If you have not caught this yet, here is the summary.
Treffly Coyne is a mother from Chicago who ducked out of her car for a few minutes to donate $8.29 to a Salvation Army kettle. She was no more than 10 yards away from her sleeping 2 year old daughter. She locked and alarmed the car, and even put on the emergency lights.
A security office stepped in, the police were called, and on advice from her husband, Treffly did not disclose any information to the police.
Coyne asserts that the community service officer launched into a tirade and refused to listen to her explanation of events. The even has sparked a blogging debate with onliners divided over Treffly’s actions.
Reading through the last few verses of John 19 today. In it the writer tells the story of Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus. Joseph is described as a ‘secret’ disciple of Jesus. He feared the Jewish leaders, yet knew Jesus was the Messiah.
Nicodemus was the man who had come to Jesus at night and came to the realisation that he needed to be born again.
How interesting that while Jesus was alive, both these men believed in Him, yet did not have the courage to come out and say it. Now, at this point in the story, that Jesus is dead, both these fearful blokes come and take the body, sacrificing their money, time and risking the wrath of both the Jewish leaders and Roman ones, and ensure Jesus has a good and proper burial.
Maybe this was their ‘chronos’ moment. By that I mean the time when they were destined to serve Jesus. For much of their life they had been afraid to do so, now when things are at their bleakest, these two men act courageously and mercifully, perhaps even hopefully.
This is an an encouragement to anyone who has ever been fearful of standing up for what is right and good, your in good company. Maybe your ‘chronos’ time is yet to come, the time destined for you when God will have something for you to do, and you will do it.
Watching on old episode of friends tonight. The one where Phoebe is pregnant and craving meat. Joey, being the good guy he is, tries to salve her vegetarian conscience by saying that he will decrease his normal intake of meat to offset her taking it up.
If there is anyone out there who needs me to eat less vegetables, to salve their conscience about upset brussel sprouts or screaming carrots, let me know.
If anyone wants to know why my six year old son keeps asking me for more hungarian salami….well the tree does not fall far from the apple tree!!
If anyone out there wants me to give up meat…..naaaah.
Last night we had our MUD event, Men Under Duress.
We went to the local Cue Club, had a ale and played some pool. Actually only two of us played pool. The rest of the crew came to get out of the house and spend some time with some mates.
In a unusual twist (thats what happens when you combine two excellent lattes and beer) I was thinking about an episode of the Simpsons when Homer went to Vegas with Ned Flanders. Now why would Homer go anywhere, particular Vegas, with Ned? Ned is his nerdy Christian next door neighbour. Dont worry, I am not going to try and say a Christian is the only person that can be a real friend to someone.
What I am going to say is that Homer is typical of many 40ish males in that he has no real mates. Some blokes do, they have friends that have always been their friends, that were their best mate, that they can turn to when things go to ‘mud’ in their life.
Homer is ‘sort of’ friends with Lenny and Carl….but Lenny and Carl seem to be the real mates, Homer is a third wheel. He is ‘friends’ with Moe, the barman, but that is a symbiotic relationship, Moe supplies Homer’s third place, and beer to numb the pain, Homer supplies Moe with money.
So the only real friend he has is his wife….and that is typical of many males his age. So when wants to go to Vegas, he goes with Ned….and that is in conflict with the overall story of the Simpsons, because Ned is a nerdy Christian.
I wonder how many men there are in Homer’s situation, many I reckon. What I am going to say next could be taken the wrong way….but men need more than their wife.
Our wife should be our best friend, but we need best mates as well.
My father was a huge Perth Demons fan, maybe their success in the late 70’s attracted him. It was a passion he rediscovered in the last years of his life, and he could often be found on a Saturday afternoon watching the Demons being beaten convincingly by some better resourced WAFL side. I followed his lead momentarily as a 8 year old, until the lure of the South Fremantle Bulldogs and the exploits of Stephen Michael grabbed my attention. I don’t think you choose a team, I think a team chooses you.
How would you feel if your team was taken from you? This is the emotions that the thousands of Fitzroy fans felt on September 1, 1996.
Full Points describes it thus, “On Sunday 1 September 1996 a group of players representing the Fitzroy Football Club took the field for the last time. The fact that the venue for the match was Subiaco Oval in Perth was both significant and, in a perverse way, appropriate ; the Australian Football League, which, within the space of a mere decade, had moved from being a suburban to a national competition, had no further use for financially non-viable propositions like Fitzroy. “
This game was against the new kid on the block, Fremantle, who within a few years would establish themself as a financial powerhouse, having the fastest growing membership of any side. They are now an incredibly well supported club having full corporate sponsorship, thanks in no small part to the man crdited with their financial revival, club CEO, Cameron Schwab.
The game itself was a pretty one sided affair, with Fitzroy losing, despite winning the last quarter by 2 points. The game was held on September 1, 1996, at Subiaco Oval. Fitzroy lost by 86 points and the final scores were Fitzroy 10.11 71 v Fremantle 24.13 157 What was significant, in my mind at least, was the respect shown by the Fremantle Football Club. They put on a presentation both before and after the game and due respect was shown to the once proud club. Many Fitroy supporters travelled across the Nullaboar for the game, and they were vocal in their appreciation of the acknowledgment given.
Dale Kickett played for Fremantle that day, which is significant as he had also played for Fitzroy.
But He is not as concerned about your happiness. This is the Urban Legend I am dealing with this Sunday…. Here is a snippet….
The Christian urban legend we are going to deal with this morning is that God wants you to be happy, and this is personal for me because our Church slogan is enjoy the good life. But enjoyment is quite different to happiness.
Happiness is a fleeting moment, joy is something that can be enjoyed despite the circumstances we find ourselves in. Paul writes in Philippians chapter 4, rejoice, again I say rejoice, all the time. Happiness is a fleeting feeling based on an experience or set of circumstances. Happiness comes about when you win lotto, or you are eating a nice slice of pizza, that’s fleeting pleasure which your body pays for at a latter stage, right….joy, enjoyment is something quite different.
