Warragul Uniting Church, 210 Sutton Street
Warragul, Victoria, Australia

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

From Chris Cohen
Rev Chris Cohen is the minister at  Warragul Uniting Church

   The Parable of  The Twins   

Dear friends,

In the aftermath of Easter and in the style of the parable, which Jesus used effectively, I offer the following, for your reflection.

Once upon a time, twin boys were conceived in the same womb.  Weeks passed, and the twins developed.  As their awareness grew, they laughed for joy: Isn’t it great that we were conceived? Isn’t it great to be alive?”

Together, the twins explored their world.  When they found their mother’s cord that gave them life, they sang for joy:  “How great is our mother’s love, that she shares her own life with us!”

As weeks stretched into months, the twins noticed how much each was changing.  “What does it mean?” asked the one.  “It means that our stay in this world is drawing to an end,” said the other.  “But I don’t want to go,” said the other one.  “I want to stay here always.”  “We have no choice,” said the other.  But maybe there is life after birth!”  “But how can there be?” responded the one.  “We will shed our life cord, and how is life possible without it?  Besides, we have seen evidence that others were here before us, and none of them have returned to tell us that there is life after birth.  No, this is the end.”

And so the one fell into despair, saying, “If conception ends in birth, what is the purpose of life in the womb?  It’s meaningless!

Maybe there is no mother after all?”  But there has to be,” protested the other.  “How else did we get here?  How do we remain alive?”

“Have you ever seen our mother?” said the one. “Maybe she lives only in our minds. Maybe we made her up, because the idea made us feel good?’

And so the last days in the womb were filled with deep questioning and fear.  Finally, the moment of birth arrived.

When the twins had passed from their world, they opened their eyes and cried for joy.  For what they saw exceeded their fondest dreams.  

Chris

   Our Bushfire Responses   

Dear Friends,

As I write this we are in the immediate aftermath of the terrible fires that have devastated Victoria. For so many the loss of loved ones, homes, property and security of their communities has been traumatic.

I was contacted by the Victorian Council of Churches Disaster Plan office to co-ordinate a counselling team to be available to the fire victims. This was established in the West Gippsland Art Centre, made up of clergy and lay, some of whom were trained counsellors.

The primary task of this team has been to listen to people’s stories of the fire’s effect upon them and help them to express their feelings and be assured that these wide range of feelings is okay. We have established a team of UCA clergy that are visiting the Labertouche and Drouin West fire effected people on their properties.

The task of rebuilding properties will take time, energy, money and continued goodwill. The rebuilding of lives will take goodwill, loving support and a willingness to travel alongside people as they claim some of their life back. Many of us have already been involved in various ways.

Questions will arise about what people need versus what people deserve.

Our response, in words and deeds should be motivated by compassion and grace.

Our prayers, our words and our actions will inform people about the nature of the God we worship and proclaim. This will be a long process, one that will extend well beyond the present focus and interest. I pray that we, the church and wider community, may have the endurance to see the task through to its completion.

Yours in Christ, Chris

   Consequences   

Dear Friends,

Would you hand over your life’s savings to a stranger so that they can give it to someone else to invest it for you?  We do!  Would you hand over the environment that sustains your life to people you don’t know, so they can use it as they see fit? We do!

The current “economic crisis” as it is called, and the long term environmental degradation that we are witnessing remind me of some basic human failings.  Let's call them greed and selfishness.

It seems to me that some financial managers have been playing fast and loose with other people’s money with the hope that they, the managers, might get rich.  These people usually have no personal “hurt money” in their schemes so that this incentive for responsibility is not present.  “Unfettered capitalism” runs loose and before long we all wear the consequences of greed.

Every moment of our living we are effecting, for better or worse, the environment we live in.  We all consume the world’s resources and consequently create pollution of various kinds.  We might rather not have to be responsible for what pollution we create, and yet we are all part of the problem.  In this issue we are experiencing the results of unfettered consumerism.

So what options do we have?  I’m sure that there are people a lot smarter than I am in economics and in environmental science who can give us sound advice in these areas.  However, I believe there are some simple principles at stake here that our Christian heritage can address.

We know that Adam and Eve didn’t want to take responsibility for their actions in that garden.  We know that the Old Testament prophets warned their people that if they continued to live the way they were, disaster would fall upon them.  It seemed their people were selfish, not caring for those in need and ignoring God.  We all know the statement: “You reap what you sow”.

I wonder if we (everyone) took seriously the law to “love God with our whole being and our neighbour as ourselves”, if this could effect the woes I’ve written about.  Imagine if we actually cared about the effect our actions had on our neighbours’ financial situation, locally and around the world, or our use and pollution of, this earth’s resources.

In reality the scriptures remind us of the potential in human beings to be self serving and greedy.  This is why the account of Adam and Eve, the “Do nots” of the Ten Commandments and the warnings of the prophets are given to us.  In the New Testament the choice is given to us rather clearly in the example of a human life, Jesus.  We can respond positively to the values and example of Jesus or selfishly hold on to what we want.

As people who live with the “Word of God” we should be able to name evil for what it is, in these cases greed and selfishness, to reject this evil and claim the way of living that is about caring for each other and the world we live in.

If we don’t, then sooner or later, we will suffer the consequences of our actions.  This should be nothing new to us.  We have known this for a long time.

Choices, responsibility and consequences: these things are ours.

Your friend Chris.

   Are We Unworthy Tenants?   

Dear Friends,

The writer Matthew has given us two parables about vineyards and obedience.  Note the context.  Jesus has ridden into the city for the last time on a donkey.  He cleansed the temple.  He had told the story of the fig tree that bore no fruit.  He encountered the religious officials that were absolutely furious at his actions.  All these events are followed by the two parables.

Matthew 1:33 – 46 looked back to Isaiah 5:1-7.  In that pre exile setting Israel was clearly seen as the tenant.  The vineyard belongs to God.  The hard times reflected a country on the edge of exile in destruction.  God’s people were expected to produce grapes and only wild grapes grew there.  The vineyard was poorly tended – neither pruned nor hoed.  It was overgrown and covered with briers and thorns (5:6).

Scholars call today’s text an allegory.  Fred Craddock delineates the difference between parable and allegory.  A parable, he says, is a self-contained story.  An allegory points to events and actions outside the story.

What actions and what events take place here?  Jesus’ primary audience was scribes, chief priests, and elders.  At the end of the chapter he would add Pharisees to this list.  The tenants failed to tend the vineyard and the chief priests and Pharisees got the point.  Jesus was talking about them (21:45).  Prophet after prophet was ignored.  Then when the owner sent his son, he too was rejected and finally killed by the tenants.

We must not make the mistake so many have made throughout church history.  The intent of this story is not to accuse or bash Judaism and its leaders.  Matthew had a larger purpose.

Holding up the mirror of disobedience and rebellion the church, then and now, must ask a painful question about the unworthy tenants: “Lord, is it I?”

Your friend Chris.

   We're Home !!!   

Dear Friends,

We are home, a good place to be.  Our time on leave has been a wonderful experience of renewal and refreshment for us individually and as a couple.  We both appreciated the times together, without other demands drawing us apart.

Travel - is always an opportunity to see things anew and we have been powerfully reminded of how big this country is; wide open spaces, mountain ranges, flooded plains, drought still for some, flood for others, gorges, rainforests etc. 

All of these combined to tell us how wonderful this creation is. Some special places moved our spirits and we didn’t want to leave.  Fauna and flora from ancient fossilised skeletons to dolphins and dense rainforests to spectacular tiny flowers in vast red sand plains.  Living outdoors with the cycle of the moon and new sunrises each day and spectacular sunsets (one with a cross in the centre that I am keen to show people).

All of this however was made rich and meaningful by the wonderful people we met and shared something of our lives with: sometimes a rather brief encounter and others longer term and more lasting.  Many Christian folk (you can tell!) were provided for us and we for them.  Having people help and we having the opportunity to help others; this “Good Samaritan” and “Love your neighbour” thing is catching.  The Spirit of Jesus is alive and well on the open road.

We are thankful for the ministry of Hamish and Hilary Christie-Johnston and also to Geoff and John and Philip for their worship leadership.

As we settle back into our “normal’” lives we hope to share more of our journey with you.

Your friend Chris.

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