Kids and Grandkids

I spoke to a really lovely person today, KW who works at Sydney University. We begun talking about spiritual matters. She said something really interesting: “Religion doesn’t really do it for me – I don’t really care about where you go when you die, I’m more concerned for the things in the here and now.” Having just known her superficially for a couple of years, I was so struck today with her genuine concern for the wellbeing of others, and her desire for the problems of the world – the wars, the injustices – to be solved. She (humbly) didn’t think she could do anything about all those big issues, but she did her part in her daily life in doing good to those around her. I think her outlook is reflected in the thoughts of heaps of my dear friends.

So something really surprised me this evening.I’ve been reading a book about coming back from the dead – called The Resurrection of the Son of God by NT Wright. It said this:

“The hope of [old testament] biblical writers, which was strong and constant, focussed not upon the fate of humans after death, but on the fate of Israel and her promised land. The nation and land of the present world were far more important than what happened to an individual after death” (p 99). I think this really rings true in what I know of the Old Testament – people are constantly crying out for God to rescue them from their enemies; prophets are calling people to turn to God to avert a pending invasion by another country; kings and commoners lament that injustice runs riot in the land.

This is why kids and grandkids are so important in those times – to see them was a great joy, to not have any was a tragedy, all because the hope of the nation rested on them. To continue the nation in peace, justice and prosperity relied on these little ones growing up and running things properly. This goes right back to the hope of the first humans, when Eve was pronounced “the mother of all living” (genesis 3:16,20) after the influence of evil came into the world. It’s in the promise to Abraham in Genesis 12, when immense blessing for every nation on earth is tied up with his family and the land they live on.

KW seems to be more in line with God’s plans than she thought. At least in the times before Jesus, they were very concerned with the “here and now” (“there and then”). Perhaps I and other Christians don’t appreciate this enough today. Did Jesus get rid of this and get our focus rightly on non-earthly concerns? Or have we just got lazy and stopped connecting him with the world (not to mention the individuals) he came to save?

But if it’s true that KW’s desires are in line with the god depicted in the Old Testament, does that mean that she doesn’t need him, that she’s already got the morals she needs? I’d say that in this level of the conversation, morals aren’t the issue, actually, it’s about the ability to change things. If the OT god, and the god of Jesus, is really concerned for the things of the here and now, and has made promises to do something about them, perhaps the question really is: Can he do it? Because if he can, there’s good news right there.

The verdict

We went to Manly Court today for his hearing. The court was really interesting. I learned about a whole other world of thinking and reasoning. The judge seemed fair, though he definitely went hard on those who he saw were guilty. Sitting in court was actually quite stressful. I saw people try to defend themselves in court – they were absolutely hopeless, not pulling the evidence together and often just setting up the evidence and witnesses in a “my word against theirs” (where “they” is usually the police) way, without giving me any reason to believe their side of things. And in the one case where there was good evidence for things, the DVD player didn’t even work to play CCTV footage and court had to be delayed for about half an hour!

I noticed that in that place, not many people seemed happy. The court was set up in a very imposing way, with the judge way up high, far away from me any anyone else, and harsh wooden benches, gates and rails stood between him and everyone. The lawyers, the defendants, the police, the witnesses were all just sullen, and I felt the same way. The life was almost drained out of me. Those times when people representing themselves were floundering about were the worst. I had a mixed sense of frustration, pity, disbelief and sadness.

There were also some sad cases. One was of a guy who breached his AVO – that his own mother seemed to have taken out on him. He was escorted in by the police in chains, and frequently interjected while his lawyer was trying to represent him. It seemed that, amongst other things, alcohol had partially destroyed this man.

My housemate was charged with some serious offences, and his lawyer was asking the magistrate to consider his mental health as part of the hearing (Called a section 32 as far as I gathered). However, this was too lengthy for the court to hear, so he moved it on to another magistrate. The other magistrate was remarkably different (as was the room she was working from, the architecture seemed to match the mood); she was much more focussed on rehabilitation, less concerned for the formalities and more on about making sure that peoples’ problems get solved (including the accused’s!) and that they don’t do it again. It was kind of nice.

So my housemate went in there and the first thing she asked about was a treatment plan for his mental conditions. As there was not much of one worked out, she didn’t grant him the section 32, but she did let him go on a “good behaviour bond” – meaning that he was free as long as he didn’t commit any other crimes, and a “treatment bond” – meaning that he has to see the right health professionals regularly. Amazing.

To be honest, if I were a judge and not a friend of my housemate’s, I would have just sentenced him. I guess that’s why I’m not a judge. But thinking about it afterwards, I really had to thank God, this was what I (and many of my friends) have been praying for, and it’s a great outcome because it shows him that it’s serious to commit a crime, but also lets him get beyond this as well. I think since I’ve known him I’ve noticed a really big shift in his attitudes and behaviours, and I think we’ll keep seeing that in the future.

At the end of the day, even though it was harrowing and exhausting, I was convinced once again that God is good. I’m also very glad that he’s given us a pretty good justice system, though with the corruption of people everywhere it’s far from perfect.

By the way, I saw someone else’s blog, and there seemed to be a lot more pictures. I’ll try to do better with that next time…

Are we not drawn onward, we few, drawn onward to new era?

So profound, so palindromic!

from http://www.fun-with-words.com/palin_example.html

Choppers

I really love my housemate – there are moments where he gives me a completely new and uplifting view on life.

I was cleaning my teeth this evening, and he walked in and said “you do that a lot, don’t you?”
I said, “yeah, twice a day every day!”
Then I thought, “Hang on, I haven’t ever seen you brush your teeth!”
“That’s because I haven’t got any!” he replied.
“What???”

Smiling, he showed me – his mouth was as gummy as the underside of a high school desk. I had never noticed. No wonder he’s so hard to understand when he speaks!

“How on earth did you lose all your teeth?” I asked, incredulous.
“I asked the c**t to take them out. I didn’t like them. If you don’t like something, get rid of it!”

And he walked out of the room. I brushed my teeth with a new sense of lightness.

This post is dedicated to Liz Mansour.

The first post…

Thinking aloud can be dangerous – I’ve stuck my foot in it many a time.

And I wonder whether it’ll be any different thinking aloud on the internet? Probably not! Enjoy, friends.

This blog was inspired by Charmian Wong and Anna Zhang (http://annazhang.wordpress.com/). I don’t even know if Charmi blogs, but she said that she wants more people to get their ideas out there. Little did she know that I don’t have many ideas! Anna has never talked about her blog, but I saw it tonight, and thought, “wow, it’s so great that Anna is getting her thoughts out there.” However, to be honest, I didn’t actually read what she had written… sorry. I may get round to that sometime as well.