Weekly Recap for Tuesday, March 8, 2016 - ProgressiveChristianity.org of Gig Harbor, Washington, United States - What cross do you carry through life? This and more in our Free Weekly Recap of our most viewed and new resources from last week.
Last Week At ProgressiveChristianity.org ...
We delved into the topics of Spiritual Seekers, Christ, Stations of the Cross and Violence.
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A Word to the Spiritual Seekers
Don MurrayAs long as our main focus is on money, possessions and material wealth, we have a limited future.
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"A Word to the Spiritual Seekers" by Don Murray
The gleaming expanse of the snow-covered lake greets my morning reverie. The shadows of the rising sun recede with the passing moments leaving a blanket of sparkling whiteness. The branches of the trees hang with the weight of their winter burden, presenting a picture of purity and loveliness. Add houses and churches and you have the ideal Christmas scene – until the rain fell and the wind blew and it all disappeared!
But this is still mid-winter and Lent is upon us, that period set aside for reflection and meditation as we contemplate our lives and all that goes on around this globe that is our home. In the seasons of the northern hemisphere the earth is resting, gathering the energy that will burst forth with the coming of spring. In the natural rhythms of life we follow the earth. Our inner energies are likely to be at a low ebb during this time. We are more vulnerable to dark thoughts and physical illness as the winter wears on.
Our society is not much interested in Lent. We think of it as a time when we are to give up something. A few take it seriously as a time for personal reflection. Mostly we ignore it.
Apart from any specifically religious connotations, it is a good idea to take some time to ponder upon your life and what it is about. We are given a few years on this mortal coil, what do we want to do with them? Life is rarely ideal so the question is often, What can we do now in our particular situation? Sometimes it is like this quote I received recently from a friend who is suddenly facing illness, “We must be willing to let go of the life we had planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us.” What is waiting for us may be a grand opportunity. Witness our collective response to the refugee crisis. Perhaps we have to confront major life problems with work, marriage or what we are “called” to do in the world. Perhaps we must face our mortality and the approaching end of our days.
In the larger scheme of life, I believe that the great challenge of western culture is to connect with our souls, our inner being, the “still small voice” that urges us to be this or do that. In the busyness and challenges of life it is easy to push aside that inner light and get on with the demands of work, family, and all the responsibilities life brings. The temptation is to live on the surface of life and neglect its depths.
It’s really not our fault. Our whole culture is built around the material side of life. And we are all part of it. Not that we should deny its importance. It has brought a high level of comfort and well being to those of us who have sufficient money.
Two major problems confront us. The first is, how do we fairly distribute what the earth and our technology can provide? The cold of winter reminds us of the more than three million people in Canada without adequate housing. Add the rest of the world and the lack of food, shelter, clothing, health care and all the needs of life is alarming. The horsemen of the apocalypse; war, famine, disease and death, continue wrecking their havoc.
The second problem is our economic system which is built on more, more, more. Businesses must expand. Companies must grow. More and more goods must be produced. And we fall into the trap of consumerism. Many things do make life better. But the question remains. How much can our earth provide? Expanding production must meet the limits of our earth.
I thought I was off on a side issue, but not so. Materialism is the issue. As long as our main focus is on money, possessions and material wealth, we have a limited future. Science is great but it is the arts that give us breadth and depth. Music is everywhere. Art galleries are alive and well. New and multi-use libraries are appearing. Interest in spirituality is bursting out all over. There is hope. I like to think we are near that point where our collective consciousness sees life in its wholeness and depth. Then our personal lives will be enriched and we will meet the challenges of a just and sustainable world.
Spring is just around the corner.
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Made On Earth – How the gospel writers created the Christ
Lorraine Parkinson
Why have millions of Christians across two millennia been convinced that Jesus of Nazareth is the divinely anointed Christ?
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"Made On Earth – How the gospel writers created the Christ"
NEW TITLE RELEASE 21st January 2016 by Dr Lorraine Parkinson
purchase for $29.95
Why have millions of Christians across two millennia been convinced that Jesus of Nazareth is the divinely anointed Christ? The answer is that ‘evidence’ for it is reinforced with every Sunday reading of the gospels. Each canonical gospel claims to tell the story of Jesus the Messiah, or Christ. Even if startling differences between the gospels are acknowledged, this has not destroyed belief that they are divinely inspired. In this book Lorraine Parkinson sets out compelling reasons why the gospels may be found to have been ‘made on earth’. She builds a strong argument that each gospel was written to make a distinct case for Jesus as the Christ. She presents detailed evidence that the Christ of the gospels is the creation of Mark, Matthew, Luke and John, plus later editors. The sub-text of this book contends that by including teachings of Jesus alongside claims for him as Christ, gospel writers bequeathed to Christianity two contradictory gospels – the gospel of Jesus and the gospel about Jesus.
Why have millions of Christians across two millennia been convinced that Jesus of Nazareth is the divinely anointed Christ?
READ ON ...
"Made On Earth – How the gospel writers created the Christ"
NEW TITLE RELEASE 21st January 2016 by Dr Lorraine Parkinson
purchase for $29.95
Why have millions of Christians across two millennia been convinced that Jesus of Nazareth is the divinely anointed Christ? The answer is that ‘evidence’ for it is reinforced with every Sunday reading of the gospels. Each canonical gospel claims to tell the story of Jesus the Messiah, or Christ. Even if startling differences between the gospels are acknowledged, this has not destroyed belief that they are divinely inspired. In this book Lorraine Parkinson sets out compelling reasons why the gospels may be found to have been ‘made on earth’. She builds a strong argument that each gospel was written to make a distinct case for Jesus as the Christ. She presents detailed evidence that the Christ of the gospels is the creation of Mark, Matthew, Luke and John, plus later editors. The sub-text of this book contends that by including teachings of Jesus alongside claims for him as Christ, gospel writers bequeathed to Christianity two contradictory gospels – the gospel of Jesus and the gospel about Jesus.
“There is both detailed and courageous biblical scholarship in Made on Earth. Parkinson is not afraid to challenge the tradition in open and honest ways. What any scholar worth their salt should always do, but especially those in theological colleges who should be free to ‘teach’ rather than to ‘store up’! It is no longer good enough to ‘fiddle’ the orthodoxy tune from the pulpit while the minds of thinking people move on, vacating nearly every pew in the country. For that ‘poke’ Parkinson deserves our heartfelt thanks and gratitude. I know I will be referring regularly to Made on Earth.”
~Rev Rex A E Hunt, Founding Director, The Centre for Progressive Religious Thought, Canberra.
About the Author:
Lorraine Parkinson is an ordained minister, teacher and writer, whose doctoral research was conducted at the École Biblique et Archéologique Française de Jérusalem. She leads seminars on progressive biblical thinking around Australia and in New Zealand. Her emphasis in seminars and in writing is on Jesus and his teaching about the kingdom of God on earth: the best possible world. Lorraine and her husband Dr John Bodycomb live in Melbourne, Australia.
Made on Earth is published by Spectrum Publications and retails for $34.95. You can purchase it directly from the publisher HERE!
Spectrum Publications – Australian owned and managed for over 30 years.
ISBN 978-0-86786-254-6 RRP $34.95
For interviews with Dr Lorraine Parkinson or review copies please contact: Peter Rohr – Spectrum Publications: P: 1300 540 736 / E: peter@spectrumpublications.com.au
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Stations of the Cross
Jim Burklo
Here the Stations of the Cross are interpreted in ways that connect each station with the universal human experiences of condemnation and suffering, grace and mercy.
READ ON ...
"Stations of the Cross" by Jim Burklo
STATIONS of the CROSS
Via Dolorosa — Via Crucis — Way of the Cross
The practice of creating Stations of the Cross for meditative reflection on the final hours of Jesus’ life is a very old one. To this day, many Catholic and other churches have gardens or sanctuaries in which the stations are situated. Each of the stations marks a point along the way to Jesus’ death. Some of the stations refer to moments recorded in the gospels, but others, such as the falls of Jesus and the wiping of his face by Veronica, are legends that developed much later in Christian tradition.
Here, the Stations of the Cross are interpreted in ways that connect each station with the universal human experiences of condemnation and suffering, grace and mercy. To walk these stations and contemplate them actively is to retrace the steps that lead to destruction of ourselves and others. It is also a chance for us to see that at every station, we could take a different turn, choosing life instead of death. The stations are a confrontation with the very worst of our human nature, but in squarely facing suffering and evil within and among ourselves, we can transcend it, and experience the life on the other side of the cross.
Using both words and visuals offer multiple entry points to the meditations.
The Stations of the Cross
In words and in attitudes, we “point the finger” at each other, blaming each other for our own problems. The Romans condemned Jesus to death as a “rabble-rouser”, a supposed threat to the “Pax Romana”, but all it did was to reveal to everyone how much their rule over Palestine was based on brute force alone. They condemned Jesus, but in doing so they condemned their own occupation of Jesus’ homeland. Likewise, when we “point the finger” at others, we condemn ourselves, revealing our own weaknesses that are displayed by our need to blame others.
MEDITATION: Whom do you blame for the ways in which you suffer? In what ways does your blaming and condemnation of others make you suffer more, as well as to cause them hurt and harm?
ART: picture of a hand with finger pointing outward
The cross is laid upon him
“We each have our own cross to bear.” This common phrase has some truth to it. Suffering is the universal condition of humankind. The Christian religion makes this point by making the cross its most central image. Buddhism, too, begins with this recognition. The Buddha’s first “station” on his path to enlightenment was to recognize that all life is suffering. But for Jesus, according to the legends that shaped the medieval Stations of the Cross, the cross was unbearable. It was too heavy for him to carry, after being whipped and scourged by the Romans. And for us, too, there are times when our crosses are too heavy to bear.
MEDITATION: What cross do you carry through life? When has it become too heavy for you to bear? Have you asked for help in removing it — from God and from others?
ART: various crosses made from different objects (one of play money, one of pills, one of cords and cables)
His first fall
According to the Stations legends, Jesus fell three times as he was marched to Golgotha to be crucified. Each of us will fall at some point in life, by tripping on rock: a life crisis, an illness,or just old age. To fall down is an injury to one’s dignity as well as to one’s body. Yet Jesus said (Matthew 21:42-44) that the stone of stumbling would become the cornerstone — the most important stone in the building of the new Kingdom of Heaven. We all fall down — and while this is painful for us, it is also what “levels” us all, rich and poor, strong and weak, famous and unknown, and puts us in our place. And there is the promise that our stone of stumbling can be transformed into the cornerstone of the new life on the other side of the cross.
MEDITATION: What is the stone that makes you stumble and fall? What is it like — to be humbled in front of other people as well as in front of God? How can your stumbling stone be transformed into the foundation of a new and better life for you and others?
ART: large rock
He meets his mother Mary
Jesus and Mary endured one of the greatest trials that confronts human beings. The son had to endure humilation in front of his mother, and the mother had to witness the destruction of her son. Being a parent and being a child — these are relationships that are incredibly beautiful. But being a parent, and being a child, can also be incredibly painful. Each of us has given our parents and/or our children both joy and pain. Jesus and Mary tasted both.
MEDITATION: What unfinished business do you have with your parents and/or with your children? If this was your last chance to communicate, what would you say to your parent/child?
ART: picture of a family in silhouette, parents and children
Simon of Cyrene is made to bear the cross
Jesus was too weak to carry his own cross, according to the Stations legends. A man named Simon, who came to Jerusalem from his home in Cyrene, in North Africa, to celebrate Passover in Jerusalem, was picked, apparently at random, to carry Jesus’ cross. Sometimes we are asked to carry burdens for other people. They need our help, and we are called to make sacrifices for them. But sometimes we feel that by doing so, we are participating in their own destruction. When is it right to take on the burdens of others? And when should we let them suffer on their own? But in the end, we each are called to bear the sufferings of others, and others are asked to bear our own. Jesus carried the cross out of love for the people around him, and Simon carried it for Jesus.
MEDITATION: What crosses are you asked to carry for others? Do you do so willingly or grudgingly? Does taking up their crosses help them or hurt them even more? Who carries the cross for you — friends, family, co-workers, others?
ART: picture of field workers, stooped over picking vegetables
Jesus’ face is wiped by Veronica
According to the Stations legends, Veronica was one of the women of Jerusalem who followed Jesus to the cross. She wiped his face to offer comfort, and his image remained on the cloth. The cloth became a relic that had healing powers. The name “Veronica” probably means “true image” — the true image of the Christ, which can be found in every human being.
MEDITATION: Look in the mirror– do you see the true image of the Christ in your own image? Do you see the suffering of the Christ, and also the one for whom the Christ is willing to suffer?
ART: mirror
His second fall
Jesus, weakened by beatings, fell again on his way to Golgotha. It is more likely that we will fall when we are already beaten down by illness or other disasters in life. Insults get added to injuries. The rich get richer, the poor get poorer. When we are weakened by one disaster, we are made more vulnerable to others. Life isn’t fair! But each time we have a choice: whether to stay down, or whether to stand up for life again, even if it means facing the chance of falling once more.
MEDITATION: What hurts have you experienced, both physically and emotionally, that leave you more vulnerable to more hurt? Have you chosen to hide or excessively protect yourself from further suffering, or have you chosen to take the chance of being hurt again?
ART: crutch
He meets the women of Jerusalem
Jesus encountered a group of women who were his followers, who wailed about his impending death. He told them to wail not for him, but instead for themselves and for Jerusalem, which he predicted would one day be destroyed. Indeed, about 7o years later, the Romans completely destroyed Jerusalem and the people of Israel were driven out of the country, not to return until this past century. Sometimes we lack perspective: we act as if our troubles are just our own. But none of us lives in a vacuum: each of us is a part of a larger history, a longer and bigger human drama. Understanding our place in history is both a comfort and a curse.
MEDITATION: What is your place in history? What is your role in the bigger human drama of destruction and redemption? How do you, and how can you, make a difference in the unfolding of human destiny?
ART: timeline of human history
His third fall
Jesus fell a third time on his way to crucifixion, according to the Stations legends. He had lost his strength, his power, his reputation: many of his followers had abandoned him, and now he faced the ultimate humiliation. Not only did he lose everything, he was tormented with the knowledge of his loss as he approached Golgotha.
MEDITATION: What have you lost along life’s way? In what way are you cursed by these losses, and in what ways are you liberated? If you could have anything back that you have lost, what would it be, and what would you do with it if you had that second chance? What do you have to lose now — dignity, pride, position — and what would it be like to lose it? Is there anything positive that has come from your losses?
ART: completed jigsaw puzzle with a few pieces missing
He is stripped of his garments
In Jesus’ time, it was extremely humiliating to be stripped naked…. even moreso than it is today. Jesus was completely exposed — there was nothing hidden anymore. His robe or cloak was taken by the Roman soldiers, who drew lots to see which of them would get it.
MEDITATION: Throw the dice: whatever number comes up, open the box with that number to see if you “won” Jesus’ garment. If you could wear that garment, what would it hide? What part of your life do you want to keep “under cover”? What would it be like to wear the cloak of the Christ — to “walk a mile in his moccasins”? And in what ways have you made light, downplayed, or disrespected the sufferings of yourself and others?
ART: length of dark fabric and one die
He is crucified
His last words were “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” This was the moment of Jesus’ worst suffering, but it was also the pivotal moment of the gospel legend — the precise moment when God and human beings are closest together, the precise moment when divine salvation comes to humanity. Only through this moment is the door to the other side of the cross opened.
MEDITATION: When have you lost God? And when have you been closest to God? Has there ever been a time when both were true, at the same moment?
ART: crucifix
He dies on the cross
Jesus really died …. no matter how you read the story, whether literally or figuratively, the Jesus who lived before the crucifixion was different than the Christ who was resurrected. The gospel stories in the Bible show that the resurrected Christ was substantially different after his death that he was before the crucifixion. Jesus was neverquite the same after his death! And so it is with us: we experience little deaths that change us forever. We really aren’t the same people, exactly, that we were when we were children, nor will we be exactly the same people in years to come. Each major passage of life — childhood to adolescence, adolescence to adulthood, parenthood to grandparenthood — leaves us changed forever, makes us different people than we were before.
MEDITATION: What part of you has died? What part of you is dying? What new life is emerging from these deaths?
ART: picture of a single fern leaf growing out of an old tree stump
His body is taken down from the cross
The gospels tell us that one of the rulers of Israel, a man named Joseph of Arimathea, secretly admired Jesus and asked to remove and bury his body after his crucifixion. Quietly, Joseph took on this sad and thankless task, which surely must have exposed him to danger from the Romans as well as the other members of the Jewish Sanhedrin. According to medieval legends, Joseph later came to England to establish the Christian church there, and in England he placed the Holy Grail – the cup used by Jesus in the Last Supper – in a well at Glastonbury.
MEDITATION: When have you been served profoundly by people who have helped you in secret, with no thought of reward or even thanks? What thankless, hard tasks are you asked to do for the sake of others? Are you willing to do them without recognition or reward? When is it appropriate to expect thanks and reward for your good work, and when does public acknowledgement just get in the way of being of service?
ART: chalice
His body is laid in the tomb
Jesus’ death was shameful, but he was buried respectfully and honorably. Joseph of Arimathea wrapped his body in a shroud and placed it in a new tomb with herbs and spices, in the traditional manner. So often we treat a person one way in life, and quite another way after their death. Can we celebrate each others’ lives while we are still alive, at least as much as we celebrate each others’ lives after death? The tomb was the cocoon, the womb, in which the story of Jesus the historical person of first-century Palestine gestated and was transformed into the universal and eternal Christ. Each of the three days in the tomb was a “trimester” in that gestation period…. ending with the resurrection we celebrate at Easter.
MEDITATION: What part of your life is entombed — on hold, unseen, dead to the world and to yourself? What would happen if that part of your life was transformed, and brought back to life in a new way? Are you ready for this kind of resurrection?
ART: picture taken from inside a cave looking out to a beach and ocean and sunshine
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Weekly Liturgy
Here the Stations of the Cross are interpreted in ways that connect each station with the universal human experiences of condemnation and suffering, grace and mercy.
READ ON ...
"Stations of the Cross" by Jim Burklo
STATIONS of the CROSS
Via Dolorosa — Via Crucis — Way of the Cross
The practice of creating Stations of the Cross for meditative reflection on the final hours of Jesus’ life is a very old one. To this day, many Catholic and other churches have gardens or sanctuaries in which the stations are situated. Each of the stations marks a point along the way to Jesus’ death. Some of the stations refer to moments recorded in the gospels, but others, such as the falls of Jesus and the wiping of his face by Veronica, are legends that developed much later in Christian tradition.
Here, the Stations of the Cross are interpreted in ways that connect each station with the universal human experiences of condemnation and suffering, grace and mercy. To walk these stations and contemplate them actively is to retrace the steps that lead to destruction of ourselves and others. It is also a chance for us to see that at every station, we could take a different turn, choosing life instead of death. The stations are a confrontation with the very worst of our human nature, but in squarely facing suffering and evil within and among ourselves, we can transcend it, and experience the life on the other side of the cross.
Using both words and visuals offer multiple entry points to the meditations.
The Stations of the Cross
- Jesus is condemned to death
- The cross is laid upon him
- His first fall
- He meets his mother Mary
- Simon of Cyrene is made to bear the cross
- Jesus’ face is wiped by Veronica
- His second fall
- He meets the women of Jerusalem
- His third fall
- He is stripped of his garments
- He is crucified
- He dies on the cross
- His body is taken down from the cross
- His body is laid in the tomb
In words and in attitudes, we “point the finger” at each other, blaming each other for our own problems. The Romans condemned Jesus to death as a “rabble-rouser”, a supposed threat to the “Pax Romana”, but all it did was to reveal to everyone how much their rule over Palestine was based on brute force alone. They condemned Jesus, but in doing so they condemned their own occupation of Jesus’ homeland. Likewise, when we “point the finger” at others, we condemn ourselves, revealing our own weaknesses that are displayed by our need to blame others.
MEDITATION: Whom do you blame for the ways in which you suffer? In what ways does your blaming and condemnation of others make you suffer more, as well as to cause them hurt and harm?
ART: picture of a hand with finger pointing outward
The cross is laid upon him
“We each have our own cross to bear.” This common phrase has some truth to it. Suffering is the universal condition of humankind. The Christian religion makes this point by making the cross its most central image. Buddhism, too, begins with this recognition. The Buddha’s first “station” on his path to enlightenment was to recognize that all life is suffering. But for Jesus, according to the legends that shaped the medieval Stations of the Cross, the cross was unbearable. It was too heavy for him to carry, after being whipped and scourged by the Romans. And for us, too, there are times when our crosses are too heavy to bear.
MEDITATION: What cross do you carry through life? When has it become too heavy for you to bear? Have you asked for help in removing it — from God and from others?
ART: various crosses made from different objects (one of play money, one of pills, one of cords and cables)
His first fall
According to the Stations legends, Jesus fell three times as he was marched to Golgotha to be crucified. Each of us will fall at some point in life, by tripping on rock: a life crisis, an illness,or just old age. To fall down is an injury to one’s dignity as well as to one’s body. Yet Jesus said (Matthew 21:42-44) that the stone of stumbling would become the cornerstone — the most important stone in the building of the new Kingdom of Heaven. We all fall down — and while this is painful for us, it is also what “levels” us all, rich and poor, strong and weak, famous and unknown, and puts us in our place. And there is the promise that our stone of stumbling can be transformed into the cornerstone of the new life on the other side of the cross.
MEDITATION: What is the stone that makes you stumble and fall? What is it like — to be humbled in front of other people as well as in front of God? How can your stumbling stone be transformed into the foundation of a new and better life for you and others?
ART: large rock
He meets his mother Mary
Jesus and Mary endured one of the greatest trials that confronts human beings. The son had to endure humilation in front of his mother, and the mother had to witness the destruction of her son. Being a parent and being a child — these are relationships that are incredibly beautiful. But being a parent, and being a child, can also be incredibly painful. Each of us has given our parents and/or our children both joy and pain. Jesus and Mary tasted both.
MEDITATION: What unfinished business do you have with your parents and/or with your children? If this was your last chance to communicate, what would you say to your parent/child?
ART: picture of a family in silhouette, parents and children
Simon of Cyrene is made to bear the cross
Jesus was too weak to carry his own cross, according to the Stations legends. A man named Simon, who came to Jerusalem from his home in Cyrene, in North Africa, to celebrate Passover in Jerusalem, was picked, apparently at random, to carry Jesus’ cross. Sometimes we are asked to carry burdens for other people. They need our help, and we are called to make sacrifices for them. But sometimes we feel that by doing so, we are participating in their own destruction. When is it right to take on the burdens of others? And when should we let them suffer on their own? But in the end, we each are called to bear the sufferings of others, and others are asked to bear our own. Jesus carried the cross out of love for the people around him, and Simon carried it for Jesus.
MEDITATION: What crosses are you asked to carry for others? Do you do so willingly or grudgingly? Does taking up their crosses help them or hurt them even more? Who carries the cross for you — friends, family, co-workers, others?
ART: picture of field workers, stooped over picking vegetables
Jesus’ face is wiped by Veronica
According to the Stations legends, Veronica was one of the women of Jerusalem who followed Jesus to the cross. She wiped his face to offer comfort, and his image remained on the cloth. The cloth became a relic that had healing powers. The name “Veronica” probably means “true image” — the true image of the Christ, which can be found in every human being.
MEDITATION: Look in the mirror– do you see the true image of the Christ in your own image? Do you see the suffering of the Christ, and also the one for whom the Christ is willing to suffer?
ART: mirror
His second fall
Jesus, weakened by beatings, fell again on his way to Golgotha. It is more likely that we will fall when we are already beaten down by illness or other disasters in life. Insults get added to injuries. The rich get richer, the poor get poorer. When we are weakened by one disaster, we are made more vulnerable to others. Life isn’t fair! But each time we have a choice: whether to stay down, or whether to stand up for life again, even if it means facing the chance of falling once more.
MEDITATION: What hurts have you experienced, both physically and emotionally, that leave you more vulnerable to more hurt? Have you chosen to hide or excessively protect yourself from further suffering, or have you chosen to take the chance of being hurt again?
ART: crutch
He meets the women of Jerusalem
Jesus encountered a group of women who were his followers, who wailed about his impending death. He told them to wail not for him, but instead for themselves and for Jerusalem, which he predicted would one day be destroyed. Indeed, about 7o years later, the Romans completely destroyed Jerusalem and the people of Israel were driven out of the country, not to return until this past century. Sometimes we lack perspective: we act as if our troubles are just our own. But none of us lives in a vacuum: each of us is a part of a larger history, a longer and bigger human drama. Understanding our place in history is both a comfort and a curse.
MEDITATION: What is your place in history? What is your role in the bigger human drama of destruction and redemption? How do you, and how can you, make a difference in the unfolding of human destiny?
ART: timeline of human history
His third fall
Jesus fell a third time on his way to crucifixion, according to the Stations legends. He had lost his strength, his power, his reputation: many of his followers had abandoned him, and now he faced the ultimate humiliation. Not only did he lose everything, he was tormented with the knowledge of his loss as he approached Golgotha.
MEDITATION: What have you lost along life’s way? In what way are you cursed by these losses, and in what ways are you liberated? If you could have anything back that you have lost, what would it be, and what would you do with it if you had that second chance? What do you have to lose now — dignity, pride, position — and what would it be like to lose it? Is there anything positive that has come from your losses?
ART: completed jigsaw puzzle with a few pieces missing
He is stripped of his garments
In Jesus’ time, it was extremely humiliating to be stripped naked…. even moreso than it is today. Jesus was completely exposed — there was nothing hidden anymore. His robe or cloak was taken by the Roman soldiers, who drew lots to see which of them would get it.
MEDITATION: Throw the dice: whatever number comes up, open the box with that number to see if you “won” Jesus’ garment. If you could wear that garment, what would it hide? What part of your life do you want to keep “under cover”? What would it be like to wear the cloak of the Christ — to “walk a mile in his moccasins”? And in what ways have you made light, downplayed, or disrespected the sufferings of yourself and others?
ART: length of dark fabric and one die
He is crucified
His last words were “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” This was the moment of Jesus’ worst suffering, but it was also the pivotal moment of the gospel legend — the precise moment when God and human beings are closest together, the precise moment when divine salvation comes to humanity. Only through this moment is the door to the other side of the cross opened.
MEDITATION: When have you lost God? And when have you been closest to God? Has there ever been a time when both were true, at the same moment?
ART: crucifix
He dies on the cross
Jesus really died …. no matter how you read the story, whether literally or figuratively, the Jesus who lived before the crucifixion was different than the Christ who was resurrected. The gospel stories in the Bible show that the resurrected Christ was substantially different after his death that he was before the crucifixion. Jesus was neverquite the same after his death! And so it is with us: we experience little deaths that change us forever. We really aren’t the same people, exactly, that we were when we were children, nor will we be exactly the same people in years to come. Each major passage of life — childhood to adolescence, adolescence to adulthood, parenthood to grandparenthood — leaves us changed forever, makes us different people than we were before.
MEDITATION: What part of you has died? What part of you is dying? What new life is emerging from these deaths?
ART: picture of a single fern leaf growing out of an old tree stump
His body is taken down from the cross
The gospels tell us that one of the rulers of Israel, a man named Joseph of Arimathea, secretly admired Jesus and asked to remove and bury his body after his crucifixion. Quietly, Joseph took on this sad and thankless task, which surely must have exposed him to danger from the Romans as well as the other members of the Jewish Sanhedrin. According to medieval legends, Joseph later came to England to establish the Christian church there, and in England he placed the Holy Grail – the cup used by Jesus in the Last Supper – in a well at Glastonbury.
MEDITATION: When have you been served profoundly by people who have helped you in secret, with no thought of reward or even thanks? What thankless, hard tasks are you asked to do for the sake of others? Are you willing to do them without recognition or reward? When is it appropriate to expect thanks and reward for your good work, and when does public acknowledgement just get in the way of being of service?
ART: chalice
His body is laid in the tomb
Jesus’ death was shameful, but he was buried respectfully and honorably. Joseph of Arimathea wrapped his body in a shroud and placed it in a new tomb with herbs and spices, in the traditional manner. So often we treat a person one way in life, and quite another way after their death. Can we celebrate each others’ lives while we are still alive, at least as much as we celebrate each others’ lives after death? The tomb was the cocoon, the womb, in which the story of Jesus the historical person of first-century Palestine gestated and was transformed into the universal and eternal Christ. Each of the three days in the tomb was a “trimester” in that gestation period…. ending with the resurrection we celebrate at Easter.
MEDITATION: What part of your life is entombed — on hold, unseen, dead to the world and to yourself? What would happen if that part of your life was transformed, and brought back to life in a new way? Are you ready for this kind of resurrection?
ART: picture taken from inside a cave looking out to a beach and ocean and sunshine
---------------------
Weekly Liturgy
Week of: February 28, 2016
Violence
So it is with violence, with the destruction wrought by human beings on each other. It is in our hands, it is in our hands.
READ ON ...
Violence
Week of February 28, 2016
There is an old, old story told in many cultures that goes something like this:
Once there was a wise old woman who lived in a small village. One day some children in the village decided to try to fool her. They caught a small bird and, with one young boy holding it in his hands, they went to test the old woman’s wisdom. “We’ll ask her whether the bird is alive or dead,” he said. “If she says ‘alive,’ I’ll crush it on the spot. If she says ‘dead,’ I’ll open my hands and let it fly away.”
So the children went to the old woman and asked her, “Is the bird we have alive or dead?” The old woman became very still and looked thoughtfully into the boy’s eyes. “It is in your hands,” she said, “it is in your hands.”
So it is with violence, with the destruction wrought by human beings on each other. It is in our hands, it is in our hands.
---------------------
"Religious Peace" by George Stuart
The ‘Sacred’ has so many names
By which we do adore
The mys’try of the universe,
The ever puzz’ling ‘More’.
Religious zeal can be the source
Of love and harmony;
Yet such can also lead to war
And untold tragedy.
A dogma, claiming strict control,
Can cause us to depart
From kindness, grace and charity;
Can close an open heart.
Peace to our global home will come
When diff’rent faiths can be
Respectful of each other’s claims
Without hostility.
When trust, acceptance and good-will
Can be religions’ creed,
When faith does not give cause to fight
We will have peace indeed.
Tune: Glasgow (8.6.8.6)
Alternatively, repeat the last line (8.6.8.6.6) and use Dove of Peace
---------------------
"The Words of the Eucharist" by Kurt Struckmeyer
This post is a response to a recent article on Tony Robert’s blog by guest blogger Lenora Rand, titled “New Communion Words”.
Rand reflects on her experience distributing communion at the Wild Goose Festival, an annual gathering that focuses on justice, spirituality, music and the arts. The festival is “rooted in the Christian tradition” and is popular among progressive Christians and many involved with the emerging church movement. The name Wild Goose comes from a Celtic metaphor for the Holy Spirit.
Rand said:
I was . . . suddenly so uncomfortable with the words I have always known to say during communion. As they were coming out of my mouth, my head was swirling with questions about whether these particular words adequately reflected my beliefs anymore.
The body of Christ, broken for you.
The blood of Christ, shed for you.
I started thinking about it afterwards though. Wondering, what do I really believe about atonement? And about this sacrament? What else could I say with conviction during communion?
Rand is raising the issue of how the ancient practice of the eucharist is being impacted by the postmodern world in which many traditional doctrines of the church are being questioned and reevaluated.
When looking at a question of theology and church practice, I always think it is helpful to go back and look at the biblical texts that are at the root of the discussion. Let’s look at what Paul and the gospel writers have to say about the eucharist.
Paul was the earliest New Testament writer. He wrote his first letter to the community at Corinth in Greece around the year 54 CE, a little over 20 years after the death of Jesus. He shared the eucharistic tradition he had learned from members of a Hellenistic Christ cult in Damascus, Syria (although he presents this as a personal revelation from the risen Christ to bolster his authority as an apostle):
For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body that is [broken] for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. (1 Corinthians 11:23–26)
[Note: The word “broken” is not found in some early texts.]
This, of course, is the familiar language of the communion liturgy.
The earliest gospel is Mark’s account, written about 70 CE, at least 16 years after Paul’s letter.
While they were eating, he took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, and all of them drank from it. He said to them, “This is my blood of the [new] covenant, which is poured out for many.” (Mark 14:22–24)
[Note: The word “new” is not found in some early texts.]
Matthew and Luke wrote their gospels next, sometime about 85–90 CE, another 15 to 20 years after Mark.
While they were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; for this is my blood of the [new] covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” (Matthew 26:26–28)
Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.” (Luke 22:19–20)
Here is a summary of the eucharistic formulas:
This is my body that is [broken] for you. (Paul)
Take; this is my body. (Mark)
Take, eat; this is my body. (Matthew)
This is my body, which is given for you. (Luke)
This cup is the new covenant in my blood. (Paul)
This is my blood of the [new] covenant, which is poured out for many. (Mark)
This is my blood of the [new] covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. (Matthew)
This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. (Luke)
John’s gospel, written about 100 CE, does not portray the last supper. Yet John’s Jesus comments on the practice of eating his body and blood.
“I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” So Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever.” (John 6:47–58)
[Note: The phrase “will live forever” found in both paragraphs in the NRSV is a distortion of the Greek text that says “will live into the age,” meaning the new age of the kingdom of God, not an eternal life in heaven. Likewise, the phrase “eternal life” is the “life of the new age” in Greek. Unfortunately, we are often misled by translators with a theological agenda.]
The historical questions and disputes around the eucharist center on whether these metaphors (bread of life, my body, my blood) are a physical reality. Is this a memorial feast (“do this in remembrance of me,” according to Paul) or is Christ actually present in the bread and wine? Roman Catholics believe in “transubstantiation” (the bread and wine actually become the flesh and blood of Christ in a reenactment of his sacrificial death) while the Lutheran perspective is “consubstantiation” (Christ’s presence is “in, with, and under” the bread and wine, yet they physically remain bread and wine). Calvinists do not believe that the physical body of Christ is present, but is merely a spiritual presence.
So, what does the eucharist mean today in the postmodern setting, and how should we practice its celebration for inclusivity? That is essentially what Lenora Rand was struggling with.
The body of Christ, broken for you.
The blood of Christ, shed for you.
The Lutheran liturgy has a slight variation on the words used by Rand:
The body of Christ, given for you.
The blood of Christ, shed for you.
Are these words of distribution the most theologically sound and the most appropriate today? It depends.
How we practice the eucharist depends on which gospel message we are responding to and basing our faith on. The “gospel of Jesus” proclaims the good news that the kingdom of God is breaking into our world and is now present among us. It is a social gospel that announces good news to the poor, the suffering, the marginalized, and the oppressed. The “gospel of Paul” proclaims a different good news—that the sacrificial, atoning death of Jesus fundamentally changes everything in relation to God. For Paul, this creates the possibility of a new multicultural community based on faith alone, and is not restricted to a single ethnic or religious background. These are different gospels, different kinds of good news.
In light of this distinction, I believe that the traditional words of institution are theologically sound for a worship experience shaped by the gospel of Paul. But how would we celebrate a eucharist based on the gospel of Jesus?
The kingdom of God as proclaimed by Jesus is a vision of how the world would be if God, not Caesar or Herod, sat on the throne. It is a vision of the governing style of God as an antidote to the ancient domination system based on wealth, power, exclusivity, and violence. It is a focus on the creation of a just society. When a church is committed to the vision of Jesus, the eucharist can take on new meaning. It can be seen as a feast of justice, not a sacrament of sacrificial atonement.
Roman Catholic Liturgist Gabe Huck has said,
The Eucharist can become a kind of product created for individual spiritual customers. [But] It’s supposed to have a transforming effect on us so that we leave church determined to do something. We should be seeing the world in a different way and have different priorities because of the Eucharist. It should affect what we do with our time, how we spend our money, how we look for a job, how we vote.[1]
According to Huck, there are five elements of social justice that can be found in the Eucharistic meal.
First, it is a meal of liberation. In three of the gospels it is linked to Passover—which is a celebration of liberation from oppression.
Second, it is an egalitarian meal. It recalls Jesus’ table fellowship with the marginalized and outcast. At a table where Jesus is the host, everyone is accepted and welcomed.
Third, it is a shared meal for a sharing community. In the early church, the eucharist was celebrated as part of a real meal shared by a compassionate community that dedicated their goods and lives to meeting each other’s needs. At least one day a week, all were fed. The eucharist is a call to share our food, so that no one is hungry. It is a call to share our talents and resources on behalf of those in need.
Fourth, it is a sample and foretaste of God’s reign of love. In celebrating the eucharist we are anticipating the day when all the world will be fed because of our compassionate actions for greater justice. The eucharistic meal should encourage and empower us to live the vision of God’s reign today. It should give us the strength to willingly accept the consequences of living that vision no matter what the cost.
Fifth, it is a sign of transformation. In the eucharist, we are reminded that the body of Christ was broken. The term “body” is both singular and plural. In this community gathered around this meal, we become, as the Apostle Paul suggested, a living metaphor for the body of Christ. The Eucharist is an invitation to us to go forth from the meal to break our own bodies and shed our own blood in the service of others, and the communal nature of the meal reminds us that we are not alone in this ongoing struggle for a just society and world.
Martin Luther wrote in 1519:
When you have partaken of this sacrament, therefore, or desire to partake of it, you must in turn share the misfortunes of the fellowship . . . all the unjust suffering of the innocent, with which the world is everywhere filled to overflowing. You must fight, work, pray and—if you cannot do more—have heartfelt sympathy.[2]
So what words of distribution would be most appropriate to a eucharist focused on justice, liberation, equality, sharing, transformation, and service? Perhaps that’s for the poets among us to determine. My own contribution would be something like this, taken from my funeral liturgy which conceives of God as love:
The bread of life for all who hunger.
The cup of compassion for a broken world.
__________________________________________
The eucharistic prayer:
L: For the power of love in human life and history,
we give thanks and praise.
Long ago our ancestors knew love’s power
and they became the tellers of love’s tale.
Love bound them in covenant,
teaching them to live in community
with compassion and concern
for the poorest among them.
Yet centuries of domination and violence
shaped a different kind of community
based on selfishness and inequality.
In the struggle against oppression,
Jesus became the face of love,
showing us the way to abundant life.
In word and deed, he announced
love’s new reign of justice, reconciliation, and peace.
Filled with the courage and passion of love’s spirit,
he gave his life to challenge the unjust systems of this world.
On the night of his betrayal and arrest,
as he shared a meal with his friends,
Jesus took bread, gave thanks, broke it,
and gave it to his followers, saying:
“Share this bread among you; this is my body which will be broken for justice.
Do this to remember me.”
When supper was over, he took the cup, gave thanks,
and gave it to his disciples, saying:
“Share this wine among you; this is my blood which will be shed for liberation.
Do this to remember me.”
God of love, spirit of compassion,
bless us and this bread and wine.
May this meal be food and drink for our journey—
renewing, sustaining, and making us whole.
When we eat this bread and drink from this cup
we experience again the presence of Jesus in our midst.
The table is ready. All are welcome. Come, for the feast is spread.
As the bread and wine are shared, these words are said:
The bread of life for all who hunger.
The cup of compassion for a broken world.
The blessing after the meal:
L: May this meal nourish us and refresh us,
may it strengthen us and renew us, may it unite us and keep us in God’s gracious love, now and forever. Amen
L: Let us pray.
God of love, we give you thanks for satisfying our hungry hearts with this meal.
Send us from here to reveal your love in the world.
Inspire in us the resolve and the courage, the compassion and the passion,
to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with you. Amen
Dismissal:
L: Go forth in service, remembering the words of brother Martin: to fight, work, and pray for the unjust suffering of the innocent in our world.
__________________________________________
[1] Gabe Huck, a former director of Liberty Training Publications, as quoted by Robert J. McClory, “Let’s Put the Eucharist to Work,” U.S. Catholic, June 12, 2008. See online article at http://www.uscatholic.org/church/prayer-and-sacraments/2008/06/lets-put-eucharist-work
[2] Martin Luther, “The Blessed Sacrament of the Holy and True Body of Christ, and the Brotherhoods,” 1519, published in Luther’s Works, Volume 35: Word and Sacrament I (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1960).
---------------------
"French shootings" by Andrew Pratt
Hopeless to help in this violence, this crisis,
here in the focus of bloodshed and fear,
common humanity binds us together,
love at the centre, not hatred’s veneer.
Muslim and Christian with those unbelieving,
those who are Jewish, we all have a place;
ours is the purpose when those filled with hatred
break down relationships, nullify grace.
Give me your hand, let God’s peace grow between us,
let us rebuild what distrust might destroy.
Now in this moment we’ll make a commitment,
love is the weapon we’ll use and deploy.
© Andrew Pratt 10/1/2015
Tune: STEWARDSHIP
Violence
So it is with violence, with the destruction wrought by human beings on each other. It is in our hands, it is in our hands.
READ ON ...
Violence
Week of February 28, 2016
There is an old, old story told in many cultures that goes something like this:
Once there was a wise old woman who lived in a small village. One day some children in the village decided to try to fool her. They caught a small bird and, with one young boy holding it in his hands, they went to test the old woman’s wisdom. “We’ll ask her whether the bird is alive or dead,” he said. “If she says ‘alive,’ I’ll crush it on the spot. If she says ‘dead,’ I’ll open my hands and let it fly away.”
So the children went to the old woman and asked her, “Is the bird we have alive or dead?” The old woman became very still and looked thoughtfully into the boy’s eyes. “It is in your hands,” she said, “it is in your hands.”
So it is with violence, with the destruction wrought by human beings on each other. It is in our hands, it is in our hands.
Religious Peace
The ‘Sacred’ has so many names
By which we do adore
The mys’try of the universe,
The ever puzz’ling ‘More’.
read moreBy which we do adore
The mys’try of the universe,
The ever puzz’ling ‘More’.
The Words of the Eucharist
This post is a response to a recent article on Tony Robert’s blog by guest blogger Lenora Rand, titled “New Communion Words”.
Rand reflects on her experience distributing communion at the Wild Goose Festival, an annual gathering that focuses on justice, spirituality, music and the arts. The festival is “rooted in the Christian tradition” and is popular among progressive Christians and many involved with the emerging church movement. The name Wild Goose comes from a Celtic metaphor for the Holy Spirit.
read moreFrench shootings
Hopeless to help in this violence, this crisis,
here in the focus of bloodshed and fear,
common humanity binds us together,
love at the centre, not hatred’s veneer.
read morehere in the focus of bloodshed and fear,
common humanity binds us together,
love at the centre, not hatred’s veneer.
---------------------
"Religious Peace" by George Stuart
The ‘Sacred’ has so many names
By which we do adore
The mys’try of the universe,
The ever puzz’ling ‘More’.
Religious zeal can be the source
Of love and harmony;
Yet such can also lead to war
And untold tragedy.
A dogma, claiming strict control,
Can cause us to depart
From kindness, grace and charity;
Can close an open heart.
Peace to our global home will come
When diff’rent faiths can be
Respectful of each other’s claims
Without hostility.
When trust, acceptance and good-will
Can be religions’ creed,
When faith does not give cause to fight
We will have peace indeed.
Tune: Glasgow (8.6.8.6)
Alternatively, repeat the last line (8.6.8.6.6) and use Dove of Peace
---------------------
"The Words of the Eucharist" by Kurt Struckmeyer
This post is a response to a recent article on Tony Robert’s blog by guest blogger Lenora Rand, titled “New Communion Words”.
Rand reflects on her experience distributing communion at the Wild Goose Festival, an annual gathering that focuses on justice, spirituality, music and the arts. The festival is “rooted in the Christian tradition” and is popular among progressive Christians and many involved with the emerging church movement. The name Wild Goose comes from a Celtic metaphor for the Holy Spirit.
Rand said:
I was . . . suddenly so uncomfortable with the words I have always known to say during communion. As they were coming out of my mouth, my head was swirling with questions about whether these particular words adequately reflected my beliefs anymore.
The body of Christ, broken for you.
The blood of Christ, shed for you.
I started thinking about it afterwards though. Wondering, what do I really believe about atonement? And about this sacrament? What else could I say with conviction during communion?
Rand is raising the issue of how the ancient practice of the eucharist is being impacted by the postmodern world in which many traditional doctrines of the church are being questioned and reevaluated.
When looking at a question of theology and church practice, I always think it is helpful to go back and look at the biblical texts that are at the root of the discussion. Let’s look at what Paul and the gospel writers have to say about the eucharist.
Paul was the earliest New Testament writer. He wrote his first letter to the community at Corinth in Greece around the year 54 CE, a little over 20 years after the death of Jesus. He shared the eucharistic tradition he had learned from members of a Hellenistic Christ cult in Damascus, Syria (although he presents this as a personal revelation from the risen Christ to bolster his authority as an apostle):
For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body that is [broken] for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. (1 Corinthians 11:23–26)
[Note: The word “broken” is not found in some early texts.]
This, of course, is the familiar language of the communion liturgy.
The earliest gospel is Mark’s account, written about 70 CE, at least 16 years after Paul’s letter.
While they were eating, he took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, and all of them drank from it. He said to them, “This is my blood of the [new] covenant, which is poured out for many.” (Mark 14:22–24)
[Note: The word “new” is not found in some early texts.]
Matthew and Luke wrote their gospels next, sometime about 85–90 CE, another 15 to 20 years after Mark.
While they were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; for this is my blood of the [new] covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” (Matthew 26:26–28)
Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.” (Luke 22:19–20)
Here is a summary of the eucharistic formulas:
This is my body that is [broken] for you. (Paul)
Take; this is my body. (Mark)
Take, eat; this is my body. (Matthew)
This is my body, which is given for you. (Luke)
This cup is the new covenant in my blood. (Paul)
This is my blood of the [new] covenant, which is poured out for many. (Mark)
This is my blood of the [new] covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. (Matthew)
This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. (Luke)
John’s gospel, written about 100 CE, does not portray the last supper. Yet John’s Jesus comments on the practice of eating his body and blood.
“I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” So Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever.” (John 6:47–58)
[Note: The phrase “will live forever” found in both paragraphs in the NRSV is a distortion of the Greek text that says “will live into the age,” meaning the new age of the kingdom of God, not an eternal life in heaven. Likewise, the phrase “eternal life” is the “life of the new age” in Greek. Unfortunately, we are often misled by translators with a theological agenda.]
The historical questions and disputes around the eucharist center on whether these metaphors (bread of life, my body, my blood) are a physical reality. Is this a memorial feast (“do this in remembrance of me,” according to Paul) or is Christ actually present in the bread and wine? Roman Catholics believe in “transubstantiation” (the bread and wine actually become the flesh and blood of Christ in a reenactment of his sacrificial death) while the Lutheran perspective is “consubstantiation” (Christ’s presence is “in, with, and under” the bread and wine, yet they physically remain bread and wine). Calvinists do not believe that the physical body of Christ is present, but is merely a spiritual presence.
So, what does the eucharist mean today in the postmodern setting, and how should we practice its celebration for inclusivity? That is essentially what Lenora Rand was struggling with.
The body of Christ, broken for you.
The blood of Christ, shed for you.
The Lutheran liturgy has a slight variation on the words used by Rand:
The body of Christ, given for you.
The blood of Christ, shed for you.
Are these words of distribution the most theologically sound and the most appropriate today? It depends.
How we practice the eucharist depends on which gospel message we are responding to and basing our faith on. The “gospel of Jesus” proclaims the good news that the kingdom of God is breaking into our world and is now present among us. It is a social gospel that announces good news to the poor, the suffering, the marginalized, and the oppressed. The “gospel of Paul” proclaims a different good news—that the sacrificial, atoning death of Jesus fundamentally changes everything in relation to God. For Paul, this creates the possibility of a new multicultural community based on faith alone, and is not restricted to a single ethnic or religious background. These are different gospels, different kinds of good news.
In light of this distinction, I believe that the traditional words of institution are theologically sound for a worship experience shaped by the gospel of Paul. But how would we celebrate a eucharist based on the gospel of Jesus?
The kingdom of God as proclaimed by Jesus is a vision of how the world would be if God, not Caesar or Herod, sat on the throne. It is a vision of the governing style of God as an antidote to the ancient domination system based on wealth, power, exclusivity, and violence. It is a focus on the creation of a just society. When a church is committed to the vision of Jesus, the eucharist can take on new meaning. It can be seen as a feast of justice, not a sacrament of sacrificial atonement.
Roman Catholic Liturgist Gabe Huck has said,
The Eucharist can become a kind of product created for individual spiritual customers. [But] It’s supposed to have a transforming effect on us so that we leave church determined to do something. We should be seeing the world in a different way and have different priorities because of the Eucharist. It should affect what we do with our time, how we spend our money, how we look for a job, how we vote.[1]
According to Huck, there are five elements of social justice that can be found in the Eucharistic meal.
First, it is a meal of liberation. In three of the gospels it is linked to Passover—which is a celebration of liberation from oppression.
Second, it is an egalitarian meal. It recalls Jesus’ table fellowship with the marginalized and outcast. At a table where Jesus is the host, everyone is accepted and welcomed.
Third, it is a shared meal for a sharing community. In the early church, the eucharist was celebrated as part of a real meal shared by a compassionate community that dedicated their goods and lives to meeting each other’s needs. At least one day a week, all were fed. The eucharist is a call to share our food, so that no one is hungry. It is a call to share our talents and resources on behalf of those in need.
Fourth, it is a sample and foretaste of God’s reign of love. In celebrating the eucharist we are anticipating the day when all the world will be fed because of our compassionate actions for greater justice. The eucharistic meal should encourage and empower us to live the vision of God’s reign today. It should give us the strength to willingly accept the consequences of living that vision no matter what the cost.
Fifth, it is a sign of transformation. In the eucharist, we are reminded that the body of Christ was broken. The term “body” is both singular and plural. In this community gathered around this meal, we become, as the Apostle Paul suggested, a living metaphor for the body of Christ. The Eucharist is an invitation to us to go forth from the meal to break our own bodies and shed our own blood in the service of others, and the communal nature of the meal reminds us that we are not alone in this ongoing struggle for a just society and world.
Martin Luther wrote in 1519:
When you have partaken of this sacrament, therefore, or desire to partake of it, you must in turn share the misfortunes of the fellowship . . . all the unjust suffering of the innocent, with which the world is everywhere filled to overflowing. You must fight, work, pray and—if you cannot do more—have heartfelt sympathy.[2]
So what words of distribution would be most appropriate to a eucharist focused on justice, liberation, equality, sharing, transformation, and service? Perhaps that’s for the poets among us to determine. My own contribution would be something like this, taken from my funeral liturgy which conceives of God as love:
The bread of life for all who hunger.
The cup of compassion for a broken world.
__________________________________________
The eucharistic prayer:
L: For the power of love in human life and history,
we give thanks and praise.
Long ago our ancestors knew love’s power
and they became the tellers of love’s tale.
Love bound them in covenant,
teaching them to live in community
with compassion and concern
for the poorest among them.
Yet centuries of domination and violence
shaped a different kind of community
based on selfishness and inequality.
In the struggle against oppression,
Jesus became the face of love,
showing us the way to abundant life.
In word and deed, he announced
love’s new reign of justice, reconciliation, and peace.
Filled with the courage and passion of love’s spirit,
he gave his life to challenge the unjust systems of this world.
On the night of his betrayal and arrest,
as he shared a meal with his friends,
Jesus took bread, gave thanks, broke it,
and gave it to his followers, saying:
“Share this bread among you; this is my body which will be broken for justice.
Do this to remember me.”
When supper was over, he took the cup, gave thanks,
and gave it to his disciples, saying:
“Share this wine among you; this is my blood which will be shed for liberation.
Do this to remember me.”
God of love, spirit of compassion,
bless us and this bread and wine.
May this meal be food and drink for our journey—
renewing, sustaining, and making us whole.
When we eat this bread and drink from this cup
we experience again the presence of Jesus in our midst.
The table is ready. All are welcome. Come, for the feast is spread.
As the bread and wine are shared, these words are said:
The bread of life for all who hunger.
The cup of compassion for a broken world.
The blessing after the meal:
L: May this meal nourish us and refresh us,
may it strengthen us and renew us, may it unite us and keep us in God’s gracious love, now and forever. Amen
L: Let us pray.
God of love, we give you thanks for satisfying our hungry hearts with this meal.
Send us from here to reveal your love in the world.
Inspire in us the resolve and the courage, the compassion and the passion,
to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with you. Amen
Dismissal:
L: Go forth in service, remembering the words of brother Martin: to fight, work, and pray for the unjust suffering of the innocent in our world.
__________________________________________
[1] Gabe Huck, a former director of Liberty Training Publications, as quoted by Robert J. McClory, “Let’s Put the Eucharist to Work,” U.S. Catholic, June 12, 2008. See online article at http://www.uscatholic.org/church/prayer-and-sacraments/2008/06/lets-put-eucharist-work
[2] Martin Luther, “The Blessed Sacrament of the Holy and True Body of Christ, and the Brotherhoods,” 1519, published in Luther’s Works, Volume 35: Word and Sacrament I (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1960).
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"French shootings" by Andrew Pratt
Hopeless to help in this violence, this crisis,
here in the focus of bloodshed and fear,
common humanity binds us together,
love at the centre, not hatred’s veneer.
Muslim and Christian with those unbelieving,
those who are Jewish, we all have a place;
ours is the purpose when those filled with hatred
break down relationships, nullify grace.
Give me your hand, let God’s peace grow between us,
let us rebuild what distrust might destroy.
Now in this moment we’ll make a commitment,
love is the weapon we’ll use and deploy.
© Andrew Pratt 10/1/2015
Tune: STEWARDSHIP
---------------------
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Events and Updates
Westar National Meeting March 16–19, 2016
Taking the scholarship of religion public ...
READ ON ...
Westar National Meeting March 16–19, 2016
We are entering uncharted territory…
At Westar Institute’s Spring 2016 national meeting, we’ll explore the uncharted space where religion interacts, in new and exciting ways, with other disciplines. Binary models — such as faith-science, atheism-theism, gentile-Jew — have often held sway in Western ideas about religion. Today, in light of new conversations across the sciences, philosophy, theology, classics, and history, they no longer can. Please join us in welcoming creative thinkers from the leading edge of this important endeavor.
Program Overview
Public Lectures
Mary Evelyn Tucker, The Emerging Alliance of Religion and Ecology
John D. Caputo, Does the Kingdom of God Need God?
Dennis R. MacDonald, Mythologizing Jesus
An Interview with Burton Mack
Academic Seminars
Christianity Seminar
Seminar on God and the Human Future
Polebridge Authors & Books
Young Leaders in Religion Forum
*Next Deadline
REGISTER BY DECEMBER 31, 2015 FOR BEST SAVINGS.
Featuring:
Mary Evelyn Tucker
The Emerging Alliance of Religion and Ecology
We have discovered the ways in which galaxies and stars, planets and living organisms emerged within the vast drama of the universe. We’ve learned that the survival of species and entire ecosystems depend upon choices humans make. Against this backdrop, Mary Evelyn Tucker notes the promise of religion for ethical and spiritual transformation regarding ecological attitudes and practices. She calls for the world’s religious communities to recognize the implications of the growing ecological crisis. As part of her presentation, she will show and discuss the Emmy award-winning film, Journey of the Universe.
Journey of the Universe
The story begins at dawn on the historically rich Greek island of Samos. It takes viewers on an exhilarating trek through time and space and ends at the toll of midnight. Drawing on scientific discoveries—in astronomy, geology, biology, ecology, and biodiversity—to tell the epic story of human, cosmic, and Earth transformation, this hour-long award-winning film instills its audience with a sense of wonder at the mystery, complexity and connectivity that permeates the Earth and the universe.
Mary Evelyn Tucker (Ph.D., Columbia University) is co-director of the Forum on Religion and Ecology at Yale University where she teaches in the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies and the Divinity School. The organizer, with John Grim, of a series of conferences on World Religions and Ecology at the Center for the Study of World Religions at Harvard, she is co-editor of several books arising from that series, author of Worldly Wonder (2003), co-author with Brian Swimme of the film and companion book Journey of the Universe (2011), co-author with John Grim of Ecology and Religion (2014), and editor of many more books on religion and ecology.
Wednesday, 9 am–3:30 pm
John D. Caputo
Does the Kingdom of God Need God?
The name of God is not that of a supreme being. It is instead the name of something unconditional without power, of a powerless power—a weak force with no army to back it up, like a kiss of peace rather than a sword. The kingdom of God is a kingdom without a royal monarch. Thus, the image of the Son of Man coming to judge the nations is, in theologian Paul Tillich’s words, half-blasphemous. The kingdom of God does not need God, but, according to Jack Caputo, this theological atheism does not spell the end of God’s kingdom; rather it dispels the misunderstanding of the gospel and preserves what is good about the good news. It opens the door to understanding the coming of the kingdom of God in terms other than power, and to understanding power—God’s power or anyone else’s—differently.
Click on Amazon Smile and choose ProgressiveChristianity.org as your charity - when you shop Amazon donates .05%.
Events and Updates
Westar National Meeting March 16–19, 2016
Taking the scholarship of religion public ...
READ ON ...
Westar National Meeting March 16–19, 2016
We are entering uncharted territory…
At Westar Institute’s Spring 2016 national meeting, we’ll explore the uncharted space where religion interacts, in new and exciting ways, with other disciplines. Binary models — such as faith-science, atheism-theism, gentile-Jew — have often held sway in Western ideas about religion. Today, in light of new conversations across the sciences, philosophy, theology, classics, and history, they no longer can. Please join us in welcoming creative thinkers from the leading edge of this important endeavor.
Program Overview
Public Lectures
Mary Evelyn Tucker, The Emerging Alliance of Religion and Ecology
John D. Caputo, Does the Kingdom of God Need God?
Dennis R. MacDonald, Mythologizing Jesus
An Interview with Burton Mack
Academic Seminars
Christianity Seminar
Seminar on God and the Human Future
Polebridge Authors & Books
Young Leaders in Religion Forum
*Next Deadline
REGISTER BY DECEMBER 31, 2015 FOR BEST SAVINGS.
Featuring:
Mary Evelyn Tucker
The Emerging Alliance of Religion and Ecology
We have discovered the ways in which galaxies and stars, planets and living organisms emerged within the vast drama of the universe. We’ve learned that the survival of species and entire ecosystems depend upon choices humans make. Against this backdrop, Mary Evelyn Tucker notes the promise of religion for ethical and spiritual transformation regarding ecological attitudes and practices. She calls for the world’s religious communities to recognize the implications of the growing ecological crisis. As part of her presentation, she will show and discuss the Emmy award-winning film, Journey of the Universe.
Journey of the Universe
The story begins at dawn on the historically rich Greek island of Samos. It takes viewers on an exhilarating trek through time and space and ends at the toll of midnight. Drawing on scientific discoveries—in astronomy, geology, biology, ecology, and biodiversity—to tell the epic story of human, cosmic, and Earth transformation, this hour-long award-winning film instills its audience with a sense of wonder at the mystery, complexity and connectivity that permeates the Earth and the universe.
Mary Evelyn Tucker (Ph.D., Columbia University) is co-director of the Forum on Religion and Ecology at Yale University where she teaches in the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies and the Divinity School. The organizer, with John Grim, of a series of conferences on World Religions and Ecology at the Center for the Study of World Religions at Harvard, she is co-editor of several books arising from that series, author of Worldly Wonder (2003), co-author with Brian Swimme of the film and companion book Journey of the Universe (2011), co-author with John Grim of Ecology and Religion (2014), and editor of many more books on religion and ecology.
Wednesday, 9 am–3:30 pm
John D. Caputo
Does the Kingdom of God Need God?
The name of God is not that of a supreme being. It is instead the name of something unconditional without power, of a powerless power—a weak force with no army to back it up, like a kiss of peace rather than a sword. The kingdom of God is a kingdom without a royal monarch. Thus, the image of the Son of Man coming to judge the nations is, in theologian Paul Tillich’s words, half-blasphemous. The kingdom of God does not need God, but, according to Jack Caputo, this theological atheism does not spell the end of God’s kingdom; rather it dispels the misunderstanding of the gospel and preserves what is good about the good news. It opens the door to understanding the coming of the kingdom of God in terms other than power, and to understanding power—God’s power or anyone else’s—differently.
John D. Caputo (Ph.D., Bryn Mawr College) is the Watson Professor of Religion Emeritus at Syracuse University and the Cook Professor of Philosophy Emeritus at Villanova University. A hybrid philosopher/ theologian who works in the area of radical theology, Caputo has spearheaded a notion he calls “weak theology,” which is set forth in his The Insistence of God (2013) and The Weakness of God (2006), winner of the American Academy of Religion award for excellence in constructive theology. He has recently published The Folly of God (Polebridge, 2015) and Hoping Against Hope (Fortress, 2015) and is currently working on A Pelican Guide to Hermeneutics for Penguin Press.
Thursday, 9–11:30 am
Dennis R. MacDonald
Mythologizing Jesus
The Case of the Anointing Woman
Scholars long have recognized that New Testament depictions of Jesus witness to a creative explosion of stories about him. Few interpreters, however, have recognized that many, if not most, of these stories have analogies in classical Greek literature, especially in Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey. The story of the woman who anointed Jesus at Bethany, for example, imitates book 19 of the Odyssey. According to Dennis MacDonald, the implications are profound. First, Mark apparently did not inherit the anointing tale from tradition but created it to rival Homer. Second, parallels to the story in Luke and John do not represent an independent tradition. Third and most significantly, this analysis suggests that the evangelist expected his readers to be sufficiently familiar with the Odyssey to detect the imitation.
Thursday, 9–11:30 am
Dennis R. MacDonald
Mythologizing Jesus
The Case of the Anointing Woman
Scholars long have recognized that New Testament depictions of Jesus witness to a creative explosion of stories about him. Few interpreters, however, have recognized that many, if not most, of these stories have analogies in classical Greek literature, especially in Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey. The story of the woman who anointed Jesus at Bethany, for example, imitates book 19 of the Odyssey. According to Dennis MacDonald, the implications are profound. First, Mark apparently did not inherit the anointing tale from tradition but created it to rival Homer. Second, parallels to the story in Luke and John do not represent an independent tradition. Third and most significantly, this analysis suggests that the evangelist expected his readers to be sufficiently familiar with the Odyssey to detect the imitation.
Dennis R. MacDonald (Ph.D., Harvard University) retired as John Wesley Professor of New Testament and Christian Origins at the Claremont School of Theology where he now serves as a Research Professor. The former director of the Institute for Antiquity and Christianity at Claremont Graduate University, he also served as visiting scholar at Harvard Divinity School and at Union Theological Seminary. MacDonald has appeared on A&E, PBS and the History Channel. He is the author of many books, including The Homeric Epics and the Gospel of Mark (2000), The Gospels and Homer (2014), Mythologizing Jesus (2015), and How Did Mark Know about Jesus? (forthcoming).
Thursday, 1–3:30 pm
An Interview with Burton Mack
A charter member of the Jesus Seminar and mentor of many Westar Fellows and Society of Biblical Literature leaders, Burton Mack is widely recognized for his work on Christian origins. His concept of myth-making, for instance, re-invigorated critical thinking about the gospels and Paul. His idea of “social experimentation” broke open first-century texts as products of societal imagination, rather than historical record. Mack’s innovative scholarship profoundly influenced the thinking of the Jesus Seminar during its early years.
Known for his thoughtful conversational style and acerbic wit, Burton Mack promises a warm chuckle, a fearless search for insight, and equal parts suspicion and fascination with first-century literature. Since his retirement, he has focused on how the Christian myth is re-enacted in contemporary American nationhood. Ever wary of the mix, his latest books explore ways beyond this poisonous combination.
Thursday, 1–3:30 pm
An Interview with Burton Mack
A charter member of the Jesus Seminar and mentor of many Westar Fellows and Society of Biblical Literature leaders, Burton Mack is widely recognized for his work on Christian origins. His concept of myth-making, for instance, re-invigorated critical thinking about the gospels and Paul. His idea of “social experimentation” broke open first-century texts as products of societal imagination, rather than historical record. Mack’s innovative scholarship profoundly influenced the thinking of the Jesus Seminar during its early years.
Known for his thoughtful conversational style and acerbic wit, Burton Mack promises a warm chuckle, a fearless search for insight, and equal parts suspicion and fascination with first-century literature. Since his retirement, he has focused on how the Christian myth is re-enacted in contemporary American nationhood. Ever wary of the mix, his latest books explore ways beyond this poisonous combination.
Burton Mack (Ph.D., University of Göttingen) is John Wesley Professor emeritus in early Christianity at the Claremont School of Theology. He is the author of eleven books, including A Myth of Innocence (1988), The Lost Gospel (1993), Who Wrote the New Testament (1996), Christian Mentality (2014), and Myth and the Christian Nation (2014).
Friday, 7:30–9 pm
Academic Seminars
Cultural Construction and Reconfiguration of Family
As the culture wars of the twenty-first century vie for the meaning of family, equally creative, contentious, and regressive first- and second-century family portraits will unfold at the Christianity Seminar’s Spring 2016 session. The Seminar will take on Jesus’s attack on family bonding (“who are my mother and brothers … the ones who do the will of God are my brother and sister and mother”), the post-Pauline support for patriarchal family codes, the experimental fictive families of so-called house churches, women leading all kinds of supper clubs, audacious men and women leaping into celibacy, and women and men reclining together at semi-public festive banquets.
Friday & Saturday, times TBA
The Promise of Paul after the Death of God
Today’s Radical Theology movement owes a debt to the 1960s Death of God movement, which both liberated theology from narrow-minded debates about the literal existence of a supernatural being and bridged the traditionally theist-atheist divide between theologians and philosophers. What may be surprising to many, however, is that the themes and concerns that arose after the death of God share common elements with themes and concerns of the Apostle Paul—not the Paul of traditional church lore but a new Paul who is emerging in light of recent scholarship. In ancient times, Paul heard the call of a God that was bigger than he had ever imagined. In modern times, following the disappearance of the God made small in light of science, only the God who persists can promise a meaningful future. At its Spring 2016 session, with the help of guest scholars Bernard Brandon Scott of Phillips Theological Seminary and Richard Kearney of Boston University, the Seminar on God and the Human Future will explore the new possibilities raised by this exciting connection.
Friday & Saturday, times TBA
Seminar Papers
The Seminar Papers, which will become available in March, are the basis for the discussions in the Friday and Saturday sessions. They will not be presented orally at the event. Persons wishing to follow the discussions should read the papers in advance.
Electronic copies of the Seminar Papers are available to the public and will be posted when they come available, usually 2 to 3 weeks prior to the event. Hard copies of the papers will be available at a cost of $25 each.
Read online – Not yet available
Order hard copies of seminar papers
Polebridge Authors & Books
New and recent Polebridge authors will appear at these free afternoon book talks. Presenters and books TBA. Includes book signing.
Wednesday & Thursday, 4–5 pm
Free event
Young Leaders in Religion
Helping clergy and other leaders ages 20 to 45 to translate and transform religion scholarship into meaningful forms for their communities
Westar Institute is forming a new Young Leaders in Religion Forum. If you are between the ages of 20 and 45, and are a trained religious leader in church, arts, chaplaincy, non-profit, social advocacy, new faith community or social service work, we invite you to join this new solidarity network, which launched at Westar’s national meeting in Santa Rosa, March 18–21, 2015. At that time participants came together to raise and address issues, challenges, and goals, and to identify leaders to help shape the future of Young Leaders in Religion at Westar. The Spring 2016 Meeting will continue that important work.
Westar is actively seeking interested members for this new forum. If you feel you or someone you know would be a good candidate for this program, please contact academic director David Galston for more information: dgalston@westarinstitute.org
Young Leaders in Religion should not use the regular registration form to sign up for the Spring 2016 forum. Please await instructions from the Young Leaders in Religion program committee.
Schedule
Wednesday, March 16
9–10, 10:30–11:30 am, 1–2, 2:30–3:30 pm
Mary Evelyn Tucker
4–5
Authors & books
Thursday, March 17
9–10, 10:30–11:30 am
John D. Caputo
1–2, 2:30–3:30 pm
Dennis R. MacDonald
4–5 pm
Authors & books
8–10 pm
Reception
Friday, March 18
9–10:30, 11–12:30, 2–3:30, 4–5 pm
Academic Seminars
7:30–9 pm
Burton Mack Interview
Saturday, March 19
9–10:30, 11–12:30, 2–3:30, 4–5 pm
Academic Seminars
7–10 pm
Banquet
Registration & Fees
Lectures and seminars take place in the Flamingo Ballroom. Westar Institute registration and the Polebridge Press bookstore will be located in the Alexander Room, across the lobby from the hotel registration desk.
Not a Westar member? You can add a Westar membership ($50) to your registration and register at the member price. Westar members receive a subscription to The Fourth R magazine (6 issues annually), discounts on national meeting registration, and 20% off Polebridge books & media. Learn more.
Option 1—Bundled Sessions
Includes reception, banquet & electronic seminar papers*
WEDNESDAY – SATURDAY REGISTRATION OPTIONSMEMBERSNON-MEMBERS
EARLY BIRD (BY DEC 31, MEMBERS SAVE $95) $295 $325
PRE-REGISTRATION (BY FEB 16, MEMBERS SAVE $70) $320 $350
REGISTRATION (AFTER FEB 16, MEMBERS SAVE $50) $340 $370
THURSDAY EVENING – SATURDAY REGISTRATION OPTIONSMEMBERSNON-MEMBERS
EARLY BIRD (BY DEC 31, MEMBERS SAVE $65) $195 $225
PRE-REGISTRATION (BY FEB 16, MEMBERS SAVE $45) $215 $235
REGISTRATION (AFTER FEB 16, MEMBERS SAVE $35) $225 $245
Option 2—Single Sessions
MEMBERSNON-MEMBERS
WEDNESDAY SESSION WITH TUCKER $65 $70
WEDNESDAY AUTHORS & BOOKS Free Free
THURSDAY SESSIONS WITH CAPUTO AND MACDONALD $65 $70
THURSDAY MORNING SESSION WITH CAPUTO ONLY $35 $40
THURSDAY AFTERNOON SESSION WITH MACDONALD ONLY $35 $40
THURSDAY AUTHORS & BOOKS Free Free
THURSDAY RECEPTION TICKET $40 $40
FRIDAY ACADEMIC SEMINARS $65 $70
FRIDAY EVENING INTERVIEW WITH BURTON MACK $20 $20
SATURDAY ACADEMIC SEMINARS $65 $70
SATURDAY BANQUET TICKET $55 $55
HARDCOPY OF SEMINAR PAPERS $25 $25
Images
Start:
March 16, 2016
End:
March 19, 2016
Location:
Flamingo Hotel
2777 Fourth Street
Santa Rosa United States California
Organization:
Westar Institute
Website:
https://www.westarinstitute.org/national-meetings/spring-2016/
Telephone:
(651) 200-2372
---------------------
View all upcoming events here!
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Question & Answer for Thursday, 3 March 2016 - "Holy Communion?" A New Christianity fr a New World: Bishop John Shelby Spong on the News and Christian Faith of Gig Harbor, Washington, United States
HOMEPAGE MY PROFILE ESSAY ARCHIVE MESSAGE BOARDS CALENDAR
Question & Answer
Chiwoza Bandawe from Blantyre, Malawi, writes:
Question:
I was sorry not to see you at the Parliament of World Religions held a while back in Salt Lake City, which was a joyous celebration of love, unity and togetherness as children of God. I wanted to ask your view and interpretation of the celebration of Holy Communion. What is its history? How would you interpret it since you do not subscribe to the blood sacrifice theory? Does it still have its usefulness or would you exclude it from a new progressive Christianity?
Answer:
Dear Chiwoza,
I’m sure the meeting the Parliament of World religions in Salt Lake City, was worthwhile. The concept of gathering adherents of the world’s various religions for mutual conversations always breaks stereotypes and challenges exclusive claims. My only problem with it is that it tends to work from the top down and therefore means that it is only a very small number of people who are involved. There is so much work to be done from the bottom up. It is very difficult for people to embrace the concept of world religions when they cannot even embrace the division between Orthodox and Reformed, Shia and Sunni, Catholic and Protestant, fundamentalist and modernist. This does not mean that I oppose such things as the Parliament of World Religions. I think we should walk every path available to us in the quest of human oneness. I simply do not want anyone to be unrealistic about the limitations in every path we human beings walk.
The Christian Eucharist was born in the Passover meal of the Jews where bread was taken, blessed, broken and given in a meal that celebrated the Jewish people’s birth as a nation in Egypt when they passed from a life marked by oppression and slavery into a life of independence and the joy of freedom. Early in Christian history Jesus had been identified with the Passover Lamb. It was Paul writing to the Corinthians around the year 54 CE, who first made that identification. “Christ, our new paschal lamb, has been sacrificed for us,” he wrote.
The history of the Passover according to the book of Exodus was that it began as the final plague that God would visit on the Egyptians to force them to allow the Hebrew slave people to go free. This plague was that God would send the “Angel of Death” to pass through the land of Egypt and to kill, shall I say murder, the first born male in every household. The story reflects a rather vengeful tribal deity. Moses inquires of God as to how the Angel of Death would be able to tell the difference between a Jewish house and an Egyptian one, so that no first-born Jewish males would be put to death. God’s answer was that they were to slaughter a lamb and place the blood of the lamb on the doorposts of Jewish homes. The Angel of Death, seeing these bloody doorposts, would “pass over” the Jewish homes and only slay Egyptians. That is the origin of the name Passover. It was to be while the Egyptians were in shock and grief, mourning the loss of their loved ones, that the Children of Israel would make their “exodus” from the land of Egypt.
The Christian Eucharist was at first a highly symbolic act designed to identify Jesus with the paschal lamb. I suspect that this identification actually grew out of a sermon preached by a follower of Jesus at a Passover celebration seeking to draw the analogy between the crucifixion of Jesus and the slaying of the Passover lamb.
The cross in this sermon was seem as the doorposts of the world, suspended as it was between heaven and earth. On one side it pointed to heaven, while on the other it was rooted in the earth. The blood of the new paschal lamb on that cross served in some magical way, they believed, to break the power of death so that people coming to God through the blood of the paschal lamb could participate in the life of God, which was eternal. It was much later that content from the liturgical day called Yom Kippur entered the Eucharist. That was the time when the blood of the sacrifice entered the Eucharist and atonement theology was born.
Originally, the Eucharist was, I believe, the liturgical context in which the resurrection was understood. It was a gathering of the people of God around the table of the Lord in order to share in his life. That was the meaning that gave the Eucharist its primary power.
The idea that Jesus died for my sins is a much later bit of bad theology, which was subsequently placed on top of the Eucharist. So if we separate the Eucharistic experience from the explanations that gathered around it through the ages, then we might recover its original meaning. In this question and answer format I can only scratch the surface, but I hope the direction is clear.
Stay in touch.
John Shelby Spong
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Weekly Recap for Tuesday, March 1, 2016 - ProgressiveChristianity.org of Gig Harbor, Washington, United States - Can you go 21 days without complaining? This and more in our Free Weekly Recap of our most viewed and new resources from last week.
Last Week At ProgressiveChristianity.org ...
We delved into the topics of Complaining, Monotheism, Crosses and Listening.
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The 21 Day No-Complaint ChallengeRabbi Brian
The logic of complaining is like the logic of worrying. Worrying doesn’t change the future; and it makes the present less pleasant.
READ ON ...
The 21 Day No-Complaint Challenge
by Rabbi Brian on February 26, 2016 | 0 Comments
Back in 2007, I realized something was odd. We had returned from a family cruise, and when I told people about it, I kept hearing myself tell stories only about what went wrong. Out of my mouth came amusing anecdotes about mishaps, blunders, and gripes. I was so tickled by how absurd this seemed that I recorded a podcast called “Complaining about the cruise.”
I am proud to say that, albeit almost a decade later, I have changed.
I am no longer complaining.
Want to know how I did it?
I took part in what is known as the 21-Day No-Complaint Challenge. It’s pretty much what it sounds like. You challenge yourself to go 21 days without complaining. At the start of August, immediately after learning about it, I started, figuring I would be victorious shortly thereafter. It took me more than 6 attempts and until the end of September. But I did it. I went 21 days without complaining.
This exercise changed my life.
Forcing myself to think before I spoke (“Is what I am about to say a complaint?”) re-wired my brain. It was difficult at first, of course. But, I didn’t complain aloud about it! I lost the challenge repeatedly after four or five day stints. Then, after a really good round of 16 days, I got a bad flu and, well, while I complained less with the aches and pains than ever, not complaining didn’t happen. With each attempt, it became less and less challenging. In fact, now, I might average a verbalized complaint once a week.
I’m not certain that the people around me noticed much difference. (If they did, they haven’t said anything.) But I have noticed. I can’t help but link this exercise to the fact that my mood has changed for the positive. And how couldn’t it? I haven’t been saying negative things.
(To make keeping track of my days since complaining, I downloaded a free app called “Days Since” which I reset every time I needed to start over.)
The logic of complaining is like the logic of worrying. Worrying doesn’t change the future; and it makes the present less pleasant. The same is true about complaining. What do you gain by complaining? Is that gain more precious to you than living in a world with fewer complaints?
(As my friend David said, “If I don’t complain, do I even exist?)
Challenge
Let me ask you, other than hearing yourself complain, what do you have to lose?! It’s a great challenge.
So, I hereby challenge you. Why don’t you give it a try?
(Obviously, if you are going through large emotional turmoil, now isn’t the right time to do this.)
Buddies
When I spoke with people about this process, I learned that a lot of people would rather not do this alone. A lot of people prefer to do such a thing with an accountabilibuddy – a buddy to whom you are accountable.
Here are three options to getting an accountabilibuddy:
Ask someone you know to join you. Say, “Hey, Rabbi Brian gave me this challenge … would you try it with me?” (If they say no, ask someone else.)
Send me an email and I’ll hook you up with another person from the newsletter who also wants a semi-anonymous buddy.
Join the ROTB Facebook Group and post your progress to the online community.
Here is a short video that explains the 21-day-no-complaint challenge along with another gratitude practice I will write more about later.
With love, Rabbi Brian
(Visit his website Religion Outside the Box)
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A Crisis of Exile: A Brief Survey of the Development of Monotheism in Ancient Israel
Friday, 7:30–9 pm
Academic Seminars
Cultural Construction and Reconfiguration of Family
As the culture wars of the twenty-first century vie for the meaning of family, equally creative, contentious, and regressive first- and second-century family portraits will unfold at the Christianity Seminar’s Spring 2016 session. The Seminar will take on Jesus’s attack on family bonding (“who are my mother and brothers … the ones who do the will of God are my brother and sister and mother”), the post-Pauline support for patriarchal family codes, the experimental fictive families of so-called house churches, women leading all kinds of supper clubs, audacious men and women leaping into celibacy, and women and men reclining together at semi-public festive banquets.
Friday & Saturday, times TBA
The Promise of Paul after the Death of God
Today’s Radical Theology movement owes a debt to the 1960s Death of God movement, which both liberated theology from narrow-minded debates about the literal existence of a supernatural being and bridged the traditionally theist-atheist divide between theologians and philosophers. What may be surprising to many, however, is that the themes and concerns that arose after the death of God share common elements with themes and concerns of the Apostle Paul—not the Paul of traditional church lore but a new Paul who is emerging in light of recent scholarship. In ancient times, Paul heard the call of a God that was bigger than he had ever imagined. In modern times, following the disappearance of the God made small in light of science, only the God who persists can promise a meaningful future. At its Spring 2016 session, with the help of guest scholars Bernard Brandon Scott of Phillips Theological Seminary and Richard Kearney of Boston University, the Seminar on God and the Human Future will explore the new possibilities raised by this exciting connection.
Friday & Saturday, times TBA
Seminar Papers
The Seminar Papers, which will become available in March, are the basis for the discussions in the Friday and Saturday sessions. They will not be presented orally at the event. Persons wishing to follow the discussions should read the papers in advance.
Electronic copies of the Seminar Papers are available to the public and will be posted when they come available, usually 2 to 3 weeks prior to the event. Hard copies of the papers will be available at a cost of $25 each.
Read online – Not yet available
Order hard copies of seminar papers
Polebridge Authors & Books
New and recent Polebridge authors will appear at these free afternoon book talks. Presenters and books TBA. Includes book signing.
Wednesday & Thursday, 4–5 pm
Free event
Young Leaders in Religion
Helping clergy and other leaders ages 20 to 45 to translate and transform religion scholarship into meaningful forms for their communities
Westar Institute is forming a new Young Leaders in Religion Forum. If you are between the ages of 20 and 45, and are a trained religious leader in church, arts, chaplaincy, non-profit, social advocacy, new faith community or social service work, we invite you to join this new solidarity network, which launched at Westar’s national meeting in Santa Rosa, March 18–21, 2015. At that time participants came together to raise and address issues, challenges, and goals, and to identify leaders to help shape the future of Young Leaders in Religion at Westar. The Spring 2016 Meeting will continue that important work.
Westar is actively seeking interested members for this new forum. If you feel you or someone you know would be a good candidate for this program, please contact academic director David Galston for more information: dgalston@westarinstitute.org
Young Leaders in Religion should not use the regular registration form to sign up for the Spring 2016 forum. Please await instructions from the Young Leaders in Religion program committee.
Schedule
Wednesday, March 16
9–10, 10:30–11:30 am, 1–2, 2:30–3:30 pm
Mary Evelyn Tucker
4–5
Authors & books
Thursday, March 17
9–10, 10:30–11:30 am
John D. Caputo
1–2, 2:30–3:30 pm
Dennis R. MacDonald
4–5 pm
Authors & books
8–10 pm
Reception
Friday, March 18
9–10:30, 11–12:30, 2–3:30, 4–5 pm
Academic Seminars
7:30–9 pm
Burton Mack Interview
Saturday, March 19
9–10:30, 11–12:30, 2–3:30, 4–5 pm
Academic Seminars
7–10 pm
Banquet
Registration & Fees
Lectures and seminars take place in the Flamingo Ballroom. Westar Institute registration and the Polebridge Press bookstore will be located in the Alexander Room, across the lobby from the hotel registration desk.
Not a Westar member? You can add a Westar membership ($50) to your registration and register at the member price. Westar members receive a subscription to The Fourth R magazine (6 issues annually), discounts on national meeting registration, and 20% off Polebridge books & media. Learn more.
Option 1—Bundled Sessions
Includes reception, banquet & electronic seminar papers*
WEDNESDAY – SATURDAY REGISTRATION OPTIONSMEMBERSNON-MEMBERS
EARLY BIRD (BY DEC 31, MEMBERS SAVE $95) $295 $325
PRE-REGISTRATION (BY FEB 16, MEMBERS SAVE $70) $320 $350
REGISTRATION (AFTER FEB 16, MEMBERS SAVE $50) $340 $370
THURSDAY EVENING – SATURDAY REGISTRATION OPTIONSMEMBERSNON-MEMBERS
EARLY BIRD (BY DEC 31, MEMBERS SAVE $65) $195 $225
PRE-REGISTRATION (BY FEB 16, MEMBERS SAVE $45) $215 $235
REGISTRATION (AFTER FEB 16, MEMBERS SAVE $35) $225 $245
Option 2—Single Sessions
MEMBERSNON-MEMBERS
WEDNESDAY SESSION WITH TUCKER $65 $70
WEDNESDAY AUTHORS & BOOKS Free Free
THURSDAY SESSIONS WITH CAPUTO AND MACDONALD $65 $70
THURSDAY MORNING SESSION WITH CAPUTO ONLY $35 $40
THURSDAY AFTERNOON SESSION WITH MACDONALD ONLY $35 $40
THURSDAY AUTHORS & BOOKS Free Free
THURSDAY RECEPTION TICKET $40 $40
FRIDAY ACADEMIC SEMINARS $65 $70
FRIDAY EVENING INTERVIEW WITH BURTON MACK $20 $20
SATURDAY ACADEMIC SEMINARS $65 $70
SATURDAY BANQUET TICKET $55 $55
HARDCOPY OF SEMINAR PAPERS $25 $25
Images
Start:
March 16, 2016
End:
March 19, 2016
Location:
Flamingo Hotel
2777 Fourth Street
Santa Rosa United States California
Organization:
Westar Institute
Website:
https://www.westarinstitute.org/national-meetings/spring-2016/
Telephone:
(651) 200-2372
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View all upcoming events here!
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Question & Answer for Thursday, 3 March 2016 - "Holy Communion?" A New Christianity fr a New World: Bishop John Shelby Spong on the News and Christian Faith of Gig Harbor, Washington, United States
HOMEPAGE MY PROFILE ESSAY ARCHIVE MESSAGE BOARDS CALENDAR
Question & Answer
Chiwoza Bandawe from Blantyre, Malawi, writes:
Question:
I was sorry not to see you at the Parliament of World Religions held a while back in Salt Lake City, which was a joyous celebration of love, unity and togetherness as children of God. I wanted to ask your view and interpretation of the celebration of Holy Communion. What is its history? How would you interpret it since you do not subscribe to the blood sacrifice theory? Does it still have its usefulness or would you exclude it from a new progressive Christianity?
Answer:
Dear Chiwoza,
I’m sure the meeting the Parliament of World religions in Salt Lake City, was worthwhile. The concept of gathering adherents of the world’s various religions for mutual conversations always breaks stereotypes and challenges exclusive claims. My only problem with it is that it tends to work from the top down and therefore means that it is only a very small number of people who are involved. There is so much work to be done from the bottom up. It is very difficult for people to embrace the concept of world religions when they cannot even embrace the division between Orthodox and Reformed, Shia and Sunni, Catholic and Protestant, fundamentalist and modernist. This does not mean that I oppose such things as the Parliament of World Religions. I think we should walk every path available to us in the quest of human oneness. I simply do not want anyone to be unrealistic about the limitations in every path we human beings walk.
The Christian Eucharist was born in the Passover meal of the Jews where bread was taken, blessed, broken and given in a meal that celebrated the Jewish people’s birth as a nation in Egypt when they passed from a life marked by oppression and slavery into a life of independence and the joy of freedom. Early in Christian history Jesus had been identified with the Passover Lamb. It was Paul writing to the Corinthians around the year 54 CE, who first made that identification. “Christ, our new paschal lamb, has been sacrificed for us,” he wrote.
The history of the Passover according to the book of Exodus was that it began as the final plague that God would visit on the Egyptians to force them to allow the Hebrew slave people to go free. This plague was that God would send the “Angel of Death” to pass through the land of Egypt and to kill, shall I say murder, the first born male in every household. The story reflects a rather vengeful tribal deity. Moses inquires of God as to how the Angel of Death would be able to tell the difference between a Jewish house and an Egyptian one, so that no first-born Jewish males would be put to death. God’s answer was that they were to slaughter a lamb and place the blood of the lamb on the doorposts of Jewish homes. The Angel of Death, seeing these bloody doorposts, would “pass over” the Jewish homes and only slay Egyptians. That is the origin of the name Passover. It was to be while the Egyptians were in shock and grief, mourning the loss of their loved ones, that the Children of Israel would make their “exodus” from the land of Egypt.
The Christian Eucharist was at first a highly symbolic act designed to identify Jesus with the paschal lamb. I suspect that this identification actually grew out of a sermon preached by a follower of Jesus at a Passover celebration seeking to draw the analogy between the crucifixion of Jesus and the slaying of the Passover lamb.
The cross in this sermon was seem as the doorposts of the world, suspended as it was between heaven and earth. On one side it pointed to heaven, while on the other it was rooted in the earth. The blood of the new paschal lamb on that cross served in some magical way, they believed, to break the power of death so that people coming to God through the blood of the paschal lamb could participate in the life of God, which was eternal. It was much later that content from the liturgical day called Yom Kippur entered the Eucharist. That was the time when the blood of the sacrifice entered the Eucharist and atonement theology was born.
Originally, the Eucharist was, I believe, the liturgical context in which the resurrection was understood. It was a gathering of the people of God around the table of the Lord in order to share in his life. That was the meaning that gave the Eucharist its primary power.
The idea that Jesus died for my sins is a much later bit of bad theology, which was subsequently placed on top of the Eucharist. So if we separate the Eucharistic experience from the explanations that gathered around it through the ages, then we might recover its original meaning. In this question and answer format I can only scratch the surface, but I hope the direction is clear.
Stay in touch.
John Shelby Spong
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Weekly Recap for Tuesday, March 1, 2016 - ProgressiveChristianity.org of Gig Harbor, Washington, United States - Can you go 21 days without complaining? This and more in our Free Weekly Recap of our most viewed and new resources from last week.Last Week At ProgressiveChristianity.org ...
We delved into the topics of Complaining, Monotheism, Crosses and Listening.
Visit our website to join in on the discussion and to view our thousands of spiritual resources!
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The 21 Day No-Complaint ChallengeRabbi Brian
The logic of complaining is like the logic of worrying. Worrying doesn’t change the future; and it makes the present less pleasant.
READ ON ...
The 21 Day No-Complaint Challenge
by Rabbi Brian on February 26, 2016 | 0 Comments
Back in 2007, I realized something was odd. We had returned from a family cruise, and when I told people about it, I kept hearing myself tell stories only about what went wrong. Out of my mouth came amusing anecdotes about mishaps, blunders, and gripes. I was so tickled by how absurd this seemed that I recorded a podcast called “Complaining about the cruise.”
I am proud to say that, albeit almost a decade later, I have changed.
I am no longer complaining.
Want to know how I did it?
I took part in what is known as the 21-Day No-Complaint Challenge. It’s pretty much what it sounds like. You challenge yourself to go 21 days without complaining. At the start of August, immediately after learning about it, I started, figuring I would be victorious shortly thereafter. It took me more than 6 attempts and until the end of September. But I did it. I went 21 days without complaining.
This exercise changed my life.
Forcing myself to think before I spoke (“Is what I am about to say a complaint?”) re-wired my brain. It was difficult at first, of course. But, I didn’t complain aloud about it! I lost the challenge repeatedly after four or five day stints. Then, after a really good round of 16 days, I got a bad flu and, well, while I complained less with the aches and pains than ever, not complaining didn’t happen. With each attempt, it became less and less challenging. In fact, now, I might average a verbalized complaint once a week.
I’m not certain that the people around me noticed much difference. (If they did, they haven’t said anything.) But I have noticed. I can’t help but link this exercise to the fact that my mood has changed for the positive. And how couldn’t it? I haven’t been saying negative things.
(To make keeping track of my days since complaining, I downloaded a free app called “Days Since” which I reset every time I needed to start over.)
The logic of complaining is like the logic of worrying. Worrying doesn’t change the future; and it makes the present less pleasant. The same is true about complaining. What do you gain by complaining? Is that gain more precious to you than living in a world with fewer complaints?
(As my friend David said, “If I don’t complain, do I even exist?)
Challenge
Let me ask you, other than hearing yourself complain, what do you have to lose?! It’s a great challenge.
So, I hereby challenge you. Why don’t you give it a try?
(Obviously, if you are going through large emotional turmoil, now isn’t the right time to do this.)
Buddies
When I spoke with people about this process, I learned that a lot of people would rather not do this alone. A lot of people prefer to do such a thing with an accountabilibuddy – a buddy to whom you are accountable.
Here are three options to getting an accountabilibuddy:
Ask someone you know to join you. Say, “Hey, Rabbi Brian gave me this challenge … would you try it with me?” (If they say no, ask someone else.)
Send me an email and I’ll hook you up with another person from the newsletter who also wants a semi-anonymous buddy.
Join the ROTB Facebook Group and post your progress to the online community.
Here is a short video that explains the 21-day-no-complaint challenge along with another gratitude practice I will write more about later.
(Visit his website Religion Outside the Box)
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A Crisis of Exile: A Brief Survey of the Development of Monotheism in Ancient Israel
Dr. Brian Schumann
A Crisis of Exile delves into the biblical, archaeological, and historical records to uncover what the religion of Ancient Israel was really like.
READ ON ...
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"A Crisis of Exile: A Brief Survey of the Development of Monotheism in Ancient Israel" by Dr. Brian Schumann
purchase for $12.59
A Crisis of Exile delves into the biblical, archaeological, and historical records to uncover what the religion of Ancient Israel was really like. Moreover, it reveals how the Babylonian Exile became the catalyst for propelling the Israelites into monotheism.
Book Summary
The concept of one God, or monotheism, is a basic fundamental part of our religious culture and beliefs today. However, it hasn’t always been that way as the worship of many gods is well documented throughout history. In fact, the historical narrative of the early Israelite people proves even they went wayward and worshiped other gods. Yahweh was only a single God on the pantheon.
The people of Judea had watched their northern kinsmen be dragged off to exile by the Assyrians in 721 BCE. In 586 BCE, they too have experienced the embarrassment of military defeat and the humiliation of exile. The Babylonians are taunting them, asking for songs of the Holy City. The Judeans must have asked themselves, “How could this have happened?” “Why did this happen?” and most importantly, “What do we do now?”
These questions are at the heart of Dr. Brian Schumann’s new book, The Crisis of Exile. This book delves into the biblical, archaeological, and historical records to uncover what the religion of Ancient Israel was really like. Moreover, it reveals how the Babylonian Exile became the catalyst for propelling the Israelites into monotheism.
While a great tragedy, the Babylonian Exile was absolutely critical in the development of the present day Judeo-Christian religions due to its effect of true monotheism taking hold among those exiled Israelites. This period of Exile in Babylonia is marked by a resurgence in the Jewish tradition, as the exiles looked back to their origins in an effort to understand why they are in this crisis. And more importantly, how to avoid it again in the future.
About the Author
Brian Schumann grew up on a small farm in Maryland. Upon graduating high school, he served in the US Navy. Once his enlistment was complete, Brian began genuinely seeking his role in God’s world and pursuing a religious education. A recent graduate of seminary, Brian Schumann did his PhD work studying the archeology, history, and culture surrounding Ancient Israel. His specific focus was on the religions of Israel and the surrounding nations. An accomplished preacher, Brian is now embarking on a new journey of printed evangelism.
Today, Brian explores his Christian faith through both 1st Century Jewish and 21st Century American lenses. Together they are important perspectives, since Christianity was born from the great Jewish religion and applications of the Christian faith need to be relevant to today’s world. An earlier preacher and Youth leader, he now shares his spiritual journey through online and printed media.
Brian is active in his local community by volunteering for such groups as a homeless shelter and battered women’s shelter. His highlight is serving as “Coach Doc” for the local high school football team as he strives to be a mentor and positive role model for young people. He and his wife live in Virginia with their four-legged “children,” Asha, Krachen, and Patches.
For more information, visit the website: http://www.drbrianschumann.com/
Also, please visit his Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/brianschumannbooks
purchase for $12.59
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Crosses
A Crisis of Exile delves into the biblical, archaeological, and historical records to uncover what the religion of Ancient Israel was really like.
READ ON ...
--------------------
"A Crisis of Exile: A Brief Survey of the Development of Monotheism in Ancient Israel" by Dr. Brian Schumann
purchase for $12.59
A Crisis of Exile delves into the biblical, archaeological, and historical records to uncover what the religion of Ancient Israel was really like. Moreover, it reveals how the Babylonian Exile became the catalyst for propelling the Israelites into monotheism.
Book Summary
The concept of one God, or monotheism, is a basic fundamental part of our religious culture and beliefs today. However, it hasn’t always been that way as the worship of many gods is well documented throughout history. In fact, the historical narrative of the early Israelite people proves even they went wayward and worshiped other gods. Yahweh was only a single God on the pantheon.
The people of Judea had watched their northern kinsmen be dragged off to exile by the Assyrians in 721 BCE. In 586 BCE, they too have experienced the embarrassment of military defeat and the humiliation of exile. The Babylonians are taunting them, asking for songs of the Holy City. The Judeans must have asked themselves, “How could this have happened?” “Why did this happen?” and most importantly, “What do we do now?”
These questions are at the heart of Dr. Brian Schumann’s new book, The Crisis of Exile. This book delves into the biblical, archaeological, and historical records to uncover what the religion of Ancient Israel was really like. Moreover, it reveals how the Babylonian Exile became the catalyst for propelling the Israelites into monotheism.
While a great tragedy, the Babylonian Exile was absolutely critical in the development of the present day Judeo-Christian religions due to its effect of true monotheism taking hold among those exiled Israelites. This period of Exile in Babylonia is marked by a resurgence in the Jewish tradition, as the exiles looked back to their origins in an effort to understand why they are in this crisis. And more importantly, how to avoid it again in the future.
About the Author
Brian Schumann grew up on a small farm in Maryland. Upon graduating high school, he served in the US Navy. Once his enlistment was complete, Brian began genuinely seeking his role in God’s world and pursuing a religious education. A recent graduate of seminary, Brian Schumann did his PhD work studying the archeology, history, and culture surrounding Ancient Israel. His specific focus was on the religions of Israel and the surrounding nations. An accomplished preacher, Brian is now embarking on a new journey of printed evangelism.
Today, Brian explores his Christian faith through both 1st Century Jewish and 21st Century American lenses. Together they are important perspectives, since Christianity was born from the great Jewish religion and applications of the Christian faith need to be relevant to today’s world. An earlier preacher and Youth leader, he now shares his spiritual journey through online and printed media.
Brian is active in his local community by volunteering for such groups as a homeless shelter and battered women’s shelter. His highlight is serving as “Coach Doc” for the local high school football team as he strives to be a mentor and positive role model for young people. He and his wife live in Virginia with their four-legged “children,” Asha, Krachen, and Patches.
For more information, visit the website: http://www.drbrianschumann.com/
Also, please visit his Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/brianschumannbooks
purchase for $12.59
---------------------
Crosses
Chris Glaser
When crosses were first devised out of cruelty ... who would’ve imagined ... that such a cause for suffering could create communion among all kinds of Christians?
READ ON ...
---------------------
"Crosses" by Chris Glaser
During a visit to New York City, a gay seminarian and I enjoyed becoming acquainted as we walked through Central Park together. It was mid-November and dead brown leaves crunched beneath our feet at the same time others stubbornly clung to branches overhead, caressed by a cool, but not cold, breeze. A dip in the road led to a small, wooden bridge over a small brook. From this place, looking round, no visible sign revealed that we were in the heart of a city. It was on this bridge, leaning on opposite handrails, facing one another, that my new friend told me a touching story.
When he was a child, he began, his first trip from home occurred when his parents sent him to a church camp somewhere in the midst of a forest. He was frightened and lonely. He missed his family terribly. A manifestation of his feelings over the separation came one night as he dreamt that his father, walking to church, had fallen beneath the wheels of an oncoming car.
The other kids all seemed to have been there before and knew one another, and he did not feel included. He felt particularly vulnerable, and he believed they sensed his vulnerability. We know that kids can be cruel to one another. We are tempted by traditional theology to conclude that this suggests some innate human corruption, but I believe cruelty is something we learn, not something with which we are born. At one point they taunted him, throwing pine cones at him from the roof of one of the cabins. He ran away, crying, and hid himself in a small corner of his cabin.
A storm broke outside, and the darkness of heavy clouds and oncoming night accentuated the boy’s inner turmoil. An older boy, a camp counselor, came looking for him. When he found the younger boy, he seemed to understand and feel his pain, loneliness, and sense of not belonging. And he comforted him. He held him in his arms for a while, and his strength lessened the younger boy’s fear. He found him a chocolate bar, then reunited him with his campmates. The rain had since stopped, and they were gathered around a campfire. The older boy and the younger boy sat together.
The next day was the final day of camp. His parents came to take him home. As he prepared to depart, the older boy came to say good-bye. He handed the younger boy a cross that he had fashioned for him, held together with string where the carved sticks crossed, which could be hung by another string tied at the top. There was tenderness in the older boy’s gesture.
Now, hearing my new friend tell the story, I intuited something more between them than would have met his parents’ eyes. A spark between the younger and older boy, a spark of tenderness, of compassion, of love. Love that at once was eros and agape and philia.
My friend sighed. “That cross is my most valuable possession, and even if I were to lose it, it would still be here within me,” he said, pointing to his chest, passionate tears coming to his eyes. We held one another on the bridge, and I felt the presence of the other boy in our long hug. He probably did not know how profoundly he had touched the young boy who would become this seminarian. For in the older boy’s touch, the younger boy had not only experienced the affirming touch of another boy: he had also felt Jesus’ touch. His occasion for telling this story to me had come in the context of explaining the importance of Jesus in his faith, something he was unwilling to sacrifice in the radical enclave of New York’s Union Seminary.
When he later showed me the cross, I felt as if I were handling an icon or relic of a saint that had crossed my friend’s path.
Upon my return home, I opened the box of a similar relic of a saint that had crossed a friend’s path. It too is a small cross, but of silver metal with elaborate etching on it. It too had been given out of love and friendship at a church camp. But it had been passed from a younger man to an older one.
The older man was a Methodist minister I met when I was a student at Yale Divinity School eighteen years before. He was married, and had gone through years of Freudian psychotherapy at the hands of psychiatrists who believed his homosexuality was a “fear of castration.” Essentially I told him that was bunk. Eventually, I knew his own experience would lead him to the same conclusion. He intuited that too, and our few conversations arose from his heartfelt wish to accept that he was gay.
To show his appreciation one day, he handed me a gift. I opened the small box and found the beautiful silver cross. He explained its significance. As one of the leaders of a church camp, one of the teenaged men had taken a liking to him—a liking that apparently included eros and agape and philia, though that was never explicitly expressed. My friend said that it made him feel so good to be loved by another man! At the same time, it frightened him. On the final day of camp, the young man had given him this cross to express his deep feelings for the minister.
I protested, “Surely you want to keep this cross, given its meaning in your life!” I don’t remember exactly how he responded, but I believe he gave it to me both because he knew that I would honor its value and because passing it on to me signified the important bonding we had enjoyed as we shared what it meant to be gay, to be Christian, to be men.
When crosses were first devised out of the cruelty that human hearts have learned, who would’ve imagined that God could have transformed such a cruel machine into an icon of love between an older and a younger boy, and between a younger and an older man? Or that such a cause for suffering could create communion among all kinds of Christians?
Of course the cross would have no power for other than cruelty were it not for Jesus. His touch could heal—even cruelty. And as we touch one another as the Body of Christ, I mean, really touch, with eros and agape and philia—we too will heal our hearts and one another’s hearts of their cruelty. And love—eros and agape and philia—will allow, enable, and offer us communion.
Click Here to Link to Chris Glaser’s Blog: Progressive Christian Reflections
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Weekly Liturgy
When crosses were first devised out of cruelty ... who would’ve imagined ... that such a cause for suffering could create communion among all kinds of Christians?
READ ON ...
---------------------
"Crosses" by Chris Glaser
During a visit to New York City, a gay seminarian and I enjoyed becoming acquainted as we walked through Central Park together. It was mid-November and dead brown leaves crunched beneath our feet at the same time others stubbornly clung to branches overhead, caressed by a cool, but not cold, breeze. A dip in the road led to a small, wooden bridge over a small brook. From this place, looking round, no visible sign revealed that we were in the heart of a city. It was on this bridge, leaning on opposite handrails, facing one another, that my new friend told me a touching story.
When he was a child, he began, his first trip from home occurred when his parents sent him to a church camp somewhere in the midst of a forest. He was frightened and lonely. He missed his family terribly. A manifestation of his feelings over the separation came one night as he dreamt that his father, walking to church, had fallen beneath the wheels of an oncoming car.
The other kids all seemed to have been there before and knew one another, and he did not feel included. He felt particularly vulnerable, and he believed they sensed his vulnerability. We know that kids can be cruel to one another. We are tempted by traditional theology to conclude that this suggests some innate human corruption, but I believe cruelty is something we learn, not something with which we are born. At one point they taunted him, throwing pine cones at him from the roof of one of the cabins. He ran away, crying, and hid himself in a small corner of his cabin.
A storm broke outside, and the darkness of heavy clouds and oncoming night accentuated the boy’s inner turmoil. An older boy, a camp counselor, came looking for him. When he found the younger boy, he seemed to understand and feel his pain, loneliness, and sense of not belonging. And he comforted him. He held him in his arms for a while, and his strength lessened the younger boy’s fear. He found him a chocolate bar, then reunited him with his campmates. The rain had since stopped, and they were gathered around a campfire. The older boy and the younger boy sat together.
The next day was the final day of camp. His parents came to take him home. As he prepared to depart, the older boy came to say good-bye. He handed the younger boy a cross that he had fashioned for him, held together with string where the carved sticks crossed, which could be hung by another string tied at the top. There was tenderness in the older boy’s gesture.
Now, hearing my new friend tell the story, I intuited something more between them than would have met his parents’ eyes. A spark between the younger and older boy, a spark of tenderness, of compassion, of love. Love that at once was eros and agape and philia.
My friend sighed. “That cross is my most valuable possession, and even if I were to lose it, it would still be here within me,” he said, pointing to his chest, passionate tears coming to his eyes. We held one another on the bridge, and I felt the presence of the other boy in our long hug. He probably did not know how profoundly he had touched the young boy who would become this seminarian. For in the older boy’s touch, the younger boy had not only experienced the affirming touch of another boy: he had also felt Jesus’ touch. His occasion for telling this story to me had come in the context of explaining the importance of Jesus in his faith, something he was unwilling to sacrifice in the radical enclave of New York’s Union Seminary.
When he later showed me the cross, I felt as if I were handling an icon or relic of a saint that had crossed my friend’s path.
Upon my return home, I opened the box of a similar relic of a saint that had crossed a friend’s path. It too is a small cross, but of silver metal with elaborate etching on it. It too had been given out of love and friendship at a church camp. But it had been passed from a younger man to an older one.
The older man was a Methodist minister I met when I was a student at Yale Divinity School eighteen years before. He was married, and had gone through years of Freudian psychotherapy at the hands of psychiatrists who believed his homosexuality was a “fear of castration.” Essentially I told him that was bunk. Eventually, I knew his own experience would lead him to the same conclusion. He intuited that too, and our few conversations arose from his heartfelt wish to accept that he was gay.
To show his appreciation one day, he handed me a gift. I opened the small box and found the beautiful silver cross. He explained its significance. As one of the leaders of a church camp, one of the teenaged men had taken a liking to him—a liking that apparently included eros and agape and philia, though that was never explicitly expressed. My friend said that it made him feel so good to be loved by another man! At the same time, it frightened him. On the final day of camp, the young man had given him this cross to express his deep feelings for the minister.
I protested, “Surely you want to keep this cross, given its meaning in your life!” I don’t remember exactly how he responded, but I believe he gave it to me both because he knew that I would honor its value and because passing it on to me signified the important bonding we had enjoyed as we shared what it meant to be gay, to be Christian, to be men.
When crosses were first devised out of the cruelty that human hearts have learned, who would’ve imagined that God could have transformed such a cruel machine into an icon of love between an older and a younger boy, and between a younger and an older man? Or that such a cause for suffering could create communion among all kinds of Christians?
Of course the cross would have no power for other than cruelty were it not for Jesus. His touch could heal—even cruelty. And as we touch one another as the Body of Christ, I mean, really touch, with eros and agape and philia—we too will heal our hearts and one another’s hearts of their cruelty. And love—eros and agape and philia—will allow, enable, and offer us communion.
Click Here to Link to Chris Glaser’s Blog: Progressive Christian Reflections
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Weekly Liturgy
Week of: February 21, 2016
Listening
To listen attentively is a great gift. It is more than just being quiet
READ ON ...
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Listening
Week of February 21, 2016
To listen attentively is a great gift. It is more than just being quiet (or, as author Simon Sinek puts it, “There is a difference between listening and waiting for your turn to speak.”). Very often you are not required to find a solution or have a witty response. You give the gift simply by honoring the speaker with your complete attention.
Listening
To listen attentively is a great gift. It is more than just being quiet
READ ON ...
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Listening
Week of February 21, 2016
To listen attentively is a great gift. It is more than just being quiet (or, as author Simon Sinek puts it, “There is a difference between listening and waiting for your turn to speak.”). Very often you are not required to find a solution or have a witty response. You give the gift simply by honoring the speaker with your complete attention.
Listening
Source of physical being; help me to hear you in my body. Teach me to tend to my physical needs and be aware of my bodily conditions.
read moreThe Patience Stone Ritual
This ritual was inspired by a film we reviewed, The Patience Stone, which itself was inspired by the Persian myth Syngue Sabour (patience stone) about a stone into which you can shed your misfortunes, your complaints, and your troubles until it’s so full it bursts.
read moreThe Blessing of Silence
For the mystery that enfolds us and blesses us,
For the beauty that surrounds us and nourishes us,
For the life that flows within us and among us,
For the bounty before us,
We bow.
For the beauty that surrounds us and nourishes us,
For the life that flows within us and among us,
For the bounty before us,
We bow.
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"Listening" by Richard Holdsworth
The Listening Body
Source of physical being; help me to hear you in my body. Teach me to tend to my physical needs and be aware of my bodily conditions. Show me your creative energy in young bodies—in baby stages of growth, infant explorations, childish fantasies, and adolescent obsessions. Let me know your strength in maturing bodies that develop healthily, fill out abundantly, stretch effortlessly and skip lightly. Reveal to me your wisdom also in aging bodies that sag, bulge, wrinkle and hurt. Help me to see your love in, and bring your love to, distressed bodies that are handicapped, sick or taken from us for no apparent reason. Help me to have faith that you speak from all things, including bodies. And that, despite our physical limitations, we can grow in timeless peace and perpetual reconciliation.
The Listening Mind
Source of my intelligence; help me to think about what I think. Teach me to examine my thoughts for your revelation. Help me to recognize the difference between healthy concern and over anxiety; between a tendency to protect and inclination to control; between honest opinion and disparaging judgment. Show me how to discern the will of goodness and to control my tendencies toward distrust. Through faith, help me to seek thoughts of reconciliation and avoid revenge, to be positive rather than negative, to encourage rather than discourage. May I open my mind to the possibility that I might sometimes be wrong, and learn to nurture kind thoughts not only toward others but also toward myself.
The Listening Heart
Source of emotions put me in touch with what I feel. Make me aware of my passions, revulsions, attractions and obsessions. Let me accurately read my whole range of emotional reactions. Your divinity can be found in all experiences, help me to hear you in my heart. When I am sad let me mourn healthily; when I am excited help me to enthuse appropriately; when I am glad help me not to boast, and when I am angry may I vent without violent thoughts or acts. In mood swings and stability, teach me what I need to learn. Help me to own my feelings, to take them and examine them, to greet them unafraid at their coming in and let them go willingly at their parting. May each feeling become an opportunity to grow toward greater compassion.
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"The Patience Stone Ritual" by Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
This ritual was inspired by a film we reviewed, The Patience Stone, which itself was inspired by the Persian myth Syngue Sabour (patience stone) about a stone into which you can shed your misfortunes, your complaints, and your troubles until it’s so full it bursts.
To recreate this myth each guest chose a small stone to crush. Since crushing stones can be quite messy, this is best done in nature, which also holds the significance of letting Mother Earth take the broken pieces to transform them.
Our event took place on the nearby banks of the Hudson River where there are these wonderful, huge pieces of granite lining the sides of the river. I found a flat one that could be used as our altar/breaking surface. Another large but easily handled stone was used as the mallet to break our patience stones. I tested all this out in advance for safety concerns.
The directions were called in as we sat in a circle on blankets next to the river. I then related the Persian myth of the patience stone and asked each person to choose a stone.
The Patience Stone Ritual
“First thank the stone for being of service to you and offering itself up for this ritual. And remember that you will be giving it back to Mother Earth so that it can be transformed , much like animal waste becoming fertilizer for new life.
“Next ask your stone to please take that which holds you back from living in freedom: all your worries and fears, complaints and misfortunes. Literally talk to it. Give everything to the stone, anything you would like to release. We’ll have five minutes to do this. I’ll ring the bell when it’s time to come back.”
Participants walked around the area with their stones. Some cupped it in their hands held up to their mouths like they were sharing a secret with a friend; others just held it in their hands by their side and walked contemplatively, softly murmuring. After I ran the bell we gathered around the stone altar by the edge of the river where I demonstrated how to crush the stone between the two larger ones.
“Your stone is now full of your burdens that you are ready to release. When you feel compelled, one at a time, please come forward and break your stone and truly let go of all it carries for you. As you are watching others make their release, hold the space for them that they really can let go and surrender these burdens, so that which doesn’t serve them is being taken back to nature and transformed.”
Those watching stood back at a safe distance, and the person smashing was told to close his eyes or turn his head to the side. The smashing rock was large enough so that once positioned over the patience stone, there was no need to look at it during the smashing. The pieces also stayed pretty well contained under the rock. (If you feel any concern about this step, you could provide a pair of protective goggles for the person doing the smashing.)
After everyone crushed his patience stone we returned to our circle and each chose a seashell.
“Take your shell and hold it to one ear and listen. (Pause) Do you hear the stillness and calm? Are the voices of worry and fear, those constantly reminding you of your troubles, quiet? Keep this shell as a reminder of how this clearness feels.”
The directions were closed. Our gathering took place during a lovely afternoon so we ended our ritual with a picnic. It began with a lively recounting of the breaking of the stones.
We all agreed it was interesting to see the differences in how each stone broke. Some disintegrated on the first try, while others only after multiple times. Some were obliterated into dust while some stayed a bit chunky, which a couple people decided to smash further. Those whose stones didn’t break so easily were able to laugh about it but also saw it as an example of how they have a difficult time letting go of things. Diving deeper they also saw that it can be done with intention and a bit of practice and persistence. Everyone also agreed that the actual physical effort was very cathartic.
Finally, we shared our surprise about how quiet our minds actually were when listening to the shell. I know I’ve used my shell many times since then as a reminder of those still quiet moments when I can let go of my fears and worries.
Originally Published Here
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"The Blessing of Silence from I Wonder..." by Alice Smith
For the mystery that enfolds us and blesses us,
For the beauty that surrounds us and nourishes us,
For the life that flows within us and among us,
For the bounty before us,
We bow.
If pressed to say a blessing
I rely on the one above,
but given a choice
I usually decline
for I know the Divine
is present in the silence.
Sharing a meal in and of itself
is a holy prayer.
Listening to life
blesses whatever is there.
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Events and Updates
Seeking Transformational Leaders – Boston University Doctor of Ministry
Seeking leaders who are called to transform their communities, their churches, their ministries, and their world.
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"Seeking Transformational Leaders – Boston University Doctor of Ministry" by ProgressiveChristianity.org
Boston University School of Theology’s Doctor of Ministry in Transformational Leadership seeks leaders who are called to transform their communities, their churches, their ministries, and their world.
Boston University School of Theology has designed its Doctor of Ministry Program for leaders who have at least three years of ministry experience and are seeking a plan for transformational change. The three-year, low-residency program combines online learning with intensive classes.
~Build connections with fellow leaders and Boston University faculty during two week-long trips to Boston University each year. Through the rest of the year, interactive online classes allow you to study with full-time faculty and learn with a student cohort of fellow leaders.
~Sharpen your leadership skills and acquire new ones through a curriculum that includes classes such as Global Development and Faith, Transformational and Situational Homiletics, and Mission and Outreach.
~Focus your studies on your own context, with a directed study project that gives you a strategic plan to move forward. Deeply analyze your unique context while also drawing from the experiences of a diverse cohort of classmates.
Boston University is looking for students who seek to hone their skills, learn from fellow leaders, and form a plan for transformation. If this sounds like you, learn more and get in touch with our Admissions staff to answer your questions.
Wendy Von Courter (DMin ’17)
“I’ve looked at many doctoral programs. This one was so rooted in relevancy and action that I could not resist! The ability to study while remaining active in ministry drew me to this program, as did the academic rigor and the ability to journey with colleagues from so many different experiences. What I didn’t expect, however, was how immediately valuable our learnings would be in our day-to-day lives. I am pleased at the benefits I’m already reaping in year one.”
more testimonials here…
Learn More Here!
Categories: Announcements and Educational Opportunity. Tags: Educational Opportunities. Topics:Belief, Bibles and Bible Study, Biblical Archaeology, Church Growth, Church History, Clergy/Ministry,Education, Jesus Studies, Preaching/Teaching, Spiritual Exploration & Practice, Theology & Religious Education, and Worship & Liturgy. 8 Points: Point 1: Teachings of Jesus, Point 2: Pluralism, Point 3: Inclusive Community, Point 4: Act As We Believe, Point 5: Non-Dogmatic Searchers, Point 6: Peace and Justice, and Point 8: Compassion and Selfless Love
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Weekly Recap for Tuesday, February 23, 2016 - ProgressiveChristianity.org of Gig Harbor, Washington, United States - Does Lent inspire you? This and more in our Free Weekly Recap of our most viewed and new resources from last week.
Last Week At ProgressiveChristianity.org ...
We delved into the topics of Part 2 of Matthew Fox Interview, Lent and Entering the Kingdom.
Visit our website to join in on the discussion and to view our thousands of spiritual resources!
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ProgressiveChristianity.org is a global portal for authors, scholars, theologians and liturgists to share their resources for the progressive spiritual journey.
Listening for Lent
Timothy Murphy
Lent has come again ... and we should use it to start developing some of our atrophied spiritual muscles, like practicing solidarity.
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"Listening for Lent" by Timothy Murphy
Lent has come again (quite early this year!), and we should use it to start developing some of our atrophied spiritual muscles, like practicing solidarity. At its best, Lent is an opportunity to take up a spiritual practice, as opposed to superficially avoiding sweets. Learning how to listen for the sake of building solidarity is an essential practice for progressive Christians. Doing so is necessary if we are to break out of the mold we so often find ourselves caught in when it comes to relating to the suffering of others.
Most often, we fall into one of two ditches. On one side is anesthetized numbness. Either because of unfamiliarity or unease, we remain separate from the suffering within our wider communities. We may avert our eyes because we don’t want to see, satisfying ourselves by staying in a bubble. Some will be confronted with the reality of injustice but shrug their shoulders. In this ditch, we feel nothing, making the pain of another’s injury bearable. Whether by refusing to see or willfully shutting down our natural empathy, the result is akin to the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart.
On the other side is the ditch of benevolent rescue. We see oppression and our hearts are rightly moved. Who could blame another for the instinctual desire to help? But we err when we act as if we are saviors for the downtrodden, that they are merely waiting for us to rescue them. This is the legacy of colonialism and paternalism, which feels sorry for others but ignores the potential power and resolve that those facing oppression contain within them.
So if we are called neither to cut ourselves off nor to act as divine rescuers, where does that leave us? The middle path, the narrow way, is one of solidarity. This means that we support the work of those directly affected by oppression, but as partners we take our guidance from those closest to the situation.
This is a humbling position, one that many of us are unaccustomed to. Such a stance takes practice; it requires a daily spiritual discipline. Lent is far too brief a season to become proficient at this, but it is enough to start the process. Progressive Christians Uniting believes that faith-rooted solidarity with oppressed communities is the single-most important practice to living out Jesus’ way of compassion and justice today.
I invite you to make use of this Lenten time to grow in listening and learning from communities in your region that are experiencing mistreatment and injustice. What are they asking for? How can you and/or your faith community support the work they are already doing? Listen to them.
As Executive Director of Progressive Christians Uniting, I would love for you to send us your insights and stories. Let us know how we can help support, strengthen, or train you for the work of building a faith-rooted movement for solidarity!
The Rev. Dr. Timothy Murphy, Executive Director
Progressive Christians Uniting
Progressive Christians Uniting
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Entering the Kingdom: What The Historical Jesus Teaches Us about The Kingdom of God
Robert Perry
Scholars agree that the core of Jesus’ message was “the kingdom.” But what is the kingdom? And what is its relevance for us today?
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"Entering the Kingdom: What The Historical Jesus Teaches Us about The Kingdom of God eBooklet" by Robert Perry
Published by The Mustard Seed Venture
Purchase for $5.00:
*If you can’t afford the purchase price, just let us know and we will be happy to send you a copy of “Entering the Kingdom” free of charge.
A Radical Message
Scholars agree that the core of Jesus’ message was “the kingdom.” But what is the kingdom? And what is its relevance for us today? In this booklet, Robert Perry draws out the radical message of the kingdom, its diagnosis of the human condition and its prescription for the cure. Through commentary and practical exercises, we learn that Jesus’ message carries just as much liberating power for our lives today as it did when it first was spoken.
Written for study group use, but also suitable for individual study.
“The material presented in “Entering the Kingdom” is both compelling and refreshing. My study group found that the information helped us better understand Jesus’ teachings in context of the most recent scholarly findings and also that it opened us up to ways that we could apply his message in our daily lives. I would highly recommend these study guides to anyone wanting to deepen their understanding of Jesus’ core spiritual teachings.”
~Joan, Study Group Leader
About the Author
Robert Perry is a writer and teacher of the contemporary spiritual path A Course in Miracles. He is the founder of The Circle of Atonement, a nonprofit teaching center devoted to A Course in Miracles. He has also had a longstanding interest in historical Jesus studies. His first book, The Elder Brother (1990), was a comparison of the Jesus of history and the Jesus of A Course in Miracles. He contributed a chapter on the Sayings Gospel Q to the academic collection, The Healing Power of Spirituality: How Faith Helps Humans Thrive, edited by J. Harold Ellens (Praegers Publishers, 2009). He has taught the practical application of the teachings of Jesus for the Mustard Seed Venture since 2004.
About The Mustard Seed Venture
Mission Statement
Seeking to deeply understand, collectively experience, and freely extend what the historical Jesus referred to as “the kingdom,” by following his teachings and by drawing inspiration from anywhere that we see the kingdom manifest.
Being in the Kingdom
We believe that entering the kingdom means living in a state in which we rely implicitly on the goodness of God, in which we are free of care and anxiety, and in which we extend love and caring to others unhindered by the usual considerations of merit. We believe that as we live more fully in the kingdom, we will encounter one another in a way that reflects the deep, compassionate love that Jesus spoke of. We seek to know each other as God knows us, which means valuing and celebrating each person’s worth as a unique, beautiful soul.
Social Network
Our social network provides a gathering place for people interested in coming to a deeper understanding and embodiment of the Kingdom of God. We are currently featuring The Mustard Seed Foundations Blog. This series of posts consists of a weekly blog entry by Robert Perry, in which he lays out, one step at a time, our understanding of Jesus and his teachings. Then in the week following a given post, members discuss the ideas put forward in that post.
To read the Foundations Blog, click here.
To join the network and participate in the Foundations Blog, click here.
The Mustard Seed Venture is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
The Mustard Seed Venture
P.O. Box 3614
Sedona, Arizona 86340, United States
mustardseedventure@gmail.com
Social Network: www.mustardseednetwork.ning.com
Website: www.mustardseedventure.org
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Matthew Fox Interview with Eric Alexander: Part 2 of 3: What is the Cosmic Christ
Author
Part 2 of an interview between Eric Alexander and Matthew Fox ... Eric asks what the word Christ means to Matthew, and whether that answer could reframe what it means to call oneself a Christian.
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"Matthew Fox Interview with Eric Alexander: Part 2 of 3: What is the Cosmic Christ" by ProgressiveChristianity.org
This is Part 2 of an interview between Eric Alexander and Matthew Fox. In this clip Eric asks what the word Christ means to Matthew, and whether that answer could reframe what it means to call oneself a Christian, and Matthew offers an insightful response.
Matthew Fox is an internationally acclaimed spiritual theologian, an Episcopal priest, and an activist who was a member of the Dominican Order for 34 years. He holds a doctorate, summa cum laude, in the History and Theology of Spirituality from the Institut Catholique de Paris. As a spiritual theologian, he has written 30 books that have been translated into 48 languages and have received numerous awards.
You can watch Part 1, Finding Peace in Life’s Challenges, HERE
Click here for info on Matthew’s new book, Sins of the Spirit
Matthew Fox is an internationally acclaimed spiritual theologian, an Episcopal priest, and an activist who was a member of the Dominican Order for 34 years. He holds a doctorate, summa cum laude, in the History and Theology of Spirituality from the Institut Catholique de Paris. As a spiritual theologian, he has written 30 books that have been translated into 48 languages and have received numerous awards.
You can watch Part 1, Finding Peace in Life’s Challenges, HERE
Click here for info on Matthew’s new book, Sins of the Spirit
More about Eric Alexander>>
Don’t miss upcoming parts, or future interviews:
*Sign Up to Receive ProgressiveChristianity.org email updates:
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*Follow Eric Alexander on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LikeChristianEvolution
*Receive Eric Alexander’s email updates
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Weekly Liturgy
Week of: February 14, 2016
Lenten Music
New music telling the ancient story can bring that story alive in our own time.
READ ON ...
Lenten Music
Week of February 14, 2016
New music telling the ancient story can bring that story alive in our own time. This week’s liturgy offers three new congregational hymns that are part of the Lenten/Holy Week story. And for the choir, consider John Bell’s “Why did you ignore me?” with words based on the Good Friday reproaches. Stretching a little farther, try U2’s “MLK,” with the haunting words: Sleep, sleep tonight. And may your dreams be realized.
Don’t miss upcoming parts, or future interviews:
*Sign Up to Receive ProgressiveChristianity.org email updates:
*Follow ProgressiveChristianity.org on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ProgressiveChristianity.org/
*Follow Eric Alexander on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LikeChristianEvolution
*Receive Eric Alexander’s email updates
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Weekly Liturgy
Week of: February 14, 2016
Lenten Music
New music telling the ancient story can bring that story alive in our own time.
READ ON ...
Lenten Music
Week of February 14, 2016
New music telling the ancient story can bring that story alive in our own time. This week’s liturgy offers three new congregational hymns that are part of the Lenten/Holy Week story. And for the choir, consider John Bell’s “Why did you ignore me?” with words based on the Good Friday reproaches. Stretching a little farther, try U2’s “MLK,” with the haunting words: Sleep, sleep tonight. And may your dreams be realized.
In the Brilliant Sunshine
In the brilliant sunshine, in the city street,
Hear the bright hosannas, hear the marching feet;
While in nearby shadows, down an alleyway,
Hear the hammer pounding as a cross is made.
read moreHear the bright hosannas, hear the marching feet;
While in nearby shadows, down an alleyway,
Hear the hammer pounding as a cross is made.
Strong Love
Look at Jesus; hear the story;
Probe the purpose of his life;
See the struggle and the glory,
All the conflict, all the strife.
read moreProbe the purpose of his life;
See the struggle and the glory,
All the conflict, all the strife.
We need a cross to sign the truth
We need a cross to sign the truth
That pain is part of life,
For joys and sorrows intertwine
And growth evolves through strife.
read moreThat pain is part of life,
For joys and sorrows intertwine
And growth evolves through strife.
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In the Brilliant Sunshine
Hymn lyrics by Rev. Jim Gertmenian by Polly Moore
In the brilliant sunshine, in the city street,
Hear the bright hosannas, hear the marching feet;
While in nearby shadows, down an alleyway,
Hear the hammer pounding as a cross is made.
Now the crowd surrounds him, laying garments down
With their branches lifted, tempt him to a crown.
But their adoration they will soon betray,
Love fades to desertion when a cross is made.
He had bid them follow to the journey’s end.
He had healed and taught them, had become their friend.
But the path turned upward, and the steeper grade
Caused their hearts to falter when a cross was made.
Now upon the hillside, in the brilliant sun,
We have mocked, derided, crucified the one
Who within the shadows and beyond death’s shade
Sought the light of vict’ry when a cross was made.
Ev’ry year that passes brings the Christ once more,
Prompting now hosannas, crowds that will adore,
So we seek within us love that will not fade,
Faith to give us courage when a cross is made.
Tune: King’s Weston (At the Name of Jesus)
© James Gertmenian, 1992
Jim Gertmenian has written a number of hymns and hymn lyrics to known tunes, available in printed form and CD. For more information, contact him at jamesgert@aol.com
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"Strong Love" by George Stuart
Look at Jesus; hear the story;
Probe the purpose of his life;
See the struggle and the glory,
All the conflict, all the strife.
Was this man so meek and gentle;
One who wanted peace and calm?
Was his talk of love so central?
Was he one who did no harm?
Jesus often rescued others;
Stood close by those pushed aside;
Called the outcasts sisters, brothers;
Cared for those who had no guide.
But he did not bow to power;
Nor accept the ‘status quo’.
Justice needed strength to flower;
By his love he helped it grow.
Enemies who had no honour,
Those with status, those with rank,
Bought him for some dirty silver;
Full of woe, the cup he drank.
When accused he gave no answer,
Did not flee the angry throng;
Looking at the Roman soldier
Asked forgiveness for his wrong.
Have we seen such love in action?
Have we seen such love so strong?
Love that would not bow or soften
When the use of power was wrong.
Yet this love is pure and gentle
For the weak and for the lost.
Love which God alone can kindle
Given free but at great cost.
Tune: Austrian Hymn (Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken)
George Stuart has several self-published volumes of new lyrics to well-known hymn tunes. Check out his website at sites.google.com/site/george007site or email him atgeorge.stuart@exemail.com.au
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"We need a cross to sign the truth" From the Boundless Life collection by William L. Wallace
We need a cross to sign the truth
That pain is part of life,
For joys and sorrows intertwine
And growth evolves through strife.
The world of nature often shows
A savage cross-shaped face –
Volcanic lava on the earth –
Exploding stars in space.
A pilgrimage that seeks to flee
From terrors of the night
Will disappear in unreal clouds
That masquerade as light.
Unless we face the complex world
Beyond the simple smile
Our fragile hearts will lie exposed
To all that we revile.
If all the fractures in our hearts
Are ever to be healed
We must embrace the Cosmic God
Which nature has revealed,
For God is earthquake, God is fire,
As well as peace and light,
The God of process is the one
Who comes within the night.
O give us courage, Cosmic God
To own what you reveal,
The courage to confront the worst
Life’s crosses can unseal.
Enshrouded in the meeting point
Of all Earth’s vast extremes
We find your vibrant spirit’s power
To birth cohesive dreams.
Alternative Tune: FOREST GREEN
Text and Music © William Livingstone Wallace.
Click here to see the score: Wallace.We Need a Cross
Click here to hear the music: Audio Player
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Events and Updates
Awakenings 2016
An ecumenical/interfaith conference for lay and clergy bringing together thinkers, musicians, artists, and visionaries to re-imagine faith.
READ ON ...
Awakenings 2016
An ecumenical/interfaith conference for lay and clergy bringing together thinkers, musicians, artists, and visionaries to re-imagine faith
Presenters and Musicians
Dr. Diana Butler Bass, keynote, declares in her recent book, Grounded: Finding God in the World—A Spiritual Revolution (HarperOne, 2015), that “People believe differently than they once did. The theological ground is moving; a spiritual revolution is afoot.”
Rev. Felix Carrión is a Project Director for the United Church of Christ denomination, a consultant, pastor and keynoter who empowers clergy and laypersons for effective ministry and witness in church and society.
Dr. Patrick Evans returns to awakenings to explore congregational song and world music in today’s church. He’s Chair of the University of Alabama Birmingham, Department of Music.
Amy and Jonathan Gilburg will introduce “World Café” and “Open Space Technology” as ways to help communities make meanings out of what’s being experienced. They are partners in Gilburg Leadership, Inc.
Heshima Moja is a musician/singer/songwriter using music as a tool for healing the spiritual and emotional conditions of our society.
Onawumi Jean Moss is an award-winning storyteller whose personal warmth and inspiring presence returns to her second awakenings.
Roberta Morkin is an accomplished organist, choir director, and part of the pastoral team with her husband, Chuck. She’ll play the historic E.M. Skinner pipe organ during awakenings 2016.
Rabbi Rami Shapiro is one of the most creative figures in contemporary American Judaism. His prayers are included in worship services across the interfaith and ecumenical spectrum of American congregations. He will speak on Saturday evening, and preach on Sunday.
Bishop John Shelby Spong, keynote, has become one of the definitive voices for progressive Christianity. He has over two-dozen challenging and thought-provoking works published. His book, Biblical Literalism: A Gentile Heresy – A Journey into a New Christianity through the Doorway of Matthew’s Gospel, comes out in February, 2016.
Willie Sordillo returns to awakenings with jazz pianist, Mina Cho, vocalist, Zoé Krohne and others. They will lead a moving jazz communion with the Rev. Anthony Livolsi – all from Old South Church in Boston.
Rev. Winnie Vargese is the Director of Community Outreach at Trinity (Wall Street) Church in NYC. She appears in “Living the Questions” teaching series, chairs the Board of the Episcopal Service Corps, and is a blogger for the Huffington Post.
The United Congregational Church of Holyoke, MA
An Open and Affirming Congregation of the United Church of Christ
Register Today — Meals Are Included.
Images
Start:
April 28, 2016 02:30 PM
End:
May 1, 2016 01:00 PM
Location:
The United Congregational Church
300 Appleton St.
Holyoke United States Massachusetts
Contact:
Chuck Morkin
Organization:
The United Congregational Church
Website:
http://www.awakeningsconference.com
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Question & Answer for Thursday, 25 February 2016 - "Conversations with God?" A New Christianity for a New World with Bishop John Shelby Spong on the News and Christian Faith of Gig Harbor, Washington, United States
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Question & Answer
Janah, via the Internet, writes:
Question:
What do you think of the book, Conversations with God, by Neale Walsh? It is interesting and I want to believe it, but really don’t.
Answer:
Dear Janah,
Neale Walsh’s book has been very popular and has an appeal for a number of people. He writes in a lively and provocative style. He portrays a deity so engaged with human life that people feel comforted by his words. It has, however, a minimal appeal for me. That is not the fault of this book so much as it is an inability on my part to make most of the assumptions that he seems so easily to make. I cannot suspend my rationality. I cannot force my brain to operate within his universe. I am always questioning his presuppositions which keep me from ever accepting his conclusions. I am not able to turn off my skeptical mind. It is not the reality of God about which my skepticism is exercised, but by the way God is defined by him. I rejoice whenever people in search of meaning find it in any source, but theology is an ultimate mystery since it searches for a God who can never be described in human terms. I worry about those who believe they have arrived at “the Truth.” Neale Walsh falls into that category for me. So I am not a fan!
Thanks for asking.
John Shelby Spong
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"Why Fundamentalist Christians Are Heretics" ProgressiveChristianity.org of Gig Harbor, Washington, United States for Wednesday, 17 February 2016 - Biblical Literalism: A Gentile Heresy by John Shelby Spong is Now Available - Order Today!
Now Available – Order Today!
Biblical Literalism: A Gentile Heresy by John Shelby Spong
In this profound work, bestselling author and the former Episcopal Bishop of Newark John Shelby Spong offers a radical new way to look at the gospels today. Pulling back the layers of misunderstanding created over the centuries by Gentile ignorance of things Jewish, he reveals how a literal reading of the Bible is so far removed from the original intent of the Jewish authors of the gospels that it has become an act of heresy.
Biblical Literalism: A Gentile Heresy illuminates the gospels as never before and provides a blueprint for the Church’s future—one that allows the faithful to live inside the Christian story while still embracing the modern world.
Click here for more information!
Endorsements
“This exciting book recovers the original meaning behind Matthew’s Gospel with profound implications for the way we look at Jesus and follow him today. Spong is a truth-teller who stands up to the ignorance spawned by a ‘gentile heresy’ that has hijacked the story of Jesus for far too long.”
—Matthew Fox, author of Original Blessing
“Jack Spong confounds biblical literalists by being profoundly biblical. This exciting book is liberating for those looking for a rational and authentic Christian faith that honors its biblical roots and is an essential building block in the search for a new Christianity for a new world.”
—Peter Francis, warden and director of Gladstone’s Library, Wales
“A brilliant challenge to biblical literalism, Bishop Spong reveals the tragic consequences of idolatry of the written word and why it matters today. A timely, important book.”
—Michael Dowd, author of Thank God for Evolution
“After reading Spong’s newest book, it will be difficult to read Matthew or any of the gospels in quite the same way again. He’s done an amazing job of explaining how the book of Matthew was written as weekly liturgies for the Jewish Synagogue year. A wonderful book.”
—Fred C. Plumer, president of ProgressiveChristianity.org
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