Defining youth

Interesting conversation tonight with Jec in the Philippines. We only met a couple of days ago through some work I'm doing for Edinburgh 2010. Jec is a 25 year old leader of Christian youth networks out there and we were talking (virtually you understand) about how the young people he knows can engage with a rather academic conversation about mission - to which I think they could add a lot.

However part of the conversation was about who are "youth". In Europe most people over 18 (16?) would be unhappy to be excluded from "adult" and spoken about as "the youth" whereas in India you can still be in the youth fellowship at 40! In fact in India, if I understand correctly, it has a lot to do with marital status - unmarried = youth; married = adult. Jec's interesting idea was that it all has to do with dependency. "As long as I am finacially dependent on my family I will be a youth" he said. As someone in his late 50s who is about to become more dependent on friends and family than I have been in the past that was encouraging news - I am about to become a youth once more! Roll on childhood!

Confused Spirits

My mobile rang just as I was leaving work. "Could you come and help me with an exorcism?" "When?" "Well as soon as possible, say 7pm.?" I don't get many of those calls (not being a specialist in exorcisms you'll understand) but when a brother priest asks you do go it's kind of hard to say 'no'.

Just before you get too excited, there were no stakes, large crucifixes, or hauting screams, just a troubled household - a world traveller come home to die, the live-in nurse and a dutiful son - seeking peace. My colleague and I broughts Biblical words of comfort, we said our prayers, we spinkled water, exchanges a few smiles and left. Walking home I began to wonder - what was there?, what have we done? and might my Nigerian colleague have done things quite differently? I believe in spirits - especially the one I call Father - and I know that they can be troublesome when we shut God out of the situation. But what really interested me was the cross-cultural dynamics of the pneumatology we talked through and prayed in that simple home tonight. The householder had spent much of his life in China, the nurse who first observed the 'phenomenon' was from the Philippines and the second disturbed nurse who prayed with us tonight was from Zimbabwe. Add to that a son from leafy Richmond and priests from Canada and Suffolk and you have some fairly interesting possibilities in terms of understanding the realities and challenges of the 'spirit world'.

But it worked - God understood, he cared, he spoke and his Spirit is truth.

Being known

I had one of those telephone calls today. You know, a pleasant sounding young man with a strong Indian accent introducing himself as Chris. "Mr. Oxbrow, I understand you are having some problems with your computer, unwanted messages and the like .... well let's see if I can help you with that. May I call you Mark?" Despite my lame protest, "No my computer is fine and I didn't call anyone for help", he presses on, "Now for security can you confirm you address is (and he quotes my full address) and tell me your date of birth." Wait a minute, who am I talking to? How does he know so much about me? It was of course a scam - put "Support on Click" into your browser if you want to know more. They didn't hook me, not this time!

How is it that sometimes it is very comforting when someone knows all about you (the doctor who remembers you from last year's visit, or the waiter who knows exactly where you like to sit) but sometimes its very scary. It worries me that Tesco know exactly what type of cheese I like and when I'm likely to buy more; and when the person I go to meet for the first time has 'researched' me on Google first I feel a little naked. I suppose it has to do with trust - who do I trust to know everything about me and still love me, still be good to me? That's why being known by God is such a pleasure, setting me free to be myself - as I really am.

They say "knowledge is power" and so it is for the potential scam merchant, but for God "knowledge is love".