So New Zealand won the World Cup. Rugby that is. There are no other cups that seem to matter now. The cup for being the greenest country? Nah. Leaky gas pipes and flatulent cows, plus a whole heap of oil trickling or gurgling off a vessel parked on a reef on the east coast. Salvors sound very messianic... These specific salvors are waiting for a king tide this weekend. NIWA says its the best time to try to refloat the ship. Rena is her name and she and her dear crew are almost as unpopular as the opposing rugby teams.
The world cup is over and three victory parades have been held. Poor old Dunedin got left out. And even in the rain the Wellingtonians poured out in droves to welcome their newly crowned heroes. A general election will probably not galvanise the nation quite so enthusiastically. And as a side-show a bunch of students are holding a sit-in in sympathy with those occupying Wall street. They're not getting much good press either. The issues of corporate greed are not really bothering a lot of people who seem quite content with this bizarre world economic system and the stranglehold of debt over the poor.
In this month the rest of us have got on with things. I remember the staff of my old school (not where I was a student but also on staff) commenting that students who were disaffected with the system and threatening to spoil the schools unblemished (and carefully managed) academic results were simply to "put their heads down". You can't tell that to idealistic university students. But miraculously enough the most vocal will still study for their exams and line their pockets for the future in terms of qualifications and careers. They put their heads down when it suites them.
Jesus in the meantime keeps reminding us that the greatest is the one who serves. and the last shall be first and vice versa. Preposterous is a great word to describe our world. And of course preposterous means the same thing - back to front!
On 11 October I remembered the 40th anniversary of my father's death. What a long spell as an adoptee - happily my faith as a child of God has made all the difference in this journey. I am forever grateful. And I know that my dad was remembered by many as a man of character and integrity at a time when the old South Africa was also preposterous.
So October is almost done. There have been many uncomfortable contradictions in the events around the world at this time. At a simple level we continue to serve. Was it not Milton who once penned these words: They also serve who only stand and wait?
