ROVING SPIRIT

Names and naming have always intrigued me. The name of the Mars Rover – Spirit- really got my imagination to work over-time as I contemplated all the possible theological implications. Imagine the caption when the rover was launched and reached its destination: Spirit has Landed. This sounds like a one liner out of some Christian text. Certainly in some Christian communities, the faithful are desperate for Spirit to land in their midst.

Of course, the Spirit that landed on Mars is never idle. It is always on the move roving about its business of gathering information for the curious earthlings. Life, however, on Mars (as it can be in some Christian communities) is not without hitches. Hence, a more recent report noted that Spirit had stalled at some point of its roving and had to be repaired – even given a boost. Boost us on O Spirit of restlessness! This sounds like a story out of some church life – where after prayer and invoking the Spirit, we operate as functional atheists with business as usual – very much in need of a boost.

A more recent article in New Scientist (Feb 7, 2009) noted that besides “a slight forgetfulness” Spirit, the Mars rover, is back in good health. Thank the Divine! The problem, we are told by the earthling technocrats, is that Spirit was “failing to act on instructions” and had refused to move. What else should we expect from Spirit? Imagine, trying to domesticate Holy Spirit in Christian life! Now, there are those who would say that isthis precisely what some of us try to do and that this is why Spirit has either departed from many Churches and shores and is keeping a low profile. Some even suggest that Spirit has a chronic housing problem in our society.

You would be pleased to know that on 27 January, the team of earthling technocrats told the rover to orientate itself by finding the sun and after some difficulty, Spirit tracked down the sun, but then found itself in an unexpected location. This sounds very much like what Spirit is all about: unruly, unpredictable and quite chaotic.While the technocrats wrestle with the mystery as to why Spirit briefly lost its memory, the best they could come up with as an explanation thus far is this: it may just be a sign of age. What a thought for us Christians!

copyright jagessar

Where is God in all of this? Or What the hell is going on here?

Trying to sift through the complexities of Israel and Gaza (Palestine) is no light matter, especially for an outsider to do so. To do so is like walking through a series of mazes. To broach any form discourse on the subject is to enter the terrain of strong emotional, identity, theological, historical and political issues. Positions of right and wrong are complicated and narratives are too layered and thick for an outsider to even begin to understand.

Jeff Halper, one of the voices that uses non-violence to protest against his country through ICAHD (The Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions) shares some interesting insights on influences that motivate his actions. He notes that while reasons may vary, it is always “something [that] takes you out of your box” and for him it was the sixties; that generation when being critical was the norm.” [NI (January-February, 2009, p.37] He was active in the Civil Rights movement and against war in Vietnam. He further noted that in his studies of anthropology – his basic question was: What the hell is going on here? With “hell” being the critical part, meaning, the need to think outside of the box! How true this is in terms of the demands placed on all of us to seek a way of peace through the hate, distrust and destruction.

I suppose, as a progeny of the critical spirit and thinking out of the box, I may want to ask: where is God is all of this? Or should the Divine be left out on matters related to the Holy Land? At what point did David become Goliath (to draw from a familiar biblical story)? How is it possible that the oppressed, now liberated, can display elements of their oppression to another group of people? With the stones and rubble all around, the imagery of David facing mighty Goliath comes to mind, except that in this case the might of Goliath has prevailed. Not that David with his slingshot was some paragon of virtue, or for that matter, will any marginalised group who is fighting for survival. Yet, it is so easy for the once oppressed to become the oppressor. Freedom demands working on the internalised evils that still lurk around. History is replete with examples.

One of the problematic theological notions that is tied to the contradictory term “Holy Land” is, in my view, a bad, flawed and hegemonic theology of land. In this theology is a licence for lands to be annexed by reasoning that those annexing have received a Divine mandate to go in and take away the land from those who may have been living there for a long time – even if it means displacing and slaughtering them to get it. This is the very theology that European colonialists, endorsed by Christianity, used to enslave and kill the heathen populations of foreign lands. What a God? What a theology? What a bloody (mis)representation of the Divine?

It may be true that we are in for the long haul with this and the many other burning issues around us. It may be that the problems we are facing are much larger, deeply rooted in cultural, political, economic (i.e greed), historical and theological forces that have piled up over generations. But surely we do have some moral grounds to stand on and make a difference. Whatever has become of religious values such as: Love of God and universe; Do not destroy; Hospitality to strangers; Dignity/respect; Acts of love and kindness; Seeking peace; Respect of self and others; Repentance and turning; Repairing the world; and justice? It is time to re-read and live these values!

© copyright Jagessar February 12, 2009