Posts filed under 'Sunday at the Square'
“In France one speaks of ‘la ville d’Ys’, the city of Ys, which, because of the simpleness of the surrounding world, disappeared in the depth of a lake. Only people with a pure heart can see this city through the waters of the lake and hear the sound of its bells. This is what we must learn to do with regard to others. But to do so we must first have a purity of heart, a purity of intention, an openness which is not always there – certainly not in me – so that we can listen, can look, and can see the beauty which is hidden.
Every one of us is in the image of God, and every one of us is like a damaged icon. But if we were given an icon damaged by time, damaged by circumstances, or desecrated by human hatred, we would treat it with reverence, with tenderness, with broken-heartedness. We would not pay attention primarily to the fact that it is damaged, but to the tragedy of its being damaged. We would concentrate on what is left of its beauty, and not on what is lost of its beauty.
And this is what we must learn to do with regard to each person as an individual, but also – and this is not always as easy – with regard to groups of people, whether it be a parish or a denomination, or a nation.”
– Met. Anthony of Sourozh
(… by way of Lea…)
(Photo credit.)
December 27th, 2009
Thanks to Lea for bringing my attention to this insightful discussion of extremism in The Screwtape Letters written by C.S. Lewis. Remember that this letter was written by God’s enemy, a senior demon Screwtape, so references in the letter to “The Enemy” are references to God. References to “the patient” are to a man whose soul Screwtape is seeking.
“I had not forgotten my promise to consider whether we should make the patient an extreme patriot or an extreme pacifist. All extremes, except extreme devotion to the Enemy, are to be encouraged. Not always, of course, but at this period. Some ages are lukewarm and complacent, and then it is our business to soothe them yet faster asleep. Other ages, of which the present is one, are unbalanced and prone to faction, and it is our business to inflame them. Any small coterie, bound together by some interest which other men dislike or ignore, tends to develop inside itself a hothouse mutual admiration, and towards the outer world, a great deal of pride and hatred which is entertained without shame because the “Cause” is its sponsor and it is thought to be impersonal. Even when the little group exists originally for the Enemy’s own purposes, this remains true.
“We want the Church to be small not only that fewer men may know the Enemy but also that those who do may acquire the uneasy intensity and the defensive self-rightousness of a secret society or a clique. The Church herself is, of course, heavily defended and we have never yet quite succeeded in giving her all the characteristics of a faction; but subordinate factions within her have often produced admirable results, from the parties of Paul and of Apollos at Corinth down to the High and Low parties in the Church of England.
“If your patient can be induced to become a conscientious objector he will
automatically find himself one of a small, vocal, organised, unpopular society, and the effects of this, on one so new to Christianity, will almost certainly be good. But only almost certainly. Has he had serious doubts about the lawfulness serving in a just war before this present war of serving began? Is he a man of great physical courage—so great that he will have no half-conscious misgivings about the real motives of his pacifism? Can he, when nearest to honesty (no human is ever very near), feel fully convinced that he actuated wholly by the desire to obey the Enemy? If he is that sort of man, his pacifism will probably not do us much good, and the Enemy will probably protect him from the usual consequences of belonging to a sect. Your best plan, in that case, would be to attempt a sudden, confused, emotional crisis from which he might emerge as an uneasy convert to patriotism. Such things can often be managed. But if he is the man I take him to be, try Pacifism.
“Whichever he adopts, your main task will be the same. Let him begin by treating the Patriotism or the Pacifism as a part of his religion. Then let him, under the influence of partisan spirit, come to regard it as the most important part. Then quietly and gradually nurse him on to the stage at which the religion becomes merely part of the “cause”, in which Christianity is valued chiefly because of the excellent arguments it can produce in favour of the British war-effort or of Pacifism. The attitude which you want to guard against is that in which temporal affairs are treated primarily as material for obedience. Once you have made the World an end, and faith a means, you have almost won your man, and it makes very little difference what kind of worldly end he is pursuing. Provided that meetings, pamphlets, policies, movements, causes, and crusades, matter more to him than prayers and sacraments and charity, he is ours—and the more “religious” (on those terms) the more securely ours. I could show you a pretty cageful down here,
Your affectionate uncle
SCREWTAPE”
December 20th, 2009
On this morning’s Meet the Press, Rick Warren of Saddleback Church (emphasis added):
MR. GREGORY: What is testing the faith of Americans, do you think, as we approach this holiday season?
MR. WARREN: Well, no doubt about it, the economy, the, the war in Afghanistan; but also I just think the political divisions are a big deal, that the, the coarsening of our society, that we’re, we’re demonizing differences. Those things need to be dealt with…
This is an important thing that I think even at this Thanksgiving, as we move into the holiday seasons, you don’t have to agree with everybody to work with them on something. I can work with Muslims and atheists and other religions and gays and straights and–I can work with any–if you want to save a life, that’s a human issue. And, and so you don’t have to water down your beliefs, but you, you can work for the common good…
I have friends who are Republicans and I have friends who are Democrats, and I’m for my friends. People ask me, “Are you left wing or right wing?” and it’s pretty well known I say, “I’m for the whole bird,” because I’m for America. And so I want the president to succeed, I want the Congress to succeed…
(Photo credit.)
November 29th, 2009
Last Sunday, U2’s Bono wrote about the Millennium Development Goals, America’s role in achieving them, and touched on the Nobel Peace Prize in doing so. In case you missed it last week like I did….
“We will support the Millennium Development Goals, and approach next year’s summit with a global plan to make them a reality. And we will set our sights on the eradication of extreme poverty in our time.”
They’re not my words, they’re your president’s. If they’re not familiar, it’s because they didn’t make many headlines. But for me, these 36 words are why I believe Mr. Obama could well be a force for peace and prosperity — if the words signal action.
The millennium goals, for those of you who don’t know, are a persistent nag of a noble, global compact. They’re a set of commitments we all made nine years ago whose goal is to halve extreme poverty by 2015. Barack Obama wasn’t there in 2000, but he’s there now. Indeed he’s gone further — all the way, in fact. Halve it, he says, then end it.
Many have spoken about the need for a rebranding of America. Rebrand, restart, reboot. In my view these 36 words, alongside the administration’s approach to fighting nuclear proliferation and climate change, improving relations in the Middle East and, by the way, creating jobs and providing health care at home, are rebranding in action.
These new steps — and those 36 words — remind the world that America is not just a country but an idea, a great idea about opportunity for all and responsibility to your fellow man…
In dangerous, clangorous times, the idea of America rings like a bell (see King, M. L., Jr., and Dylan, Bob). It hits a high note and sustains it without wearing on your nerves. (If only we all could.) This was the melody line of the Marshall Plan and it’s resonating again. Why? Because the world sees that America might just hold the keys to solving the three greatest threats we face on this planet: extreme poverty, extreme ideology and extreme climate change. The world senses that America, with renewed global support, might be better placed to defeat this axis of extremism with a new model of foreign policy…
The president said that he considered the peace prize a call to action. And in the fight against extreme poverty, it’s action, not intentions, that counts. That stirring sentence he uttered last month will ring hollow unless he returns to next year’s United Nations summit meeting with a meaningful, inclusive plan, one that gets results for the billion or more people living on less than $1 a day. Difficult. Very difficult. But doable.
The Nobel Peace Prize is the rest of the world saying, “Don’t blow it.”
But that’s not just directed at Mr. Obama. It’s directed at all of us…
Hmmm. I wonder if we stopped arguing about whether Obama deserved the Nobel and rolled up our sleeves on the Millennium Development Goals, what then?
(Photo credit.)
October 25th, 2009
“You can tell that you have made God in your own image when it turns out that He hates all the same people that you do.”
—Anne Lamott
(Hat tip to Lea.)
October 18th, 2009
In the book, Abraham by Bruce Feiler, he tells the story of an American who after winning fourteen thousand dollars on Wheel of Fortune, decided to come to Israel for a year. Fifteen years later he hadn’t left. He tells a story to answer why:
Two brothers live on either side of a hill. One is wealthy and has no family; the other has a large family but limited wealth. The rich brother decides one night that he is blessed with goods and, taking a sack of grain from his silo, carries it to the silo of his brother. The other brother decides that he is blessed with many children, and since his brother should at least have wealth, he takes a sack of grain from his silo and carries it to that of his brother. Each night they go through this process, and every morning each brother is astounded that he has the same amount of grain as the day before. Finally one night they meet at the top of the hill and realize what’s been happening. They embrace and kiss each other.
And at that moment a heavenly voice declares, “This is the place where I can build my house on earth.”
“That story is shared by all three religions,” David said. “And our tradition says that this is that hill, long before the Temple, long before Abraham. And the point of the story is that this degree of brotherly love is necessary before God can be manifest in the world.”
…This is not only the Spot where it is possible to connect with God, it’s the spot where you can connect with God only if you understand what it means to connect with one another.
“The relationship between a person and another human being is what creates and allows for a relationship with God. If you’re not capable of living with each other and getting along with each other, than you’re not capable of having a re1ationhip with God.” He gestured up at the Wall, the Dome, the churches.
Then he turned back to me. “So the question is not whether God can bring peace into the world. The question is: Can we?”
(Photo credit.)
September 20th, 2009
James 1:19-27:
“You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger; for your anger does not produce God’s righteousness. Therefore rid yourselves of all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness, and welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror; for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like. But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act – they will be blessed in their doing. If any think they are religious, and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.”
(Photo credit.)
September 6th, 2009
Anyone else out there about to have a stroke like I am observing the stunning hypocrisy demonstrated by partisans on both side of the aisle now that control of the government has flip-flopped? A few examples off the cuff:
1. Before they lost the White House, a good number of elected Republicans seemed to think our economic crisis had simply left us no choice but to spend more money than we’d like on bailing out failing financial institutions. Now, notsomuch.
2. Before Democrats took the White House, many seemed to think that “dissent is the highest form of patriotism” including if it’s voiced overseas. Now – ask Mike Huckabee – they seem to understand that dissing the boss when you’re in another country isn’t so cool.
3. The crowd over at Fox News was pretty quiet while a Republican administration cast much of their activity under a divine mission but when Obama speaks to ministers by phone and says there’s been a “bearing of false witness” on health care, separation of church and state has a fresh new glow.
4. Before the Democrats controlled Congress, they complained regularly that Republicans forced bills to a floor vote before they could read them. Now they suddenly care so much less.
I could go on, but I’d be risking my health.
Are we really going to keep this up, holding others to a standard we have absolutely zero interest in striving for ourselves? Is it possible that the thing that is most wrong with us right now is we’ve turned the Golden Rule on its head: “Become furious when someone doesn’t do unto you as you have zero intention of ever doing unto them.” And it’s amazing how clear the other guy’s hypocrisy is to us while we’ve got some serious scales on our own eyes.
Are we – the people – really going to go along with these yahoos on this?
(Photo credit.)
August 23rd, 2009
Read Part 1 HERE.
The Muslim practice of worshiping five times daily can subconsciously convey militancy to an average American. But just 45 minutes of worship at a mosque helped me to understand that frequent prayer is far more about incorporating a desire to serve God through every day. It’s like the sense of higher purpose a Christian might feel walking out of church on Sunday morning… multiplied 35 times a week.
I learned in the sermon that there are three fundamental parts of a prayer:
Subhannallah (God is far from any imperfection)
Alhamdullilah (All praise is due to God)
Allahu Akbar (God is Most Great)
From Dr. Necati Aydin, who led the prayer:
The meaning of the prayers is the offering of glorification, praise, and thanks to Almighty God. That is to say, uttering Glory be to God by word and action before God’s glory and sublimity, it is to hallow and worship Him. And declaring God is Most Great through word and act before His sheer perfection, it is to exalt and magnify Him. And saying All praise be to God with the heart, tongue, and body, it is to offer thanks before His utter beauty. That is to say, glorification, exaltation, and praise are like the seeds of the prayers. That is why these three things are present in every part of the prayers, in all the actions and words. It is also why these blessed words are each repeated thirty-three times after the prayers, in order to strengthen and reiterate the prayers’ meaning.
The abiding feeling I left with is that I had experienced a deep act of humility towards God and a profound appreciation for God’s earth and His creatures on it. I asked a Muslim woman about extremism in Islam after the prayers. She said it simply wasn’t the faith she knew. What I heard that Friday – at its core – was the message I heard in just about any church I’ve been to.
There are clearly enduring problems between these worlds and to pretend otherwise isn’t realistic. But surely in attempting to solve them – at the very least – we should start by truly understanding, which might start just one doorway and 45 minutes away.
Anyone wishing to visit The Islamic Center of Tallahassee may contact Liz.
(Photo credit)
August 2nd, 2009
As a part of my preparation for our last dinner A Rabbi, A Priest, A Pastor & An Imam I attended worship services with each of our speakers. Each visit was transformational in its own way. But it was my visit to a mosque that was most memorable.
Probably like most Americans, I had never been to a mosque and I had my own preconceived notions about what the experience would be like. As it probably should be, I was mostly wrong.
In getting ready, I expected to feel constrained by how I should dress. In part, I did (Florida in July screams bathing suit to me, not burqua). But beyond the overabundance of clothes, I give a thumbs-up to not having to put on make-up or jewelry. When I sat on the floor without shoes with Muslim women after the service (it felt very comfortable, like college girlfriends hanging), I learned that they see freedom in not needing to dress to please others, which can be a distraction from doing their daily work and serving God. (This is self-evident to any woman who’s worn stockings. I’m still convinced that stockings are a secret communist plot to overthrow capitalism, but then that’s a post for another day.) At the far edges of the dysfunction our culture owns, there are dangerous surgical procedures to tuck, stretch and saw off. At the very least I think it’s fair to say that women in our culture have some of our own constraints and I do believe the whole glass houses and stones thing.
The prototypical newsreel footage of Muslims at worship subconsciously hints at militarism, sort of a gentler version of North Korean soldiers on the march. In person it was nothing like that. The prayer was poetic, the movements in the prayer like a peaceful ballet that appealed to me in the same way as do the liturgical traditions of my own Episcopal Church. Taking a front row seat inside a mosque shows the texture of the individual humanity that the two-dimensional view from outside totally misses – the people moving in and out of the service, the babies crying, a random sneeze or cough… making it feel just like any church on any Sunday morning.
It’s pretty easy to characterize people before you’ve bothered to cross their threshold. And it’s pretty hard to hate them after you have. If I had one prescription for world peace after my visit to the mosque, it’s that you should go to a mosque or two (and Muslims to a church or two). What a tragedy it would be if peace could come so simply but we somehow never got around to it.
Stay tuned next Sunday for my visit to the mosque, part two. (Good stories have cliffhangers, eh?)
(Photo credit.)
July 26th, 2009
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