Scripture Readings
1 Timothy 6:6-19; Luke 16:19-31

Two weeks ago I spoke about the Seeking Church. We had noted in the Gospel of the day that Jesus had been meeting and eating with some undesirables and winning them over. However his friends and his critics were noticing that this was not the kind of thing a Rabbi should do. The Gospel however noted twice that there is joy in heaven over one sinner who repents. God seems to think differently from some upholders of custom. 

Last week, had I been with you, I would have spoken about the Faithful Church. The Church and Christian who refuses to compromise like the unfaithful steward will be powerful and effective. Uncompromising integrity will be the hallmark of the Faithful Church.

Today after reading the Gospel about Lazarus and the rich man, we note that the Listening Church will get it and be caring, kind, generous and loving - a body of individuals who make a powerful difference because they are prompted by the Spirit to be a healing presence.

So the Listening Church is a Generous Church.

It attends to need wherever it is found.

It listens to the Spirit of God.

It listens to itself and notices the movements of the Spirit.

It is therefore responsive in generous and life-giving ways.

Last weekend I was part of the leadership team during a 4 Day SGM Retreat at the Island Bay, Our Lady's Home of Compassion. Now I have been involved in many live-in Retreats over the years. However, this one stood out for me for the way in which the 17 of us involved experienced warmth and compassion oozing, as it were, out of the walls of our rooms. While there I learned that this place had been a hospital in times past and that it is home to a community of Catholic Sisters - the Sisters of Compassion founded by the French Mother Aubert who is being considered for canonisation currently! Without reservation I can assert that our experience, it wasn't just mine, attests to the Spirit's present and compassion in a very deep way. The place and its people exhibited extraordinary generosity.

Contrast this with our Gospel passage today.

Lazarus is a very poor beggar who for a while before he died dwelt at the gate of a very rich man.

He found sustenance by eating out of the rich man's rubbish bin.

Not only that, his poor diet meant he had weeping sores.

The rich man was content for the dogs at the gate to lick Lazarus's sores.

The rich man in the story was so self-absorbed and neglectful of following the law and the prohets that he ignored the poor beggar's plight.

His faith was devoid of compassion for Lazarus when he had an opportunity to relieve his intense suffering.

Of course their roles were reversed in the after-life, however I don't think this story is principally about the Christian theology of heaven and hell.

Rather it reminds us that God's call is to act with caring and generosity in the present. If we are in a position to be caring and generous of another (or the creation) our Christian responsibility is to just do it!

The Evangelical church can loose sight sometimes of this challenge. In its focus on justification by faith and God's free gift of eternal life, it can be neglectful, as the rich man was, of offering generous compassion. Let us remember that Paul in Ephesians 2:8-10 writes, "8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Let's hold the tension, perhaps better than sometimes we do. Yes we are saved by faith; however we are called by God therefore to do good works!

v.18 of the Epistle (1Tim. 6) reads, "Instruct them to do as many good deeds as they can and to help everyone. remind the rich to be generous and share what they have."

So the question for us today is, "Who will we share with and be generous to today?"

I want to show you a video that depicts 5 scenarios that model everyday ways we might live the Scriptures when they invite us to be sharing, kind and generous...

The video is a primer that helps us to enter practically into generosity in everyday ways. We can readily identify, most of us, with these scenarios and the challenges they present. The challenge is to make it a daily habit to live like this. And institutionally too, in a spirit of generosity as we listen to the Spirit.

May I close with my favourite Scripture that seems to me to say it all in nutshell, Ephesians 4:32 (NIVUK), "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you."


Love and Peace,
Terry Alve

Dr Alexander Shaia who was in New Zealand during 2011-12, is preparing to return to New Zealand from his home in the USA.

Alexander who is a spiritual director, psychotherapist and theologian blessed many in New Zealand during his earlier extended stay. His studies on the Gospels around the theme of Quadratos were at the Centre of his teaching earlier. 

After further ministry in the USA this year, Alexander walked the Way of St James - a 600 mile walk from southern France through Spain from September to November. There is a comprehensive pictorial record of this on Alexanders Facebook pages https://www.facebook.com/ashaia I am sure he would be happy to have you as a "friend" if you want to view and digest this - tell him Terry Alve sent you!

My understanding is that Alexander shortly will make another extended stay in NZ and Australia. He will be in Auckland during Easter 2013 conducting a 72 hour retreat. He also wrote in Facebook on Dec. 8th,

The 2013 Calendar of Events has been printed recently by Spiritually Growth Ministries in New Zealand. This print version is accompanied by an online version (replacing the 2012 Calendar).

The events and information listed is organised in Regions (Northern, Central, Southern) and sub-regions within these. The Central Region is subdivided into:

• Kapiti Coast - Wellington
  
• Nelson/Marlborough
  

In addition to events which include: retreats, weeks of prayer, training, Enneagram, Myers Briggs Type Inventory and other contemplative spirituality opportunities; There is a wealth info about other aspects of the work of SGM in New Zealand. This includes:

• Area Contacts
  
• The SGM Journal - "Refresh"
  
• Spiritual Directors' Formation programme
  
• Accessibility Info
  
• SGM Special Interest Papers
  

For more information (and to get a copy of the print version) please contact the SGM Administrator: Joanne Garton sgm@clear.net.nz or 09 267 5957

Jan Sampson, spiritual director and associate member of the Association of Spiritual Directors, is offering an innovative approach to retreat.

For three weeks during August (2012) she is offering to lead you/us through sayings of the Desert Fathers and Mothers.

In her promo Jan writes, "In the desert we are invited to a place of deep encounter with our self and with God...."
Read more here: http://www.sgmwellington.myurl.co.nz/uploads/8/9/0/2/8902434/desert_retreat.pdf 

Perhaps we could journey together with Jan for three weeks. In the event you may like to reflect on your journey after it, using the Comments section on this Blog page...

P.S. Interested in other events like this?
Visit: http://www.sgmwellington.myurl.co.nz/1/post/2012/07/mid-winter-calendar-new-events.html

Tui Motou - the Independent Catholic Magazine - interviewed Alexander Shaia in its June edition.

Interview: The Gospels are texts about individual and community transformation, not a ‘newspaper record’ of the life and times of Jesus of Nazareth.  Michael Fitzsimons talks with author Alexander Shaia about how the Great Story is more about the Jesus in us than the Jesus of history.

Alexander Shaia comes to town in late autumn, keen to shed a fresh light on the Great Story of the Gospels that we are so familiar with, in a sense too familiar with. He grew up in Birmingham, Alabama, the third son of Lebanese immigrants and still retains a Semitic outlook.

Maronite background
“I grew up in a Lebanese village, living in the old ways, right in the middle of an industrial city in the American south. The gift of this was to grow up seeing the Christianity of my ancestors, the same as it has been for more than 900 years, brought from a mountain village in Lebanon, recreated in Birmingham. My father’s family is the family of Maronite priests in this village, and nine of our last 11 generations have included priests called Alexander...."

Read More...

It is coming to that time of the year when people considering entering into Spiritual Director training need to make application if they want to join the SGM (NZ) two year programme.

Barbara McMillan of Auckland is the current Coordinator of the Programme. She advises that CLOSING DATE FOR APPLICATIONS for the 2013/2014 Programme is AUGUST 20th 2012, although late applications may be considered.

So who is the Programme for?
If you : 

• are interested in helping others grow in their relationship with God;
  
• already have people approaching you to talk about their spiritual life;
  
• sense God’s invitation to consider this area of ministry;
  
• demonstrate in your own life and faith journey a commitment to spiritual growth and an awareness of the all-embracing love of God ... then perhaps it is for you.

I did this Programme in 200-2001 and benefited greatly from both the more academic as well as the practical foci. I'd be very happy to talk with you about my experience both during the two year course and subsequently.

The SGM website has more information you need to make an informed decision about whether it is right and timely for you to consider applying. Check here: http://sgm.org.nz/sd_formation_prog.htm 

Terry Alve

Spiritual Growth Ministries Wellington's events calendar now has a link from iCare Resources so our visitors can access the wide range of contemplative spirituality events SGM facilitates.

CALENDAR ACCESS

We can assist you to promote your contemplative spirituality event by helping you place it on this calendar and to use its associated resources.