Being in the moment

The other day I learnt for myself about living in the present moment. Or to be more precise I learnt about not living in the present moment, but in a way that taught me about living in the present moment! It reminded me of "The Power of Now", a book I read many years ago now, but which had a big impact on me. It said that the only time you can do anything is now - worrying about doing it in the future is just a waste of effort. Something that I have tried to adopt, but which I find hard. The other book on this page is one that I have been meaning to get round to reading, but have never quite managed!

Anyway, back to the story - we had just finished an informal Eucharist when the vicar invited us all back to hers for drinks (for future reference this is not a regular occurrence, so don't come to the next one expecting it!) saying that we would tidy up afterwards. This was unexpected at the time, but welcome. When the time came to leave I was so conscious of the things that I had been going to do that it was only when I was luxuriating in my bath that I remembered that we hadn't cleared up. This might seem trivial, but it struck me forcefully that it was the focus on what I was going to do, rather than what I was doing, that had caused me overlook the tidying up.

I now have an interesting follow up question - if we are living in the moment all the time - what happens to all those things that do require planning? I can see the attraction of living in the moment and not worrying about the future - but what about other people - suppose we have agreed to meet someone, and don't turn up? We could say that we have been living in the moment, but I don't think many would be impressed. How do we manage to hold the two in balance? Answers on a postcard...

What is the best present you have given or received?

Today we celebrated Epiphany and I preached based on a sermon I found on the web. It makes reference to the O Henry story "The Gift of the Magi" (whilst searching for a picture I found the following cartoon which amused me - if you are offended by rude language please do not click through to David Mamets Gift of the Magi). What struck me was how the three questions: what is the best present you have received, what is the best present you have given, and why? seemed to stir up great interest.

So what are the best presents you have given or received, and why?

Social Networking - Good or bad?

An article on the Guardian web site caught my eye today. In it Julia Neuberger questions the value of spending so much time on the web (of course the irony of blogging about this is not lost on me!) and suggests that we would be better off spending time with people face to face.

As a "good" Anglican I want to argue a place for both. Yes it would be better to spend time face to face, however, this is not as possible when friends are spread geographically and when they are living busy lives. Perhaps there is a nostalgia for a time when people didn't work such long hours, but I am not sure it existed. I made some comment about this to someone whose husband had been a solicitor in the 60s and he seemed to have worked longer hours than I was working at the time.

There is also the issue of how well you can get to know someone. For example my Bishop blogs, and because of that I feel that I know him better than I otherwise would. Arguing that it would be better to spend more time with him face to face is all very well, but with over 100 clergy in his care there would be much less time to do anything else.

Pi=3?

The other day I found myself writing a sermon and wanting to quote the story of the American state which legislated that Pi was 3 on the basis of II Chronicles 4:2, 5. It is a long story, but I was trying to demonstrate Foucault's power/knowledge albeit trivially (probably just digging myself in deeper here!). What I found was that it started as an internet spoof in 1998 (and there was I thinking I had heard of it years ago). However, what I did find was that a law was debated in Illinois which proposed at least 3 different values for Pi! The text of the law is here for real anoraks.

Talented Artist

What do you make of this image? How long do you think they have been painting? The full story can be found in the Guardian. The artist is 7 years old and has been painting for a couple of years. His pictures sell for upwards of £900. How wonderful to have found his talent so early in life.

Biblical Truth?

I am currently reading "A Generous Orthodoxy" and it contains a question about how we see the church reforming.

It suggests that we can reform the Method of communicating the Message and/or the Message itself. This gives four quadrants (as favoured in marketing presentations) to consider where we stand. I was surprised to find McLaren putting himself in the reformed Message and reformed Method quadrant (although less surprised by the reformed method).

This set me thinking about what I think! I had always thought that I was all for changing the method (which is a good job as I promised to preach the Gospel anew to this generation), but that I thought that the message was eternal. However, having been challenged by McLaren on this I can see that perhaps I too am in box 4. It all depends on what you think the eternal message is. For me it is the two great commandments:

He answered, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbour as yourself.’ Luke 10:27

but I can see McLaren's point that this hasn't always been the case. Of course, I might want to argue that it has always been God's message - but others would have a legitimate argument that this is not the case. If we look at how this has been worked out with regards to slavery and is being worked out with regard to women then if you take the view that the message is what is proclaimed then the message has changed and is changing, and will no doubt change again. After all Jesus said:

I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth John 16:12

If you want to explore more about this it is discussed at greater length in this book which McLaren describes as a simple book idea!

Maya Angelou

I get a daily email from Sojourners and today it had this great quote in it

I find it interesting that the meanest life, the poorest existence, is attributed to God's will, but as human beings become more affluent, as their living standard and style begin to ascend the material scale, God descends the scale of responsibility at commensurate speed.
- Maya Angelou
from her book, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings