Father’s Day 2011

By admin, on June 20th, 2011%

Matthew 28:16-20

This week, on the eve of Father’s Day, I am sad to say, we saw true evidence of man’s weaker nature – on display, in Vancouver, for the rest of the world to see. And I say man on purpose, because the pictures prove it was mostly men, and young men, trashing their own city after a hockey game. A hockey game which seems big until you start comparing it to the reckless damage they caused. On one Facebook post, a young guy – foolish enough to openly use his real name – bragged about punching a police officer and flipping cars – “smart” cars, especially, the environmentally friendly ones. In his post, he goes on to brag how he is going to be on the news: he writes one word – history!

But it was one video in particular that struck a chord with many of us. In the video, one man emerges to stand before an angry mob, throwing rocks through windows. He’s a regular looking guy – a regular looking dad kind of guy -  a bit overweight, balding, wearing a Canucks hat. He stands in front of the mob and declares: “This is my city!” and orders them away. The mob pauses as one unit. They aren’t sure what to do. And then one person steps in and punches the guy, and the rest follow. The man eventually falls down, beaten and kicked. This video will go around the world in less than 24 hours. Not a proud advertisement for the Canadian hockey fan—or for the Canadian male, for that matter.

Michael Fry plays a violin adaptation of Luther Vandross' "A dance with my Father"

Michael Fry plays a violin adaptation of Luther Vandross' "A dance with my Father"

And so, this morning, Paul tells us: Put things in order. And we have this horrifying and shameful example of how disorder trumps order so many times. This is an especially nasty one: how could a hockey game rank higher than the life and safety of even one person, let alone thousands? It is a concrete visual example of the power of mobs, especially ones with muscle.
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Father’s Day 2010: Millennium Development Goals

By admin, on July 12th, 2010%

On the eve of the G20, what’s news we all remember – a million dollar fake lake decorated with canoes, to show off the beauty of Canada. Or maybe it’s the sight of the sunken fire hydrant, its tip poking out from the newly refreshed sidewalk that was built to be admired by world leaders – pretty and completely impractical. An odd way to throw away money given that Canada is far prettier than most places anyway, and certainly has its share of real lakes, and when you imagine that prime ministers and president aren’t likely to be fascinated by sidewalks. But it actually pretty sad – all jokes aside – since the ultimate intention (if not always the outcome) of these G20 meetings is to be practical – to get the job, any job, finished, or at least started. And here we are prettying up the place with fake lakes. Trying explaining that to a classroom of school kids in Africa . . . → Read More: Father’s Day 2010: Millennium Development Goals

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