'Talkin' to the Angels'

Boxing is probably one of the most brutal sports ever invented, yet it remains fascinating to watch as two men dish out severe punishment to win a crown, a medal, a belt, and obviously some money!
There are some fights that stand out in one's memory, but the rest of them fade away. Ray Leonard once had several fights against a Mexican, Roberto Duran, that were rivetting rivalry from start to finish.
The Rocky Marciano tapes still tell a story and then of course there is Cassius Clay that turned to Mohammed Ali in the ring and mesmerized not only his opponents for a few decades but also entrigued millions of fans and boxing critics with his predictions and big-mouthed psychology: 'I am the greatest!'
He actually changed the style of boxing by leaning back on the ropes and allowing his opponent to give the best shot he had. Once he weathered the barrage of blows he would unleash his twisted short right jab which he maintained, 'would knock anyone of you out!'It would happen so fast that the normal camera speed would miss it!
'Dance like a butterfly; sting like a bee!' he would chant.
After winning the world title back against Frazier in the Thriller in Manila as the bout was advertised, he said it was the closest he came to death. They fought in 120 degree heat under a low tin roof. Frazier's eyes were so badly cut and damaged that he could not see anymore but kept on fighting.
At the age of 35 Ali fought Ernie Shavers and Sylvester Stallone was at the ringside. Although Ali prophesied: 'this will be no contest', Shavers hit him so hard that Ali went down. But he got up so fast, faster than most boxers would and carried on with the fight.
'He went on automatic pilot,' Stallone explains, 'he went beyond the borders of pain into another dimension. It is something divine. It's hard to explain.'
After the fight Ali told Stallone, 'I was talkin' to the Angels tonight!'
The next fighter beat him. It was Leon Sphynx. But Ali fought him again and regained his title as The Heavyweigth Champion of the World'. He regained his title for a record 3 times winning 36 fights in his career.
Amazing record.
But it is that line that Stallone quoted in 'Ali's Best 12 Rounds' that stayed with me for days: 'I was talkin' to the Angels tonight.'
There is something naive and childlike and yet something so profound in that statement that it lingers longer than any other statement Ali ever made.

Imagine a world without Christmas

For many years we did not celebrate Christmas just to break the hold of the religious traditions on our lives: forced to give presents no one really appreciates, forced to buy a Christmas tree and decoration, with a star at the top or an angel dangling dangerously until its fall to the earth eventually when one of the grandchildren run into the tree; the endless Christmas Carols all sounding the same every year; the pageants in the church hall with actors cloted in pyjamas and bath robes and towels around their heads, the girls fighting about who should play Mary this year, the baby doll Jessu with the stark eyes staring into space; the cardboard donkeys and the wise men who do not understand a thing about astronomy; the shepherds who never know where to kneel and the angels on the staircase anouncing peace on earth and goodwill among men until we hear the news on TV again; the well wishing and the forced joyous celebration, tapping every ounce of religious experience out of every Christmas service; the endless choirs robed like angels, sweating in the African heat, the silent unspoken wish for a white Christmas in South Africa; the old folks that wear Santa Claus outfits in the summer heat; the bells of reindeer, the smells of the roast; the Jews and Muslims making a killing out of the Christian spending, coming up with novel Christmas gifts every year and the record producers who force their stars to make yet another Christmas Album for profits sake, Amen.
Enough already...the pagan practices of the tree and other decorations, mixed with the consumer magic of Father Christmas in the shopping centre, the Christian faith that Jesus was born from a virgin, the National Geographic and History channels on TV trying their utmost to disprove the fact with all their theories and scientific nonsense...
But after all said and done, imagine a world without Christmas...at least people thinki about Christ once a year. No, maybe twice. The other time would be at Easter.
So a baby Jesus and a suffering Saviour on the Cross is non-threatening to all the other religions of the world and even atheists and agnostics put up with it.
In a sense, Nola, my wife is right: Christmas and Easter are the final Christian outposts in a world gone crazy.
There is always a movie on TV about the Nazi's and the British not fighting in the trenches on Christmas day, but having a game of football and sharing their chocolate bars and cigarettes and hidden whiskey with each other...just for a day. Tomorrow we kill each other again!
Christmas being one of the last Christian bastions, we need to reform our thinking about it and at least compose a few fresh Christmas Carols of our own that would really be a joy to all the world. I'm dreaming of a white Christmas is after all not a hymn to sing in church!
So, we changed our approach and held our first ever Christmas service in our reformational church in Cape Town again in 2009.
It was wonderful - because of our long lay off we have shed all the unnecessary religious trappings of tradition and discovered uniquely fresh reasons to celebrate the miraculous birth of the Son of God.
As a friend of mine indicated: He left no tangilbe evidence behind once He left the earth, but He left us His Name. Joseoph and Mary's obedience to call Him Jesus like the Angel instructed them to do, ushered His name into the earth so that we who believe could use that Name in prayer - and not like Hollywood only in swearing and cursing because they try to discredit that wonderful name...
Christ was born in Bethlehem, in Judea, yes, 2000 years ago, and it is good to remember it, but when someone accepts Christ's sacrifice for their sins, and He becomes their Lord and Saviour, they are born again, or Christ is born in them and thus we celebrate the birth of Christ all over again!
Nola sang a new Christmas hymn in a prophetic way and we'll have to listen to the CD to learn it for next year! It was glorious and powerful and we soared in the spirit like eagles on the upwards drafts of heatwaves, lifting us higher and higher until we lost touch with earthly ways of celebrating Christmas. It was a whole new experience!
I preached about Paul's message to the Galatians: my little children for whom I labour again to see Christ formed in you...an apostolic take on the Christmas story!
(It should all be on our website soon: www.harvesterchurch.net)
And there was great joy in our dancing while we worshipped - and we celebrated the joy of knowing Jesus Christ and having fellowship with each other as children of the Living God. The peace we experienced passed our understanding because we were made right with God through faith in Jesus Christ's sacrifice on the cross of Calvary! What a joyous Gospel! What a way to celebrate Christmas - His Name is our greatest gift that we can still share with each other today!
Merry Christmas to all who read this blog, then, and a happy New Year to you all - from a different perspective, I hope.
I really couldn't imagine a world without Christmas...when that happens, when they take away Christmas from the calender, it is time to leave the earth and look for the new heaven and the new earth Jesus promised to go and prepare for those who love Him and look for His return.