He is Risen
The Eight O’Clock
News April 2014
8 am Service, Christ Church, Richmond Road, Kenilworth
My Rock The Lord has surrounded me with mountains and blessed me with one right in my back garden. In the early mornings when the air is crisp and cool, I gaze up at it as the sun lights up its stony face and I’m empowered to begin the day. Behold, on the mountains the feet of him who brings good tidings, who proclaims peace (Nahum1:15, RSV)! In the evenings, I reflect on the day and thank Him for getting me through it with all its twists and turns, highs and lows. Like coming home, the Lord is the One to whom we can go. Just imagine a life without Him—can we? It would be like a barren desert devoid of mountains, without life-giving vegetation and running streams. Even when shrouded from view by things we allow to obscure Him, life’s clouds or our facing towards some other brilliance, He is still there, immutable and steadfast. I love you, God – You make me strong. God is bedrock under my feet, The castle in which I live, my rescuing knight. My God—the high crag where I run for dear life, hiding behind the boulders, safe in the granite hideout. I sing to God, the Praise—Lofty and find myself safe and saved. (Psalm 18:1-2, The Message.)
Telephone 021-797-6332
The map reminds me of the word of God, the Bible—the map we use to get to know Our Rock better. The flower booklet reminds me of the joy I felt as each guest arrived at my party. I’d invited fifty people and as each one walked through the door, the flowers of friendship bloomed. In came the flamboyant, colourful ones—the ones who joked and showered me with hugs and kisses. The shy ones, like precious blooms hiding in the grass, blessed me with kindness and soft words. Some came in a bunch because they grow together, others I’d known their names forever and some I was just getting to know. All are blessings from God on His mountainside. But What a Friend we have in Jesus, the One who we remember this Eastertime for laying down His life for us. His love is unfailing, every day His mercy is new and we can begin again; He blots out our sins and prepares a home for us above the highest mountains. There is none holy like the Lord, There is none besides Thee; There is no rock like Our God. (I Samuel 2:2) Sally Palmer prayed a beautiful prayer a few weeks ago that encapsulates all of the above:
I had the first of a few parties to celebrate my new home on Saturday night and had a thoroughly good Father God, You are the rock on which we stand; time surrounded by family and friends. My brother You are our highest reach; and his wife love walking in the Cape mountains You are the very centre of our beings and You are and I sometimes join them. I’d asked them the boundaries of our furthest reach. previously to help me identify the points on the In this knowledge we can stand, range near my home. They brought me a clever in this knowledge we can rest, and in this and thoughtful gift—a map of the mountain and a knowledge we can go forth. Thank You, Lord. Amen book on the wild flowers of the area.
- Cheryl Anderson April 2014 Eight O’Clock News
2
Lorna Thompson—Young at 98 ! I was born in 1916.
I was the youngest, by far, of five with two brothers and two sisters. I hope that I was an after-thought rather than a mistake. My father was born in England and my mother in Ireland. My mother’s family left for South Africa during the Irish potato famine and arrived by sea—a journey which took 70 days. The ship dropped anchor at Port Elizabeth. The family moved to the Cape and my mother went to school in Paarl. She later qualified as a teacher and taught at the same school. Most of my life was spent in Wynberg. My earliest memory was of giving the letters back to the postman saying, You must take these back, my mother doesn't want any more bills. I went to a kindergarten in Wynberg in the second year of its existence. I was horribly spoilt, especially by my eldest brother, Craig. During the school holidays my mother used to entertain my cousins. They all had bicycles and used to ride up to the park. They never went without me and Craig would carry me on the bar of his bicycle. Even when Craig was engaged, (to a very nice girl), and there was a show on at the Opera House or the Tivoli, he would take me along too. By then he had a motor bike and a side-car and I would sit on his fiance's lap in the side car! How would you have liked to have been his fiancé? Years later I would wonder how he could have done that. I really was not interested in academics at school and was a very average student, but I did like sport. I played tennis, netball, hockey, table tennis—anything that came my way. I especially loved horse-riding but I also liked hockey as it was a team sport. After school I went to a secretarial college in town and they found me a job. I worked for a man named Mr Devine and the company was called Divine Gates (the other partner’s name was Mr Gates). Mr Devine was a grumpy old man and one day I was not in a very good mood either. He made me do one thing for the third time and I said that I was not going to do it again. He was astounded as I don't think he had faced rebellion before. He said, What? I said that I was not going to do it again as he should have made up his mind ages ago. He went off the deep end! I told him that he was a grumpy old man and I was not going to work there any more—goodbye! After this event my dad thought I needed a holiday so took me overseas. My mother was not able to travel as she suffered badly from asthma. Dad and I did quite a few trips together as my siblings were already married and out of the house. Claude Foden Thompson, known to all as Tommy, came into my life when I was still at school. We were a large crowd who used to go down to St James where we had two bathing huts. We caught the train—in those days we didn't have any worries. We went to dances together which were held in private houses. There was a very well-known lady who used to go around playing the piano for the dances. I met Tommy at Travato. It was the interval and the pianist had gone in to have her tea and biscuits. I was with a group of girls. Tommy came in and sat down at the piano and played what he April 2014 Eight O’Clock News
wanted to play and all the Bishops boys were singing away. I looked up and said, Oh, those snobbish Bishops boys, very stuck up. Unbeknown to me someone told Tommy that I had called him stuck up. After supper he came and asked me for a dance. In those days you had a card and I said, No, my card is full. So, the next day he telephoned me and said that he would like to take me to coffee. What on earth for?, I replied. He said that he felt he had a right to defend himself. I agreed—and we went out for coffee and then went out for lots more coffee! When Tommy and I got married he was looking after a big English paint and decorating firm. It must have been a few years that we courted and subsequently got engaged. During that time I went off on holiday with a friend and Tommy sent me a telegram saying that if I wanted to marry him I had better come home right away as he had joined up. This was in 1940 and Jean and I rushed home and, in one week, I had organised our wedding. We were married in St John's (in fact I was baptised, confirmed and married there—all by the same minister). We had five days’ honeymoon before he had to go to war. He only got as far as Abyssinia before he was called back to Pretoria. He was so unhappy; he hated it there. I was at home in Wynberg. He spotted an advertisement in the newspaper—the Navy was looking for a Pay Bob. He got the job and worked in the Cape Town docks. He was much happier there. We had a very happy marriage and had two children; Carol was our first and Roger followed. They both attended Christ Church Sunday school. Faith seemed more of a routine for me as I was growing up but became more meaningful when I had children. When my parents were alive families had their own pews and your father’s name was on it. You paid a monthly or yearly fee. Our pew was No 5, in the middle. Now I attend the 8 am service and also the Wednesday morning service which is so friendly. It's an outing—Come on Wednesday—is what I say! I enjoy mending and sewing on buttons, watching Who wants to be a Millionaire, Deal or no Deal. I read the newspaper and Noseweek. I love flowers. (I had the utmost pleasure chatting to Lorna about her past. I first got to know her about 12 years ago when we moved to Cape Town and I joined a Bible Study group which she hosted. I have particularly admired the way that Lorna has handled the changes in Christ Church since she first started worshipping here. She is an extraordinary woman with the most delightful sense of humour—it is very easy to make her laugh!) - Anna Maydon (Lorna is also a mean Bridge player. She is currently at home recovering from a hip operation.)
3
The Journey to Easter Hercules, our teenage Husky—I don’t think he will ever become adult—has chosen Archaeology as a career. He wants to know more about Mole civilisation—where they come from and where they go, there being a few species still to be found today. In our garden. Regrettably. His sense of hearing and smell are acute and he prefers to work at night, undisturbed by my bellowing at him to “Stop”! The daylight reveals the fruits of his labours: long trenches with the soil scattered far and wide, everything in his path uprooted and lying exhausted along the way. And guess who his right hand assistant is who has to make good the damage he has done? Moi, of course! He has an inexhaustible supply of energy—and mine is wearing out ! Where are we on our journey to Good Friday and Easter? Phillip Keller in his book, What is the Father Like?, writes as if it is God speaking—an unusual, but lovely book—Because I have suffered, I am all mercy. I am kind, I am grace, to help you overcome. (I like that bit)
Well done, Sam ! Professor Sam Moore, head of the Division of Paediatric Surgery in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, was awarded the prestigious Denis Browne Gold Medal for 2014 by the British Association of Paediatric Surgeons. The medal is awarded for "an outstanding contribution to paediatric surgery," wrote Rick Turner, President of the British Association of Paediatric Surgeons in a congratulatory letter to Prof Moore. "This is a real feather in the cap for the Department of Surgical Sciences and the Division of Paediatric Surgery, as well as the Faculty in
HAPPY SPECIAL BIRTHDAYS To
Stewart Wood (14/4) Denny Bunn (20/4) A community is not simply a group of people who live together and love each other. It is a place of resurrection. - Jean Vannier April 2014 Eight O’Clock News
Mercy is My makeup, not a thin cosmetic application, but in the essence of My character. It is My mercy that preserves the planet. (I had never considered that!) It is My mercy that comes to you—amid all your despair—to bring you love, light, and my very life. The plain reminder of My mercy is woven into My creation, so you will see it clearly every day... (end of quote). God’s mercy. How could we ever do without it, together with His grace, and especially His love? Do we thank Him enough, often enough? God did suffer so very, very much in allowing His Son, Jesus, to die for us that we might be united to Him. I can’t imagine the Father’s anguish and pain. How can I assure Him of my love? Only by living my life for Him and choosing to carry out His commands in loyal devotion, confident that He can care for me completely. (Phillip Keller) Go well on your journey to the Cross, and know that God loves you because He says He has written your name on the palm of His hand. - Wendy Gunn
terms of international recognition," said Prof Moore. In the 61 years of the association's history, Moore is only the third South African (living in SA) to be awarded this medal. The two previous awardees were Profs Jannie Louw and Alastair Millar. "It's a tremendous honour for a South African paediatric surgeon to be listed among the eminent awardees," said Prof Moore. The proposal and support for his nomination came from David Drake and Ed Kiely from Great Ormond Street in London "which in itself a great honour". "I am totally overcome and feel quite weak in the knees about it," said Prof Moore. The medal will awarded at a special ceremony at the British Association of Paediatric Surgeons’ annual congress to be held in Edinburgh this July. - Sent in by Ann Moore
Rose and Ken Clack in their garden on Christmas Day 2013.
4
Jeanette Harris (Part 2) And then came Cape Town! Jim pastored a small Baptist church in Muizenberg. There were no church buildings, we met in the local school hall, lived in a rented house and had to adjust to a very different way of life. Surfboards, wetsuits, howling winds, casual clothes, beach picnics. A small church means fewer people to do things so I was kept very busy. Sometimes we had a weekend off, and would go and worship at Christ Church, Kenilworth(!) The first woman preacher we ever heard was Claire Nye. We went to a combined Parish worship evening at Emmanuel. I went to drop off a load of kitchen goods at a Baptist old age home and scraped my car door against a pole, a pole that I was later to see every time I came out of our driveway because the home is opposite Emmanuel Church. I drove an English friend to visit a couple who had been at Bible College with her brother in London—Mike and Lyn Keggie. I drove up that driveway to the house that was later to be home for 18 years. I had no idea then how familiar all this would become. Jim’s ideas had changed in a number of areas, both in how he understood church and his perception of the political situation in South Africa. He felt he no longer fitted into the Baptist church. He went to see John Freeth, Parish Team Rector, and that was the beginning of our move to Anglicanism and Emmanuel Church. We will always be grateful to John for all he did to pave the way. I recall Jilly coming to visit me while we were still Baptists, just to introduce herself and tell me about the Parish. In 1992 I was diagnosed with depression and ended up in therapy. There was turmoil within, and change all around me. Depression was an awful experience, yet one that taught me so much I could never have learned otherwise. After all sorts of discussions with various Anglican leaders, and much soul-searching, the way became clear. In April 1993 we moved into Emmanuel House and started learning the Anglican way of doing things. Jim had to be re-ordained, after first becoming a deacon. In 1994 he was ordained in the Cathedral by Desmond Tutu, along with Claire Nye Hunter whom we’d heard preach so many years before. That year South Africa became a democracy. How interesting to be where we were at that particular time, to see at close quarters the excitement of the people around us who were voting for the first time. We enjoyed becoming part of the wider parish and also of the diocese. So many of our pre-conceived ideas were shaken. So many new people entered our lives and we grew to love them. I soon learned never to ask an Emmanuel person if the curry at an event was hot or mild—someone who has eaten curry from the cradle has a very different perception of the heat thereof! I also realised that one of the previous ministers had been Brian Hill, whom I’d met when he worked for Youth for Christ in Durban many years before. Being Anglican isn’t better than being Baptist, it’s just different, and we fit better where we are now. We are grateful for the years we had as Baptists and all we learned April 2014 Eight O’Clock News
during that time. Emmanuel House was a lovely place to live. While we were there we experienced so many special life events. Our sons matriculated, Jim graduated with his PhD, SA became a democracy, Iain got his degree then spent a year in Angola and another in Brazil. David went to London for five years. Iain and Linda got married, and our first grandchild, Rahul, was born. We had many visitors and had lovely Christmas celebrations in the garden. Becoming part of the editorial board for Parish Profile was a great experience. I met some wonderful people over the years and found the discussions so interesting. Who can forget those elegant pre-meeting teas in Ascencia Tebbutt’s lovely home? In 1995 Ascencia, as editor, asked me to visit Cornerstone Christian College (previously CEBI) which had just moved to new premises in Plumstead. I was to write an article on what it could mean to have this resource in the middle of the parish. Ascencia’s request inadvertently led me into a whole new career in my late 40s because that day I was asked if I would consider standing in for the librarian while she was overseas for a year. After much thought I agreed, and have been involved at the college ever since, firstly part-time, and eventually full-time when the previous librarian left. What a learning curve for someone who had no formal training in the job! I love what I do. Thanks, Ascencia, I believe God used you in a way that you weren’t even aware of at the time. I’ve seen so many students graduate and continue to see some of them because a good number are serving in churches in our parish and the wider diocese. Certain parish leaders have served on the college board, or been lecturers, and we’ve had many students from the parish. Three of the current associate rectors in the parish studied at CEBI/ Cornerstone—Sam Beukes, Marcus Slingers, and Ben Aldous. Jim had, for some time, been the part-time Dean of Studies for the Diocese of Cape Town. In 2010 that became a fulltime post and we left the Emmanuel family. Life is different. We worship in a church where Jim isn’t the minister—and I get to sit next to my husband in church for the first time in years! We no longer live on church property but in our own home that we were in an amazing way able to purchase. And now Christ Church is our spiritual home. We have so enjoyed becoming part of the congregation here, and getting to know many new people. Life has had many ups and downs, we have lived through some really difficult church situations, yet God has been in them with us, and grown us through them. Our sons both live in Cape Town, so we see them often. Life is good. We look forward to what God still has in store for us. - Jeanette Harris [With Sue Graham, long-time friend visiting from Durban)
5
Rooted in Love
Rooted in Love—the Image
St Ignatius of Loyola (born 1491) was a Spanish
In early 2012, I was giving spiritual
knight who was seriously wounded in battle in 1521. During his long convalescence he had lots of time to think and he emerged a changed man. He took the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, founded the Jesuit Society and wrote the Spiritual Exercises (which Mags Blackie mentions frequently in her book), all to the satisfaction of the Pope. His spirituality focuses on the will of God and on spiritual direction. Mags provides a book rich in wisdom and decisionmaking based on Ignatian Spirituality. On a more personal note—I began to read this book while in a period of deep depression and when so afflicted, am aware of a primordial God: a presence, but fearsome and terrible, so powerful that it flung the stars into being, somehow difficult to imagine as a God of grace. Soon I realised that reading this book was going to be a spiritual journey and, eager to find a loving God, I settled down for the ride. At the end of every chapter there are helpful questions and an encouragement to sit still and pray. The author asks: what are our goals, dreams, desires? Slowly the God of grace was coming back to me. She introduces the concept of eudemonic desire defining it as: “a desire that is motivated primarily by seeking meaning and purpose” and goes on to say that our deepest desire is in line with God’s deepest desire too. I have a deep love and reverence for books. My voluntary work in the Resource Centre allows me to pursue this love. I am happy surrounded by books. There is meaning and purpose in my work. I can reach out to people, matching books to their needs. Surely this is a grace, the fulfilling of a eudemonic desire? Slowly and reflectively I read through the book, wrestling with discernment, grace, decision-making, tough times and the future, as I looked at God and He looked at me. After reading it I feel refreshed and optimistic, ready to try new ideas and fulfil old dreams, while testing to see if they are in accordance with God’s will. I am also fascinated by the Spiritual Exercises and the possibility of pursuing them under direction. I warmly recommend this book to anyone really, especially those interested in being more aware of God in daily life.
direction to a person who had been through a very difficult period but had worked through their pain, confusion and internal chaos. There was a sense of Spring in the conversation, of life beginning to emerge from an emotional wintertime, and an image began to develop in my mind—of a small shrub held in the soil; held in the hands of God. The shrub symbolised the person’s life and the soil their life experience. The soil was composted with processed life experience. The detritus of pain, confusion and chaos had been broken down into something which now nourished the plant. What struck me most forcibly about the image was that the more that life experience is processed, grappled with and understood, the richer the soil becomes—and the greater the strength of the shrub, the more beautiful its flowers and the more plentiful its fruit. The beauty and the plenty do not arise from the shrub doing anything, but come simply from its being. - Mags Blackie Extract used with permission. Copies available from Judy Everingham, 021-6860077
- Theresa Keay
Romans 8:28 1) And we know that all things work together for good to those that love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. (ASV) 2) God knows us better than we know ourselves... that’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good. (The Message) April 2014 Eight O’Clock News
Vêr in die ou Kalahari : Kgalagadi L>R: David & Yve Leslie, Di Hoffa, Willie Hare, Carol Parker, Beth Mackrill, Jean Idersohn, Ev Els and Margie Hare (at Auchterlonie)
6
The Building Stones of CCK
The Ventriloquist and the Blonde
The building stones of Christ Church, Kenilworth consist of
A young ventriloquist is touring Sweden and, one night he's
two rock types. The older of the two is the igneous rock, Granite, probably from Paarl Mountain, as its crystals are of a similar size, whereas the granite in the Cape Peninsula is porphyritic with cm-long crystals of white potassium feldspar. Granite, about 540 million years old, is used as the base for the columns in the nave and the most interesting column is on the southern (Muizenberg) side of the church, at the back. There one finds a dark gray xenolith (Greek for "stranger rock") of a metamorphic rock called hornfels (fels being the German word for rock). It is derived from the older Malmesbury Group that underlies the Swartland and the Boland, as well as Table Bay and the coastal plain from the CBD northwards to Blouberg, Koeberg and the Tygerberg, which forms the country rock, 560 million years old for the younger, intrusive granite. The predominant building stone for the church is a pebbly sandstone, a sedimentary rock from the cliff-forming Peninsula Formation of the Table Mountain Group. The sandstones are best seen along the southern side of the church beside Summerley Road and round the corner in Selwyn Road, where the original holes used by the stonemasons to split the blocks can be seen. Well-rounded pebbles of white vein quartz are seen in some of the blocks, deposited by fast-flowing rivers, flowing from north to south about 500 million years ago. The avalanche faces of underwater sand-dunes are preserved in crossbedding at an angle of about thirty degrees to the base and top of an individual bed. The fresh, unweathered rock is generally white in colour, but orange-brown rings from the effects of chemical weathering, groundwater working into blocks from vertical joints and horizontal bedding planes, colour the rock in Liesegang rings. So, even if each one of the building stones of our church is not actually from the Cape Peninsula, they are all from the bedrock of our province. Our stained-glass windows are a privilege to see, week by week, although it took an Italian colleague to explain that Assisi is pronounced Assizi. Perhaps we could have stainedglass windows above the nave in the medium future?
doing a show in a small fishing town. With his dummy on his knee, he starts going through his usual dumb blonde jokes. Suddenly, a blonde woman in the fourth row stands on her chair and starts shouting, "I've heard enough of your stupid blonde jokes. What makes you think you can stereotype Swedish blonde women that way? What does the colour of a woman's hair have to do with her worth as a human being? It’s men like you who keep women like me from being respected at work and in the community, and from reaching our full potential as people. It is people like you who make others think that all blondes are dumb! You and your kind continue to perpetuate discrimination against not only blondes, but women in general… pathetically all in the name of humour!" The embarrassed ventriloquist begins to apologize, and the blonde yells: “You stay out of this! I'm talking to that little man on your lap!"
- John Rogers April 2014 Eight O’Clock News
- Origin unknown, the sender remains anonymous
I do have a head somewhere… Photograph : David Leslie
Ex Dictionary Definitions ADULT: A person who has stopped growing at both ends and is now growing in the middle. WRINKLES: Something other people have, similar to my character lines. TOOTHACHE: The pain that drives you to extraction. TOMORROW: One of the greatest labour-saving devices of today. - Origin unknown, sent in by John & Jan D’Arcy Evans
7
8 am Breakfast 2
3
1
4
6 7
5 9
10
8
11
12
1 Patrick & Jean Swan 2 Ike Agu 3 Liz Engel 4 Ali Bourne 5 Anthea & John Webb 6 Gwendy v Dyk & Doreen vd Merwe 7 Jenny McMaster & Viv Saycell 8 Gill & Henry Stubbings 9 Belle & Johnny Divaris 10 Visitors: Anne & Roger 11 Liz Wanliss & Margaret Clark 12 Jane Manser, Assistant priest at St Thomas’ Church, Durban
The Life of the Trinity... Is an unceasing offering and receiving of self-giving love. The Father holds the Son in His heart, and the Son does the same with the Father. ‘The Father is in Me and I am in the Father’, Jesus says, and the Spirit holds and is held as well. They offer themselves to one another in ceaseless, joy-filled, mutually submissive, generous, creative, self-giving love—and have been doing this from before the beginning of time. - Extract from J Ortberg, Everybody’s Normal till you get to know them.
Jesus the Word In Genesis, God is presented as speaking creation into existence. God speaks the word and it happens—heaven, earth, ocean and stream— everything, seen and unseen, called into being by God’s spoken word. In deliberate parallel, John’s Gospel presents God as speaking salvation into existence. This time God’s word takes on human form and enters history in the person of Jesus. Jesus speaks the word and it happens: forgiveness and judgement, healing and illumination, mercy and grace, joy and love, freedom and resurrection. Everything broken April 2014 Eight O’Clock News
and fallen, sinful and diseased, called into salvation by God’s spoken word, Jesus is the Word of God. Keeping company with these words, we begin to realize that our words are more important than we ever supposed. Saying, I believe, marks the difference between life and death. Our words accrue dignity and gravity in conversations with Jesus. For Jesus doesn’t impose salvation as a solution: He narrates salvation into being through leisurely conversation, intimate personal relationships, compassionate responses, passionate prayer, and—putting it all together—a sacrificial death. We don’t casually walk away from words like that. -Extract from Introduction to John, The Message, E Peterson
8
The Pastor’s Cat Believing in the power of prayer takes all sorts of shapes! Dwight Nelson recently told a true story about the pastor of his church. He had a kitten that climbed up a tree in his backyard and then was afraid to come down. The pastor coaxed, offered warm milk, etc. The kitty would not come down. The tree was not sturdy enough to climb, so the pastor decided that if he tied a rope to his car and pulled it until the tree bent down, he could then reach up and get the kitten. That's what he did, all the while checking his progress in the car. He then figured if he went just a little bit further, the tree would be bent sufficiently for him to reach the kitten. But as he moved the car a little further forward, the rope broke. The tree went boing' and the kitten instantly sailed through the air—out of sight. The pastor felt terrible. He walked all over the neighborhood asking people if they'd seen a little kitten. No. Nobody had seen a stray kitten. So he prayed, 'Lord, I just commit this kitten to your keeping,' and went on about his business. A few days later he was at the grocery store, and met one of his church members. He happened to look into her shopping cart and was amazed to see cat food. This woman was a cat hater and everyone knew it, so he asked her, ‘Why are you buying cat food when you hate cats so much?' She replied, 'You won't believe this,' and then told him how her little girl had been begging her for a cat, but she kept refusing. Then a few days before, the child had begged again, so the Mom finally told her little girl, 'Well, if God gives you a cat, I'll let you keep it.' She told the pastor, 'I watched my child go out in the yard, get on her knees and ask God for a cat. And really, Pastor, you won't believe this, but I saw it with my own eyes. A kitten suddenly came flying out of the blue sky, with its paws outspread, and landed right in front of her.' Never underestimate the Power of God and His unique sense of humour. - Origin unknown, sent in by Peter Wilkinson
Life Within the Trinity Frederick Bruner, in a wonderful essay on the Trinity (Holy Spirit, Shy Member of the Trinity), begins with the person of the Holy Spirit: One of the most surprising discoveries in my own study of the doctrine and experience of the Spirit in the NT is what I can only call the shyness of the Spirit… What I mean here is... the shyness of deference, the shyness of a concentrated attention on another; it is not the shyness (which we often experience) of self-centredness; but the shyness of the other-centredness. It is… the shyness of love. Bruner points out the ministry of the Spirit in the Johannine passages which is constantly to draw attention not to Himself but to the Son. The Spirit comes in the Son’s name, bears witness to the Son, and glorifies the Son. When we look at the Son… we see that He didn’t walk around saying, I’m the greatest! Rather, He said, If I glorify Myself, My glory means nothing. He said He came not to be served but to serve. He submitted to the Spirit, who, according to Mark, drove Him into the wilderness. He told the Father during His climactic struggle, Not My will, but Yours be done. Jesus too, has this shyness. Then there is the Father. Twice in the Synoptic Gospels we hear the voice of the Father: once at Jesus’ baptism and again at the Transfiguration… This is My priceless Son; I am deeply pleased with Him. Listen to Him. … His voice does not say, Listen to me too… don’t forget that I’m here too… This is because God the Father is shy too… Each member of the Trinity points faithfully and selflessly to the other in a gracious circle. God exists as Father, Son and Spirit in a community of greater humility, servanthood, mutual submission and delight that you and I can only imagine. Dallas Willard: The Trinity is a selfsufficing community of unspeakable magnificent personal beings of boundless love, knowledge and power. And life within the Trinity is the pattern for our lives. What is most amazing is that God invites us into the Fellowship of the Trinity. My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in Me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as You are in Me and I am in You. May they also be in Us so that the world may believe that You have sent Me (John 17:20-21). When Jesus prays for us to be invited into the divine circle, it is not a casual request. There is an enormous price to be paid for our admission… - Extracts from John Ortberg: Everybody’s Normal till you get to know them.
Editorial Team Tel.
Cheetah in the Kgalagadi April 2014 Eight O’Clock News
e-mail**
Ev Els
021 696 0336 emichael@iafrica.com
Cheryl Anderson
083 272 1530 canderson@beckman.com