Commentary

Let the poets speak

To the rupture convulsing our nation’s heartland

Assembled by Ken Sehested

Invocation. “Within our darkest night, / You kindle the fire / that never dies away.” —“Within Our Darkest Night,” J. Berthier, Taizé

Call to worship. “Jesus is the reality of which Caesar is the parody." —N.T. Wright, New Testament scholar and Anglican bishop

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¡Silencio! When, and when not, to keep silence

A meditation in praise of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s life
in light of Holy Week’s threat yet to come

Ken Sehested

Invocation. “Dr. King received a message / As he sat there in his cell / In Birmingham Alabama / He had gone there to repel / The troubles in that city / For which it was well known / Though his message spoke of peace / Into the prison he was thrown / Pastors sent that message / Urging King to wait / They didn’t want his protest He wasn’t welcome in their state / History has taught us The Reverend understood / The bad get their power / From the silence of the good.” —Eric Mcfadden, “The Silence of the Good” 

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A Martin Luther King Jr. remembrance

by Ken Sehested

I have a vivid memory of the exact moment. I was in seminary, having fled my native South to New York City to finish college and then seminary, embarrassed at being a Baptist, at being a white Southerner, and not entirely sure if I was a believer. But the God question wouldn’t go away.

A mighty wrestling match was underway in my soul, trying to come to terms with my adolescent “youth revival” preacher days. Neither the Civil Rights nor the anti-Vietnam War movements had disturbed my piously-furrowed brow.

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The stilling power of Advent‘s drama

Ken Sehested

“Between the wish and the thing the world lies waiting.”
—Cormac McCarthy, “All the Pretty Horses”

Invocation. “Keep your lamps trimmed and burning . . . / the day is drawing nigh. / Darker midnight lies before us . . . / the day is drawing nigh. / For the morning soon is breaking . . . / the day is drawing nigh. / Children, don't get weary / till your work is done.” —“Keep Your Lamps,” arr. André Thomas, combined choirs of Florida State University 

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Advent mnemonics

What person, event, or object helps you recover your “right mind” in order to hear and respond anew to the Nativity story?

Ken Sehested

Hymn of invocation. “Creator of the Stars of Night.” —9th century hymn performed here by the St. John’s Compline Choir 

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When holidays cue the blues

Ken Sehested

The major holidays can be sad occasions for some who have lost a loved one: “Blue Christmas” services of sorrowful remembrance, Easter when resurrection day did not return your beloved, Thanksgiving when there is a painfully empty seat at the table of bounty.

Not to mention the fact that the Nativity story’s context included a state-sponsored terror campaign (cf. Matthew 2:16). And in the US, 27 November is a “National Day of Mourning” commemorated by Indigenous peoples of the ongoing struggle to recognize the historical atrocities committed by European undocumented immigrants in the colonial era and its aftermath.

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In remembrance of Leonard Cohen

21 September 1934 – 7 November 2016

Ken Sehested

 

The 7th of November is the anniversary of Leonard Cohen’s passing. He was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet, and novelist who explored themes like faith, mortality, and social conflict. He started writing and releasing folk-rock and pop music in the 1960s, and is best known for his 1984 song "Hallelujah."

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