Yom Hashoah Ve-Hagevurah

Today's Gospel reading was about the appearance of Jesus to the Apostles and to Thomas (John 20:19-31). Our preacher today reflected on the Jewish roots of our faith and worked into her sermon that this Wednesday April 18 is a day upon which many will remember the Holocaust.

From the Jewish Virtual Library pages we learn more,

"The full name of the day commemorating the victims of the Holocaust is 'Yom Hashoah Ve-Hagevurah'— literally the 'Day of (remembrance of) the Holocaust and the Heroism.' It is marked on the 27th day in the month of Nisan — a week after the seventh day of Passover, and a week before Yom Hazikaron (Memorial Day for Israel's fallen soldiers). It marks the anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising.
The date was selected by the Knesset (Israeli Parliament) on April 12, 1951. The full name became formal in a law that was enacted by the Knesset on August 19, 1953. Although the date was established by the Israeli government, it has become a day commemorated by Jewish communities and individuals worldwide."

I for one will be remembering Walter. Walter was a Polish Jew who survived the horrors of the death camps, and he was someone who I had the privilege to know in his final years here in the U.S. My favorite memory of Walter was the joy he had in giving. I especially remember the bags of home grown tomatoes that he would bring me each year. He grew the best tomatoes. In the course of our conversations, Walter taught me a lot about the importance of the will to live, and that there is life even after the death camp. Life after such a thing is however seen through a different lens. We, who have not been through it, can only imagine the viewpoint of someone who has come back from the dead. Their story is so unbelievable that we may even doubt them.

I know that there are people who deny the holocaust. I for one have always believed, but after having placed my hands on Walter's tatoo and the scars on his side, my belief was confirmed.

So let us not forget Yom Hashoah Ve-Hagevurah lest we be condemned to repeat the horror of the Holocaust.

Small Town Newspaper Blues

Of all the various explanations I have read for the decline of the local newspaper, I rarely see any commentary on the quality and balance to be found in today's newspapers. I present excerpts from a story that ran in our local rag as examples for study by those concerned for the future of the the old time "paper". 

ROCK HILL --
So what if the odds of having a fling with a supermodel while winning an Oscar and the Masters is far more likely than winning the colossal Mega Millions lottery jackpot that, by Thursday afternoon, had risen to an astounding $540 million?
Thursday was not a day for rational thought.
Thursday was when bosses drew up economic prospectuses and had meetings and readied to cut pay and slash jobs. Thursday, politicians lied and stole.

Those mean bosses. Tell us more!

As those dry bores pleaded poverty and wrecked local, state and federal budgets, the people who work for them and pay the taxes for a country in economic crisis dashed for the store to blow part of the rent...

Dry bores!? Maybe our reporter needs to head out to the country club and interview a few of them at the old Nineteenth Hole where he can get to know them on a more personal level.

(Insert a few stories about local lottery ticket purchasers)

...Anybody who ever had a jerk for a boss bought a lottery ticket Thursday. A chance at $540 million is a chance to tell that boss with the bad breath and the hateful glare that a winning ticket means no more boss.
All over York County, people bought and bought and bought tickets.
They did so with hope, with prayers, with rosary beads in hand and Bible study bulletins rolled up as talismans, with dollars in hand.

Alright, the breath at the Nineteenth Hole may not be something that momma would be proud of (remember that "You smell like a brewery" remark), but "hateful glares"? I thought bosses could get sued for that these days.

(Insert a few more stories about local ticket purchasers)

...So what if the odds are one in 175 million? So what if the chances of being crowned King of Finland are better? Somebody in this country of 300 million-plus people has to win.
Grace Kelly married a prince all those years ago. A person in management smiled once and bought a cup of coffee. A boss sprang for a beer. A mother-in-law stayed less than six months. Dick Cheney’s heart was found to exist.

Newspaper managers cannot possibly be smiling at this point. And what does Dick Cheney have to do with this story?

(Insert even more stories about local ticket purchasers)

...Each person who has punched a clock will wait until 11 tonight, when the six winning balls are picked, and hope that the boss, called so many bad words under breath for years, will be called far worse loudly and over an intercom. Then the boss can be punched.
Read more here.

 I would like to think that the reporter was having a bad day, but if I were the editor (and the reporter's immediate "boss") of this paper, I would be watching my back. If I were the fat cat owner sitting back, smoking my big fat "ceegahrs," and plotting how to shut down a small local paper, I might chuckle and give myself a pat on the back for hiring these guys in the first place.


I wonder if the reporter bought a winning lottery ticket? Nah, I don't think so because I see that he has been assigned to the lost dog department.

In the meantime, I gotta check my ticket #s...

Dang...

Pardon me while I punch myself.


If newspaper didn't have so many other uses, I might cancel my subscription. After all, you need a lot of it to make GIANT PAPIER-MÂCHÉ PUPPETS OF DOOM (a little inside Episcopalian joke),

Easter Witness

Rather than an Easter Lily, I thought I would post a picture of an "Easter Iris" that I witnessed today.

As we heard today's readings from scripture, certain words jumped out of the pages for me. I'll highlight them for you.

Acts 10:34-43

Then Peter began to speak to them: ‘I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ—he is Lord of all. That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced: how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. We are witnesses to all that he did both in Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree; but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear, not to all the people but to us who were chosen by God as witnesses, and who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one ordained by God as judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.’

1 Corinthians 15:1-11

Now I should remind you, brothers and sisters, of the good news that I proclaimed to you, which you in turn received, in which also you stand, through which also you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message that I proclaimed to you—unless you have come to believe in vain.
 For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to someone untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace towards me has not been in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them—though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. Whether then it was I or they, so we proclaim and so you have come to believe.

Mark 16:1-8

When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. They had been saying to one another, ‘Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?’ When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. But he said to them, ‘Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.’ So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

The themes of witnessing to and spreading the word that Jesus rose from the dead are clear and undeniable. Our preacher reiterated this quite strongly in her sermon.

So what are we waiting for?

Wondrous Friday

For those of you who still have trouble with "Good Friday" I offer "Wondrous Friday" as a generous pastoral response.

H/T CyberHymnal 

When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
Save in the death of Christ my God!
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to His blood.

See from His head, His hands, His feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down!
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

His dying crimson, like a robe,
Spreads o’er His body on the tree;
Then I am dead to all the globe,
And all the globe is dead to me.

Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.

[Added by the compilers of Hymns An­cient and Mo­dern]

To Christ, who won for sinners grace
By bitter grief and anguish sore,
Be praise from all the ransomed race
Forever and forevermore.

Words: Isaac Watts, Hymns and Spir­it­u­al Songs, 1707. 

Charles Wes­ley re­port­ed­ly said he would give up all his other hymns to have writ­ten this one, and I would consider that to be a strong recommendation.

Pie Jesu and Agnus Dei

Tonight at 7:30 p.m. there will be a free performance of the Requiem in D minor by Gabriel Fauré at Winthrop University's Byrnes Auditorium featuring the Collegiate Choir, the Winthrop Chamber Orchestra, with Shirley Fishburne Organist. Not exactly your typical Holy Week fare, but perhaps a good time to pause and reflect on mortality and the final victory over death.

Here is a Kings College Chapel Choir's 1987 performance of the Pie Jesu and Agnus Dei,

Pie / Jesu / Domine,
merciful / Jesus / Lord

dona / eis / requiem,
give / them / rest

requiem / sempiternam.
rest / eternal

Agnus / Dei, / qui / tollis / peccata / mundi,
lamb / of God / who / removes / the sins / of the world

dona / eis / requiem.
give / them / rest

********************************************

Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi,
dona eis requiem.

Agnus / Dei, / qui / tollis / peccata / mundi,
lamb / of God / who / removes / the sins / of the world

dona / eis / requiem / sempiternam.
give / them / rest / eternal

Lux / aeterna / luceat / eis, / Domine,
light / eternal / let shine / on them / Lord

cum / sanctis / tuis / in / aeternum,
with / saints / your / for / eternity

quia / pius / es.
for / merciful / you are

Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine:
et lux perpetua luceat eis.

Grant eternal rest to them, Lord,
and let perpetual light shine on them.

A Pewsitter's Holy Week Message vs. the Presiding Bishop's Spring Equinox Message

This Palm Sunday we read Mark's story of the arrest and trial of Jesus. Following this the congregation was asked to share five minutes of silence. If you ask me, more than five minutes of silence is needed after reviewing the passion of Christ, but that was probably more time than most people, a children, could take.

The Passion narrative helps prepare us for what we know is coming next week, Easter morning. This final Holy Week of preparation for Easter will hopefully give all of us the extra time needed to contemplate how we have come to believe in the risen Lord and our witness to that fact. The path may have been different for each of us, and it is important to think about how we will communicate the lessons we have learned along the way, for our words may influence others who may be starting out on the path or perhaps to those who have lost their way.

In a truly bizzare Easter message, our Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori (+KJS) proves that she is not communicating effectively to me as she drones on about everything except the death and resurrection of Jesus. Well, she did come close at the end of her empty "Easter" message when she said, "Give thanks for the presence of God incarnate in our midst."

The following is a transcript from the Episcopal church pages.

One of my favorite Easter hymns is about greenness. “Now the green blade riseth from the buried grain.”

It goes on to talk about love coming again. It’s a reminder to me of how centered our Easter images are in the Northern hemisphere. We talk about greenness and new life and life springing forth from the earth when we talk about resurrection.

I often wonder what Easter images come in the Southern hemisphere, and I think that church in the south has something to teach us about that.

I was in Japan a month or so ago, and visiting the area of Japan that was so affected by the tsunami and the aftermath of the earthquake. The earth there is - was at that point - largely colorless, brown, in the middle of winter. No greenness. But at the same time the work of the Nippon Sei Ko Kai, the Japanese church in that part of Japan, has brought a great deal of new life, life abundant for people who have been devastated and displaced, who are still mourning their loss of loved ones, the loss of their homes and employment.

New life comes in many forms, even in seasons that seem fairly wintry.

As we began Lent, I asked you to think about the Millennium Development Goals and our work in Lent as a re-focusing of our lives. I’m delighted to be able to tell you that the UN report this last year has shown some significant accomplishment in a couple of those goals, particularly in terms of lowering the rates of the worst poverty, and in achieving better access to drinking water and better access to primary education. We actually might reach those goals by 2015. That leaves a number of other goals as well as what moves beyond the goals to full access for all people to abundant life.

In this Easter season I would encourage you to look at where you are finding new life and resurrection, where life abundant and love incarnate is springing up in your lives and the lives of your communities. There is indeed greenness, whatever the season.

Give thanks for Easter. Give thanks for Resurrection. Give thanks for the presence of God incarnate in our midst.

This sounds more like a "Spring Equinox" message than an Easter one. A symbolic resurrection is the best we are left to cling to. Unfortunately, this is the face of today's Episcopal church. Leaders of our church have lost the credibility needed to proclaim the authentic Gospel message as a result of years of casting doubt on the veracity of the Apostolic witness to the revelation of God in Jesus Christ our Saviour. Our leaders are left trying to put robes, vestments, and spiritual sounding words on top of their underlying earthly passions and desires, and using their clerical positions to further their favorite social agendas. And like weeds, they keep coming back.

At least they are green.

So what does "resurrection" mean to you?

To me it is the central miracle of God's revelation in Jesus. Without His physical resurrection, we would not be here today. Remember that as Jesus was taken away to be tried and executed, the disciples scattered (Mark 14:50-52), but after they witnessed the resurrected Lord, these same men did an about-face and would later give up their lives for the one they had abandoned.

You can't fake this stuff.

So, this Holy Week, I am focusing on how to communicate the Resurrection to a reluctant world. Forget the stuff about the green blades of grass. I am looking forward to bearing witness to the resurrection of Christ.

Faithless Formation

In an earlier post, Faith Formation and the TEc Budget: Making Talismen, I dissed the "Faith Formation" gurus of TEc when I reported and commented on a subject dear to their hearts by posting the following:

The Episcopal church has proposed slashing the "Faith Formation" request in its draft budget that is being circulated prior to the 2012 General Convention. One seminary dean comments,
"Youth, young adult, and formation ministries are slashed about 90%, from about $3 million to $286,000. No more EYE or national Episcopal youth events. No more children and youth ministries, and on and on..."
In a way, this might not be a bad thing as we have seen little good theology come out of the national headquarters of this organization. The declining numbers of Sunday worshippers and the falling numbers of youth in the Episcopal church is a testimony to the failure of previous spending efforts.

It wasn't very long after the publication of that testimony that a dry withered hand passed along more information about the subject.

I get nervous when I find myself in the presence of Deep Pew, that nefarious denizen of the underbelly of the church.

I read his offering, and was left shaking my head at the stupidity of our leaders, and I wondered how to present this to the masses. It is too long and boring to present the full text. Maybe I should do a fisk, or maybe just present the lowlights.  

For those who desire a little more insight into the minds of those in charge of Episcopal church style "Faith Formation," and as an example of the absence of a scripturally guided theology, I challenge you to read the full text of the following:

“Building the Continuum”The Episcopal Church Summit on FaithFormation  Envisioning the Future of Faith Formation in the Episcopal Church (Version 1.0)

This dreadful piece of work contains not a single mention of "Jesus" or of the word "Gospel." There are absolutely no scriptural references to be found there either.

And all along I thought Jesus and God's Word might be key ingredients in "Faith Formation."

You have been warned. Here are some excerpts,

"From October 31-November 2, 2011, leaders from across a variety of ministry settings gathered to envision the future shape of faith formation in the Episcopal Church. Through a scenario planning process the leaders identified significant forces affecting faith formation, determined two critical uncertainties that will shape future directions, and created four scenarios or narratives to capture the possibilities for the future of faith formation. "

"Critical uncertainties" sounds like we are about to embark on a journey into Episcobabble, and  because nobody can be certain what "a scenario planning process" is, there followed a long explanation to,

"...describe scenarios as “narratives of alternative environments in which today’s decisions may be played out. They are not predictions. Nor are they strategies. Instead they are more like hypotheses of different futures specifically designed to highlight the risks and opportunities involved in specific strategic issues...They are designed to stretch our thinking about emerging changes...”

Yep, Episcobabble. I wonder when it will be available at Rosetta Stone?

" Perhaps most importantly, scenarios give us a new, shared language that deepens our conversations about the future and how we can help to shape it."

Ah yes, helping to shape the future. Let us read on to see if these are the people who should be doing the shaping.  
And what about those two "Critical Uncertainties"? 

"After careful study of the significant driving forces, two uncertainties were selected from the longer list of potential uncertainties (see above) that might shape the broader context of Episcopal faith formation over the next decade and longer. The two chosen uncertainties define a set of four scenarios for the future of faith formation in the Episcopal Church that are divergent, challenging, internally consistent, and plausible. Each of the two uncertainties is expressed as an axis that represents a continuum of possibilities ranging between two endpoints.
Uncertainty #1. The Relationship of Technology and Community
Will the continuing evolution of technology enhance human community and connection or will  technology diminish community and connections among people?
Uncertainty #2. Response of the Episcopal Church to Changing Global Realities
Will the Episcopal Church’s response toward emerging global realities, such as increasing cultural diversity, economic uncertainty, and resource availability for all people, lead the Church toward an outward-focused engagement with the world or toward an inner-focused, separation from the world."

The only thing I am certain of at this point is that this scenario process is going nowhere.

I searched and searched for what Faith Formation means to these people and the following two paragraphs sum it up,

 "Faith formation—in a variety of settings—leads the way in forming lifelong disciples and preparing people for engagement in mission in the world."

(Note to the casual reader, "engagement in mission" according to the Pewster's Dictionary of Episcobabble means to march in various "Pride" parades and to support any number of liberal political causes, and "disciple" means someone who agrees with their bishop and is willing to pay for their salary).

 "In a technological world Episcopal faith formation is helping people develop new relational abilities and immersing them in a variety of human communities. It is also helping people rediscover creation and the natural world."

Bingo! They fess up. The truth of the matter is that, in TEc, faith formation is not about the Gospel message of Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, but instead is about the many and varied spiritual blind alleys and wastelands that an uncertain people wander down.

And the emphasis on "helping people develop new relational abilities" is another way of saying, "The Church is all about human relationship."

Maybe that's why they left God out of the conversation.

Cue up the relationship cartoon again.

(A hypothetical conversation between Bishop Waldo and a simple pewsitter)