schedule & sport

The next few weeks I'm going to be rather thin and silent. Have deadlines each week for my thesis, so it looks like I'll be keeping a low profile for a while. Oh well! Time to act like a grad student i guess. To encourage me I have two frisbee tournaments lined up at the end of it all: frostbreaker in Florida on the 10/11 March and Terminus in ATL the following weekend. Yay for Ultimate! It keeps me sane.

In another great sport, South Africa have moved up to NUMBER ONE in the world ODI cricket ranking! Just weeks before the World Cup starts just across the gulf in the West Indies. The sad news... there's no place to watch it here in the US. Zilch. Nil. Nada. Nothing. 'Cricket?' What's that? Urgh!! (Oh, and Polly is the top bowler in the world, with Ntini at number 3. Our batting aint so hot though. See all the players here)

Closer to home, Sarah is having a South African friend, Stephen, come visit for a couple of days. I'm in charge of the welcome braai next week! It will be great.

Goodness breaking through

Paul Ricoeur sharing some thoughts at Taizé as to why he was a regular visitor there:

What do I come looking for in Taizé? I would say to experience in some way what I believe most deeply, namely that what is generally called “religion” has to do with goodness. To some extent the traditions of Christianity have forgotten this. There has been a kind of narrowing, an exclusive focus on guilt and evil. Not that I underestimate that problem, which was a great concern of mine for several decades. But what I need to verify is that however radical evil may be, it is not as deep as goodness. And if religion, if religions have a meaning, it is to liberate that core of goodness in human beings, to go looking for it where it has been completely buried. Now here in Taizé I see goodness breaking through, in the community life of the brothers, in their calm and discreet hospitality, and in the prayer. I see thousands of young people who do not express a conceptual articulation of good and evil, of God, of grace, of Jesus Christ, but who have a fundamental tropism towards goodness.

(Delivered during Holy week 2000 at Taizé)

dinner and dance

I'm recovering from a rather full weekend. Matt was visiting for the weekend, and there were numerous social engagements (most of them at our house). There is still a little bit of beer left in the keg on our patio. It was a fun weekend!

I like to live reflectively, and when i stop and, well, reflect, it is very interesting to see what precipitates thoughts and questions in me. Two thought provoking instances this weekend:

On Saturday i went to a party at 'Mamma C's' house. She is the matron at the dining hall on campus, and it was a wonderful experience. I tried to rave to hip-hop music and it didn't go too well. Mamma C and her family were very welcoming to all the nervous white seminary students, and she wouldn't let us leave without taking some food home. The hospitality and generosity reminded me so much of African people back home.
Although i constantly feel a little bit of a foreigner in the US, the feeling was heightened at the party, and I came home frustrated at the inevitable misunderstandings that occur when different cultures interact. It reminded me of the differences that so coloured my life back in SA. I guess i wish everyone could just relate, and understand each other. It is painful to think that as hard as i try, i will always be a stranger at some level to any culture other than my own. I did however rather enjoy being in a 'white minority' again.

Last night my housemates and some friends and I went to a very larney restaurant: Two. urban licks. We had a wonderful time with plenty of laughs and good food. The decor was great and I especially liked the way they had used the industrial space. But, overall I found I was not that impressed. I was surprised by this. I guess i just don't really do 'high culture' food. Maybe i think all the money isn't worth it, and I can get better value somewhere else? Not really sure. One thing I know is that we ate a lot of food, and I really don't like the feeling of having eaten too much. It reminds me of Mbiti's pertinent and searing thoughts about the theology of food I guess. Maybe I'm also too thrifty, and need to celebrate more. Would I do it again? Possibly. If i could save up first. If we went on a Friday or Saturday when there was live music. If we ate less and got wine instead of the 'infusions'.

(I had a similar 'disappointment' with good food at the monastery in New Mexico. All i wanted was soup and bread. I got a three course meal with salad each day. Sometimes even wine. What a shame!)

if I told you the truth about God...

If I told you the truth about God,
You might think I was an idiot.

If I lied to you about the beautiful One
You might parade me through the streets shouting,
“This guy is a genius!”

The world has its pants on backwards.
Most carry their values and knowledge in a jug
That has a big hole in it.

Thus having a clear grasp of the situation
If I am asked anything these days,
I just laugh!

Kabir (1440-1518)
In Love Poems to God, tr. Daniel Ladinsky

Thought I'd put up some poetry. I first read this poem at a youth pastors retreat with Barry. We had to meditate on it for 20 mins and come back with a question. I remember one of the questions was "what good is a jug without a hole?"
Good question.

One more idea to muse on (from Justin via Barry this time):
If grace abounds anyway, it doesn't matter who is right.

the verdict?

'So, how was South Africa?'
I've been asked this question multiple times over the last two days. I smile and nod and probably put my hands in my pockets in shyness. 'It was really really good', I say. I can't really explain it except to say that it was good. Good to see my family, so be in summer, to sit in traffic on the right hand side of the road, to braai, not to be the odd one out etc. Jo'burg felt really fast, and that i hardly touched base with anyone, but it was a welcome break. Cape Town was a bit slower: I saw Lu and Natalie, went to church with Paul&Helen, played frisbee with Disconnect, and hung out with Julie's siblings.

I was chatting to a fellow student today about my options for next year. I said that i was working out some possibilities (either an internship with Iona, or a CPE in the States).
She also asked me a question:
"You don't have a girlfriend back home waiting for you to finish though?"

Ouch! Maybe Valentines day precipitated the relationship question, but it was a very apt question. Half of the time in SA I spent in Cape Town with Julie.
'And... how was it?' you ask.
'It was really really good', is all I can really say here too. Every day got better, and it was horrible to leave, but we are both thinking of ways to be together soon. Where that will be is any one's guess at the moment. We are both challenged to live expansively and boldly, so that means trying to find exciting options to follow.
Any advice out there on this Valentine's day?

home or away?

I guess with all this travelling, home just gets bigger and bigger. I have a sticker from 'Keath your Handyman - helping you love your home' on my laptop that says "If you lived in your heart, you'd be home by now". Rather profound for something i picked up in a coffee store. It is true i suppose.

I need to recant some of my words earlier when i said that i wasn't looking forward to going back to Atlanta. I was paradoxically heartbroken to leave SA (home?), but also excited about coming back (home?) to Decatur. Now I'm back and it is good to be back. South Africa is still home, but there are some habits, places and people that are beginning to feel homely here. It was neat to see all my friends on campus and greet them again. Student life activities are up and running. Junk food abounds, and the frisbee scene is still light years ahead of SA! Classes have started and there is also the minor item of a thesis to address. Before i know it, it will be May and this will all be over.

My classes this semester should be great:

• P652 The Theatre in the Text
  Using plays, films, homiletical writings, and theatre texts, students focus on the book of Exodus, considering the performative arts as resources for preaching in the postmodern world.

• HD671 Theories of Justice and Social Policy
  Analyzes theories of justice and their implications for social policy regarding such issues as affirmative action, AIDS and drug testing, healthcare, and welfare reform.

hello goodbye

I'm off to Cape Town today. It is sad to leave my family and friends, but i'm not leaving the country just yet. Cape Town should be fun - listening to Antjie Krog's poetry on Friday; Lu and Guy have invited me to go surfing with them on Saturday; going to Paul's Guguluethu church on Sunday; and just general hanging around with Julie and friends in the Mother City. Julie asked me if i was missing America. Right now - not at all!

Off to serve the poor

Meet Ed.

Ed befriended me during the first day of the Richard Rohr conference in Albuquerque. We were both conference volunteers and we got chatting. He was Richard's right hand man during the 'New Jerusalem Community' years in Cincinnati where 150 young people lived together in an intentional community, and was down in New Mexico to reconnect with Richard and get some guidance for the future. Ed also managed to secure me a breakfast with Richard, and a hotel bed for a night.

Anyway, what is really inspiring is that Ed is leaving as a principal of a Catholic school and isn't sure where he is going to. Wherever it is, it is to get more directly involved in following Jesus and serving the poor. It was great to hear
his journey, and the see faith and guts he has to just step out into the unknown. I'm sure some of this comes from his younger days at New Jerusalem, but a recent impetus was Shane Claiborne's book The Irresistible Revolution. I look forward to where this journey takes Ed. If anyone knows of any good opportunities linked to poverty/Aids/education where help is needed, let me know.

Ed writes wonderful reflections on his journey here.
The local newspaper's article 'Principal retires to serve poor' is here.

What does this all mean for me? I asked Richard Rohr what he would say the best part of his life has been, and even though now he runs around the world as an international figure, he said that he often looks back at the New Jerusalem Community days as the golden days. "We were young, passionate and idealistic" he said. Hearing this, meeting Ed, and reading a copy of The Irresistible Revolution from Ed has inspired and challenged me to think about forming an intentional community some day. Wanna join?

Project Marcel

I found another CTS student blogger that i have to tell you about!
Meet Marc.Marc is a good friend of mine (or at least i like to think so) whom I admire for his many talents. He is a wizard at illusions, a bold trend-setter in animal fashion and superfluous in Improv. All in all a wonderful person who brightens up many a dinner table with his funny stories and great ideas. What's more, he stars as the voice of Comet - a depresed robot stand-up comedian for The Beams, a childrens radio program. (Marc did i get that all right?)

I discovered recently that he is actually an avid blogger (The Marc Von Bulletin) and even branches out into podcasts and video blogging when he is feeling bored or creative.

A few weeks ago he made three really funny videos. They were so entertaining that the creator of SightSpeed even made special mention of them. Congrats Marc! If you have time, and a fast enough internet connection, have a look at his videos here. Laugh hard!