Australian Thoughts at the Weekend. 2nd and 3rd January, 2009.

Australian Thoughts at the Weekend. 2nd and 3rd January, 2009.

New Year in Australia is much the same as the rest of the world. It is a time of celebrations and parties to see the New Year arrive. Well, it is much the same except that here Down Under it is the height of summer. So people gather outdoors on lovely warm nights to celebrate. The biggest gathering of people is in Sydney where people gather at every vantage point to watch the fireworks on and around the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

On the Gold Coast where I live there are fireworks on Surfers Paradise Beach. It is thought that more than 50,000 people gathered to watch the fireworks with the display based on Q1 one of the world’s tallest residential buildings with 80 residential floors (http://www.q1.com.au/home56.html). Other people will gather at other beaches where smaller displays will be held and of course they will see the Surfers Paradise ones in the distance. I imagine this all went to plan on a lovely clear warm night as I was sound asleep by then. My son, my wife and I had celebrated earlier at a Chinese restaurant.

This morning is a beautiful sunny morning. It is only 8am as I write but I know that already hundreds of people will have walked along the beaches, on their morning ritual walk. Others will be on surf boards and quite a few will already be swimming and body surfing. All types of water craft will be being used on the still water and some larger boats will be pushing out through the shore swell to seek fish on the reefs in the deeper water offshore.

What will the year 2010 bring? For a start it brings discussion on how we will say it. Will it be two thousand and ten or twenty-ten? I have heard a number of people say that it is an aberration to say “thousand” as we have in the past ten years. How did we pronounce 175, 1865, 1908 (19-0-8) and 1930?

Sadly, we know it will be a year when many will suffer great need. That’s a flow on from 2009 and our experience tells us natural and other disasters will continue to occur. We know too, that some will suffer personal difficulties and loss.

I heard a Bishop asked after the Boxing Day Asian Tsunami of 2004, where was God in all this? The Bishop answered “I can not answer that as I do not know. But I do know God is there motivating many of the thousands who are giving and will give a helping hand to those who suffer from this disaster. He went on to talk about the way the Church has organized to help in such times and mentioned many individual Christians work through non-church agencies.

It is heartwarming to know that that need whether from war or disaster or person and family suffering will be responded to by people who care. Especially those who care for Christ’s sake and in his name.

One of my duties as an employee of Red Cross back in the 1990s was to address groups and put the international needs of our organization. In many groups, a person would stand and say “don’t you think charity begins at home?” I would always agree, which brought a smile to my questioners face. I would say yes, there are those in our country who have needs. We must respond to that. So that’s where charity begins. However, it only begins there it doesn’t stay there. I would then go on to say that there is another way to look at “Charity begins at home”. It could mean that we are taught to be charitable and generous people at home as children. Generous children will become warm hearted adults who reach out to meet need wherever it is found. I would say I am here today to thank people who learnt charity at home, and show them the needs in our world today.

Many have been guided by St Paul’s writings in working out their Christian faith. I am reminded of his words on generosity as part of the Christian response in Romans Chapter 12 (particularly verse 8):

If it is encouraging, let him encourage;
If it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously;
If it is leadership, let him govern diligently;
If it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.
(New International Version )

Let us all search our hearts and be ready to do God’s will in this great year of 2010.

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Romans 12 (The Message)
1-2 So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.
3I'm speaking to you out of deep gratitude for all that God has given me, and especially as I have responsibilities in relation to you. Living then, as every one of you does, in pure grace, it's important that you not misinterpret yourselves as people who are bringing this goodness to God. No, God brings it all to you. The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him.
4-6In this way we are like the various parts of a human body. Each part gets its meaning from the body as a whole, not the other way around. The body we're talking about is Christ's body of chosen people. Each of us finds our meaning and function as a part of his body. But as a chopped-off finger or cut-off toe we wouldn't amount to much, would we? So since we find ourselves fashioned into all these excellently formed and marvelously functioning parts in Christ's body, let's just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren't.
6-8If you preach, just preach God's Message, nothing else; if you help, just help, don't take over; if you teach, stick to your teaching; if you give encouraging guidance, be careful that you don't get bossy; if you're put in charge, don't manipulate; if you're called to give aid to people in distress, keep your eyes open and be quick to respond; if you work with the disadvantaged, don't let yourself get irritated with them or depressed by them. Keep a smile on your face.
9-10Love from the center of who you are; don't fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle.
11-13Don't burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. Don't quit in hard times; pray all the harder. Help needy Christians; be inventive in hospitality.
14-16Bless your enemies; no cursing under your breath. Laugh with your happy friends when they're happy; share tears when they're down. Get along with each other; don't be stuck-up. Make friends with nobodies; don't be the great somebody.
17-19Don't hit back; discover beauty in everyone. If you've got it in you, get along with everybody. Don't insist on getting even; that's not for you to do. "I'll do the judging," says God. "I'll take care of it."
20-21Our Scriptures tell us that if you see your enemy hungry, go buy that person lunch, or if he's thirsty, get him a drink. Your generosity will surprise him with goodness. Don't let evil get the best of you; get the best of evil by doing good.
[Listen: The suggested tunes of St Michael or Silchester could not be located on the internet . However, Diademata gives a good and confident feel to this song (two verses to once through tune):

http://www.salvoaudio.com/audio/music/mus_973.mp3 ]

My times are in thy hand,
My God, I wish them there;
My life, my friends, my soul I leave
Entirely to thy care.

My times are in thy hand,
Whatever they may be,
Pleasing or painful, dark or bright,
As best may seem to thee.

My times are in thy hand,
Why should I doubt or fear?
A Father's hand will never cause
His child a needless care.

My times are in thy hand,
Jesus, the crucified;
The hand my cruel sins had pierced
Is now my guard and guide.

My times are in thy hand,
I'll always trust in thee;
And after death at thy right hand
I shall forever be.
Author: William Freeman Lloyd (1791-1853)
The Salvation Army Song Book: Song Number: 917

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