Sunny Banana
I am a school chaplain and the content is intended to encourage curiosity about Faith and it's impact on day to day life
The Sunny Banana, is a play upon the Zulu greeting, Sanibonani, meaning I see you.
As tech wrenches us from real life, we are not seeing each other. The Greek word 'idea' means to see. It is as if we have lost the idea of what it means to be human; social, communal, relational. The same word, to see, in Old English is 'seon' which has connotations of understanding.
Let's start seeing each other again, listening, respecting, and understanding each other and ourselves. After all, we are people through other people.
Sunny Banana
The Crossroads of Hercules
Join us for Hercules at the crossroads, where timeless themes of choice, temptation, and virtue intertwine. This story takes us on a journey through Hercules' legendary life at a pivotal moment, offering profound insights that remain relevant today. As he stands at the intersection of easy pleasures and the challenging path towards virtue, Hercules embodies the struggle we all encounter when faced with life's temptations.
We delve into the women he meets: one dressed in bright white, symbolising the hard path of virtue, and the other in dark crimson, luring him toward an easier, yet hollow existence. This fateful choice guides listeners to reflect on their struggles and decisions, especially during significant times like Lent and Ramadan when we are called to focus on discipline and spiritual growth.
Listen closely to uncover how Hercules’ wisdom and strength can inspire your journey. The episode encourages us to embrace our crossroads, reminding us that true glory lies not in the pursuit of immediate gratification but in the enduring values we uphold. Let's embark on this enriching narrative together, and remember to subscribe and share your thoughts on what path you would choose.
Hello to you, wherever you are joining us today for a special time of story, a time where there are no deadlines, no insurances to think about, no policies, no prep, no time to be anywhere, but just here in story time. So come with me as we explore a story I want to tell you today, called Hercules at the Crossroads. Have you ever had that experience where you seem to be at a crossroads, where there are two roads in front of you and you know that old image of the devil and the angel, one on the right shoulder, one on the left? It can be something like this and the one road is telling you come down my road, my road is the best and it promises all the luxury and all the pleasure and ease. And the other road is saying no, do this. Rather, it may cost you a little bit, it may be painful, it may be hard, but I promise that the joys and the rewards will be eternal. Well, believe it or not, hercules, the great Greek warrior hero, was at this place once before, before Now. There's something you need to know about Hercules is that he snakes to kill him in his cot, but the baby boy took two snakes, one in each fist, and strangled them, showing his immense strength.
Speaker 1:From a very young age, hercules grew up to be a good man. However, he could not control his temper until one day he came across a crossroad, and at this crossroad he met two women one dressed in pure, bright, dazzling white and the other in dark, crimson red. And the one woman in the red, with lips as red as a berry, with lips as red as a berry, but skin as pale as a piece of rice, and with words as smooth as those snakes that came to devour him when he was a baby, told him follow me, follow me to a life of pleasure and ease and everything you want, and I promise you life will be all that you imagine it to be. It will be easy. Why struggle for things? Why go the hard route when you can just have this, this life of pleasure, and do whatever you like? No, shouted the woman in the white on the other side who said do not listen to her. Follow my path, my path, yes, will be hard and you will struggle, but I don't promise you an easy road, but I do promise you a good road. A little bit of pain and suffering now will lead to everlasting glory, glory that you cannot comprehend.
Speaker 1:The red woman spoke again, but Hercules said no. He used all his might and his strength to resist that wonderful temptation of the sounds of an easy life of pleasure and luxury, but he embraced what we know today as Lady Virtue. And yes, his life was full of struggle and he toiled and he made mistakes, but Hercules lives on in our memories as that hero, as that hero, and he reached that everlasting glory by embracing Lady Virtue. So I wonder what you think of that story and where you are placed in that story. It is Lent and Ramadan now, and it's a time of discipline, it's a time of focus, it's a time to turn our attention to virtue and, for Muslims and Christians, turn to God, that ultimate path. Turn to God, that ultimate path, that life that leads to everlasting glory. And I wonder how you feel about this story today.