Stephen Hawking and Life after Death

Science is a wondrous thing, it questions how and when.
It tells us who, and what came first, and things beyond our ken.
Big Bangs and Quarks, Black Holes and such; the darkness is repealed,
And ignorance is banished by the evidence revealed.

Quite soon there’ll be no hidden things; Higgs boson will be found;
And closed doors will be opened by this ‘particle of god’.
One question still remains beyond where scientists like to go.
“It’s not important, quite absurd.” But still we want to know.

The question that’s ignored is, Why? What purpose could there be
In you and me, in life and death, and all we do and see?
Some think the universe is fickle, some think it quite benign.
But could there be behind it a creative force, divine?

Is love an accident, a love that lays no blame,
A love that’s unconditional, that has no selfish aim?
Love seems to contradict the laws of jungle, tooth and claw;
Love turns its back on Number One, puts others to the fore.

Survival of the fittest scorns a death upon a cross.
It makes no sense to suffer if it ends in such a loss.
Yet millions over centuries have claimed that death a sign;
And from that life of brokenness the whole world counts its time.

Inspired by Stephen Hawking who stated in a recent interview that “there is no heaven or afterlife… that is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark.”

Conference of our Many Selves

At a resent retreat we were encouraged to meditate on (think deeply and prayerfully about) our many selves. We thought about the different roles we each play (for me it was husband, father, son, brother, employee, employer, etc.) and brought them prayerfully to God. We thought about 1 Corinthians 12:12-31 where Paul writes about the body of Christ and says that no part of the body is more or less important; each is part of the body. We recognised that each of these many “selves” is an important part of the body of Christ.

The following poem emerged from my meditation during the afternoon.

A husband, a lover, employee, a friend;
A preacher, a father, an uncle, and son.
These aren’t different people all coming together;
They are me; I am they, and together we’re one.

But are we all one? Am I all the same?
Does my wife know the kindness expressed to a friend?
Does my boss know the person my Church friends have known?
Am I true to myself? Is it all just pretend?

Oh to be one and authentic and true.
Not to be bland, without mystery or fun,
But filled with the Spirit in each of these roles,
Bringing hope to the world, being led by the Son.

PIPPIN

Pippin is a one-year old Border Collie for whom “fetch” is the only game.  Pippin inspired this meditation while I was on a retreat in January 2010.

You drop the ball at my feet and wait.

It’s the ball I threw away.

I thought it was lost but you found it.

When I thought I’d never see it again

You went after it and brought it back.

Hello world!

There is so much to say and so much to learn.

‘One small step, one giant leap’ was said by someone else on a somewhat more auspicious occasion than my starting my first blog, but here I am.

I hope to explore my own journey and faith, and to connect with the journey of others.  A meditation I wrote recently on 2 Corinthians 12:2-10 sums up my thoughts as I begin this journey into the blogosphere.

I am only what God is making of me.
I am all that God is making of me.
I will not be afraid of your opinion of me.
But I will listen in case you  bring a word from God.

I have nothing to give you
But everything to receive.
I cannot be what you want me to be
But I can be the space where you can discover yourself.
I have no strength or wisdom of my own
Only that which Christ nurtures within me.

I have no spark of wisdom with which to enlighten your mind
Or seed of wisdom to plant within your soul.
I can only offer the space and opportunity
to nurture that which is already within you.