God, AIDS, Africa & HOPE

Reflections / Gedanken

12/29/2009 • 10:36 pm Comments Off on 29.12.2009 Holiday time

29.12.2009 Holiday time

Going on holidays.. always an exciting thing to do, but there is also that another side to it: making the effort really to stop working, to leave work behind, to pack bags and to prepare for the journey. For me, going on holidays always have three phases: the planing one, where I am excited to go, the days beforehand, where I am sure that it is really not the right time to leave – and then finally the time after arrival where I do enjoy myself and can relax. And at the end I feel that it could really be a little bit longer.. 🙂

I am in the second stage in the moment, having to leave tomorrow for two weeks of relaxation – still have to pack and find my passports and all the rest of the documentation, but there is still a night to get it all done. Sleeping can be done in the plane.

I am also aware that the concept of real leisure holidays is not a worldwide concept. When I tried to get this concept to my adopted son some years ago, he was indeed looking at me in a strange way. The idea of longer travel to explore or doing nothing seemed to be a funny one.  I for myself know that travel really gives you knowledge and shows, how divers one can look even at certain values. We European tend to think, that everybody must see it always the same way like we do, but I guess not only we Europeans have this error of judgement.. 🙂

Well, tomorrow eve I will be in the air not able to blog – therefore already now a Happy New Year to all and everybody reading this blog. May 2010 be full of joy and blessings.

Filed under: Reflection, Uncategorized,

12/28/2009 • 11:18 pm Comments Off on 28.12.2009 Execution looming….

28.12.2009 Execution looming….

“It’s entirely inappropriate that he be put to death, we’ve made 27 representations over the last two years… and even at this late stage I hope they will see that in a modern world it is not appropriate to put a man with mental illness to death.”, says Foreign Office minister Ivan Lewis according to BBC on the case of Akmal Shaik, who is due to be executed tomorrow morning in China.

For me it is entirely inappropriate to put anyone to death – not only the mentally ill ones. The death penalty shows such a disrespect towards human life and the creation of God that it is completely incompatible with Christian values or believe system. Who takes a life – takes a human being in the likeness of God. It is indeed that simple. And the wrongdoing of one person does not excuse the wrongdoing as a reciprocal action. Vengeance is non of the names of God and those supporting these kind of actions have not understood what unconditional love means. I am aware that unconditional love is difficult for most people, but it remains true: every execution means a freely chosen insult towards God.

All criticism towards church can never deny, that this is one of the strength of this very church: to make aware that the sanctity of life is not something, that can be taken away by any court or any person’s decision. So the intentional state sponsored murder of persons to satisfy the feeling for revenge from relatives of a murder victim is like supporting a devils circle – no revenge can make good what has been lost and the meaning of penalty is not revenge but changing a person. At least in the civilised world.

Filed under: General, Reflection, Uncategorized, , , , , , , ,

12/27/2009 • 3:22 pm 1

27.12.2009 Feast of the Holy Family

How many families are destroyed through HIV and AIDS? How many families are broken because it did not work out any more? How many kids are growing up with one parent or even no one?
The feast of the Holy Family seems to be put onto this scenario the three persons Mary, Joseph and Jesus – most times found with halos and an ideal of family life. I am not so sure, so this morning, I tried to look at the Holy Family a bit differently to bring them closer to my audience. What did I see?

A girl getting pregnant before marriage – Father unknown. A baby boy in a stable – very unstable circumstances of birth. A son running away from his parents during a trip to Jerusalem, a young adult without a proper income, en route with some other runaways and some women, who, according to one gospel, support Jesus. I do see a Mum standing under the cross of her son, being sentenced as a normal criminal. And I am seeing a husband, who is disappearing during the family story without any further note..

Does that sound like a realistic family? Yeap, I do think so – and what makes this family holy is not all the unrealistic things attributed to them but that throughout the family history, Mary never lost hope; it is the message, that whatever happens to a family, one should never lose hope that things are coming right again at the end.

I am not sure how things are coming right again at the end when a family is broken up completely, or parents are lost at an early stage – human understanding cannot give any reasoning. But I belive that there is a bigger picture, which does not take away the pain and the suffering, but that brings together all the ends at the end. Somehow… Let’s hope.

Filed under: Networking, Reflection, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

12/26/2009 • 11:56 am Comments Off on 26.12.2009 Construction work and St. Stephens Day

26.12.2009 Construction work and St. Stephens Day

Sometimes one feels that the tolerance of South Africans go into the wrong direction. I woke this morning up to the noise of heavy hammers – the neighbour, reconstructing his house since months (and years) now seems to have the urgent need to get ready – even working over “The Day of Goodwill”. That was too much for my goodwill – and after some noisy arguments they stopped working for the day. At least I want to have the two Christmas Days in peace and quietness. The guy who ordered the construction was not available – seemingly did not want to be disturbed during the Christmas period … Now there is peace also in our neighbourhood again.
What a start into St. Stephen’s Day – the day of the patron of my name. He was the first martyr – and sometimes it seems to me, that even within the church some people see it as a good tradition to throw stones at others. Specially those sitting themselves in a glass house. Well, humans remain humans, even if they are Christians. This is always good to remember.
For me the St. Stephen’s Day is a reminder that we have to stick to our principles, even if the world around us turns around and sees it differently. There are convictions which should never be overturned – they remain the pillar of one’s life construction – and they turn to be the cause of life destruction if one let them slip and go. The crib and the martyr – more clear nobody can show how close joy and tragedy are lying together in everybody’s life. And when we tomorrow celebrate the feast of the Holy Family – it is the same pattern – the joy of the birth of the baby boy and the tragedy of the mother standing under a cross – two extremes are meeting in one families life. A realistic view – as we all experience the same in our lives. God’s solidarity with human mankind is complete.

Filed under: General, Reflection, Uncategorized, , ,

12/25/2009 • 12:03 pm Comments Off on 25.12.2009 Pope knocked down….

25.12.2009 Pope knocked down….

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