New Year Reflections: Humanity ("We're complicated"), Ceasefire, Improved summer here in Chch

If last week's post, in part at least, was about the complexity of theology because, well, God is complicated (at least, complicated for us to understand who God is, what God is up to, etc), then this week's post begins with the complexity of humanity. 

A section of a comment from Mark to last week's post is worth repeating here:

"One of the big errors, I think, in understanding human beings is to assume that there is a generic, singular "type" - that we are fundamentally rational, or fundamentally relational, or fundamentally emotion-based etc. While all of these are true, it is also obvious that beyond what we have common there is also a great diversity of ways of being. Religions who stress our unity and equality (especially strong with the monotheistic religions) often have the challenge of accounting for our great diversity too (polytheistic religions are perhaps better at allowing and even celebrating this, as they allow and celebrate it in their doctrine of God).

Too much diversity and we lose a sense of our (and God's) unity and wholeness; too much too much unity and we lose a an appreciation of the myriad forms in which human and divine being appears.

There are many models for understanding human diversity-in-unity. By this stage in my life I've tried many of them out on myself and clients! The one that keeps proving it's worth for me, as a basic foundation, is the Myers-Briggs typology based on the pioneering insights of Carl Jung. ..."

We are a diverse bunch - I have seen that in various interactions through this holiday season. But each of us as individuals, wherever we might be located on some scheme of human diversity, is a complex being. We are rational and emotional, we have a history, a present and a future (each of which might be charted on a spectrum from painful to pleasant), we are (with a nod to last week's post) full of desire and may or may not be planning appropriate means of fulfilling those desires (or ignoring them due to other priorities such as meeting the desires of others), and we have capacity both to bore others and to surprise them.

There are perhaps two chief means by which we regularly reflect on the complexity of humanity: 

- gossip (focused on the quirks and quarrels of friends, family, acquaintances, workmates, neighbours, etc) and 

- news (focused on the triumphs and tribulations of people we mostly do not know directly but feel we know because their lives are lived in our heads (politicians, film stars, sports stars, other celebrities). 

Recent weeks of news have of course been dominated by the politician/TV star/golf star (at least on his own golf courses!)/celebrity Donald Trump and his entourage of prospective leaders of his about to be inaugurated empire - their appearances before hearings to determine their fitness for office have been, well, interesting. From the perspective of the complexity of being human, it is intriguing how well known sinners prior to nomination for office take on a certain saintliness in their own minds and in the minds of their supporters. Much as we might deride this phenomenon when viewed on YouTube/X/etc, do we not all do a bit of this "transformative view" of ourselves from time to time (or, indeed, all the time)?

Another aspect of the complexity of humanity is that few if any people are unable to do at least one good thing in their lives. And, speaking of Trump, my reading of this week's news about the Gaza-Israel ceasefire is that while credit goes to Biden and Blinken for laying the groundwork for the current deal - some months back, but not at that time actually achieving a deal - it has been the involvement of Trump which has enabled a deal to be clinched. 

Even as the ceasefire unfolds (and as I write this, the news is of three Israeli hostages being released from Gaza), it seems that one might reasonably assess that the ceasefire is merely a cessation of hostilities and not an actual breaking out of peace. 

Humanity is complicated; each of us are complex beings; whether we invest hopes in a new president or prime minister or monarch, or seek for genuine peace and justice in human communities (our own families? the neighbourhood? Sudan? Ukraine? Gaza/West Bank/Israel?), we are nearly always guilty of underestimating that complex people create complex situations for which simple solutions are mostly unachievable. (As an aside, isn't a strong part of the attractiveness of Trump for American voters and global supporters that he offers simple solutions for every problem. And, as a further aside, isn't there an illustration of the complexity of humanity in how four years of his presidency, 2016-2020, has seemingly created no voters' remorse!).

So, where is the God of Jesus Christ present in our world through the Holy Spirit in our complexity?

Certainly there is some complicatedness about answering that question. This morning, looking at X/Twitter - there is a bunch of Christians in Washington this week with a very simple answer to the question (summarising, Donald Trump is God's anointed saviour of America and the world) and there is a vast number of Christians elsewhere in America and the world deeply anxious for a Trumpian future and even more deeply disturbed at the state of (some) American theology! Whatever God is up to in the world at this time, Trump is an ordinary human sinner not an extraordinary vessel of God's grace.

My own answer to the question is this: 

1. God is doing all kinds of things in the world all the time using all kinds of people. It is not promised to us that any one of us or any one order of the church (not even prophets!) will have discernment as to what is happening. It is possible that with the hindsight of historical reflection we will have some discernment. It is also possible that there will be moments of insight granted to us "this IS God at work in the world" - especially when we see that wonderful sign of the kingdom when people commit their lives to Christ the King of Kings!

2. We can answer the question by being people open to God working in us and through us: being faithful witnesses to Jesus Christ and the Gospel, loving neighbours, makers of peace, workers of justice and living holy lives.

If you are wondering where the weather issue from the subject line comes into this post, let me conclude by saying that, like humanity, weather is complicated. The dismal weather of last week's post has given way to pleasant, stock standard Christchurch summer weather. Praise the Lord!

But it may be about to change ... :)