I don’t know, but my guess is
that these were named after General Gordon. General Charles George Gordon,
also known as Gordon of Khartoum, was a British Army officer famed for his
service in China, the Crimean War, and his defence of Khartoum.
Having your name remembered was part of the hit musical, film and TV Show, Fame with the iconic song by Irene Cara, popular in the 1980’s.
I'm gonna live forever, I'm gonna learn how to
fly (High)
I feel it coming together, People will see me and cry (Fame)
I'm gonna make it to heaven, Light up the sky
like a flame (Fame)
I'm gonna live forever, Baby, remember my name
(Remember, remember, remember, remember)
(Remember, remember, remember, remember)
Back in the 60’s as I
was preparing to leave school and go out to the world of work that could have
been my theme song. I was going through typical adolescent angst about growing
up and away from my parents, becoming my own person, and knowing that no matter
where I went and what I would do, one day I would be dead and maybe, just
maybe, a few folk might take notice for a little while, but then I’d slip into
total obscurity. My life counting for nothing.
This, I now know, is
very typical and a normal part of growing and ageing, it is a developmental
stage. In part it is designed to push us away from dependency into
independency, push us into our own distinctive flourishing.
It can be fraught with
danger, as our ego’s develop and if we are not careful we can become the centre
of our own universe. Part of the pushing out further is to help us to
understand that there are others, many, many others, apart from our own kith
and kin.
This first half of
life, as it is called, is a time for getting, for acquiring, for establishing.
Our energy levels are
at their peak during this time. Somewhere around 40 – 50 a shift begins. A new
journey begins of declining energy, and what should be a declining ego and the
need to grab and grasp, to name and to hold on to, a time for letting go.
(There are several good books to read on this
including Richard Rhor’s, ‘Falling Upwards.’ And this concept is explored in
John Mark Comer’s set of podcasts exploring ‘Spiritual Cartography.’ See
especially Episode 2, https://open.spotify.com/episode/3czeL7XESgDrqb8C6zWjP0?si=ScoqeRFmTMGn67UIJfvW6Q )
Let me give you an
example. I retired in 2019 after 40 years in ministry, mostly as an itinerant Church Army Evangelist working for various dioceses in rural areas. Over those years I
acquired numerous resources, books and other things. And most of them I kept
when I retired. They are sitting in a plastic box and the books line my
bookshelf.
In retirement I also
continued to sit on the Board of Rural Missions, a small charity that works
with rural Churches helping them in mission and evangelism. We have seen some great development over the
last few, but that’s another story. However, next month we are meeting residentially
for 24 hours.
And only now, after six
years, am I ready to take along all my resources and books and offer them to
others who are now ministering in this field. I recognise they may not want
some of them, but making the offer feels like a significant shift, an important
step in letting go.
The real sadness and
sorrow is when people try to continue to act as in the first half of life when they are deep into the second half of life. When they must have their name everywhere,
when they must have their egos massaged. When they live in pathological fear of
letting go because that would remind them of their mortality. ‘Fame, I gonna
live forever…’
Currently in the Church calendar we continue to explore John the Baptist. If we know one important thing about John it is the phrase, ‘he must increase, I must decrease.’ John 3.30.
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Today, we also met Andrew. His name appears three times, each saying much
the same thing about the nature of his character, he was a 'bringer to Jesus type.'
"He (Andrew) first
found his brother Simon and told him, 'We have found the Messiah'
‘Another of his
disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, “Here is a boy with
five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so
many?”
‘Now there were some
Greeks among those who were going up to worship at the feast; these then came
to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and began to ask him, saying,
“Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” Philip came and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip came
and told Jesus.
The answer to my
adolescent angst began to be answered when someone introduced me to Jesus, when
I was invited to come and see, to explore the claims and the teachings and the
wisdom of the Scriptures. This was encapsulated in Colossians 3.3 ‘For you
have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.’
If we come to know, and
know in a deep and meaningful way, that God knows us, that God has a plan and a
purpose for our lives, that we are loved. As we progress and develop into that knowledge it
helps to counter our egotistical nature. That desire to be known and named and
famed.
Look around and it is obvious
just how dangerous an over inflated ego can become, especially when coupled
with power, privilege or position.
John the Baptist and Andrew both teach us an important lesson and offer valuable wisdom. From John ‘he (Jesus) must increase, I must decrease.’ And from Andrew, ‘come and see, come and meet Jesus.’ In the grand scheme of things this may not seem very significant. However, introducing someone to Jesus can radically alter a person’s life and set them on a whole different path. A path that challenges our egos and gives a fresh meaning and purpose in our lives set within an eternal dimension. And it might save others from the damage an over inflated ego can cause!
https://youtu.be/j04Bx9pKwpU?si=Z9ie489NIgqMJAHY
