In about a month we'll be celebrating the 45th anniversary of humanity's first steps on the moon -- a real life example of the old Star Trek invitation to "boldly go where no one has gone before." Since then, however, we've not been boldly going much of anywhere else in terms of human exploration. Sure, we're sending probes to other planets and mapping the human genome, but finding real adventure in places where few or no humans have been before is elusive.
Then again, maybe it's not that there aren't places left to explore; it's just that we have to be a bit more creative, and even aggressive, in finding them. Sometimes, those out-of-the-way places are as close as the edge of town, on the way to work or even right under our feet.
Enter the new phenomenon called "place hacking." If computer hacking is all about gaining unauthorized access to a particular database or hijacking a Facebook account to pose as someone else, place hacking is all about getting into actual places where access may be forbidden or into areas that the rest of the world has simply forgotten about.
Place hacking is a global movement of young urban explorers who sneak into places like former military bases, abandoned factories, decommissioned hospitals or power stations, sewer or subway tunnels and even skyscrapers still under construction.
Armed with only a camera, place hackers reveal a whole new world that's rarely, if ever, seen by the general public. "The idea behind urban exploration is revealing what's hidden in the world," says Dr. Bradley Garrett, an Oxford University academic and renowned place hacker. "It's about going into places that are essentially off-limits and, because they are off limits, have been relatively forgotten. The goal of the urban explorer is not just to explore these places but also to photograph them and share these with others so they can see what they're like."
Despite being questioned by authorities for hacking into an old London bomb shelter filled with old boxes of bank and other records, Garrett still has other places he would like to explore with a team -- places like the Gwangmyeong Ghost Station in North Korea, an abandoned part of the subway system in Pyongyang; Fordlandia, the utopian, rubber-harvesting company town that Henry Ford constructed in the Brazilian jungle in 1928 that's now a ghost town; and the torch of the Statue of Liberty.
Most of us aren't adventurous enough or willing to risk arrest in order to go to some of these places despite the unique opportunity to get a glimpse at the underside of the urban world. But that doesn't mean we can't be place hackers of another sort. In fact, Jesus commands us to "go ... and make disciples of all nations." To do that, we might find ourselves hacking into places and into lives we might never have imagined, even when those places and people are as close as our own neighborhood.
In fact, it's not a stretch to suggest that Jesus' primary way of doing ministry involved place hacking. The gospels are full of incidents in which Jesus was in places that few other "proper" people of his day would ever have imagined themselves.
For starters, he was born in an out-of-the-way barn! He grew up in a backwater town where he got tossed out of the synagogue one day because his neighbors thought he was nuts.
He crashed countless dinner parties where he spent time with people who lived most of their lives in back alleys and hidden places -- prostitutes, tax collectors and a host of other sinners. He ventured into the territory of the Samaritans, where no pious Jew would ever dare to go, and spent time talking to a woman with a checkered past. He even gate crashed a wedding with all of his Apostles in tow, but at least he brought the wine.
He spent time in the desert wastelands, in small towns and in the big city of Jerusalem. He touched lepers who hovered on the edge of society. He went into the temple and hacked into the commerce system by flipping over the tables of the moneychangers.
He would find himself in an upper room and a garden, and then he hacked into Herod's palace and Pilate's fortress, even though he did it the hard way. He would find himself viewing the world from a Roman cross -- a place where no one wanted to go -- ever.
And then, placed in a tomb, he managed to hack his way back into the world as its risen Savior. Jesus didn't have to go far to explore any of those places, and yet by hacking into them he changed the world.
After his resurrection, Jesus gathered his old crew of Apostles together and called them to be place hackers as well. That's what he'd been training them to do all along. Assuredly, they were experienced hackers by now! He'd already sent them out on a place hacking mission of their own, where they took nothing and left only footprints. Now, he was sending them out even farther: to "all nations." It would be in those places far and near, familiar and not-so-familiar, where they would baptize and teach a new crew of place hackers "to obey everything" that Jesus commanded them. They would then boldly go into the corners of every city and nation to continue the place hacking ministry of Jesus. And from what historical evidence and Oral Tradition handed down, that is exactly what they did; some to far off countries.
It's interesting that when the risen Christ shows up among his Apostles, Matthew tells us that "they worshiped him; but some doubted." The prospect of being chucked into prison for hacking into the wrong place with the message about Jesus was a real possibility, as the book of Acts reveals. Place hacking for Jesus may be even more physically dangerous in certain parts of the world today than trying to crawl up the arm of the Statue of Liberty. Doubt is a natural reaction when one is confronted with that kind of trouble.
But the early disciples still went as Jesus commanded them, and we are the fruit of their spiritual hackings! The call of Jesus to "go" is still given to us in a world that still has plenty of dark corners as well as shiny spaces. No matter where we're called to go, Jesus has given us this promise: "I am with you always, to the very end of the age." He's still place hacking and calls us to join him.
Think about where you live and the places you go. Where are those places that few respectable people would dare to go? Where are the dark alleys and hidden places that shelter people who hide in shame from the rest of the world? Where are the places of need, of opportunity? Have you ever place hacked your neighbor's front porch to invite him or her to coffee or over for dinner where you can begin a relationship that shows them the love of Christ?
Bradley Garrett says that most people "age out" of place hacking buildings and cityscapes before the age of 40. They get respectable and lose the spark of adventure that caused them to get out and get dirty in the first place. The same could be said of Jesus' followers. After 2,000 years of history, it's become easy for the church to get complacent, to expect people to come to us, to prefer safety and the security of counting bottoms in pews and bucks in the offering plates. And then we count this as "following Jesus."
But Jesus authorized us to "go," not sit. He asked us to baptize believers, not build buildings – although, right now I find our offering plates a bit low on funds, so we definitely need more bottoms; they will benefit from our Liberal Catholic approach. Few people in an increasingly secular culture are ever going try to place hack our churches anyway. The only way forward for the church is to go and get dirty, taking nothing with us but love, and leaving nothing but footprints all the while telling them that Liberal/Progressive are not bad words; and there are churches that value that which other churches still push aside and ostracize.
To boldly go where no one has gone before spread some of the radical love of Jesus!
Let Us Pray.
As we celebrate the Feast of the Ascension, we reflect on Jesus’s instruction to the Apostles before he ascended into Heaven – to communicate his message to all nations . We pray for the wisdom, the faith and the love of God to be witnesses in today’s unbelieving world, to His Holy Word. We pray to the Lord.
We pray that the message of Christ be brought to all nations, so that a spirit of truth, goodness and love can guide all its peoples to peace, integrity and care of the weak, the sick, the hungry and the homeless. We pray to the Lord.
We pray for all those who have committed their lives, both at home and abroad, to communicating the word of God, and for an increase of vocations for our humble denomination. We pray to the Lord.
On this day also known as World Day for Social Communications, we pray for a dialogue in our country on the treatment of migrants that is guided by love and understanding, rather than hate and confrontation; for an end to the allowance of automatic weapons and other paraphernalia not need by the general public; an end to the destructive laws being created against Transgendered people. We pray to the Lord.
We pray for the responsible use of the internet and social media, so that our digital communications may be a tool to spread truth and happiness, love and respect, inclusion and encounter rather than falsehood, exclusion, unhappiness and alienation. We pray to the Lord.
Our church is plagued with needs, and so we pray for benefactors who are able to help our tiny parish during its need. The leaking sewage and potentially malfunctioning pump, the ever-enlarging sink hole, our electricity and water bills and our need for insurance. We pray to the Lord.
For those on our parish prayer list, that they may receive swift answers to their needs and that they may find consolation through Christ’s healing presence. We pray to the Lord.
We bow our heads and remember in silence our own personal intentions and the intentions of those who have asked for our prayers (pause). We pray to the Lord.
O Christ, the risen One, ascended into heaven, yet closer than our own breath, draw us into your presence. Be near to us — near to our praises, our prayers, our words, our songs; near to our wonderings, our tentative answers, our hidden doubts, our deepest affirmations. Be near to us, risen Lord.
Holy Spirit, we so rarely address You, even though we know You are always there. Our communications to all Three Persons – our prayers – are slowly dying as many have lost faith in the Church and even You. Holy Spirit, we know to hear from the Scriptures is to hear from You, for Your inspiration is often there. Sometimes it can be easy to dismiss a passage that seems familiar. We've heard it before and so we disengage. Yet we know that your word is powerful and that it is calling us to live like Jesus. Do not let us turn off our ears so quickly. Help us to listen well and to respond with obedience. Let us see what it is you are doing through the Scriptures we hear today. Let us acquire better habits of reading and praying with the Scriptures, so that we can communicate Your Word. You are working and we want to join you.
We come today reminded of your greatness and glory, your sovereign power and eternal purpose all expressed so wonderfully in Jesus Christ, our Lord, Risen and Ascended.
We thank you for the wonder of the Ascension, that marvelous yet mysterious moment in the life of the Apostles which left them gazing heavenwards in confusion, yet departing in joy. We thank you for the way that it brought the earthly ministry of Jesus to a fitting conclusion, signifying his oneness with you, and demonstrating your final seal of approval on all that he had done. We thank you that through his Ascension, Jesus is now set free to be Lord of all, no longer bound to a particular place or time, but with us always -- able to reach even to the ends of the earth.
Gracious God, forgive us for the smallness of our vision, the narrowness of our outlook, the weakness of our love, the nervousness of our witness, our repeated failure to recognize the fullness of your revelation in Christ. Give us a deeper sense of wonder, a stronger faith, and a greater understanding of all you have done.
Father God, like the Apostles, we, too, will never fully understand all Ascension means. We accept, but we do not fully understand. We believe, yet we have many questions. Help us, despite our uncertainty, to hold firm to the great truth that the wonder of Christ Jesus goes far beyond anything we can ever imagine, and in that faith may we live each day to his glory and honor. We ask all these things through Christ our Lord. Amen.
God Love You +++
The Most Rev. Robert Winzens
Pastor – St. Francis Chapel
San Diego, CA.
As a small parish, we come to you all as beggars! All non-profits compete for your support, and many serve the community’s great needs, and we do not ask you to stop giving to them. But maybe one week or month, we ask that you consider a small donation to our humble parish. Your generous support also allows us to continue these important projects that fuel the movement of progressive Christianity. God will look on your donation grant you his grace in abundance! Thank you and God bless you! +++
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