Whale's Belly

Maternal instincts

2011-10-30T21:14:00.009+08:00

Mrs Smiley has been 'de-cluttering' lately. She found a doll that had its arm broken completely off! As every good 'de-clutterer' will know: don't keep broken things!

Not content to put the dolly in the bin, Mrs Smiley ripped its head off so she could remove and keep the dress!

Little princess (4 years old) cried and cried and cried (as you would at the decapitation of one of your fav dolls). Mrs Smiley agrees, with the little princess' help, to rescue the doll from the bin.

"But what about her arm, Mummy? We have to get that too!"
"We can't honey... It's completely broken off! We can't fix it." replied Mum.

Crown prince chips in: "We can pretend she was a shark attack victim!"
Who says seven year olds don't listen to the news...?

Peter Hotchkin
Posted by "just call me Jonah"

Feel the love...

2011-10-26T22:30:00.000+08:00

Steve Irwin came up in a school project:

Daughter (4) says, "Does Bindi Irwin miss her dad since he died?"
[Yes, said daughter does have an unhealthy obsession with death.]

I reply, "Yes I'm sure Bindi does miss her dad. Wouldn't you miss me if I died?"
***uncomfortably long silence follows... ***

Son (7) interjects, "I would miss you dad if you died: but I would miss mum more. I hope you die first..."

Peter Hotchkin
Posted by "just call me Jonah"

More they...

2011-10-05T19:32:00.002+08:00

They is a great way to keep the focus off one's self and what one should do. It helps us to take off the responsibility that is probably ours - and transfer it to someone who is face-less and non-descried. They are nebulous people who we don't know... We can't confront them directly and ask them or offer some constructive advice. We can just blame them.

In current affairs, we hear they: to describe Asylum Seekers. Firstly, we hear elected representatives (politicians) talk about being an Asylum Seeker as if that's a crime. These people will be detained on Christmas Island because they've been charged with "seeking asylum in a democratically free country." We see the strategies employed by politicians to "protect our borders" from these "invaders". These strategies are called "the --- solution." A solution to used to resolve a problem - not to avoid a responsibility...

But then, that's just the way they do it... and we don't want to confront they - so we're implicit in the solutions that they use for the problems they perceive.

I only wish this criticism didn't apply to me... but I am implicit in these solutions too, because I am the they I love to blame.

Peter Hotchkin
Posted by "just call me Jonah"

They...

2011-10-02T08:53:00.003+08:00

There’s a lot of “they” about you know?
They are the ones who do stuff… and they ought to as well! It's what they should do!
Have you ever heard someone say, “They should do something about that…” Usually the person speaking finishes the sentence: “They should do something about that... road or bridge or lake or park or shop or something else…”
Sometimes, the sentence is condemning: “They should do something about that man or person.”
Sometimes the sentence is vague, “They should do something about that law.”
Mostly, it’s not an answer or solution… rather it's that someone else should it!

That’s where we want they to come in… I wish they would hurry up too!

I don't want to do anything about it; they should! It's their job.

Peter Hotchkin
Published by "just call me Jonah"

You're a burden to God

2011-09-30T07:04:00.001+08:00

Blessed be the Lord day by day.
who bears us as his burden:
he is the God of our deliverance.

God is to us a God who saves:
by God the Lord do we escape death.

Psalm 68:19-20

I read this in morning prayer a few days ago and I've been contemplating it ever since.

Imagine that: we are God's burden... to carry us when we are in need of being delivered.
I am a burden to God, but that's the way God likes it!

Peter Hotchkin
Posted by "just call me Jonah"

Bothered by God

2011-09-28T12:59:00.002+08:00

I feel bothered by God today. I settle in to read morning prayer and happily participate in personal, private devotion. I'm not bothering anyone. I'm trying not to bother God...

But the New Testatment Lectionary reading for this morning was Matthew 9:27-38. It ends with these words:

"The harvest is plentiful but the labourers are few. Therefore, ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest."

Why is it that I hear these words as a calling to priestly vocation? All we are told is to 'ask the Lord of the harvest...' but these words confront me as a call to action (not just to prayer)! I see in these words, an instruction, not just to a labouring in the harvest, but a labouring in holy orders. The words leap out to me for my action and obedience. The words of a calling to priestly vocation... Sometimes, I think it would be so nice to not feel this call - then everyone can be happy; particularly everyone else. But the 'hound of heaven' won't stop bothering me.

Peter Hotchkin
Posted by "just call me Jonah"

Parenting

2011-09-27T17:11:00.000+08:00

Being a parent is sometimes like being held hostage by midget terrorists who make uncompromising demands on your life...

So a friend of mine posted on her facebook wall...

As parents face the onslaught of school holidays; with both joys and sorrows; I hope and pray that we can rise above the pain - and enjoy the play.

Peter Hotchkin
Posted by "just call me Jonah"

Death-repressed

2011-08-29T06:32:00.002+08:00

Sexual-repression was a hallmark of the Victorian era. Mark Sayers asks the question if the current generations will be marked as death-repressed. Our fear of death, aging and pain is palpable!
Peter Hotchkin
Posted by "just call me Jonah"

Peter's Professional Posts site

2011-08-24T20:03:00.001+08:00

I've said it before: I don't think most people want to read my reviews on Youth Work text books or my assignments, essays, study notes and practice exams on Theology. I'm sure not many people want to read my Emergency Management advice and my media releases on Bequest Development.

If you really want to, you could tell me... or else you could just go to my Professional Postings Site at www.hotchkin.com.au I've recently posted some more material there and I have started to actually "play in the space" by committing to post regularly (I'm trying to make it at least twice a week).

This message you are reading is sent to my FaceBook page because it is from my personal Blog. There are friends on FB that are not at all interested in my professional musings... there are probably some friends on facebook who aren't interested in my personal Blog either but that's life...

Peter Hotchkin
Posted by "just call me Jonah"

Recent research

2011-08-21T06:30:00.002+08:00

I heard the other day: evidently, eating chocolate halts the aging process.

I’m not sure if this is true but can I afford to take the risk…?

Peter Hotchkin
Posted by "just call me Jonah"

Public Toilets part 2

2011-08-18T18:51:00.001+08:00

Little Miss was out with me only and was busting to go to the loo. But she refused to go to the men's public toilet. She wanted to into the ladies! I really wasn't able to do that... as much as I was ready to take that step - I figured the women in the shopping centre were not ready. There was no 'family toilet' (which is pretty much a strange name as far as I'm concerned).

However, I have been able to convince her that there is a ladies toilet inside every men's toilet. I showed her the pedestal cubicle and it was clearly exactly the same as a toilet in the ladies. See; every men's public toilet has a ladies toilet inside the door. It is especially for these situations when a dad can't take his daughter to the ladies toilet.

Dads: feel free to use that line.

Peter Hotchkin
Posted by "just call me Jonah"

Auskick Tigers!

2011-08-16T19:15:00.000+08:00

We tried to get the Crown Prince into Auskick, after the sign-up day had passed. They were really good about it. But it turned out that they needed a coach for the extra team.

Mrs Smiley came home and said,
"Take a guess who is going to be your Auskick coach this year?"
"You!?!" he asked.
"No, not me." said Mum.
"Umm. Uncle Freo?" said the boy.
"No," said Mum; trying not to snigger.
"Do you mean Nana?" came the next offering
"No," trying to restrain her open laughter.
"I don't know: who else is there?"

Anyway, the season is over now and I thought I did okay for a first time coach... The focus is meant to be 'fun'!

The team was "the Tigers" and this is the Crown Prince holding the award for that particular week.

Peter Hotchkin
Posted by "just call me Jonah"

"Brothers & Sisters"

2011-08-15T19:13:00.000+08:00

“Brothers and Sisters: the order of birth in the family” by Karl König

Rudolf Steiner Publications Inc, New York. Floris books 1993 ISBN 0-903540-38-X

I have mostly highlighted and reproduced comments and quotes from this outstanding book that are most pertinent to my own children (first a boy, then a sister). The book contains considerable information about other configurations and these ought to be addressed separately. I do not have the space to fully account for any number of constellations.

Although this 4th edition was published and reprinted in 1993, the original book was written in 1958. Much of the language lacks the gender non-specific style that we are accustomed to now. I have, against my preference, preserved the original quotes in this summary.

Introduction:
“The encounter between man and his whole environment – people and weather and demands and opportunities and destiny and everything which is not he himself – is basically determined by his rank in the order of birth.

The first-born attempts to conquer the world.
The second-born tries to live in harmony with the world.
The third-born is inclined to escape the direct meeting with the world.

The fourth, fifth and sixth child repeat the basic trends of a first, second and third-born, and so on.”

Concerning the one and only child:
“The family-constellation, however, shapes the social behaviour of man. It determines the way he reacts to other people.”

“Both the introvert as well as the extravert powers are needed in every human being because we are thinkers as much as we are doers.”

“With everything and with every person, we experience an immediate sensation that arises from the depths of our being. We feel it also with animals, flowers and plants, with stones and crystals. Sound, noise, colour and shadow, smell and taste – everything around us kindles an immediate emotional contact in us.

“The secret of every contact-situation is that the bond between the individual and the object is an emotional one. It is in the sphere of feeling that we meet the surrounding world and do so with either sympathy or antipathy. And what we often experience is not simple like or dislike. There are different shades of so-called ambivalent feelings; we may like and dislike the same object at the same time.

“Our sympathies are always concerned with extraversion and our antipathies are with introversion; extraversion is the direction of sympathy, introversion of antipathy.”

The first child:
The first child begins life as a one and only child. The second child comes as an invader or intruder. The first child is aware that they are no longer the ‘only darling’ as Helen Keller observed.

“It takes time before the first child is willing to accept his brother or sister. This depends on the difference in age, on the attitude of the parents, on the general conditions in the home and last but not least, on the temperament and personality of the child himself.”

“The two little rivals will easily find one another if they experience their parents’ determination not to give preference to one of them. Here, however, the father and especially the mother will have to be highly conscious of what they do and feel. To regard the firstborn as well as the second child with equal care and tenderness and to give to each equal parental guidance will make all the difference to the overcoming of the initial difficulties.”

“The first child is a defender; a defender of faith, a defender of tradition, a defender of the family. The first child preserves the past against the onrush of any new ideas and actions. He has to maintain what has been achieved.”

“The first boy with one sister develops qualities of serene behaviour. He may also become as stiff as an old school-master, because he has imagined himself from early days onward as the teacher of his female companion.”

“To complete the picture of this first child, we still have to consider another side of his background; the relation to father and mother.”

"In this respect the first child holds a unique position. He is mediator between his parents and the rest of his brothers and sisters. ...it will always be the first who bears the full impact of the interplay between parents and children. He is the one whose face is turned both ways: to the parents as representatives of the past, to his sisters and brothers as the guarantors of the future. He belongs to neither – because to his parents he is the child, to his sisters and brothers he is the substitute for the parents. His position is an ambiguous one. The parents are the captain of the ship of the family; the firstborn is the coxswain. He is part of the crew and yet he is not. The older he grows, the firmer must be his grasp on the wheel.”

"Firstborn children are the true and rightful inhabitants of this earth.”

The Second Child:
König refers to Alfred Adler as the founder of Individual Psychology and quotes from one of Adler’s close associates on the research of birth order. “An ‘eldest’, Alfred Adler discovered, was generally a dependable, conventional, authoritative, law-abiding child, standing by its parents in its protective and sometimes domineering attitude towards the younger children; but this is by no means invariably the pattern of the eldest – since the child may take what Adler has termed its ‘dethronement’ by a second child so much to heart that it becomes discouraged, loses all self-reliant powers, and refuses to accept responsibility; but an ‘eldest’ to whom his parents have given wise and loving explanation of his followers in the family, so that he feels he has an equal stake in their well-being, is unlikely to lose courage or fail to keep his leadership.”

“The second child rarely has the intention of catching up with its elder brother or sister; the second child is not a conqueror and by no means a defender. ...each child has a different task to fulfil according to its rank.”

“Disharmony comes about when a first child is given the task of a second one, or when a second child upon the death of an elder brother is forced to take his place. Here, often, lie the roots of psychotic and neurotic disorders in the sphere of social behaviour.”

König uses the illustration of Cain and Abel as first and second child. Cain carries the extension of the curse upon Adam, as Cain must till the ground. Abel has a different nature, friend and companion of the flock, living among the beasts and sharing their carefree life.

“Abel is a dreamer; he listens to the voice of his sentiments and feelings. He follows the course of his own thoughts and longs to be back in the realm whence he came. His interests do not lie with the earth and her needs and destiny. His yearning reaches out into the higher spheres of all existence.

“Cain is concerned with the transformation of the earth. Abel’s task is to overcome the earth. Cain is immersed in the tasks of the present; Abel in listening to the past, continually tries to prepare for the future.”

“Abel is rarely a fighter. He is usually a pioneer, a seeker, a dreamer, a poet, a saint. He is not so concerned about worldly matters. He likes to live without making too much effort.”

In the second born, there is not the sense of duty that exists in the first born.

Using an illustration from a book by Richard Church (Over the Bridge, < >, London, 1955), König describes that periodic attacks of illness are typical of second children. “It is the typical form of reaction of second children to the overpowering might of their environment.”

In these attacks, the slaying of Abel is repeated in the second child. In the story of Over the Bridge, Richard Church (the second child) describes his own health attacks as ‘the friendly old enemy’ and says that the attacks serve to monopolise the mother’s attention and to transform the elder brother into his servant.

Other characteristics of a second child that König draws from the Richard Church story include a “belated mastering of letters and words, and in grasping the significance and relationship of numbers...”

“...later on when he attended a boys’ school, he remarks: “Only in reading did I find serenity and self-confidence. As soon as I put down my book and took off the armour of words, I felt the winds of life blow cold upon my nakedness and I shivered with apprehension.”

König claims every second child is endowed “...with special spiritual powers that are his by inheritance. He is nearer to the Kingdom of God than any other person on earth. It is his prerogative, but it is also his danger. It can elate him, but it can also spoil him and make him a fraud and a charlatan. To be a second child mostly means to walk along a rope stretched between heaven and earth; to maintain the balance between above and below is the chief attribute of the second child.”

“In many second (child) sisters a spiritual, sometimes even an angelic determination is present. They are devoted nurses, teachers, doctors and social workers – always playing second fiddle, yet indispensible in their deeds and achievements to the community...”

“Neither Abel nor Artemis are weekday beings; they belong rather to the festival days, to special occasions, to the outstanding events. The drudgery of life is foreign to them; they will accept it if their help is needed and their labour valued. Second children are guests – to them the earth is but a temporary place of accommodation.”

The Third Child:
“...there is a gap between the first and second child on the one hand, and the third on the other. The first and the second child belong together however different they may be. Their destinies are intimately connected, and their sympathies and antipathies are dove-tailed into one another.

“The third child appears as an outsider. Now a single stands against two. It is quite natural that the first two stand up against the third. A third child can gradually work its way into the circle of the first two...

“It will even put a greater effort into this task and try by every possible means to qualify as a respected partner among his forerunners.

“Here we meet two of the fundamental attributes of third children. They feel apart, sometimes even cut off from all other people. This separation, however, is a very different one from that met with in the only child. The latter always shows a degree of aloofness. He is above all other people; a firstborn with all its qualities. The loneliness of the third child has a different flavour. It bears the sting of inferiority.” “He longs to be one of the others and can never fully achieve it.”

“in many third children such a sudden break in their destinies can occur. A certain number of them die rather young and sometimes, suddenly and unexpectedly.”

“It is a lofty job to be a third child and a very dangerous one. Therefore so many of them perish before they have ever reached their aim.”

Summary:
“These three types of man represent the three archetypal forms of his social destiny. As a first child, he defends the past, as a second child, he lives with the present, and he prepares the future as the third. The defender of the past is a ruler. The child of the present is an artist. The preparer of the future is irrational. All three are needed in the great web of human life.”

Posted by "just call me Jonah"
Peter Hotchkin

Assignments and Exams

2011-07-09T10:05:00.001+08:00

I'll get around to posting some of my work from Semester 1 this year. I can't post it on the Internet until the results come in. Everything is checked against Internet sources to stop plagiarism. It would look bad if my assignments all came back with "100% non-original material."

I know not everyone is interested in Theology subjects so I post that material to my other blog at http://www.hotchkin.com.au/ and let people go there if they want to read it. Those who would like to argue with me can do so freely...

Peter Hotchkin
Posted by "just call me Jonah"

A daughter's love

2011-07-08T18:01:00.001+08:00

I come home to find Little-Miss 3 trying to pack too many items into her little Dora back-pack. It's nearly bursting at the seams under the bulk and weight of the items. As a logical Dad I say, "You're trying to pack too much in it!" Her response:
"You are so annoying, you!"

Peter Hotchkin
Posted by "just call me Jonah"

Public Toilets

2011-07-08T09:57:00.002+08:00

Four year old girl on toilet down kid's end of the house...
Frustrated Six and a half year old boy stomps past dining room on way to parent's den at other end of house:
"Dad! we should so start having a men's and a ladies' toilet here!"

Peter Hotchkin
Posted by "just call me Jonah"

Gratitude has limits

2011-04-20T17:10:00.001+08:00

"No! We are not going out today! No! It’s not fair: it used to be fair but it’s not anymore! Now we have to do everything for dad; and all he has to do is to go out to work to get us money..."

So yelled my 6 year old Crown Prince the other day. Mrs Smiley and I have needed to go shopping for ages. But the little darlings, being on holidays, have become couch potatoes! So when I said we were going to turn off the TV and go out - that was the detailed response from HRH.

It's nice to know that it used to be fair, even if things have changed...

Peter Hotchkin
Posted by "just call me Jonah"

More Shapes (TM)

2011-04-13T19:31:00.002+08:00

Further more... the next shapes he pulled from the boax was decreed as:

"The Golden Hexagon of Power"

Peter Hotchkin

Posted by "just call me Jonah"

Shapes is a trade mark of Arnott's Biscuits Limited
Image obtained from Google Images

Shapes are a really good product... I recommend them heartily

Gotta love Shapes (TM)

2011-04-13T12:01:00.004+08:00

The Crown Prince recently discovered Arnotts Shapes (TM) Biscuits... Flavour that you can evidently see; according to the advertising campaign. However, that campaign lacks all imagination in the face of this! Lord Bickle pulls a 'shapes' from the box, holds up it up and declares: "The Golden Triangle of Destiny"

Peter Hotchkin
Posted by "just call me Jonah"

Shapes is a trade mark of the Arnott's Biscuits company
Image from Google Images

My Exam on the New Testament

2010-12-22T08:54:00.002+08:00

I realise, I'm not Blogging as much... Facebook seems to take over. So how did I go in the Exam? I must have done something right because I just scaped in a High Distinction in the subject! A mark of 82... The exam questions fitted my preparation and my memory worked ok. I had one curly situation. Section A - I had to answer 3 questions from a choice of 5 or 6. I had prepared 4 answers really well... and general revision. But the questions went back to two years ago, not last year... so I had to choose to answer one question that I could only rely upon my memory and average quality revision. If my lecturer reads this, it would be interesting to hear which one he thinks I had to wing an answer on... (please respond). I had to run with muddling something about the Diaspora... All other questions were close enough to my preparation that I was able to coherently offer a response. A couple of sections lacked my preferred question - but I had prepared enough to answer on of the other questions... I would have been nice to use my preferred question but one can only work with what is available. Peter Hotchkin Posted by "just call me Jonah"

Latte set

2010-11-20T19:44:00.001+08:00

I had a lovely afternoon with the little princess. Big brother had a school friend's birthday party. It gave us a chance for some time together just dad & daughter.

She fell asleep within 4 minutes of dropping brother & mum at party... So much for my stimulating company.

I let her sleep for a while, then we went to Dome for cino... She loved it...

Then we went down to the boat ramp to watch boats for a while until pick-up time for the other two: magic moments!

Just call me Jonah...(?)
Peter Hotchkin

Sent from my iPhone

Exam...

2010-11-15T20:33:00.002+08:00

Praying that the exam tomorrow will have questions on:

Pharisees, Jewish Temple in first century and the Maccabean Revolt... Jesus' relationship with the Pharisees and John the Baptist would also help. A question of pseudonymity would please me too. And a chance for me to rave about Textual Criticism would be good too.

The hardest thing is the time restrains on subjects I find interesting and that I could rave about for longer than the exam allows ;-)

I'm looking forward to it! But I still value people's thoughts and prayers.

Peter Hotchkin

Posted by "just call me Jonah"

Admiration...

2010-11-08T06:05:00.003+08:00

I took the little princess to work the other day... It was an Expo and I was handing out promos and chatting to people as they walked by.

She was impressed. On the drive home she said, "I love your work!"

Peter Hotchkin

Posted by "just call me Jonah"

Explaining things...

2010-11-07T16:05:00.002+08:00

Got up: found the crown prince in the lounge surrounded by cereal...

First he tried the blame his sister (who was still in bed!).

Then came his explanation:

"This is my guess..."

Peter Hotchkin

Posted by "just call me Jonah"

Age when you're 6...

2010-11-06T21:40:00.002+08:00

I was talking with the crown prince... turning 6 very soon, about things one cannot do until you turn 18.

He looks to me and says, "I am sooo not 18 years old!"

Peter Hotchkin

Posted by "just call me Jonah"

Assessments

2010-11-05T22:38:00.004+08:00

What do you get when you cross a Uni student with a full-time employee and an internet connection...?

Well, I have been quiet on the blog posting front lately... that's partly because work decided to block all Blog sites... I can't read the industry related Blog sites that keep me up to date with trends in fundraising and bequest development. And I can't post from work during lunchtime.

But that's life...

I have been studying this semester too and that has limited my Blogging time.

Subject: The New Testament and Its World.

Because of strict rules about academic integrity, we use "turn it in" for our assignments. So I can't publish the actual papers until well after the results are finished. But I did last semester so I will put out something this time too. Pity the fool who wants to read them...? Pity the poor who do the same subjects next year and turn it in picks up my blog (?) as a source...

Basically, it's not that interesting for everyone to read my papers, so these go onto my sermons and sermonising Blog.

I must be doing something right for this unit - because my two assessments so far have been "HD-" I've handed in the final assignment yesterday and I'm fairly confident of getting 10/10 for that and 5/5 for 'participation' in Tutorials... So I've got just over a week to study for the exam. I feel less prepared for the exam than I would like... I have really loved this Unit - but the sheer volume of information is incredible. So I have to cram!

Peter Hotchkin

Posted by "just call me Jonah"

Advisory Conference

2010-11-01T22:00:00.000+08:00

It's a funny name for the people going through it - because we don't get advised of anything at the conference. I guess even the examining chaplains don't actually get advised...

Their time with us is very short and virtually impossible to get to know who we really are... and therefore, get a true indication of our suitability. But this is the way it's been done for like, ever...

It's called Advisory Conference, because the examining chaplains meet with the candidates; examine us... and then meet to discuss us... Then they advise the Archbishop.

I attended my second Advisory Conference on Friday... Last year it took about 8 weeks to hear back so at this stage, I have no indication of the examining chaplains' thoughts about my calling to the Priesthood. I have to trust that God is in the process... But this is one of those things where I have been running away from obedience to God's call for some time. I've devoted years of my life to the Church and Para-Church ministry organisations... mostly in my vain attempts to placate God pestering me about his call to ministry. But in that process, I've got runs on the board for pastoral ministry, Evangelisation, mission, preaching, teaching others, liturgy, replicating my ministry, and theological expression. I've spent the last year doing the tasks and disciplines my Archbishop required of me, as one would expect someone under orders to follow orders.

So while I write this and ask for your prayers... the 'advice' has already been given (or decided)! We just haven't heard it yet.

Peter Hotchkin

Posted by "just call me Jonah"

Don't forget the pants

2010-08-20T20:24:00.000+08:00

My daughter is obsessed with pyjamas. She won’t go out without them! Sometimes she wants to wear them to go out... I took her to the football match on Sunday: she wore pyjamas! Other times, she will consent to wearing clothes, but must be carrying some pyjamas. She even tried to ride her scooter the other day, while clutching a pair of PJs... she couldn’t. But rather than hand over the pyjamas – she told me to push the scooter for her! Uncle Freo took a trip to the north to warm up during the mid-winter. He kindly brought back gifts for the kids. T-shirts. Lovely tourist T-shirts from the place he visited. The Crown Prince was very happy with his and appropriately said his ‘thank you’. The little princess got a very special, glow in the dark shirt. But upon receiving it began with... “Oh.... not again.” She had a lovely smile and a happy tone. It’s just the words that didn’t fit. Then, she realised the horror of it all: “Where’s my pants?” she asked. Here was a piece of clothing that wasn’t PJs! There was only a top and no matching pants! She still had a happy smile and tone... but she was wondering: why no pyjamas? Peter Hotchkin Posted by "just call me Jonah"

Happy Families

2010-08-15T19:22:00.000+08:00

The Crown Prince has started drawing his sister as a dog in his drawings of the family. This depiction of the family in a slightly different way... is it normal? He draws two adult figures, “That’s Daddy & Mum.” Then he draws a third upright person, smaller in stature but still looking human! Then he draws a dog walking along the ground on all fours. “What’s that son? We don’t have a dog...” “That’s my sister... she’s crawling...” Thing is, she’s a toddler! She’s been walking for two years! Generally they play well together... sometimes they argue, “I love Daddy.” “No, you don’t love Daddy; I love Daddy!” “It’s a share Daddy!” But this drawing one’s sister as a dog is a new level of sibling rivalry. Peter Hotchkin Posted by "just call me Jonah"

Mook...

2010-08-11T19:21:00.000+08:00

“Where’s my mook?” These words are what greet me in the morning. Not, “good morning Daddy, most wonderful Daddy in the world, without whom I would not survive.” No, I get, “Where’s my mook? I want my mook!” It took me a little while to figure out what the little princess was actually asking for. She would get up at some unearthly hour of the morning. Wander to the fridge. And discover that there was no milk poured into a cup for her convenience at this moment. Peter Hotchkin Posted by "just call me Jonah"

Dirty Castle

2010-08-10T21:49:00.000+08:00

The human mind searches for meaning in whatever capacity it can. That’s why those magic-eye 3D picture things work. Because the brain is seeking the order, an image arises out of the chaos. So what happens went you’re learning language, and life? You get a statement like this. “Go away Daddy. I don’t love you! You’re a dirty castle!” Now, on this Blog, I refer to my children as if they are royalty... and a “man’s home is his castle”... and the house is a little messy (even dirty). But where is this coming from? At happier moments, I am asked to carry the little princess on my shoulders. Up she goes: then she calls out to her brother, “You can’t catch me-ee cos you’re a dirty castle.” Peter Hotchkin Posted by "just call me Jonah"

Advertising and my daughter...

2010-07-21T21:00:00.000+08:00

I’m a fan of the ABC TV program The Gruen Transfer. The Gruen Transfer is named after Victor Gruen, the guy who designed the very first shopping mall. The term describes that split second when the mall's intentionally confusing layout makes our eyes glaze and our jaws slacken... the moment when we forget what we came for and become impulse buyers. However, the show examines the intricacies of advertising and the ads themselves. It is truly insightful. I like to think I am a discerning person... and having studied marketing and advertising (and working in public relations/fundraising), I pick up the subtleties that agencies slip into their ads. But this week, I realise that my children don’t! They’ve never picked apart the signifiers and significations of an ad. They’ve never critically reviewed ads and cynically examined the messages, branding and information (true or false) that ads are pushing. But even at three, my daughter is picking up marketing messages. She have Elmo pyjamas that she loves to wear... but she said in the car the other day, “Where’s my Omo pyjamas?” She also asked to go home and watch the DVD we have on the story of Jonah... In her words, “Jonah going to get Nivea.” Perhaps fitting from the daughter of a guy who calls his Blog after Jonah... Peter Hotchkin Posted by "just call me Jonah"

Piano

2010-06-20T20:45:00.000+08:00

We just got a piano... It was the one Noah played in the Ark but it's great to have a piano. We feel the kids can get a feel for its existence and perhaps touch it without too much concern... Then again, I do get a little worried about it and don't like them getting too close and too heavy handed with it. Me on the other hand: I'm loving it! It's great to have access to it. I'm only a hack anyway, and I haven't 'played' the piano for 15 to 20 years. I only play chords and these were my own devised chords from guitar notes... No really like the chords I've found on "piano chord charts' (different finger placement). But I'm getting back into it while I have a break. Peter Hotchkin Posted by "just call me Jonah"

NRL.... attention to details not a strong point

2010-06-16T22:06:00.004+08:00

This is what the NRL website posted for the result of the State of Origin game 2.

Yes: this is the official website of the NRL... no photoshop... But I would hope that they fix it up before you get a look at it. I just figured it was only fair to show its original condition.

Peter Hotchkin Posted by "just call me Jonah"

My latest Blog

2010-06-15T21:10:00.002+08:00

I don't have too much time on my hands; I have too many thoughts in my head! Writers used to say that they knew they had a book inside them... and they just had to get it out. Of course, books are so last century! Very few people have a best seller inside them! But that we do have is a wonderful new media that empowers us all to share the book inside. I have a number of Blogs. While many people read this one via the Facebook page, there are other Blogs that may be useful. I've just started Peter's Children's and Youth Ministry Blog, with my thoughts and ideas to share. If you know of anyone who might benefit from this information, please direct them to the site. Thanks Peter Hotchkin Posted by "just call me Jonah"

The 'rude' finger...

2010-06-09T21:40:00.001+08:00

I don't know what the kids at my son's school talk about in the play ground... in pre-primary... when the teachers aren't around...

But the Crown Prince (now five and a half years old), hurt his finger getting out of the bath the other night. "Oww. Daddy, I hurt my finger."

"Oh really, which one?"

"The rude one."

"What...?" trying to hide my laughter.

"The rude one!"

"Which one is that...?"

Said son shows me the finger: "This one."

"That's the rude finger is it?"

"Of course Dad... everyone knows that." Trying to hide contempt for his obviously ignorant father. :-)

"Why? Who told you that?"

"It just is..." he replies.

"Ok. I guess you probably shouldn't flip anyone that finger then, eh?"

Peter Hotchkin

Published by "just call me Jonah"

Thirsty nose...?

2010-06-05T21:33:00.003+08:00

My daughter has a bit of a runny nose. It only effects her a night, when she lies down.... She came wandering out of her bedroom the other night... saying: "My nose is thirsty."

Peter Hotchkin

Published by "just call me Jonah"

Fairy Margaret

2010-05-15T16:01:00.002+08:00

For my little princess; the words "fairy" and "princess" are interchangeable. Come to think about it - that's true for many people... but that's another story.

Anyway, little miss 2.5 had to go to the hospital the other night with a fluctuating fever and a concerning lethargy.

To the family, she announced that she was going to Fairy Margaret Hospital.

Peter Hotchkin

Published by "just call me Jonah"

The other half...?

2010-05-10T18:08:00.003+08:00

My children are obsessed with Christmas. We are in May and they're still demanding to have the Christmas CDs playing in the car! While listening hard as they sang along the other day - Mrs Smiley and I realised they were singing a carol slightly different to the original that many of us may have heard: Half the herald angels sing, Glory to the new born king! We wonder what is happening with the other half of the heavenly host? Are they busy? Are they doing backing vocals? Didn't they pass the audition? Does God not want to put all the angels in one basket...? Peter Hotchkin Published by "just call me Jonah"

Hoot's Lullaby

2010-05-08T07:15:00.004+08:00

Giggle & Hoot Lullaby for ABC Kids from zspace on Vimeo.

The Puppet Show

2010-04-10T08:56:00.004+08:00

The crown prince treated up to a puppet show the other day. The narrator, an inflatable frog, was the first puppet to appear. This puppet said, “Hello ladies and gentlemen. The puppet show is about to start; please turn off your mobile phones….” While we rolled about in laughter, he calmly announced, “And, please, no talking during the show…” These are the kids who ever knew a life without mobile phones, iPhones, MP3, laptops and Wii. My laptop is two years old and Wii isn’t in its spell check! He’s never read the instructions for Wii – but that’s no block to proficient use. He logs into Pauly’s Playhouse, he counts out quarters and dimes (pity he can’t understand Australian money) on Maths Blaster and generally has no problems with IT… at five years old The iPad made $150,000,000 on release! Find a movie, any other product, with that kind of impact! We can hardly keep up. Peter Hotchkin Published by "just call me Jonah"

"Everywhere"

2010-02-14T07:44:00.003+08:00

Mrs Smiley woke this morning to hear the fridge door beeping... and then the little Princess (now two and a half years old) said, "Everywhere..."

Oh oh, that's never a good sign...

One doesn't know what to do: are you annoyed about milk being spilt everywhere; or are you impressed with the 2 1/2 year old's correct usage of the word 'everywhere'...

I guess that's what they mean by the saying: "There's no point crying over spilt milk."

Peter Hotchkin Published by "just call me Jonah"

My Aspirations...

2010-02-11T06:40:00.000+08:00

It's been a while... but I'm coming to grips with the answer and so am able to say something at last. Then again, I'm not really sure what the answer was... it might best be described as either "wait" or "come back next year." It wasn't really clear. The letter said I had not been discern for formation in 2010... which is a "no."

But the Archbishop went on to provide some recommended actions over the next year. He also said I would be invited to the 2010 Advisory Conference.

So what am I to do this year? Continue in Spiritual Direction: a valuable exercise anyway, but essential for anyone in ministry. Begin study at Murdoch University in Theology... I am to continue meeting with my 'link examining Chaplain' and to seek supervision from my parish Priest.

It's quite positive when you think about it... so there might be further developments in the future. Although there was an implied 'no', I don't sense that this is a forever-no! The instructions I've been given wouldn't suggest that I'm being traded-in.

So thanks again to all those who prayed for me... and I will continue to need your thoughts and prayers as the year progresses.

Peter Hotchkin Published by "just call me Jonah"

Book or movie... again

2010-02-10T20:39:00.000+08:00

After a failed earlier attempt, I have begun reading Roald Dahl's "Charlie and The Chocolate Factory" to my 5-year old son. This is one where I would have to say the book is so much better than either of the two movies. Of course, it is well documented that Dahl hated the first movie and refused any further rights to make sequels. The second movie was made after Dahl's death, but while I enjoyed the Johnny Depp Wonka... nothing can compare with the great writing in Dahl's book. The song's of the Oompa-Loompas in book form being far more satirical and yet powerful than the sanitised movie versions. As a piece of social control and behaviour suppression of children it is marvellous! Peter Hotchkin Published by "just call me Jonah"

How To Win Friends And Influence People

2010-02-02T21:17:00.002+08:00

Personal development is important. Commitment to life-long learning and learning the fundamental principles of handling people are vital skills. I posted a summary of a book on my fundraising blog... At a recent ADAPE conference, Xponential Director Mr Craige Gravestein suggested that the best book outlining the principles of fundraising was this book (published in 1936!), How To Win Friends And Influence People, by Dale Carnegie. It is a title so many of us have heard before but not necessarily ever read. It's a long book with three parts and illustrations throughout. The language is fairly hard to wade through... So this is post on my fundraising blog is my summary of the book. Peter Hotchkin Published by "just call me Jonah"

Advisory Conference

2010-01-12T18:52:00.001+08:00

I am aware that I didn't post anything about how the Advisory Conference went... The first session, which was interviews with two people known quite well to me (and me to them) set my feeling for the whole day. It started off, at least as I felt, as a disaster! I felt (overall) that the whole day was a disaster as I travelled home in silence and depression. A weekend of reflection didn't seem to help much... but then back at work, I started to separate the various interview sessions and assess them individually. That's when I realised I was letting my impressions of the first taint the assessment of the whole day. The day began with the Eucharist. A great and appropriate way to begin. I was asked to be the Assistant, which in a group with lots of clergy present, always feels like an honour to me. My 1st session (Spirituality), to me, didn't seem to touch much on Spirituality as I describe or expected it to be interpretted. I had memorised the Catechism, I was ready to talk about sacraments and "outwards signs and inward graces." I was ready with my own experiences through all sorts of "Christian expressions of Spirituality" from Taize to Hillsong, from Jensen to Carnley... but they didn't talk about anything like that at all! It seemed to go really wrong and we ended up (so it felt) arguing about if I was really called to be a Priest or if I just wanted to be a youth chaplain and I was somewhere between looking at a career boost and trying to dictate to the Diocese where I should be placed. It was quite strong... almost combatant. The 2nd session was far more relaxed and enjoyable. The session was on Vocation (where I would have thought the grilling I got in the first session should have occured). We talked about Vocation and covered lots of ground. It was very enjoyable and seemed to go really well. I talked about my existing training and my skills and how I thought they might best be used in the Diocese. However, I expressed various options and alternatives. I explained why I felt called and how my sense of calling is centred around those significant sacraments and services... that I have seen why the calling has been there and why I've been running away from it for so long. But why it just wont go away. The 3rd session was Relationship. Mrs Smiley was required for this session. I was completely blown away! Remembering that many years ago Mrs Smiley assured me that she would leave if I entered the Priesthood. However, those were words given at a certain time and we've moved a long way since then. However, we covered the interviewer's 8 pages of questions very quickly. Mrs Smiley even admitting that if God called me into Parish ministry, she still wouldn't be happy about it - but if she knew it was God's call then she would support me. Session 4 was Education. I basically have no recognised Theological qualifications. I'm very theologically articulate and I have lots of seminars and short courses. I even studied 2 units in a degree. But that was more than 10 years ago and probably wont count. I'll still try! The session went quite well. I was given the readings for the coming Sunday and asked what I would preach. Short notice, I came up with a few ideas... choked over the phrase "Commentaries" and talked about some websites I would go to for that sort of information. Session 5 was about Leadership and seemed to be ok to me... There was a scenario about a parish in trouble and what I would do to make them viable in ministry and money. I thought I answered well. So it was completed. Then, the waiting game began. Although it was touted that letters would be sent out very quickly, it took more than a month for this task to be completed. Most of Advent. But then Advent is a season of waiting. And for more information, you'll have to wait just a little longer. Peter Hotchkin Published by "just call me Jonah"

Rubbish Daddy - Part 2

2010-01-12T00:29:00.001+08:00

Further to an earlier post about my children’s nick name for me: Children up at 6.00am. Parents in bed! 5-year old son yells at sister: “Stop following me! Stop copying me or I’ll call you rubbish!” 2-year old girl says, “No! Daddy – rubbish!” Peter Hotchkin Published by "just call me Jonah"

Train station announcement

2010-01-10T07:19:00.000+08:00

You hear the strangest things at train stations. I was at Joondalup station around 10am on a Friday morning. Over the PA came the announcement: "The next train to Joondalup - does not stop here... please stand ack from the platform." Mmmmm. Peter Hotchkin Published by "just call me Jonah"

In the movies...

2010-01-09T09:00:00.001+08:00

Riding in the back seat. Completely out of the blue. The crown prince announces: "It would all be so much better if I was in the movies!" Peter Hotchkin Published by "just call me Jonah"

Marginalising the marginalised

2010-01-08T21:25:00.002+08:00

I arrived at Whitfords train station in Perth's northern suburbs. It was a Thursday morning at 11.25am. At the far end of the platform, were a couple of teenagers, practicing jumps on skate boards. At the other end... or at least somewhere on the platform - far more noticable and far more annoying: there was someone smoking! A security guy paced out of the office. There were three of them in the office, checking screens and doing whatever it is these people do... The stentch of cigaratte smoke was thick in the air. Unless the security guy had some nasal defect, he could not have failed to notice it! However, he paced up determinedly to the teenagers to tell them off... stop them from doing this unacceptable thing. Then strolled back to his office and shut the door - while I stood speechlessly staring at him. I thought he might have noticed that too... I checked the TransPerth list of things you're not allowed to do. No surprise to find that skateboards don't rate a mention - but "Smoking on any TransPerth property is prohibited." It says two things to me: 1. That any stupid, gutless transport security guard is going to choose the teenager over the adult smoker to force their oppressive authoritarian power upon. Ignoring the stench and the clear mandate that smoking is prohibited, he goes down to intimidate the more vulnerable person. Making his own job easier... afterall who wants to tell off an adult for smoking. Adults are hardly ever as easily intimidated as teenagers are! 2. That society is very ill when this is what happens. The marginalised people in society are systematically pushed further to the margins. Access to public space (public transport) is a universal public right. My right to the enforcement of a public law to prohibit smoking on TransPerth property was ignored. The teenager's right to wait (bored, so that they did some exercise) for a train to arrive was ignored. But some smoker puffing it up big, violating everyone else's rights or everyone else's compliance with the law - was ignored by the security guy. This smoker's behaviour was not more acceptable than the teenagers. Just harder to intimidate when you're a weak and impotent security guard. The funniest thing is, if someone assults a train security guard, there's mandatory jail sentences! Looking up the definition of "assulting a public officer" in WA law could mean deliberately breathing garlic-breath (or bad-breath) on a policeman... Peter Hotchkin Published by "just call me Jonah"

Great parenting…?

2009-12-10T09:38:00.000+08:00

At dinner last night, my 5-year old son finished first. He declared, out of the blue: “I wish I had *****’s (name withheld) dad…” “That’s very interesting,” I said, “Why do you say that?” The retort: “Because you’re a rubbish dad.” That’s telling me!

Peter Hotchkin Published by "just call me Jonah"

"Ding Deezooz"

2009-12-09T09:16:00.000+08:00

I was putting little miss two to bed the other night. As is my custom, I prayed with her and then said the Lord’s Prayer. Ignoring the fact that I was praying, she interrupted by repeating “Ding Deezooz! Ding Deezooz! Ding Deezooz!” It was hard to keep track of where I was in the prayer. But she was very keen for this important comment to be made. Now anyone with children will know that “words are not always as they sound.” Your child may be thinking something; but what comes out of their mouth barely resembles the point they’re trying to communicate. It’s part of learning. It would be silly to say, “I’m not going to talk to my child until they’re old enough to understand.” It would be absurd to say, “I’m not talking to my child until they can actually speak properly.” So you try to interpret. Now she often has a drink before going to sleep. When she says drink, it sort of sounds like “Ding” – and her ‘please’ can sound like “deez” so I went with that first… Soundly rejected. The volume increased, as did the urgency in her tone! This was important. But what did she want? I offered ‘tabets’ (as she calls them) – a homeopathic tablet that I give her at night to ease teething pain. She didn’t want that either. I started to worry. She was getting quite distressed at this vital thing she wanted, that I would not provide for her! I changed her nappy; I patted her on the back. I checked the night-lights… In the end, I had to admit defeat. I put her into her cot and sat down to sing a quiet little song: “Jesus loves me this I know…” Then, she was happy… “Ding Deezooz” means: “Sing Jesus…”

Peter Hotchkin Published by "just call me Jonah"

Career Advice

2009-12-07T19:38:00.001+08:00

Here's me, at the cross-roads of life... dishing out Career Advice...? Well, I posted on my Fundraising Ideas Blog an article I had written from a session with an employment consultant. It is pretty valuable stuff. While I posted it here (as I said, on my fundraising blog), it is relevant for anyone. So if it might be helpful for you, please take a look. Peter Hotchkin Published by "just call me Jonah"

Choosing a fridge... and sorbet

2009-12-04T19:26:00.000+08:00

I always wanted a fridge with the freezer at the bottom and the fridge part at the top. When we finally got one; I thought that was great... But then we had children! Children are great and quite funny in relation to freezers (see my post about freezing). However, now the delightful children in my home have discovered sorbet. And it's a good treat for them because they can't have gluten or dairy - so that cuts out lots of other desserts. But because the freezer is on the bottom... it means that they can access it any time when you're not standing sentinel at the kitchen....

Like, breakfast! So my advice is not to buy a fridge with the freezer on the bottom until your children are grown up.

Peter Hotchkin Published by "just call me Jonah"

Celebration!

2009-11-11T09:13:00.002+08:00

The non-alcoholic sparkling grape juice should be flowing here at my place of work: The Salvation Army WA. My capital campaign funding proposal came through!

$600,000 towards a million dollar project. But with my colleague, we were also able to negotiate the builder to do the job at cost price! So with two major gifts already secured - we're calling in the bulldosers!

Gee, I am good at this!

Peter Hotchkin Published by "just call me Jonah"

Book or movie...?

2009-10-30T22:30:00.003+08:00

What do you prefer? I guess bookish people would prefer books. As I already have declared, I'm not bookish! So I'm sitting here and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is on TV. Mrs Smiley has just gone to bed to read... I have on my bedside table, Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix, three quarters read and getting the to climax. What to do...? Go to bed and read the 5th year of school or watch the movie of the 2nd year? I've already read the 2nd year of school book this year. I've already seen this movie before too. But naturally, I'm staying for the movie. Even without having to write an essay - I'll go for the movie everytime... Remember Evelyn Waugh and "The Loved One"? Peter Hotchkin Published by "just call me Jonah"

Survival

2009-10-26T20:14:00.000+08:00

"Oh Mummy: I just can't survive you..."

So said our loving son at dinner the other night!

A couple of his God parents are Snoopy fans. There's a particular comic strip where someone says, "Thank you mother, most wonderful mother in the whole world, without whom I could not survive." Whenever they visit... they repeat this line quite often. It's a family tradition.

As you know, kids only hear half of what you say; and then repeat it. Thus the 'compliment': "I can't survive you mum."

Peter Hotchkin Published by "just call me Jonah"

Books!

2009-10-25T16:21:00.002+08:00

"A bookshop is a library where you get to keep the books forever." So says my five year old 'heir to the throne'...

I was never really into books when I was younger... with the exception of the timeless classic "Green Eggs and Ham" and perhaps "Fox in Sox" - I didn't even read a whole book through from cover to cover before I left high school! That is the truth! Even saucy Chaucer couldn't tempt me to read a whole tome!

When I left school, I picked up a required reading text: "The Loved One" by Evelyn Waugh. I had written an assignment on the book without actually having read it! Thankfully, someone had just released a movie version when we were studying it. The school, in their ignorance, took the whole class to see the movie... fools that they were! It was the perfect crime!

But something (maybe guilt) made me read "The Loved One" without any assignment to do! I just read it for... (?) for... (?) for pleasure!?! Wow. I read a whole book. Then it wasn't so hard to tackle something else. Then a trilogy! Then the whole Bible cover-to-cover: multiple times! As well as other books along the way!

But I'm still not really a "book-person" or "library-person". However, some gave me a book voucher for my birthday last year. I went and bought books on-line that I was interested in... George Herbert and Erich Fromm - so I surrendered the voucher to Mrs Smiley to buy something herself. And we went into the city today. As we munched on lunch we discussed going to the bookshop, when the Crown Prince announced that great bit of wisdom.

Peter Hotchkin Published by "just call me Jonah"

Reflections...

2009-10-17T20:23:00.002+08:00

I have said on previous occasions - "you're my Blog; not my Priest." I stopped posting my reflections about late July. As the Aspirant's Year progressed, my reflections on the various readings became more and more personal. They also became more clear as to how I felt / feel about calling to ordination. As the Advisory Conference approached, I started to think it might be inappropriate to post these reflections. Let's say the Diocese (through the Examining Chaplains) decides I'm not suited by my "learning and godly living to minister as a Priest in the household of God." (for those not in 'the know' the quote is from the Ordinal). While accepting that I still have some learning to go, this is the essence of the decisions being made at Advisory Conference. So maybe I will post some more reflections later. Maybe I might close the Blogs altogether. Maybe I might have to change the title of the Blog...? I guess we'll know soon enough. Peter Hotchkin Published by "just call me Jonah"

Advisory Conference

2009-10-17T20:21:00.000+08:00

Well, for those who have been following the story of the post-modern Jonah and his running away to Perth to escape full-time ministry and ordination – we’re up to the next crucial stage of the process: Advisory Conference. After the Aspirant’s year, I received an invitation to attend the Advisory Conference for 2009. This involves going for a full day at the Theological Training Centre, with interviews by Examining Chaplains in 40-minute blocks. The topics for each of these interviews are Vocation, Education, Spiritual Life, Relationship, and Leadership. I would think that they’ve been sussing me out during the year, but there was still a mountain of paperwork to fill out. I had to see a doctor for a medical report. I had to see a psychologist for assessment. I had to have references from my parish priest, two lay people and an endorsement from the parish council. I had to submit my Working With Children Check and fill out personal details in a special form Form 11… this had to be sealed in an envelope and addressed to the Professional Standards Commissioner. Anyone inclined to either think, pray, light candles or just send positive thoughts or energy my way feel free. The date is 23 October 2009. Peter Hotchkin Published by "just call me Jonah"

Dirty Swimming Pool

2009-10-14T18:48:00.000+08:00

Our pool is really dirty: it’s gone green! Ducks were visiting regularly and while we didn’t have Koi breeding in it – there was a frog! Although I will try, I can hardly blame my ORIF, because the pool was dirty before that! We had been swimming in the public pool every week for swimming lessons with the kids. In the process our own pool had become neglected. We never really wanted a pool; in fact, I specifically didn’t want a pool – but we searched for the only house we could afford in the particular suburb that met Mrs Smiley’s allergy doctor’s advice: within one kilometre of the ocean (more or less). So we got the pool thrown in against our wishes… We never got around to getting it taken out, back in the day when it was virtually free. Now removal costs almost as much as putting a new pool in! It’s a fibreglass pool and the algae had grown quite thickly by the time we called in the pool guy: Jim’s Pool Care (based on our local guy, we highly recommend them). A few people had suggested we empty the pool and clean it with high-pressure blaster. But I found out today that would not have been a good thing to do. “The sides cave in or the pool as a whole pops out of the ground,” said the Jim’s guy. A concrete pool doesn’t have any of these problems; so if you have to have one of these wretched things – that’s the best choice. Anyway, hopefully we’ll have ours cleaned and back in working order. I might find myself on the build in Chardonnay lounge again – exercising my sore shoulder as part of effective rehab!

Peter Hotchkin Published by "just call me Jonah"

Apparently

2009-10-14T17:14:00.001+08:00

Apparently, 'apparently' is the word of the week... This is from a boy not quite 5 years old! You may remember I posted that the Crown Prince told me his sister was literally next to him: here's proof. Peter Hotchkin Published by "just call me Jonah"

Watch working fine still

2009-10-05T21:23:00.003+08:00

Haven't Blogged much lately... but just wanted to let people know, now that my life is fairly pedestrian, my watch is keeping perfect time! I still hope to give it away!

Peter Hotchkin Published by "just call me Jonah"

Philosophy for 4 year olds

2009-09-19T06:50:00.000+08:00

"What is infinity plus 11?" Asked the crown prince.

My son has been learning new words... He's also been learning numbers... So we're get questions like this one more and more...

What do you answer a four year old child? Firstly, I said, "Infinity!" After all, that's right isn't it? But I got the question again, and again...

Then I launched into, "Well, 'infinity' isn't actually a number. It's more a philosophical concept. An 'infinite' number isn't meant to be something that you count up to, but you just arrive at..."

In actually entertaining giving an answer to a four year old: I think proves I'm going insane...

Peter Hotchkin Published by "just call me Jonah"

Before your very eyes...

2009-09-17T20:42:00.001+08:00

Sitting in the back seat of the car, Lord Bickle is demonstrating some magic tricks. I can’t turn around anyway so I don’t know what he was doing. But he declares, “Before your very eyes…”

Peter Hotchkin Published by "just call me Jonah"

Watch it!

2009-09-15T21:35:00.005+08:00

I have a watch that is trying to sabbotage my life! It really is! Whenever I have something special happening, my watch stops working some how. It runs fine all the rest of the time. But if something special is coming up: the thing stops working! When I'm on roster at Church, the watch loses an hour overnight on Saturday. So, I'm still mucking around playing with the kids when Mrs Smiley comes out to say - "What are you doing? We need to get going in a few minutes!" But here's the thing. When I'm not on roster, the watch keeps perfect time! Doesn't miss a beat! That is freaky! Another time, we're meant to be going out to a party and I'm there thinking I have an hour to go... instead; I'm running late! Today, I was presenting a workshop! It was going great... really great! The crowd loved me... I was really in the groove. Nailing it! I thought I was making good time, then I looked at the clock on the wall! My watch was different... 12 minutes behind. So I checked with someone else. Sure enough! My watch was getting at me again! This thing has kept perfect time for months when I haven't had any important things on. But when it knows I've got something happening - it gets me! It's having a go at me! Does anyone want it? I'm happy to give it away to anyone who thinks they can conquer it! I give up... I can't beat it. Perhaps someone retired or someone who has nothing important in their lives... I don't know. Let me know and I'll send it to you! Peter Hotchkin Published by "just call me Jonah"

Language skills

2009-09-15T19:39:00.000+08:00

It’s great when your children are learning new words: Infinity, literally, automatically. We hear these gems... but I pity his long-suffering teacher. I understand the Crown prince is doing very well with his language skills at school. He’s now in a language extension class; so I guess we’ll get even more. The other day, he’s standing in the kitchen ‘helping’ prepare dinner. I’m checking the house to find the little princess, “Where is she?” I call. He says, “She’s literally next to me!” She was.

Peter Hotchkin Published by "just call me Jonah"

Cold

2009-09-13T14:32:00.001+08:00

A freezer brick fell out and little miss 2 year old picked it up. Wandering around the house, she clutched it to her chest and repeatedly said, “Cold, cold, cold…”

“Well put it down then! Why don’t you put it back in the freezer where it came from?”

“No!" she yells, running away from me trying to take it off her. "Freeezing… Freeezing… Freeezing…” she said.

Do you think she’d let it go or give it to me or put it back in the freezer?

Peter Hotchkin Published by "just call me Jonah"

Speaking at Chapel

2009-08-20T17:52:00.000+08:00

I recently got the chance to do some of what I really love doing! Speaking to young people. I was guest Speaker at Chapel at St Mark's Anglican Community School this last week. I had a great time! Luvin' it! Don't know what the students thought but I hope they enjoyed it too.

The text of my talk is on another Blog... here. I'll try to post the pictures on another posting...

Peter Hotchkin Published by "just call me Jonah"

Clag going mouldy.

2009-08-19T19:14:00.000+08:00

I’ve never seen clag glue go mouldy… but I found a fairly new bottle of the common kids glue at home… it was definitely going a tell-tale green of mould. Naturally, we took it off the children… but like many things, it got put up higher before it got thrown out. Should we take it back to the shop? Should we complain? Was it worth it? Mrs Smiley looked at the greenish growth, but before she threw the offending bottle in the bin, she asked the Crown Prince if he had noticed anything about the glue. “It’s never been the same,” he said, “since my sister put broccoli in it!”

Peter Hotchkin Published by "just call me Jonah"

Riding the Lift

2009-08-14T18:42:00.000+08:00

I work on the 4th floor. So I ride a lift to my work level... But since the ORIF, I've had very limited forward movement and upward movement in my right arm.

Basically, I can't reach up as high as the 4th floor button on the lift... But in the last week, I've been able to reach the button for my floor and I feel this is quite an achievement to report.

A well meaning friend asked me, "What were you doing before?"

Of course, I still have my left arm :-)

Peter Hotchkin Published by "just call me Jonah"

How are you then…?

2009-08-11T20:47:00.003+08:00

People have been asking me that quite a lot lately... I had a moment of inspiration once to say to someone: "I’m in enough pain to know I’m truly alive (for people with leprosy cannot sense pain and it ultimately leads to serious injury and death for them), I’ve got enough joy to keep above the depths of a difficult situation (don’t fear, I’m not under or in depression), I have enough sorrow to make me compassionate towards others (I am after all, doing ok. Imagine having this experience in a country without great health care or in an era where these things were not understood?), I have enough hope to believe there is light at the end of the tunnel (things are getting better), and I have enough fear to know I need only to fear God above all." Again, I am reminded of some reality through the liturgy of Tuesday Evening Prayer: God of grace, we thank you for all your gifts to us: grant us to accept both pain and joy in faith and hope, and never to fail in love to you and to our sisters and brothers; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord. Amen. Peter Hotchkin Posted by "just call me Jonah" Italic text from A Prayer Book for Australia 1995: Broughton Publishing

The Prayer of the Week [19]

2009-08-10T10:32:00.000+08:00

Each week, the Liturgical resource of the Anglican Church provides a Prayer of the Week. In the light of my previous post about doing what is right in society - I was challenged to find that the Prayer of the Week for this week is as listed below. Grant to us, Lord, we beseech you, the spirit to think and do always such things as are right, that we, who cannot do anything that is good without you, may by you be enabled to live according to your will; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. With credit to Broughton Books and Broughton Publishing The Anglican Church of Australia - A Prayer Book for Australia 1995 It is remarkable how often the Prayer of the Week corresponds with something going on in my life. God is at work and moving at all times - my experience is that this often happens through Liturgy... Peter Hotchkin Posted by "just call me Jonah"

What is happening to society these days?

2009-08-10T07:16:00.000+08:00

I had been wearing a huge, noticeable splint on my arm, while travelling on public transport, for six weeks. In that time, only once was I offered a seat… I got a seat by pushing forward and making my intentions clear. But only once in six weeks was I offered a seat. On that occasion, I slammed my backpack down on the ground in front of a clearly fit and able bodied man who was sitting in the ‘Priority Seating’ for people with disabilities, babies and physical challenges. But there’s more, he noticed all right! But didn’t move. The person who offered me a seat was the lady sitting on the priority seating on the opposite side. Now that’s how clearly and loudly I slammed down my backpack! In the time since I have had the sling off, I have been bumped while travelling on public transport LESS often than when I had the sling on! Go figure on that one. While I was clearly injured and recovering from something serious – people couldn’t do enough to bump into me. When I’m just a regular guy – people don’t bump me at all! The other day, I was standing at the door of the train, not in a seat. In the middle of the doorway section, a youngish girl (mid-early 20s), vomited. Hardly anyone helped her. I had nothing to offer – no tissues, no wet-wipes, and no water. I felt woefully inadequate and guilty. A lady produced some tissues and some kind soul gave her a seat in the priority seating. Then the tissue lady and I stood guard over the vomit. Someone else called the driver but with all the difficulty identifying where the incident took place, it wasn’t cleaned up by the time I left the train. So at a number of stops we had to prevent people stepping in it. I felt so bad that now I carry a small packet of tissues, a small wet-wipes pack and a little bottle of water – just in case anything like this happens again. But will I be quick enough to think anyway. I was getting onto a bus and a lady with a pram was at the stop. A couple of people got on before me… while I still don’t have full mobility or strength in my arm, I couldn’t not offer to help her with the pram. She was holding a $20 note openly in her hand and said, I just need to check with the driver if he has change… and waved me on. Then she asked the driver, “Can you change a $20?” He said no and pretty much closed the doors in her face. I can’t let it go! I had change for a $20. I just wasn’t quick enough to make the connection and speak up before she missed the bus. That was the morning Perth bus drivers were going to a stop-work meeting. She had 45 minutes before the buses were off the streets! And I wasn’t quick enough to help when she clearly needed it. I feel a heel! I feel woefully inadequate to participate in society, let alone offer for the Priesthood. I should have checked! Maybe I could have stopped the driver and said, “I’ll help this lady even if you wont!” I could have done something. But I am as much the problem as anyone. Peter Hotchkin Published by "just call me Jonah"

Two arm Pete

2009-07-29T20:35:00.002+08:00

Well, it's gone! The sling (or to be more accurate the "Ultra-Sling II") is gone. It's a shame I ended up in hospital again but at least I didn't break any bones this time and it made it convenient for the Orthopeadic Surgeon to drop by on his rounds. He's happy enough with the new x-rays and says not to bother getting more before my next visit in 4 weeks. After the ribbing I got trying to get light behind my last x-rays - I wont bother you with them again... Everything is pretty much exactly the same: steel nail with 5 screws through it. No swimming pool or palm tree no matter what it looks like :-) I have no strength in my arm, but at least I don't have to have it bent up 24/7. Peter Hotchkin Published by "just call me Jonah"

Mafia name?

2009-07-21T20:20:00.001+08:00

The other night, a terrible show was on the TV. Something called "Castle". I was only watching this out the side of my eye but there was this pathetic scene where the lead guy goes to see a Mafia boss friend of his... (like sure...). Anyhow, to add to the rediculous... the Mafia guy says, "That sounds like 'Jimmy the Rat'." I turned it off and went to bed. But I've been thinking: what is your Mafia Name? Of course, a stack of people have set up web sites that generate a Mafia name for you. Put bluntly, these are just random generators, using maths to identify some random name. You can Google it to find out... But I think mine is easier (like that formula to find your porno name): A nick-name that friends gave you, probably teenage years. An animal that you despise or hate. You have to think more than a website with a random generator - you might need to try it a couple of times - but it could be fun. Pete the Cat Peter Hotchkin Published by "just call me Jonah"

Too hard task 18: Just fetch the Camera honey...

2009-07-21T07:19:00.001+08:00

Sounds like a simple enough task, unless you've had an ORIF. But the camera was in a back pack. Back pack zippers are not easy when you have only one hand. They tend to not move at all... just move the whole bag. So you can only open the zipper by small increments. Holding the bag part with your little finger and tying to budge the zip open with index finger and thumb. When it's open enough to get the camera out, you have to repeat the process with the camera bag: which is just a smaller version of zipper. Peter Hotchkin Published by "just call me Jonah"

Too hard task 17: Deodorant

2009-07-20T19:30:00.001+08:00

This, you'll have to try for yourself. Any one can do it. Curl your arm up and try to touch the underarm of that same arm... Imagine you're in the shower trying to wash your arm-pit. Try putting deodorant on that armput. This is one of the things where it isn't the arm with the ORIF that suffers. Peter Hotchkin Published by "just call me Jonah"

Too hard task 16: Cot sides

2009-07-20T07:29:00.001+08:00

Tried to pick up the baby, one handed... Poor little princess was crying to make your heart break. But could I get the cot side down? These things are designed to be clicked from both sides simultaneously. The locks are an arms width apart so that only adults can reach that far.

With the ORIF sling, I just couldn't reach. Indeed, virtually anything child proof is also ORIF proof

Peter Hotchkin Published by "just call me Jonah"

Too hard task 15: Society favours right the handed

2009-07-19T19:26:00.001+08:00

The turn styles at the football. The Smart Rider clicky things... Everything is designed for people to swipe their cards through on the right hand side.

With a right hand ORIF - one just can't do it. Just have to take the disabled entry. But I don't get the car parking sticker that goes with it! Peter Hotchkin Published by "just call me Jonah"

Too hard task 14: Computer issues

2009-07-19T07:25:00.001+08:00

How do you turn on a networked computer? How do you turn off a computer, or try to read "Task Manager"? Simply hold down Ctrl Alt Del at the same time... Thankfully, some computers these days have an extra Alt and Ctrl on the right hand side of the keyboard... the same side as the Delete key. So at a stretched hand, you can do it.

But there's another problem. For my computer at home, the control of the volume and mute is by pressing Fn + End together. We leave the computer on mute while the kids are asleep. So when the crown prince got up, he wanted to play something on the web... "There's no sound Dad!" He yells.

I come over and ask him... aged 4... to hold down the Fn key while I click the End key. That will turn the sound on. Do 4 year olds understand "hold down key"? Evidently not. He pushed it for a second. Then let it go. This was repeated with painful regularity until I got help...

Don't even get me started on the Computer mouse... :-) Just imagine the possibilities for yourself. Peter Hotchkin Published by "just call me Jonah"

Too hard task 13: Back pack

2009-07-18T18:24:00.001+08:00

Back packs are designed to be carried on the back. You loop through one arm, then the other and the weight is distributed evenly on the back and you don't get back problems, muscle fatigue, etc. They're very effective and have become quite popular. Introduce the ORIF to this situation: now you can only carry the pack on one side. Fine really, because half the population only ever bother to put on one side. I see it every day on the train. But once the back pack is on, with the ORIF, that's it. You can't answer a mobile phone, you can't push the cross walk button, you can't reach down in any way... or else the pack slips down! Try, as I did the other day, to answer the mobile phone, when you know it is your wife calling: taking the phone out of your pocket, while just getting out of a lift and then opening a door, then catching the falling back pack and having your coat fall off... It's like a scene from a Chevvy Chase movie. Peter Hotchkin Published by "just call me Jonah"

Too hard task 12: Toast

2009-07-18T07:23:00.001+08:00

Had toast this morning. Mmmm. But after an ORIF, toast does pose some problems. Again, this is a sight-gag: you have to see it for it to be funny! Firstly, modern toasters have a special feature where you can lift the lever up and raise the toast above the height of the hot metal guard. It's a great feature you'll agree and has saved countless finger tips or knuckles from being burned. But only for two handed people! If you have only one hand, you can't use it to lift the toast and then grab the toast at the same time. Lift, move to grab... toast gone! Lift, move to grab... toast gone! Get the toast out of the toaster, burning finger tips and/or knuckles... Oh well. Such is life: Now put the toast down, juggle a knife through the butter/margarine using your non-dominant hand. Can you get butter on the knife? Sometimes it helps to put the butter container against the edge of a heavy cutting board so it doesn't move. Remember, one handed! You can't hold the butter container with one hand and scrape with the other. Then spread hte butter on said toast. Toast tends to move when you push it with a knife. It doesn't know it's meant to stay still! If you are lucky, it will eventuaaly fall off the cutting board and you can use the edge of the cutting board to stop the toast moving too. Be hopeful you're not at the end of a jar of jam or vegemite. Usually, one would tilt the jar sideways to get contents lower in the jar. But with one hand, you either tilt, or you scoop... Can't do both. Unless you have one of those really thick cutting boards you can put the jar on a tilt, then scoop out. Peter Hotchkin Published by "just call me Jonah"

Too hard task 11: Trimming nails

2009-07-17T19:22:00.001+08:00

Nail clippers are great... but they're not so good in your non-dominant hand. And as any 'lefty' will tell you, scissors are just discriminatory! So trimming your nails after an ORIF is awful... Plus, you might be able to manage the nails on your broken arm; but that's it... Have to resort to bitting my nails or asking for help. On scissors: it really is hard to cut straight with your non-dominant hand. You should try it just for a laugh. You might never get mad at your children over cutting or drawing again. Peter Hotchkin Published by "just call me Jonah"

Too hard task 10: Shaving

2009-07-17T07:22:00.000+08:00

Shaving only "works" by having tight skin. Usually, you use one hand with the shaver in it, and slightly pull the skin taunt with the other hand. This is especially with an electric shaver... in fact, it was in the "instructions for use" in my electric shaver. While I'll admit it's very hard to believe anyone from my generation would bother reading the instructions to anything... just go with the story ok. Even using blades, one needs to have tight skin. It's also a really good idea, when using blades, to use your dominant hand and take extra care around your jugular... Faces are curvy things so it's probably not the best idea to shave in the shower, without a mirror, using your left hand when you're right handed... I can see the fuuny side of this; and while I hope you can too: Do not try this home... :-) Peter Hotchkin Published by "just call me Jonah"

Too hard task 9: Gloves

2009-07-16T18:21:00.001+08:00

While recovering from my ORIF, I can't drive... so I'm taking public transport to work. Cold rainy mornings in Perth keep me shivering. But when I've done the bus thing before, I would put on some gloves... Lovely warm leather gloves I bought on the Ponte Veccio... Venice, Italy. Lovely gloves. But with only one hand; you can't put them on. I'm not meant to push, hold, or bear much more than a couple of hundred grams of weight/force on my operated arm. So putting on gloves is too much pressure. Of course, the comedy of watching someone even just try putting on gloves one handed is well worth it. I just have to be content with putting on a coat.

Then again, gloves like dishwashing gloves are easy to put on...

All these are "sight gags" - since I have no intention of posting or sending you video of me attempting these tasks, you will have to try them yourself with either an arm in a sling or to just hold your dominant hand, bent in a Ken doll type approach, by your side... But it really is meant to be showing you the funny side of this!

Peter Hotchkin Published by "just call me Jonah"

Too hard task 8: Putting on a coat

2009-07-16T07:21:00.003+08:00

Once your sling is on, it's a fair painstaking process to get it off again. Technically, you need two pillows and a space to keep your arm at the correct angle. No one does this I'm sure (he says, but if it turns out I've been re-breaking my arm I'll be in big trouble). So putting on a coat to go outside is not something you do inside the sling. You wear your coat outside the sling. It's easy enough to do. Put the coat on your "good arm" normally... Then the other half hangs to the floor. You have to (by back-hand), pull on the collar of the coat to lift it up... then some how try to get the other side over your shoulder without throwing the rotator cuff out on your good shoulder... or indeed dislocating your good shoulder. Always bear in mind you really don't want to re-dislocate your bad shoulder or else the 6-8 weeks in a sling starts all over again. Plus, you really don't want to go through another ORIF... even just the OR part. Then you need to get the sleeve around the front or else it's going to fall off while you're walking or taking public transport (you can't drive when you've had an ORIF). I find it works really well to tuck the sleeve into the neck band of the sling. It gives you a really good mafia look... or 'robo-cop'. I find using a chair helps to swing the sleeve around the front far enough that you can grab it with your good hand and tuck it into place. A couple of gum balls gives the appearance of being the Godfather and if you have a dry throat, saying, "Don't cross the family" can be effective. A mean look also helps. Peter Hotchkin Published by "just call me Jonah"

Too hard task 7: Belts

2009-07-15T20:20:00.004+08:00

After an ORIF, you have to learn to do some things in a different order. Belts for example: Firstly, you need to thread the belt through your pants before you put them on... once pants are on, it's a major task to get them off again. But if your belt isn't through... well: you can only thread through half your body. Once you get to the sling, you can't reach under it... you can't use your operated arm to thread that side either. It's fun to just try an get the belt into the loops by pushing it for your "good side" and hoping for the best. Leaning up against the wall can help with this, or a chair. Otherwise, you drop your pants and start again. See previous post... Peter Hotchkin Published by "just call me Jonah"

Too hard task 6: Socks

2009-07-15T07:19:00.001+08:00

Socks are fun too. One has to hold the sock apart with one hand, wide enough to get it over enough of your toes into it, but not to drop it on the floor... Then slip it onto the foot and pull up the sides alternately. I'm thankful I only have socks and not pantyhose... I wear boots with elastic sides, which is very good. I feel sorry for people who only have lace-up shoes! Like track pants, tying laces presents a challenge all of it's own. One that I have not mastered at all. Peter Hotchkin Published by "just call me Jonah"

Too hard task 5: Putting on pants

2009-07-14T18:18:00.001+08:00

Now there are some things about having had an ORIF do make you laugh... And trying to put on pants one handed is certainly one. You could try it yourself if you like. While we all have to kind of wriggle into jeans, pants or even just tracky-dacks... taken out one hand makes this funnier! You can't hop around too much either, for the pain. So once they're on, then do them up... Track pants usually have a draw string that you tie in a bow... mmmm. Jeans or pants: I try to put the button side into the 'middle', then hope it stays there long enough to bring the other side over to do up the button. Usually takes a few tries. Sometimes easier when you're sitting down, but not always. Once the pain died down, I could use my operated arm, in the sling with a big buffer to hold it out from my body, to hold the pants - saving a bit of time. But it really is a laugh. Peter Hotchkin Published by "just call me Jonah"

The Christian Calling

2009-07-14T06:53:00.000+08:00

Ephesians 1 v 3-14 I used to carry an emergency kit in my pocket. It was in a Strepsils tin. I upgraded recently to a small plastic container and started preparing similar kits for the whole family. While I have my broken arm, I can’t access anything on my right hand side, so I have to limit what I carry in my left pocket to bare essentials. One item in this kit is a small mirror. A key survival application is that it can be used to signal any vehicle (planes, cars, search vehicles) to get attention and hopefully get me rescued. The great thing about mirrors, is that they can reflect the bright light and direct it elsewhere: shedding light to other places, getting the attention of others and even helping the person who is reflecting that light. Anyway, perhaps that start will become more evident as we turn to the readings… We get to miss the first three verses of Ephesians… but these brought me so much joy when the young adults decided to study a book of the Bible. I read, “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus…” ‘Well,’ I said, ‘it almost certainly wasn’t written by Paul.’ Shocked faces stared at me! “To the saints who are in Ephesus…” ‘Well,’ I said, ‘it almost certainly wasn’t written to the Church in Ephesus.’ More shocked faces! Early manuscripts don’t have Ephesus, just faithful saints. As for Paul, well many scholars believe the style is very different. The writer uses longer sentences, more ‘flowery’ language and there is no long list of personal greetings, which are hallmarks of Paul’s letters. So perhaps the writer thought it might have more weight if they said it was written by Paul. Maybe it was ‘another Paul’… after all, Paul as we know him called any number of people apostles. And ‘the Paul’ called himself ‘the Apostle to the Gentiles”, which this Paul doesn’t technically claim…(?). But that’s all a good thing! A very good thing! The letter (commonly called) Ephesians was probably written by the apostolic fathers. It becomes for us the first and most important book of the next generation (as star trek fans might think). This is the start of the development of theology! This is the start of taking the next steps forward in faith development. This is the Church (such as it was), truly nutting out what it all means and how it applies to them and their daily lives… hiding as it were among the caves and hills of Cappodocia. Or any of the other places where Christians were hiding out. So it is very fitting that our reflection of “The Christian Calling” is taken from this first chapter of this great and marvellous book names Ephesians. How wonderful and enriching is the language? Blessed be God, who has blessed us in Christ. Past tense. What with? With every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. I cannot but feel thankful, joyful and (well) blessed by reading these words. But it goes on! God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world… Some people have made this about predestination, thus being able to rationalise away the exclusion of others. Of course, predestination is where you are when your aeroplane flight gets cancelled. The passage continues along this beautiful path: we are his children, according to the good pleasure of his glorious grace, which he freely bestows on us! It makes me feel great to be alive and loved by God. But wait: there’s more! We have redemption through his blood, forgiveness too. And the riches of his grace he doesn’t just give us but “lavishes on us!” As Jesus said to his disciples, we know the ultimate plan now: so we are not servants but friends… family even. We have gained an inheritance, destined according to God’s purpose, because we set our hope on him; “we might live for the glory of Christ.” What does that mean? Well for me, it means that our lives ought to reflect (demonstrate) Christ’s glory. But the first bit assures me that it is all about God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ – about the wonderful things they have done. It’s about grace, not about my actions or obedience. However, as some by-product of this lavishing of grace upon us, we reflect (like a mirror) the glory of Christ. How can this happen, knowing how inadequate I am (and everyone else for that matter)? It happens because God marks us with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit. In that way, the glory of Christ shines out from within us… it cannot be helped because we heard the word of truth, the gospel of our salvation, and believed in him. While this doesn’t (to me) back up the view that, by virtue of our baptism we are all called to ministry… it does say that by virtue of the belief, baptism and seal of the Holy Spirit, we are all called to reflect the glory of Christ Jesus in our daily lives. Whether hidden in cave in Cappodocia, or living in hiding in the 21 Century Communist or Islamist countries, or living a daily existence in suburban Perth: We are called, by the seal of the Holy Spirit through our Christian salvation; by the sign of the cross and the symbols of water and light at baptism; to reflect the glory of Christ. Like a mirror in the sun, let’s reflect that glory! Peter Hotchkin Published by "just call me Jonah"

Too hard task 4: Vacuuming

2009-07-13T21:16:00.000+08:00

Maybe something else you don't mind not being able to do after an ORIF. But then again, why am I doing it then...? Peter Hotchkin Published by "just call me Jonah"

Too hard task 3: Typing with left hand only

2009-07-13T06:15:00.000+08:00

Surely this is a great solution? Why complain? I can do this easily... But the trouble is, if you're used to typing with two hands, then losing one isn't easy. Plus to type this way, you have to arch your back and lean over a bit to get access to the key board. Plus, there aren't many words that you type with just your left hand. So one has to cross over each time to typing on the other side of the keyboard. It makes for more errors, and you should try to do a capital "Y"... Even if you can touch type, you need two hands... your left hand doesn't know where the right hand letter keys are... Peter Hotchkin Published by "just call me Jonah"

Too hard task 2: Writing

2009-07-12T20:14:00.000+08:00

Did I mention I'm right handed... but my right wing is broken. So now I'm writing with my left hand. So it looks like like either a 90 year old... or perhaps a 5 year old. I'm pleased I can write anything. But the thing is, perhaps this is good thing because I'm developing some right-brain skills too. I've pretty much been a left brain, right hander all my life. Infuriating sorts: ESTJ for those people who know Myers Briggs. Type 1 on the Enneagram. Perhaps it will help me become more right brained...? Then again... who knows with me? Peter Hotchkin Published by "just call me Jonah"

My actual x-rays... as good as I can get...

2009-07-12T05:11:00.000+08:00

You get to see the detail of the IM nail on the left hand side. The nice screws through... three at the top and two at the bottom.

Peter Hotchkin Published by "just call me Jonah"

Too hard task 1: Washing dishes

2009-07-11T22:13:00.000+08:00

Recovering from an ORIF, one has to live in an arm sling... possibly for 6-8 weeks I believe. In the time I've been locked into this brace, I've discovered few things that are really hard to do. Not all are impossible, but difficult... very difficult! I am right handed... but it is my right hand that had the ORIF and is in the sling. So it's all the more fun... So the first thing I cn't do is dishes. Not necessarily a bad problem to have; unless you're a neat freak like me... Peter Hotchkin Published by "just call me Jonah"

The Call of Co-workers and apostles in the Church

2009-07-11T13:50:00.002+08:00

Romans 16 v 1-16 The first thing that grabs me about this reading is the definition of “apostles” and “disciples”… For my part, I’ve usually got caught in the definition being “The 12”. That is that there are 12 Disciples. Judas committed suicide after being unable to reconcile his actions with the outcome of Jesus death. So in the time honoured way, the first “church” cast lots to see who would replace Judas. Funny how some Christian’s are so critical of gambling when it was clearly used to make vital decisions in the early Church. But I still think it is better to use reason, logic, advice and reflection to make decisions. Casting lots just seems so primitive. Incidentally, I have no doubt that Jesus would have forgiven and reinstated Judas, had he returned, in much the same way as Jesus forgave all the others. We get to read Peter’s story (reflected upon it too): and the spotlight shines very brightly on him, “Do you love me more than these?” “Then feed my lambs!” But we forget that at least Peter was hanging around watching… he was close enough to deny Christ. The other’s fled like a bunch of sooks and couldn’t be seen for dust. Then we read about Peter and think somehow he was worse. Anyway, they cast lots and the lot fell on Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles. Poor Barsabbas was never heard of again! So we draw a line in the sand. Of course, Paul is called to be the “apostle to the Gentiles.” And he wasn’t part of those original 12. In fact, he was quite against them; persecuting the Church and dragging followers to Jerusalem. Later, Paul has a face-to-face argument with Peter over the circumcision issue and the law generally. It is fair to say there were moments of conflict between those defined as the inner circle of first generation apostles. But of course, this “12 Apostles” model is not how Paul writes for the rest of the Christian Scriptures. Virtually half the congregation (so it seems sometimes) are “apostles”. In the same way there were hundreds of “disciples” following Jesus around from time-to-time… but there were 12 special ones. Perhaps, Paul is thinking these are the second wave or second generation of apostles. In Church History, we used to talk about the Apostolic Fathers. For my birthday once, I spent the day in Cappodocia. It was all the more real because I had studied Church History and knew a bit about what was going on. I shall return to this in the Ephesians reflection that is coming up because it is relevant by my reckoning and theology. So these people Paul mentions here in Romans are not just co-workers in the Church. Paul calls them apostles. In a strange twist about his strict teachings on women being silent in Church and public worship, the first person he mentions is a woman. Paul commends Phoebe, a deacon. Admitting they probably didn’t have the same structure in the Church as we have post Council of Nicea, but it’s still clear that she was set aside for ministry. I certainly have that sense of being set aside too. Paul exhorts them to welcome her and help her in whatever she may require of them. In our ordinal, the office of Deacon is usually presented as a ministry of helps in itself. But here they are being told to help her! I hope my placements are similarly prepared to get in and assist! Paul then begins a list of greetings. Now like reading the various lists of Kings, Judges and genealogies within the Scriptures, there are little gems throughout this list of greetings. He begins with Prisca and Aquila, who risked their necks for him. They seem to be house church leaders in a “fresh expression” of worshipping communities. I vaguely recall that we hear about them in other places – but lack the resolve to look it up (even with Google and OrthodoxWiki). Then comes Epaenetus. The first convert in Asia! Which of course is Asia minor not the Far East. Mary is greeted, being acknowledged as a hard worker. People called to apostolic ministry need to be acquainted with hard work. Even as a youth minister and para-church worker, I know that. As I embark upon a journey (hopefully) towards ordination as an Anglican Priest, I have no delusions that it wont be hard work! Andronicus and Junia who were in prison. They are named as relatives, but also that they were ‘in the Lord’ before Paul was… Perhaps Paul also greets them especially for their contribution to quality coffee, even if instant coffee. Being imprisoned, no doubt, contributed to their prominence. Paul describes them as prominent among the apostles. There’s a lot to be said for prominence. While being an extrovert isn’t essential for the Priest, I always find many Priests (possibly the majority) are introverted… I see being extroverted as an asset to my calling to ordination. Now Jung possible sees introversion as a positive for ordination because in Jungian theory, that defines the direction of the ego’s focus. Extroverts (like me) are possibly too much orientated towards preserving our persona. Introverts are less concerned about what they project (their prominence doesn’t matter to them). So this kind of gives me hope that if Andronicus and Junia can be prominent, AND apostles, then maybe I can too Next Paul singles out Ampliatus, his beloved in the Lord (in a purely Christian, platonic way I’m sure)… not much further to go on but Paul calls us to love one another; so it’s hard that he then singles out someone as more beloved than everyone else. Urbanus, a co-worker in Christ, is mentioned too. Why he isn’t called an apostle begs a mention but is devoid of an answer. Maybe he was a lay worker in an inner city parish (urban)? A fresh expression of faith… Stachys, also beloved; but no mention of ‘in the Lord’ for this person. Of course, it is presumed. But did Paul have a different relationship with Stachys? I guess we’ll never know. Then comes Apelles, who was ‘approved in Christ’. This too is a gem for me. We are all ‘approved in Christ’ but clearly Apelles had a special mention. Again, like being set aside for ordained ministry Apelles had a special approval that stood out from the ordinary. In a way, this is how I feel, ‘approved in Christ’ for ordained ministry. Now I’m going through a process to seek that ‘approval’ from the Church. Not because I need it for my self esteem but because without the Church approving me for ordination, there is no way forward (at least in the Diocese of Perth). There may be no way forward within the Anglican Church if I get knocked back now… then in a way I’m off the hook. I can go back to working in secular work, maybe going for more dollars… a life with far more personal indulgence. Sure, as a baptised believer I’m called to ministry… but it wont be like being called to ordination! Aristobulus and the whole family get a special mention, but still with no further explanation. It’s hard to draw anything further from the text alone. Further study would be helpful… maybe one day I might re-reflect on this passage and research other documents. I’m just under deadlines that make that feel so difficult. That’s partly why I feel called to ordination: because there’s never enough time in the busy busy world to reflect, prepare sermons, spend time when people need it and still get KPIs completed. But one thing is for sure, if Aristobulus was an ordained minister – then his whole family needed greeting and commendation. Because I know that there’s pressure for them all. And also, in the preservation of Aristobulus, there are sacrifices made. Just last Sunday, my wonderful wife and family made a sacrifice so that I could get to the football game. While hedonistic, it was also revitalising and refreshing for me. I know it was hard work for Corinne. But the whole family are involved in what I’m doing here… Herodion, another of Paul’s relatives is greeted, again without much further information. Greet those in the Lord who belong to the family of Narcissus. Does one presume not to greet those who are not in the Lord? Would this be right? Should we greet them anyway? I would be inclined to greet them anyway…? Wasn’t Narcissus, in Greek mythology, a self-obsessed, self-serving, selfish god? He fell in love with his own reflection. Paul doesn’t greet Narcissus himself… only those in the Lord who belong to his family. Maybe there’s something there. Maybe Paul’s saying, so long as you belong to the Lord, a little be of self-love isn’t going to kill you. Certainly, for those in ordained ministry, self-preservation is vitally important – as is preserving your family and nurturing them. See also the qualifications for Deacon and Bishop that Paul writes elsewhere. Having a healthy, well functioning family features prominently. Paul says, greet those workers in the Lord Tryphaena and Tryphosa. Again, workers are highlighted. This stuff is hard work. Not for the feint hearted. Paul goes on to greet the beloved Persis, who has also worked hard in the Lord. This is the stuff of the ordinal for Deacons. And as we know, one doesn’t disregard the Deacon’s vows when ordained to Priest… you just take on more! Paul mentions Rufus, ‘chosen in the Lord…’ Again, this issue of being chosen resonates with me. I don’t just want this for myself. While I do want this… I want it in a way that someone wants to do the right thing because it is right. I want it in the way that a young child is obedient to his mother… and that Rufus’ mother is mentioned brings that image to me powerfully. Not that my own mother particularly wants me to be a Priest but that my God calls me, and I feel compelled to stop running away and actually obey! Rufus’ mother was like a mother to Paul too. There are people everywhere I go, who are like a mother (or father) to me. Once we settle in a ministry, (paid or lay), inevitably people are raised up to nurture, protect and support you. This is true even for those chosen in the Lord. I can think of people from Brisbane, Melbourne, even in our current parish; who are like parents to us and grandparents to the kids. Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers and sisters who are with them; are greeted. This is probably “brothers and sisters” in the Lord; but it is interesting that these are “with them” – in a sense, this could be like the congregation who meets at Prisca and Aquila’s house: a fresh expression of Church. “With them” implying that they’re together in some way or perhaps on some outreach, mission activity or journey. Paul finishes this list of greetings with Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister. Olympas and all the saints who are with them. Again, the word “with” comes up. However, these people are called saints. We talk of the communion of saints and those people whom God has raised up as “saints in every age, and nation…” The evangelicals tend to think of themselves as “saints in the Lord” more than the Anglo-Catholics. Since I made the shift left, I’ve heard it less and less. It seem too presumptuous in the light of celebrating feasts and festivals of Saints of the Church. But it is a good thing… we are the saints of this age (at least we ought to be). The reading concludes with the exhortation to “Greet one another with a holy kiss.” We still draw this instruction into our liturgy with the greeting of peace. Within certain boundaries of course... We have to be careful not to lose the significance of touch and intimate greeting because of the sexualisation of society. We must be truly pure and safe! We must protect everyone, especially the children and the vulnerable, from exploitation and corruption. I have worked in front line youth work for more than 15 years without ever having a sexual misconduct allegation… but that ought to be the norm! That’s how it should be! What defines a “holy” kiss has changed through the ages. It might change again. But we know that intimacy, kept pure, is important to effective ministry and healing. And we also know that human touch, kept pure, has an incredible impact for ministry. Think of Jesus healing the leper (Mtt 8 v 1-3, Mk 1 v39-41, Luke 5v11-13): A leper came to him kneeling and said, “If you choose, you can make me clean.” Moved with compassion, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him, “I do choose. Be made clean!” Jesus knew that this man not only had a diseased body; but a diseased spirit… a diseased self esteem… a diseased socialisation. The power of the touch is as much the act of healing the diseased person as the miracle of healing the body. “Greet one another with a holy kiss” speaks to our total, holistic ministry. It must be holy, it must be pure, you must keep protective behaviours for yourself and the other, it must be safe (in a “SafeChurch” way). But the touch may be important in the process… “All the Churches of Christ greet you.” Peter Hotchkin Published by "just call me Jonah"

Me and my ORIF

2009-07-10T14:00:00.002+08:00

I've been off line for a while... Last post was 8 May... so this situation doesn't fully account for my absense from Blogging... although I have been tweeting a bit.

Anyway, enough of this senseless chatter. It's a long, complicated and boring story, but in short: I had a nasty fall and my body cruelly punished itself, via tensing muscles, to break my arm. The upper bone; called the humerus. The upper end; called proximal.

Humerus fractures are not funny... corny joke I'll admit. You can read more here about problems and complications of humerus fractures.

I also had a dislocated shoulder. Now when you disclocate a joint, it can often be pulled back into place. This is called "reduction." But when the bone is broken as badly as mine was, you just can't do that! That's where my ORIF comes in. ORIF stands for Open Reduction Internal Fixation.

Now Open Reduction and Internal Fixation have completely different meanings in humanities and psychology than medicine and science... so don't get confused.

But anyway, I had an intermedullar nail (IM nail) inserted into my arm, with 5 cross screws, in a marathon emergency operation on 2 June 2009. Took about 5 hours and finished at 11.45pm.

They cut through my arm, in line with what you might call an arm-pit extension. Then they pulled out the bone so it could be worked on. They pushed and wiggled the nail (on x-ray it looks about 17-20cm long) through the marrow cavity of my humerus and then gave it a nice "little" tap at the end with what is essentially a hammer. Then they cut through the arm in a couple of places to drill in the fixing screws. These fixing screws are drilled through the bone and into the IM nail, except a couple seem to be drilled through to the bone on the other side too.

Then they stapled me up.

Post op x-rays revealed that the top of the bone head was broken off too so I went back under the knife a few day's later to have those fixed. The plan was to drill them in too, but during the 3 hour operation, the Orthopedic Surgeon decided just to suture them. Now, I just hope my inability to remain consistently still and in- or under-active hasn't dislodged anything... and that there's been sufficient blood flow to the broken parts of the bone. If not, the consequences are even more serious.I have nothing but praise for my surgeon and the whole team and staff at Joondalup Hospital.

The pictured x-ray is not of me: that whimp only got 1 fixing screw, not like my 5! I tried to show you the real thing but my many attempts to copy, duplicate or reproduce my own x-rays were completely unsuccessful; but it gives you an idea of what's happened.

So now I can type using my left hand only... I'm right handed! I shall keep you posted as to some things that are really hard to do when you are right handed and you can only use your left hand!

With a bit of luck, I'll be out of the sling in a fortnight... Then comes a few months of physio and rehab before I'm back to 'normal'. I can't tell you if I'll forever set off the beeper at airports. I was told not to worry when I went for an MRI scan. I even told them I'd seen that YouTube footage of MRIs and oxygen cylinders and medical beds. They assured me if it started to come out, they could turn the MRI off before the IM nail broke through the skin... I think they were just taking the 'mickey' out of me. I do know that, no matter how hot the furnace gets, it will never melt the IM nail, so after I'm cremated - there'll be something to hand on to the next generations.

Peter Hotchkin Published by "just call me Jonah"

The Call of Paul

2009-06-28T21:24:00.002+08:00

The Call of Paul Acts 9 v 1-22 Galatians 1 v 15-16 Philippians 3 v 12 Take a look at the texts and see how you read them... This is only what they're saying to me... at this limited time in history. They might speak differently to me tomorrow; but I'm reflecting on then today... Paul isn’t really my favourite Saint… considering he wrote a large amount of the New Testament, it is something that I shouldn’t say lightly and should try to get over… But I find some of what he wrote so very baffling in the light of Christ’s teachings. While the word “grace” appears within the first few sentences of every letter Paul wrote (often within the first few words) – there is so much of his writing that reads, seems or has been interpreted and used by some Christians to condemn and deny so much and so many. A wise, once-while Priest of mine told me to read Paul as if he was a raving liberal! I did try that but there were still baffling aspects to his writing that I struggle to accept at face value. Part of the concerns I have are millennia old: Paul himself talked about the people arguing within the Church: I follow Apollos, I follow Paul… Paul saying, “I follow Christ and so should we all!” Some people in the Church have become so caught up on following the teachings of Paul that they’ve possibly departed from the Source! They follow Paul rather than Christ. But I don’t say, Paul has nothing to offer! Quite the contrary! Paul has a great deal of teaching, theology, instruction, encouragement and wisdom for us: even today! But we do need to remember the cultural issues, society of the time and Paul’s own ‘worldview’ of Christianity as we read. So what of his calling? Saul (as he was named at birth) was not a nice guy… He was zealous in his persecution of Christians. But he had a Damascus Road experience… actually; it was his experience that gives us the cliché. This reflection is starting a different phase of callings… In the Hebrew Scriptures we explored callings where God spoke (perhaps even audibly) to people… there were visions, burning bushes, phenomenon, anointing, and even physical touch. In the Gospels, Jesus was physically present and spoke audibly, clearly (if not sometimes cryptically) and directly to call people to a life. Now we move into a different methodology used by God to call people to ministry and vocation. Saul was surrounded by light! An audible voice spoke; even those with him heard the voice! Saul was struck blind… although the metaphor is clear that he was already blind to the truth of Jesus Christ. Saul was led by the hand into town. That phrase, “by the hand” seems significant. I recall it mentioned in other places in the Christian Scriptures. Didn’t Jesus tell Peter he would be led by the hand where he did not want to go? Anyway, after this dramatic “call”… which as it is constructed was only a call to “enter the city and you will be told what to do.” Saul fasted and waited. While we’re not expressly reflecting on “the call of Ananias, I think we’re all the better for the fact that Ananias followed God’s call! Because Saul’s reputation was such that Ananias questioned God’s call to visit Saul. “Saul!?” cries Ananias in prayer! You’ve got to be joking Lord! Are you sending me to my death?” But Ananias obeyed and half the Christian Scriptures were written because of Ananias’ obedience. He prayed for Saul and God did a powerful thing. The scales fell down from everyone’s eyes that day: Saul saw Jesus Christ for who he really is… it turned Saul around and he became Paul. But the scales fell down from Ananias’ eyes too. He called Paul ‘brother’; an enemy became a friend… The first thing Paul did was get baptised, and then he ate some food to regain his strength: and ever since Christians have had feasts and big cakes after baptisms (joke). Paul immediately went out preaching. He was a handy convert because he had all the background, and was a great speaker and writer. Perhaps that’s the point: in verse 15 God tells Ananias that Paul was personally chosen by God as an instrument to bring the Gospel before Gentiles and kings! And Paul knew it: for in Galatians he says God set him apart before birth. When I look back over my life, I have a sense that God set me apart before birth… That there’s no waste in the economy of God… and not a single thing has touched my life (good or hard and painful) that hasn’t first come through the hands of a loving God. Is it any wonder, I say (with Paul), “not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.” I can’t escape it. I believe Christ has made me his own and set me aside for ordained ministry. Peter Hotchkin Published by "just call me Jonah"

The Call of Peter (John 21 v 15-19)

2009-05-08T19:13:00.000+08:00

I love this passage! But what sort of love do I love it with…? Have a read of the scripture, and then reflect on it yourself. These are just my thoughts… Maybe the reinstatement of Peter… (which is the heading in my Bible) is a better title? Peter might have felt pretty bad. I don’t think he lost his job, but he might have lost his self-confidence. Maybe he was just questioning if Jesus was really making him the first Pope. The thing is, I’ve read this passage hundreds of times! I’ve preached on it. I’ve heard others preach on it. I’ve checked it out in the Greek text… just to confirm again in my mind… before I wrote on it. I’m quite comfortable now… but I still went out and checked it one more time before writing this! Such is the impact that some solitary preacher had on me (I can’t even remember who it was). I heard once in a sermon, a clear misquote of this passage from the Greek, but it stuck with me for a long time and proves to be a block that I have to check every time I write or speak on this passage. Mrs Smiley told me that she had been told that Jesus asked Simon-Peter three times – because Peter had denied Christ three times… so it was about balance, tit-for-tat, something cosmic or Biblical about the number three. Me, on the other hand, I was also taught about the Greek words for love. (As I’ve eluded to: I was once told something in error). Jesus and Peter have this little moment together. Perhaps we are to interpret that Peter’s denial of Christ is weighing heavily on his mind (but the text doesn’t actually say that). I bring in three extra things to this scenario, from tradition and prior teaching: Peter declared this wonderful, wondrous thing about Jesus, and because of that, Jesus (according to the Catholic Church tradition) said, “Be the first Pope!” (Well, at least Jesus said that Peter had the keys to the Kingdom when he declared that Jesus was the Christ – the Holy One of God). And also (as I mentioned), Peter’s denial of Christ three times before the cock crowed… So Jesus and Peter are eating together and Jesus says, “Do you love me more than these?” Now, I’m hardly a highly educated scholar… but I have studied some Classical Greek and I have studied some New Testament. As far as I can tell – this question could mean a host of things! Tenses in Greek are complicated as it is but I don’t see the Greek is any clearer than the English. “…more than these…” could mean: “Do you love me more than you love these others?” or “Do you love me more than these others love me?” or “Do you love me more than these things…? (Fishing business, boats, nets, objects… the thrill of the catch?) The question is probably pertinent, however it is interpreted! Peter did seem to like to make comparisons. For example – “Even if all these other desert you – I will remain.” Jesus brings the focus, the response to Peter’s answer, onto the others… that is “Feed my lambs.” Which might rightly be interpreted as a metaphor for others (or even THE others, as in the other 10 disciples). So it is plausible that even Jesus was asking Peter to love the others more than Peter loved Jesus…(?). Now John is known to make numerous ‘word plays’ in the Greek, for style reasons, drama, impact, perhaps even poetic reasons. So it may mean nothing. For 2000 years, scholars might have mused over ports or tokays about what was going on here – and the whole thing was because John was at the end of his Gospel writing… he was getting tired… it was late… he had had a wine or two… his publisher was rushing him so he didn’t proof read his work…? But for some reason (or indeed no reason)… Peter’s reply to Jesus was a different word for ‘love’ than Jesus used. Jesus asks Peter, “Do you love me?” using the Greek word we call agape. This is sometimes defined as the highest form of love. Sometimes said, “truly love” and it is believed that this true-love involved the will, the intellect and the emotions… not just one or the other. Peter responds with, “Yes, Lord. You know that I love you.” But he uses ‘Phileo.’ This is the love (as we know from the root words) that one has for stamps… eg Philately. No! I mean the root word for humanity… for example, Philanthropy (meaning the love of man). I work in this industry currently. We use this term to talk about making donations. But they are “donations from the heart” and not purchasing things. While buying a pen, chocolate, shirt or red nose does raise money for causes – it isn’t a donation. The Americans call it ‘fundraising’ but this marketing stuff isn’t this “love of man” giving from the heart. Phileo is also described as “brotherly love” or the love we have for family and close friends. It doesn’t imply romantic, sexual, attraction… but nor does it imply choice or will. It’s like a love that you grow up with. Anyway, John describes this little interaction between Jesus and Peter… with this difference in the word used for “love”. Because it gets repeated – it may not just be a stylised thing to make it balance or for poetic reasons. It might (I stress might) be there for a reason: to make a point. It might be there because it is how it actually happened and John remembered it because it was so different. Anyway Jesus asks Peter, and Peter answers. Then Jesus gives him the instruction “Feed my lambs.” Then Jesus says the second time, the same thing he said the first time, “Do you love (Agape) me?” And Peter says the second time, the same thing he said the first time, “You know that I love (Phileo) you…” And Jesus’ conclusion to this response is to say again (slightly differently but essentially the same (maybe)): “Tend my sheep.” Funny that I make lots of the difference in the word for “love” – as have the brilliant scholars over the centuries… but I’m not going into the difference about lambs or sheep, feed or tend, feed-lambs, or tend-sheep… It might have been the key thing John was trying to draw out of the moment! Did John really want us to notice the difference between feed-lambs and tend-sheep and we’ve totally missed the point? Is feed impersonal? Is tend like nurture, more intense, more personal? Was Jesus really saying, “Lambs… Sheep… Whatever: they’re not fish! Do you love me more than fishing? I want you to leave fishing and tend my sheep!” You know, we might be missing the whole point! The more you know – the less you know… Anyway, the third time, Jesus uses a different word! “Do you love (Phileo) me more than these?” Some have suggested only God a capable of “agape” love. But the Biblical records don’t reflect that. There are other references to humans showing agape love… Others have suggested that Jesus was demonstrating that he was prepared to meet Peter at his level of commitment. That supposes that Phileo love isn’t just different but is a somehow, somewhat inferior love to agape love. I don’t think that’s quite right either. I’m not sure that the Greek language intended inferiority to be implied in the various words for love. Whilst agape love is sometimes called the highest form of love, the point is that it describes love in a certain way… without defining the object of that love – it supposes a description of the type of love. Cross-reference this to the work of the great psychoanalyst Erich Fromm. Phileo (on the other hand) describes the type of love, while also defining the object, or at least a category of object. You couldn’t Phileo-love ice cream or chocolate… that wouldn’t work in the Greek language! “True” is not an object; but brother, sister, friend, human… is. True-love is a description, but without an object. Like Fromm’s assertion that ‘love is a faculty’. But what we know from the text is that Peter is hurt by the question. Again, we don’t know for sure if Peter was hurt because Jesus asked three times or because Jesus changed the word the third time… but I we’ve always assumed it was the change in the word that hurt the most! However, think about Peter’s answer before we make that assumption again. In answer, Peter gives a double up on Jesus’ ability to know: “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love (Phileo) you.” Peter never changes his word for love in any of his three answers. Maybe because he knows Jesus knows all things and can pick a liar from 50 metres. Maybe because he knows his own limits and that he doesn’t love, as Jesus wants him to love. Maybe it’s because he needs an object to love. Peter can’t just love as a faculty… he’s hurt and broken. Peter’s in a world without the comforter (the Holy Spirit of Jesus) and can’t just love for love’s sake with all his heart. He needs healing. He needs a new wholeness. He needs reconciliation. It is, however, a very real and human response from Peter. He is certainly unwavering in his level of commitment. He hasn’t offered more than he’s able to offer. There are no false promises here. What about me: What does the text say to me, embarked as it is upon a journey towards ordination vows? I’d like to go back to a point I made earlier. I like to think we should focus on Jesus’ response and instructions (rather than Peter’s answers, limitations, inadequacies). Jesus says, “Feed my lambs;” “Tend my sheep;” “Feed my sheep.” The ordinal, particularly 1662 but even 1995, draws heavily on the shepherd image. Jesus is doing the same. Perhaps this is the very first ordination! If you believe that Peter was the very first Pope (as the Roman Catholic Church does) then that might realty work! It works for me… Feeding lambs, tending sheep and then feeding sheep – is a lovely progression in the spiritual and emotional growth of the metaphorical lambs which are entrusted to the Priest… the flock. They need feeding when they are little and young in the faith. They need nurture and teaching, as they grow in the faith. They need feeding at an even deeper level as the reach spiritual maturity. Even as Christian adults, the Priest ought to be challenging them. Urging the congregation on to questioning and owning their faith in new and deeper levels. The message says that relationship with others is central: the spiritual growth of those others, through their relationship with their Priest, is the key role here. For Peter, as for the Priest: feeding lambs, tending sheep and feeding sheep are integral. Peter Hotchkin Published by "just call me Jonah"