Finger pointing

The news is all about finger-pointing. Yesterday's Sydney Morning Herald reports, "A distraught flight attendant disrupted an American Airlines flight with warnings that it was going to crash, references to the September 11, 2001 attacks and a rant on the carrier's bankruptcy reorganisation.
Two flight attendants were injured in the incident on Friday, which began as the Chicago-bound flight was about to take off from Dallas, Texas.
Passengers ended up restraining the disruptive attendant until airport police arrived.

"We were pretty frightened," said passenger Greg Lozano of Elmhurst, Illinois. "I was glad we weren't in the air. That was the primary thing I was thinking."
The flight attendant continued to scream as she was handcuffed and removed from the plane, passengers said.
The New York Times and FoxNews point to the price of petrol at the bowser as the reason President Barack Obama's approval rating is dropping again.  Read that below...
http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/12/approval-ratings-gas-prices-and-statistical-noise/

It's easy to blame people or things or others or situations or anything but yourself. Consider what happened on the weekend in Afghanistan.   An American soldier opened fire Sunday on villagers near his base in southern Afghanistan and killed 16 civilians, said Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who called it an “assassination” and furiously demanded an explanation from Washington. Nine children and three women were among the dead.

The killing spree deepened a crisis between U.S. forces and their Afghan hosts over Americans burning Muslim holy books on a base in Afghanistan last month. The Quran burnings sparked weeks of violent protests and attacks that left some 30 dead. Six U.S. service members have been killed by their Afghan colleagues since the burnings came to light, and the violence had just started to calm down.

“This is an assassination, an intentional killing of innocent civilians and cannot be forgiven,” Karzai said in a statement. He said he has repeatedly demanded the U.S. stop killing Afghan civilians. The Bible says in Isaiah chapter 58.9-10

“Then you will call, and the LORD will answer;
    You will cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’
    If you remove the yoke from your midst,
    [remove] The pointing of the finger and speaking wickedness,
And if you give yourself to the hungry
    And satisfy the desire of the afflicted,
    Then your light will rise in darkness
    And your gloom will become like midday."

Finger pointing, the blame game, that's the easy part of life. 

Being accused falsely, taking it on the chin, being like Y'shua who bore the brunt of punishment for sins which he had not committed. That's the hard part of life. And the redemptive one. And the only one worthy of this column. And of your emulation.

Full moon...a monthly moment (Fullness Part I)

Moon over Motel, a photo by bobmendo on Flickr.

Each month, if the clouds allow, I see the moon come to fulness. And this month was one of those months. It also was good to see, as Purim, the Jewish holiday, was marked on the full moon. In fact, we know when to celebrate many Jewish holidays on time because of the moon.

Of course, the moon is always the same shape and size, but when we say 'full moon', we have in mind the reflection of the sun in the surface of one side of the sphere of the moon. The three-dimensional moon becomes full in 2-D, and that 50 hours is the time of the month when the moon is full.

Fulness is a great concept to ponder. Yesterday I thought of the old term pity. And the more modern rendering of pitiful. We use the term in modern days to define someone who is an 'end of his rope' kind of guy. Someone on whom we should show pity. Someone who has messed up his life and brings nothing to the table.

But the Bible says God is pitiful. In the Newer Testament, the apostle James says, ( 5.11) "Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy." Of course that's King James Version, and the modern versions change that word to the more vernacular: "full of compassion",

The NIV dictionary records, "PITY A tender, considerate feeling for others, ranging from judicial clemency (Deut 7:16) through kindness (Job 6:14; Prov 19:17; 28:8) and mercy (Matt 18:33) to compassion (Lam 4:10). Pity may be mere concern for a thing (Jonah 4:10) or for a thing deeply desired (Ezek 24:21). It may also be the concern of God for his holy name (36:21). Pity for one’s children is of the essence of fatherhood, human or divine (Ps 103:13 KJV), inherent in the redemptive activity of God (72:13).

In the NT the Greek word esplangnizo is used to express pity (Luke 10:33). Three Greek words occur once each: eleeo, “have mercy” (Matt 18:33); eusplangchnos, “sympathetic” (1 Peter 3:8); polysplangchnos, “full of compassion” (James 5:11 KJV), referring to God.

In fact, the Peter reference cited here in toto:
1Pet. 3.8 Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous: tells us we are to be pitiful.

Of course, this is to emulate God Himself. This is to be the old rendering of pity, and not the modern pitiful.

This is only one of the fulnesses about which I've been thinking lately. Maybe I'll write more about that in the days ahead.

For now, let the full moon not only tell you about calendar realities, but also about the kindness of the Almighty. Even to you and me, who don't deserve His kindness and pity. And let's take His mercy on board.

And let's be grateful.

Leftovers

When WAS the party?, a photo by bobmendo on Flickr.

I love going into my refrigerator and finding something from yesterday's dinner. What makes me so happy? Probably the feeling is about the pleasure of eating and preserving both the food and the memory. And I like the idea of saving money by (re)using leftovers.

If we were in a court of law, the word 'leftover' might have to do with defendants who are not yet pronounced guilty, but remain in holding cells. If we were in high finance, we might be speaking about a balance of funds. Antagonists might consider this 'too much of a good thing.'

But I'm not speaking about overrun or abundance. I'm thinking about things that remain. What is left after a thing is over.

When I went for a walk with my golf clubs at Long Reef Golf Club in Collaroy, I saw this cluster of balloons trapped by the wind against this bush. And I thought to myself about the party from which these balloons came. Or the balloons themselves and the energy someone expended to fill them.

So many thoughts.
And a bit of pleasure that my golf ball was not trapped by the same bush.

But about the party... when was it? How far away was it? What did it take for the people to organize and advertise and make it nice for the 1) ballet student at Estedford or 2)the graduate of the university or 3) the 6-year-old son of a carpenter.

All I know is that the balloons which marked the space flew into the bushes. Or maybe I'm even wrong about that one. Maybe they had the party in the bushes. See, how easy it is to guess and to be wrong.

But I'm considering the idea of leftovers. What remains after a thing. And here was what some would consider leftover rubbish, a blight on the beauty of the grounds of the golf course. What else is left after the party? Bills yet to pay. Rubbish (at the house) to clean up. Tired kids to put down for the night.

Evidence is an ironic reality. We see the balloons, and we think festive. What else it represents is what's leftover in our minds from similar events or visuals from our past. Those parties to which we were not invited in school. Those weddings we didn't attend. New Years Eve when I stayed home. You get it.

What's leftover in your mind if I share some words like synagogue, Purim, Pesach, Law, commandments, righteous? Do you feel a need to excuse yourself? Do you get sweaty palms?

God is in the business of loving you and making you welcome in His life. That's an event you don't have to regret missing. Balloons or not, He invites you. Look up, you just might see His hand reaching out to pour out His kindness on you.

Flying towards the sun

67/366 Icarus, a photo by bobmendo on Flickr.

Icarus is the son of the master craftsman Daedalus. The main story told about Icarus is his attempt to escape from Crete by means of wings that his father constructed from feathers and wax. He ignored instructions not to fly too close to the sun, and the melting wax caused him to fall into the sea where he drowned.

The myth shares thematic similarities with that of Phaëton — both are usually taken as tragic examples of hubris or failed ambition — and is often depicted in art.

I was reminded of the story as I watched the gulls, the crows, and plovers, and so many birds today soaring or walking near me. I saw airplanes and biplanes and a guy was flying his radio-controlled plane all near me in Collaroy.

In modern times, the Hellenic Air Force Academy is named after Icarus, who is seen as the mythical pioneer in Greece's attempt to conquer the skies.

But the warnings of Icarus' father remain.
And God's warnings to us remain.

Pride goes before a fall.

Humble yourself in the eyes of the Lord and He will lift you up.

A world premiere performance

A world premiere performance, a photo by bobmendo on Flickr.

Ann Carr-Boyd wrote the music and the other three performed it. Simple. But it was anything but easy!

Stretzilia is the name of the trio, with Eleanor on cello, Victoria on violin, and Evgeny on piano. They were marvelous and the work they put in to learn and coordinate themselves on Ms Carr-Boyd's work was obvious.

I'm glad I attended the concert held at The Independent Theatre in North Sydney last night. If you can hear them, it's well worth the expense. Check their website at http://www.strelitzia.net.au/

Blur of insignificance

61/366 Blur of insignificance, a photo by bobmendo on Flickr.

The car is captured, the scenery a blur as I'm learning new techniques on my camera to do so. I wonder if this driver is a significant person. To me he's a random man. But to his family he's a son or father or brother. To his employees, he's the boss. To his lawyer, he's an endless supply of cash... we are all connected in one way or another with others. But in the world as we know it, we are a blur to others, mere scenery that goes by.

God alone cares for all people on the planet, one by one. We read in the Newer Testament:
Luke 12.7 “Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear; you are of more value than many sparrows." Here Y'shua, the Jewish messiah, is saying you as an individual are significant and relevant and matter to the Almighty.

Here is the context: Luke 12.6-7 “Are not five sparrows sold for two cents? And yet not one of them is forgotten before God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear; you are of more value than many sparrows."

You matter. Your concerns matter to the Almighty. To others, you might blend into 'them', but to God, you are 'you' a person with whom He wants to deal and to share and to extend His love.

Won't you let Him love you today? Or is God a blur in your life?
To everyone else, you might be a blur of 'none of the above' or such, but to God, you matter.

Which car wins?

Race?, a photo by bobmendo on Flickr.

Unlike this photo where cars on opposite sides of the road are crossing the finish line at about the same time, I have a question. Actually here's a mathematical or geometric test.

Two cars leave Sydney at the exact same moment. One travelling south; the other travelling north. They are the exact same model and make. They travel the same speed, stopping the same length of time at each rest stop and overnight.

They travel the country in opposite directions, of course, and return to the same spot. They are scheduled to arrive 20 days later.

One car arrives significantly earlier than the other. Which one and why?