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A chess game of life and death

O

ur hearts are broken once again at the reminder of the senseless murder of young Germaine Rucker on August 10, 2003. He was a victim of the violence that continues to plague our city - and yet, upon closer examination this story, like so many others, has many more victims.

For six weeks, I sat in courtroom #914 of Boston’s Superior Court.  Its marble floors are washed with the tears of pain or relief… justice and injustice.  There are sides here, walls visible and invisible.  But no teams, no winners.  A young life had been tragically lost.  But I saw more than one life being lost - both families and their friends grieving, yet coping.  The professionals - lawyers and law enforcement - were reviewing and reevaluating the questions and answers.  Some performed in the stilted legal dance they’d rehearsed and perfected.  To me, the novice, it was a chess game of life and death - or legal basketball with the Assistant District Attorney and prosecution making a full court press, holding onto the verbal ball for six days straight, asking the witnesses to give their resumes or to define words like DNA until the jurors’ clock ran out and the defense had only moments to make one final shot in the last hours.

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Ephemera, Urbanities | 1 Comment »

O

ne day after dinner, while finishing dessert, a father sent his boy out to cut the lawn. Smiling broadly, the son said, “No, Father, I just want to stay here experiencing your presence, expressing my love for you, my dear Father.” The father frowned and said, more firmly this time, “Actually, Son, I would rather you go out and cut the lawn.” But the boy acted as if he didn’t even hear his father, and he replied, “Dad! Guess what? I just wrote a song expressing my love for you!” The son began to sing, his eyes closed in sincerity and intense emotion, and the father left the table to go watch TV. The boy didn’t notice, but kept singing, with tears streaming down his face.

At that point the father wanted the boy to experience obedience (which may entail heat, sweat, thirst, sunburn, strained muscles, hunger, endurance, and fatigue) even more than the warmth of his presence (from A is for Abductive Sweet, McClaren).

It is easy sometimes to just keep on doing your thing…!

Deeper shade of grey appears every Wednesday on theRubicon. Find past posts and a bio of Capt. Gordon Cotterill here.

Shades of grey, theRubi-blog | No Comments »

Why are we so silent?

N

ot long ago, I was teaching a junior soldier preparation class.  I feel strongly that children who are believers need to see themselves as active combatants in the war against sin and oppression, so I consider it a special honor to try to guide young hearts and minds.  I took the opportunity to open up discussion about the urgency to share our faith.

In this small class was an extremely bright ten-year-old.  She had thorough answers and thoughtful questions.  But when the topic of evangelism came up, she threw me for a loop.  “Of course,” she said casually, “we only talk about Jesus with other people who believe in him. We wouldn’t want to offend people who have different beliefs - like Muslims, or something.”

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Belief, Ephemera | 12 Comments »

Part 4

B

ack to Captain Bob and the conversation we had at Starbucks (or Part 4)…

Bob has got his second wind and wants to finish off on several other concerns that are noticeably robbing him of his joy in ministry.

“Jay it seems like I can manage the corps finances but with my kids it is hard to handle my own finances. It is my fault - Barb (his lovely and capable wife) says I give in to the kids too much. That might be true but before I became an officer I could buy this and that and not worry too much about finances. Now, I have to watch every coin that leaves my pocket. In a regular job I could ask for a raise…”

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Ragamuffin, theRubi-blog | 4 Comments »

a kaleidoscope of colour and sound

O

ne of the facts of life is that there are different races and different racial cultures. People have different coloured skin, they speak different languages and their worldviews are often dissimilar. All of this increases the possibility of misunderstanding, which can lead to racism.

Just what is racism? It has been defined as (a) prejudice or discrimination against a person or group because of a difference of race and (b) belief in the superiority of a particular race, based on the theory that human abilities and character are determined by race. Hitler took the second definition and used its erroneous ideas of a superior white race to bring into being Nazism and the horrors of war. The first definition finds its way into the daily life of our communities in insults, ethnic jokes and petty prejudice.

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Thinkaloud | 4 Comments »

defining yourself

W

hat’s in a name? Apparently a whole lot, because before the first kids turn up for summer camp this coming week (Newport Adventure Camp, Ontario, Canada), I have to find a camp name. Halogen? Kanga? Swiffer? All taken - not that I wanted to steal them. Aussie? How original! Sagala? Matilda? Bandicoot? Could happen… hopefully I don’t do anything stupid in the next couple of days, or my momentary idiocy will be immortalized forever. Or at least for the summer.

I think camping brings out the best in people. It gives them the chance to rise to challenges, and accomplish things they never thought they could. It’s one of those places where you’re not so defined - you have space to find out who you are. Especially around campfires. Obscured by the flickering shadows - you could be anyone…

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Double~take, theRubi-blog | 2 Comments »

taken the green plunge

T

hey came and took away my garbage this morning.  I watched contemplatively sipping my coffee as the city’s sanitation department representative dumped my one reusable plastic garbage pail into the back of his truck.  He unceremoniously threw it back on my lawn, with little or no regard to the fact I only had one pail generated by six people for a whole week set against the eight bags my neighbour is chucking out.  The recycling rep won’t be as impressed.  I have three full bins for her.

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Vox populi, theRubi-blog | No Comments »

Lost themes of mission… salvation

M

ajor Ray Harris (R), when he was a training principal in Canada, once said your ‘understanding of mission will only be as wide as your understanding of salvation. Thinking about ‘Lost Themes of Mission’ I remembered trying to explore this and discovering the danger of watering down salvation.

Shortly afterwards I read these thoughts:

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Shades of grey, theRubi-blog | 13 Comments »

Reconnecting church and the city

But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.
Jeremiah 29:7

I

grew up in the country, the kind of place that some uncharitably call “the middle of nowhere.” Work was long and hot, and the church, that building at the center of a sprawling agricultural community, was an educator, social hub, and helper. The connection between the church and the land was easy enough to figure out. It was commonplace on a Sunday morning to give thanks for land, to pray for it, and to live with the dignity of a very earthy Christianity.

North America it seems that urban abstractions have destabilized this kind of intimate spirituality of land and community. How many residents of a new American suburb are liable to offer an earthy and robust thanks for their square patch of lawn, identically sculpted to fit the pattern of an endless row of McMansions? Or who might stare out of their high rise in Los Angeles to see a maze of granite, concrete, and the world’s most expansive road works and feel compelled to enter this kind of spiritual space?

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Thought, Urbanities | 1 Comment »

Part 3

B

ack to Captain Bob and the conversation we had at Starbucks. When we left Bob in our last blog he was - well, going to the bathroom…

Angry, discouraged and feeling a sudden urge to dump all his cares on me I sat like a counselor hearing the angst of a weary counselee. It was like ‘rage against the machine.’ I guess he just needed to vent. It seemed a long time before Bob came back to the table but he did come back. Trying to lighten the mood I casually joked – “Everything come out alright Bob?” He smiled and sat down for what was going to be round two.

Well, anyway, back to Bob…

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Double~take, theRubi-blog | No Comments »