. Locations: Why is the story set here? What are the meanings behind the locations used?

Questions and Clarifications:

Chapter 4: How can Jesus be "lead" into temptation by the devil. What power has Satan got over Jesus?

Certainly some otherwise it wouldnt be much of a temptation would it? Jesus is offered ways out right through his ministry. Ways of avoiding the cross. Peter in Mark 8, The Garden of Gesthemane....etc.....But Read 4:1, who's leading who? He was led by the Spirit. He was not led there because he had fallen out of God's will. Jesus was led to the desert to discern the one true voice that would keep him true to his mission.So why is it that the Spirit, not the devil, leads Jesus into the wilderness to be tested (Matthew 4:1)?

Matthew's world wasn't as troubled as we might be by the idea that Jesus needed to be tested to prove himself fit for the apocalyptic struggle at hand. The Greek diabolos is not the devil we love to hate. Clarence Jordan suggests an unusual etymology for the word diabolos (devil) in this passage. He says in The Substance of Faith:
"'Diabolos' comes from dia meaning 'around through' and bollo meaning 'to throw.' Our English word 'ball' comes from that. Diabolos means 'one who throws things about'—one who stirs things up—gets them confused. The work of the devil is just to get us muddled."
The father of lies, the one who scatters them about, the slanderer, the accuser of the saints, then, is really the Great Confuser.Even the term Jesus uses—Satan or the Prince of Demons (Matthew 12:24)—can be translated, simply, as adversary.

The adversary reaches back to Job, where the accuser (Hebrew ha-satan) resembles the spies kings employed to sniff out sedition. These ancient narcs had equivalents in the pantheon—lesser gods who tested people's fidelity. So when Satan suggests that Job's fidelity be tested, he's just doing his job. (ideas from Nancy Hastings Sehested, a Baptist pastor from USA)

5:1- What does it mean to be Poor in Spirit, Meek?

5:31 If you look lustfully at someone is this adultery and therefore grounds for divorce according to the sermon on the mount?

6.25 If Jesus says we shouldnt worry about things why are people poor and don't have enough to live on? Why do Christian people who are faithful often not have enough to live on? What does it then mean to "Seek first the kingdom....."

Chapter 9: Is it enough for your friends to have faith for you in order to be healed? What is the nature of faith and how can our faith/prayers make a difference for other people and situations in the world?

Chapter 10:

What is the significance of how the disciples are characterised? Who are Zealots, who are Tax Collectors, why is Judas introduced as a betrayer, Why are there 12?

What does it mean to say "the Kingdom of God is near"? What is the nature of the "Kingdom"? How does Matthew's portrayal of Jesus Kingdom differ from his portrayal of Herods Kingship that we looked at last week?
10:34-36 Why is it so controversial and cause such division?

Posted by marcus at 04:49 PM | Comments (2)

Wedding: Cookie & Cathy

February 07, 2005

Well done Cookie and Cathy! What a great day on Saturday down on the banks of the Maribyrnong!!! The Liturgical Risks? For Cookie it was picking up a guitar and singing Cathy & family down the aisle....despite grave fears from all who know and love him he pulled it off!!! For me it was trying to talk about the evangelical disciplines without boring everyone to tears.
Thankfully the "chastity" section seemed to keep people awake! Comments included "There was too much sex", "Sex, Sex, Sex thats all you think about", "You talked about sex like God invented the thing.", " I'd never heard about sex in a broader context like that.I got it!" The other liturgical risk was Brent Lyons Lee doing the full "I so wanna be a rock god" worship leader bit for "Hear our Praises" wearing his baby pink shirt... talk about a "closet pentecostal" in more ways than one! They're gunna bash you in Norlane mate!
Ceremony below...

The River and The Tree: Dave and Cathy’s Wedding

Prelude Music: from Jesse and band.

Entrance:
Music: Forever, by Ben Harper
Cookie’s family walks in from the river, welcomed into the space by friends. Then Wilson family, welcomed by friends, while Cookie sings.

Welcome: Marcus Curnow
On behalf of David, Cathy and their families, a warm welcome to the banks of the Maribyrnong River today.

This is a significant place as the images of the ‘tree by the riverside’ and ‘discerning a sense of call’ have been very important to Cathy and Dave in shaping this ceremony.

Throughout the day David and Cathy encourage you to enjoy the surrounds. Be aware of your senses, what you see and hear. Breathe deeply and take it in.

It is one way we can appreciate our dependence upon the creation, the role that marriage plays in maintaining this connection, and give thanks to the Creator who sustains all of this.

At the beginning of this ceremony David and Cathy wish to acknowledge the traditional custodians of this place, the peoples of the Kulin nations, clan of the Murin Bulluk who have lived long and well on this land.

They also want us to be aware of our emotions. What it is that each of us feel and bring to this place and celebration today.

Perhaps goodwill, a sense of connection with David and Cathy and their communities, excited hopes for them, a desire to let go, to enjoy and celebrate.

Or perhaps feelings that involve the more difficult parts of being community. Weddings can raise fears and expectations, painful memories of people who have died or are not here, reminders of relationships that have failed or that remain un-reconciled.

Whatever we feel let us bring all of our memories of times shared with Cathy and David; the good and the bad; our hopes, as well as our fears for their future. Let us bring our journeys together and offer them to the God who allows us to be honest.

Opening Prayer: Mr. Geoff Wilson

Song: Hear our Praises

The Vocation (Call) of Marriage: Marcus Curnow

Reading by: Edith Wilson

“Marriage is not a lifelong attraction of two individuals to each other, but a call for two people to witness together to God’s love. The basis of marriage is not mutual affection, or feelings, or emotions and passions that we associate with love, but a vocation, a being elected to build together a house for God in this world.”

In this tradition, marriage is considered a sacrament, a religious vocation. David and Cathy like brothers and sisters of a religious order today you will make certain vows. Catholic religious swear vows of Stability, Chastity, Poverty and Obedience. Dave and Cathy, today you will not make a vow of Stability: but you will make a commitment for life. You will not take a vow of Chastity but you will take a vow of sexual fidelity. You will not take a vow of poverty but you will vow to share all possessions. You will not vow obedience but you will mutual influence and submission.

The word vocation derives from the Latin “vox”, meaning “voice.” As Nowen suggests marriage is more than a response to the voice within; the private attraction you sense toward each other. Marriage is also a divine call to a holy life; a lifelong process of listening for God’s summons, hearing Gods voice and responding to God’s call of love in the world.

Declaration of Call:
David and Cathy:

Having heard the nature of the call. Of your own free will, understanding the responsibility and commitment it invites, will you choose to belong to each other in the vocation of marriage?
We will

Immediate Family (they stand)

Geoff and Liesje, Clive and Valerie, you have raised David and Cathy out of the vocation of your own marriages.

Edith and Dianna, Andrew and Maria, Narelle and Shane, you have grown up with and journeyed alongside them.

Will you give your blessing to their marriage and share in its joys and challenges as they embark on this way of life together
We will

Community of family and friends (they stand)

Will you give your blessing and will you support them as they embark on this way of life together.
We will

Readings: Psalm 1 (Dianna Wilson) and Acts 17: 22-28 (Narelle)

Homily: Rev. Ron Ham and Marcus Curnow
Introduction: Rev. Ron Ham

Dave and Cathy, as you, Marcus and I have prepared for this day, we have been inspired by some helpful images. We don’t want to ignore any of them because they represent the ways in which, and the places where, we find God and God finds us!

Some of these images are personal to you – the river below us reminds you, Dave, of the Murray River so important to you in your growing up, and now. The trees are so loved by you, Cathy, because your family home is planted among them in the hills. River and trees speak to both of you of the whole Creation which mediates the presence of God.

Two other images are common to all of us:
* We have acknowledged the original inhabitants of this land on which we stand, an image linking us to a past we have ignored but which reminds us that God meets us in all of our brothers and sisters, whoever they may be.
* Henri Nouwen has suggested that in marriage we are building together a house of God in the world. What an image that is! Not just a house of God at our particular street address, but in the world – we are to nourish each other in the privacy of our home, but not as an indulgence for ourselves alone.

That means that your home will be ‘a house of God in the world’, because the doors will be open so that you may go out into the world, and for some of the world to come in to you for hospitality; God meets you at your street address, but waits to meet you in the house of the world.

Dave and Cathy, will this continue? Do you think you may remember any of this homily in twenty years time? I don’t care whether you remember or not so long as the images which inspire you now may continue to energise your life.

You are now living authentically in an alternative community-sensitive lifestyle informed by these images. What shape will authentic living mean for you in twenty years? You cannot possibly know. You may be trying to understand the culture in which your teenage children are living!

You will keep on discovering what shape that living should be by adding two other images: you will live your lives as an inward journey and as an outward journey. The inward journey is a life of prayer and contemplation where you open yourselves to what Paul the Apostle, in his Ephesians letter, calls “the immeasurable greatness of the power of God in us who believe; the mighty power of God in raising Jesus Christ from the dead.” This regular appointment with Jesus Christ, made real to you by the Holy Spirit, will keep the ear of your hearts open to hear what God is saying to you.

And you will discover the shape of your living by hearing God speaking to you in the outward journey when you go out of your street address into the house of the world where you will discover God there ahead of you, sometimes speaking in the voice of the “least of these”, Christ’s brothers.

Marcus has something to say about what this might mean for you now that you are to become a married couple.

The Evangelical Disciplines and the Vocation of Marriage: Marcus Curnow

As Ron has said hearing the call of God has been important for you. Earlier we mentioned the vows of religious brothers and sisters, suggesting that their insights on vocation are not just for single life but can be applied to marriage and us all. Just before you say your vows to each other I wanted to say some things about these “Evangelical disciplines” Poverty Chastity and Obedience, that have stood the test of time in sustaining alternative households in our world.

Vow of Poverty: Money and The Economy of Enough

Delwyn and Peter are here today. At their wedding in this place the preacher gave them a memorable blessing. “I hope you will never have to know the burden of wealth.” It expresses gospel concern about the power of greed over our spirit and the way it builds unequal societies. Dave and Cathy, Money is a major issue in spirituality, community and in relationships. Your going to fight about it!

In the economy of this world it seems there is never enough,

The vow of poverty is a response to this scarcity….and has never been about celebrating poverty. Just ask a poor person!
The vow of Poverty involved renouncing private ownership so that through sharing our possessions poverty could be overcome. Ironically I made many religious houses very rich!
In vowing to share what you have today you are creating your own economy. Ecomony has its roots in the Greek word oikos, which means household, and was also associated with the early church where Christians came together by sharing their possessions.
When Jesus feeds people outdoors, turning water to wine at weddings, much like we are going to do today…. the message is that when we share there may not always be much but there is always enough.

The Vow of Poverty means you can live simply. Anyone who knows David will know he is very careful and thoughtful about how he uses his money and time. This is a good thing but Cathy, make sure he doesn’t get too careful. Simple lifestyle is not about making you more pure, it doesn’t change the world, it’s about celebrating ENOUGH! It points to the abundance and the extravagance of Gods grace to us.

Because of this it means that we have time to live in close proximity to the poor and their needs. Often the voice of God is most clearly heard in those who are broken and you have both sought to do this through your work at TEAR, Urban Seed and your own homes. Remain close to this perspective.

An important part of the vow of poverty involved not just renunciation but taking up of common work. From Brad and Jen in Hollywood down we know that self fulfilment through career is a major barrier to marriage. In the economy of this world, Instead of binding us together our work tears us apart.

Find some work that brings you together. Even if its not in your professional lives, think about it in the work of household.
Today’s economy has made housework & homemaking, a menial, even degrading task. But there is much in the common work of making home, the art of thrift, raising children, grow some of your own food, raising animals, sharing with others that can build an inclusive marriage.

And this connects with the second vow.

Chastity: Sex and fidelity to People, Land and Place

If poverty is about money, chastity is about sex. Guys, If you thought the fight about money is difficult wait till the fights about sex. Again in the Economy of our world it seems there is never enough?
Our basic human desires are preyed upon to sell things. Its seems at times there is no higher purpose to human sexuality than recreation or companionship in the here and now. There is a lot of flesh!!!

Fundamental to the idea of the vow of chastity is not prudish Christian hang up’s about sexuality but an understanding about the profound connection between flesh and spirit.

Wendell Berry, the Theologian and Farmer, whose thoughts have been so defining in building a sense of community that you’re part of here in Footscray gives us a different vision.

“Sexual Love is at the heart of community life. Sexual love is the force that in our bodily life connects us most intimately to the Creation, to the fertility of the world, to farming and the care of animals. It brings us into the dance that holds the community together and joins it to its place.”

These are not ideas commonly heard on Desperate Housewives or Sex in the City.

Today you are not taking a vow of chastity but you are taking a vow of sexual fidelity that is not just about ecstatic highs but about the spiritual connection of your bodies to the whole of creation.

Creation has its cylces, and so does human sexuality. Fidelity in marriage creates households where ecstasy can be returned too. These cycles may also involve the creation and raising of children. No kids, no community. Even the boss of our economy Peter Costello understands this. It also invovles the fidelity of our bodies to the places we live in, the land on which our households are located, the connection of our bodies to the food that sustains us and the common work of producing and consuming in ways that are healthy for us, others and the earth. Good sex involves fidelity to creation and all its creative processes, to land and to place.

You have demonstrated this in your images of the River and the Tree, valuing the places from which you come, the households where you have created and raised.

This is good sex in its broadest sense, our bodies alive with the spiritual, connected with and respectful of the natural rhythms, processes and limits of God’s creation. Get into it guys.

Obedience: Power & Freedom

The final vow is that of Obedience. Its an awkward sort of word in the Economy of our world which worships freedom of choice and the power of the individual. Let us be honest, In the name of marriage and obedience the church has often defended and perpetuated abusive relationships and yet central to this vow is the idea of giving up our own sense of will for the sake of community and others.

The apostle Paul describes this, at times using the language of equality (which modern people like) or at others the language of mutual submission ( which modern people struggle with) but its emphasis is the same.
Love involves the sacrifice of power.
This is central to the message of Christianity, Jesus, God incarnate loves us so much that he dies on a cross.

Marriage is a gift that helps us to understand, practise and perfect love. Your household becomes a space where we learn politics. Where we get confronted and have to deal with our power issues.

It is sometimes said “At marriage Two become one flesh, and within six months you can tell which one.”

Cookie, you are older, organised, and do what you say, doggedly at times, there is great power in that.
Often your strength works in support of people who are broken and let me say you have the respect of this community in that regard. The downside is that sometimes you become attached to ideas and causes, with an inflexibility that drives us up the wall.

One of the ideas that we spoke of around your theme of “The River and The Tree” was that of interdependence. Trees need rivers to be watered as rivers need trees to keep the water tables in balance.

Cathy I know Cookie can be a very strong river. You will need to be a strong tree. I know this is possible because you come from a family of fine Dutch women, who tell me that you are also very strong willed.

Together you will need to learn the skills of negotiating power needed to sustain your marriage and community in our world. May your committment to the vow of obedience mean you have many, good, creative, life giving fights.

Soon you will make your vows. These are not ideas that one can simply get attached to. Love is an art that takes work. Soon the time for words will be over and you will need to live it. Thankfully you are not alone. The voice of God is the living call of a living Christ whose love is accessible to all. May the call and love of Christ that has sustained households of grace and peace across the ages go with you. Amen.

The Covenanting: Rev. Ron Ham

(Dave)

Cathy, I love you

I, Dave Cook take you Catherine Heather Gaye Wilson to be my wife

I believe that God has called us together, and I promise that I will ever strive to place our common faith at the heart of our marriage.

I promise to love you

To cherish you

To comfort you

To respect you

And to support you

Whatever the future holds, I promise to walk with you as my partner, confidant and friend, as long as we both shall live.

(Cathy)

Dave, I love you

I, Cathy Wilson take you David Neville Cook to be my husband

I believe that God has called us together, and I promise that I will ever strive to place our common faith at the heart of our marriage.

I promise to love you

To cherish you

To comfort you

To respect you

And to support you

Whatever the future holds, I promise to walk with you as my partner, confidant and friend, as long as we both shall live.

Rings:
Ron: (Holds up rings)

David: Cathy I give you this ring, a symbol of my everlasting commitment to you and to God.

Cathy: David, I give you this ring, a symbol of my everlasting commitment to you and to God.

Blessing and Pronouncement The Kiss
Signing of the Register:
Song performed by Felicity: Deeper River (Digby Hannah)
Prayers: Ian Charles and Dave White
Song: Irish Blessing
Blessing and Announcement of Couple: Marcus Curnow
Recessional: band to continue music for Irish Blessing.

Posted by marcus at 10:25 PM | Comments (6)

Chocolate Seeds for Lent: Program

February 02, 2005

Chocolate as a Relisious Experience!

Ingredients
Chocolate
Lenten Narratives:
Johns Gospel
Matthews Gospel
Chocolat The Movie

Mix together for a mouth watering, soul quenching feast.

Meeting each Tuesday during Lent at The Den,116 Little Bourke St, Melbourne, 7pm - 9pm, RSVP 96630699 or...

If you cant make it read and reflect on the journey via the webchat on this blog at www.urbanseed.org.

The Latin name for the cacao plant is Theobroma Cacao: literally “the food of the gods.”

Chocolate production began in South America and was frequently used in Aztec and Mayan religious rituals and banquets. It was mixed into a liquid used to ‘baptise’ young boys and girls and to toast at weddings.

No fewer than seven popes have made pronouncements on chocolate, all agreeing that it does not break the Lenten fast!

In the 1650’s the Society of Jesus issued an act prohibiting Jesuits from drinking chocolate. Embarrassingly they had to rescind as many students started leaving in protest.

Quaker families Fry’s of Bristol, Cadbury’s of Birmingham, and Rowntrees of York pioneered modern chocolate production in the 1800’s.

Seeds for Lent Meetings and Readings 2005
(Readings follow previous Sunday readings of Revised Common Lectionary)

Feb 8: Shrove Tuesday: Pancakes and Movie Chocolat
Feb. 15: Chocolate Tempters: Matthew 4:1-11 (Temptation in the Wild)
Feb22:The Secret Chocolate Lover: John 3:1-17 (Nicodemus)
March 1:The Quest for Tim Tams that Never Run Out: John 4:5-42 (Woman at the Well)
March 8: Mud Cake Surprise: John 9:1-41 (Blind Man Healed)
March 15: Death By Chocolate: John 11:1-45 (Death of Lazarus)
March 22 Holy Week: How to Host a Last Supper

Chocolate Seeds for Lent is an activity of Urban Seed:Church
A Centre for Resourcing Christian Spirituality

Posted by marcus at 12:18 AM | Comments (1)

Rec. Footy Rocks!

February 01, 2005

Walking my boys home from the park in Footscray last night I heard whistles from the Whitten Oval. Thinking we could check out the Doggies training I instead discovered Recreational Footy, the new "game for everyone", non contact, mixed comp. Sort of like an aussie rules version of touch footy. Finally a inclusive version of footy free of local blokey club "Footy comes first" culture which demands your whole body, mind and soul! One team was short a player, so leaving the boys in the grandstand I jumped in and had a run. My adopted team "The Big Footy Bulldogs" got pumped 76 to nothing. A couple of women in the opposition dominated with the modified rules....very fast, very humbling..... but I had an absolute ball. I only know one of my teammates names (Carl )but they desperately want me back next week! Stay tuned for next Mondays results, get a team, get into it!!.
AFL, Rec. Footy and Western Bulldogs websites for info.

Posted by marcus at 10:06 PM | Comments (1)

Funeral: Celtic Blessing

I was blessed to assist this last week in the funeral of Jan Lacey; Aunty of my colleauge Chris and a passionate educator, activist and Bob Dylan fan. The benediction was an appropriately Irish blessing from John O'Donohue's "Anam Cara: Spiritual Wisdom for the Celtic World" (1997, Bantam)

A Blessing for Death

I pray that you will have the blessing of being consoled and sure about your own death.
May you know in your soul that there is no need to be afraid.
When your time comes, may you be given every blessing and shelter that you need.
May there be a beautiful welcome for you in the home that you are going to.
You are not going somewhere strange.
You are going back to the home that you never left.
May you have a wonderful urgency to live your life to the full.
May you live compassionately and creatively and transfigure everything that is negative within you and about you.
When you come to die may it be after a long life.
May you be peaceful and happy and in the presence of those who really care for you.
May your going be sheltered and your welcome assured.
May your soul smile in the embrace of your anam cara (soul friend).

More Celtic Funeral Prayers below:

These are from Ray Simpson's "Celtic Blessings for everyday life: Prayers for every occasion (Hodder and Stoughton, London, 1998). Ray is Guardian of The Community of Aidan and Hilda, Northumbria.

Father , I place N....into your hands;
Acknowledge a sheep of your own fold,
A lamb of your own flock,
A sinner of your own redeeming.
Enfold N.....in the arms of your mercy,
In the blessed rest of everlasting peace,
And in the glorious company of the saints in light.
Traditional

Go forth upon your journey from this world,
In the Name of God the Father who created you;
In the Name of Jesus Christ who died for you;
IN the Name of the Holy Spirit who shines through you;
In friendship with God's saints;
Aided by the holy angels.
May you rest this day in
the peace and love of your eternal home.
Traditional adapted

May you be as free as the wind
As soft as sheeps wool
As straight as a arrow
That you may journey into the heart of God.

If the deceased person had been baptised:
May you who were baptised N.....
now be immersed into the life of God: (sprinkling water over coffin)
Into the presence of the Creator I immerse you
Into the presence of the Saviour I immerse you
Into the presence of the Spirit I immerse you

May kindly Michael, chief of the holy angels,
Take charge of you beloved soul
And tenderly bring it home
To the Three of limitless love:
Creator, Saviour, Eternal Life-giver

Posted by marcus at 08:31 PM | Comments (3)