A brief memorial for Tim Brooke-Taylor, who died yesterday from complications from COVID-19.
I grew up watching the Goodies in the evenings during the week, and clearly remember a giant (but cute) destructive kitten, a peculiar beanstalk fairy tale, and a variety of funny situations whose topical and political undertones I didn’t pick up on back then. Now I am older, and apparently wiser, I still laugh when I watch it again.
For an overview, here’s a compilation clip. I’d recommend getting a DVD or finding it online, and watching the whole series.
There’s a whole lot of his other work to catch up on, some of which is shown in this clip.
Easter morning, and we’re off to a (virtual) service soon. There’ll be communion, and we will reflect on Jesus’ resurrection – so long ago, and yet echoing throughout the ages.
As a Christian, I believe many things that fit within the traditional Christian framework. I probably also believe many things that may not fit – there’s a lot on the periphery that’s been debated over the years, and perceptions of what scriptures mean can vary according to our understanding.
There’s one thing that we all can agree on, though – Jesus Christ, and Him crucified!
It’s the basis of our faith, wherever we land on other issues.
Why? What happened then?
“9 For he is the complete fullness of deity living in human form. 10 And our own completeness is now found in him. We are completely filled with God as Christ’s fullness overflows within us. He is the Head of every kingdom and authority in the universe!
11 Through our union with him we have experienced circumcision of heart. All of the guilt and power of sin has been cut away and is now extinct because of what Christ, the Anointed One, has accomplished for us.
12 For we’ve been buried with him into his death. Our “baptism into death” also means we were raised with him when we believed in God’s resurrection power, the power that raised him from death’s realm. 13 This “realm of death” describes our former state, for we were held in sin’s grasp. But now, we’ve been resurrected out of that “realm of death” never to return, for we are forever alive and forgiven of all our sins!
14 He canceled out every legal violation we had on our record and the old arrest warrant that stood to indict us. He erased it all—our sins, our stained soul—he deleted it all and they cannot be retrieved! Everything we once were in Adam has been placed onto his cross and nailed permanently there as a public display of cancellation.
15 Then Jesus made a public spectacle of all the powers and principalities of darkness, stripping away from them every weapon and all their spiritual authority and power to accuse us. And by the power of the cross, Jesus led them around as prisoners in a procession of triumph. He was not their prisoner; they were his!”
“Christ’s resurrection is your resurrection too. This is why we are to yearn for all that is above, for that’s where Christ sits enthroned at the place of all power, honor, and authority! 2 Yes, feast on all the treasures of the heavenly realm and fill your thoughts with heavenly realities, and not with the distractions of the natural realm.
3 Your crucifixion with Christ has severed the tie to this life, and now your true life is hidden away in God in Christ. 4 And as Christ himself is seen for who he really is, who you really are will also be revealed, for you are now one with him in his glory!”
13-14″Christ redeemed us from that self-defeating, cursed life by absorbing it completely into himself. Do you remember the Scripture that says, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”? That is what happened when Jesus was nailed to the cross: He became a curse, and at the same time dissolved the curse. And now, because of that, the air is cleared and we can see that Abraham’s blessing is present and available for non-Jews, too. We are all able to receive God’s life, his Spirit, in and with us by believing—just the way Abraham received it.”
In chaos, in trouble, in uncertainty, He is still in control.
And His Name is power!
The Saturday between Good Friday and Easter Sunday can often feel like a waiting room – it’s not a day of commemoration, and the shops are open normal hours.
At the moment, it’s even more of an “in between” day. There’s nowhere really to go, and nothing much to do… Have you noticed that the world (at least round our way) seems so much quieter lately? Like the earth is holding its breath for a bit. Waiting to exhale when time starts again.
Here’s a snapshot of my day. Listening to some music, in the quiet of the morning. There’s even a heart in the clouds for me, which I didn’t notice until I took the photo!
The wind was picking up from time to time during the day, and the trees and grasses looked like they were dancing to an unheard song…
When I think about the first Easter, I realise the disciples didn’t know how it was going to turn out. They were caught in a breathless pause, grieving what they thought was a new hope in their lives, not yet understanding what was to come. Of course, we know now that there was a resurrection coming, but they didn’t. They met together, and tried to understand what they had missed…
This is our pause, our time to stop and wonder what comes next. It’s not easy; it’s not comfortable. We’re having to reassess what’s important, and decide what to do without. I don’t know what I can say to make things feel better, or to make sense of the unknowable. All I know is – Sunday’s coming.
And the light will dawn again!
“Why-y are there so many…. so-o-ongs about lounge chairs”… sorry, wrong lyrics 😀
We’re trudging in to another week of isolation, and passing time seems both fast and slow.
We’ve been attending church via Zoom, as well as other meetings and get-togethers. Here’s my special breakfast for the church service Sunday morning!
Pancakes, made using both gluten-free and chickpea flour. It was surprisingly light as a mix, and yummy as well – especially with honey, lemon, brown sugar…
Over this last week I’ve also attended a gathering for IJM (International Justice Mission), as well as a worship evening with friends. I’ve looked into participating in a couple of virtual choirs, although I haven’t, as yet, recorded anything. There’s a few gatherings coming up for groups I’m in as well. I feel like my social life hasn’t been this busy in ages!
Despite this, the day has been dragging. I don’t think I go out much in normal times, but there’s something about not being able to go anywhere that makes me want to go everywhere! Thankfully, there are still books to read, and shows to watch.
Also – we’re getting new water filters delivered tomorrow.
We had some unavoidable appointments today, so even though we’re in voluntary isolation at the moment, there’s still some things you can’t do by phone or internet.
After the appointments were done, we thought we’d get a coffee at our favourite cafe.
As per quarantine rules, they’re only open for takeaway at the moment. There are no tables inside, so we’re not tempted to stay, and you can see the tape on the floor to help with distancing while waiting. The other room is blocked off.
You can phone through an order and pick it up quickly – I believe they will also bring your order to your car (if you park on the street outside) if you really don’t want to risk being around people… No cash is accepted at the moment – pay by tap.
We had a (properly distanced) chat while waiting for our coffee, talking about the situation and the changes it’s brought. I personally have had mostly good interactions with people up to now, but I know there’s been bad stuff happening – abuse of supermarket staff, hoarding and general awfulness. Talked about the difficulties of getting the fresh ingredients to make what they sell…
I wouldn’t want to be in customer service at the moment. I’ve done that in the past, and I know that even at the best of times some people can be rude, entitled and sometimes abusive. With the fear levels now, the filters are off some people’s reactions. Those on the counters in healthcare or retail situations are making the best of the circumstances, while never quite knowing if the person in front of them is passing on a virus that could seriously impact themselves or someone they love. Whole days, weeks of that is exhausting.
Choose kindness.
Slow down.
Breathe.
We drove home afterwards, in a city that felt like it was early morning – minimal traffic and pedestrians. I’ve felt lately like time has been slowing down, in a way – it’s hard to remember what day it is sometimes.
Our libraries are closed now, but over the last week or so they increased the borrowing limit from 20 items to 50. I decided that was a goal I could aim for! I now have my 50 items, for an indefinite period. I just have to find the time to read them!
I was glad to get home this morning, and finally have breakfast.
We went to the cafe because we were in the area, and because we wanted to support them. It won’t be a regular thing, though, and I wanted to make it worth the trip 😀
A bigger breakfast, and definitely more sugar, than I’m used to.
No regrets.
Apart from necessities, we’ll be at home now. Probably reading…
I hope your day holds something good, whatever your situation.
Here are some cafe bunnies to cheer you!
Closures have meant our church services are not meeting at the moment, but we joined in with the online service. This morning was a chance to sit together and sing, and listen to God’s word. This afternoon I logged in to the service at a church we go to in the evenings… more worship – yay!
Because we were in our own lounge room we could have come in pyjamas, if we’d wanted 🙂 We had a cuppa, and I dipped in to a cup of chocolates my Sweet Bean got for me when he went to a service station down the road yesterday – he wanted a walk, and to get his own chocolate stash, so I thought I’d indulge!
I forgot to put it back in the fridge last night, so one of my freckles had eyes…
I enjoyed being comfortable in my own home… but most of all, I enjoyed meeting up with my Christian family – even if it’s just virtual!
In this time of coronavirus fear and “social distancing“, we are renegotiating contact with others… the basic handshake is avoided, and other greetings put in its place. For our church, as for other places of worship, that means using the Vulcan salute.
A good choice, I think!
Quite apart from the geek factor, the hand gesture is derived from a Jewish symbol, used during a priestly blessing. Leonard Nimoy (Spock in the original Star Trek) remembered seeing it as part of a service in the synagogue in his childhood, and when faced with coming up with a Vulcan greeting, modified what he had seen.
Tomorrow we’ll be telling each other to “Live long, and prosper”, to which the proper response is “Peace and long life”.
And we’ll be extending a blessing to each other as we do it!
Having just spent the last few days without internet, it’s been fun catching up with everything!
Something went wrong sometime Friday, and the technician couldn’t come out until yesterday (Tuesday). Thankfully, it all got fixed fairly easily, and we have a new modem now.
I don’t think I’m online too much (although I could cut down), but I had to stop myself going to Google something quite a few times! It felt quite freeing, though, not having the possibility of frittering away my time. I spent time studying and really taking the time to notice things…
Coincidentally, we’ve been doing the Red Letter Challenge – following the “red letters” of Jesus’ words – and last week was “being”, which included various disciplines. The last day was about having a Sabbath (basically, a day of rest)… I feel like I’ve just had a mini Sabbath season. There’s a website called Sabbath Manifesto, which has some ideas on how to unplug for at least a day a week.
Stand outs for me these last few days?
Using all my Bible translations (NIV, Message, Passion Translation, Amplified) to do some study.
Enjoying a leisurely egg on toast – there wasn’t anything to rush off to. The eggs seemed a bit worried about it, though…
Having a coffee at the library cafe, while writing and watching the world go by.
Earth Hour will be coming up soon – another chance to unplug and take things a bit slower 🙂
a bit of creativity, a bit of eco consciousness, a bit of inspiration.... hopefully not a lot of pompousness and blathering :D
i'm not entirely sure what's going on here... let's travel along and see...
1000 Fields of Roses 