Recent

Signs of the Times  •  17 October 2017 •  No. 140

Special edition
THE PROTESTANT REFORMATION

¶ Processional. “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God,” University of Texas Trombone Choir.

Above: Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia.

¶ Invocation. To commemorate the International Day of the Girl, watch this remarkable video (2:57) of Beyoncés “Freedom.”  (Open a second tab to follow along with the lyrics.)

¶ Call to worship. “The earth and all its environs were marked from the beginning as the Dwelling Place of abundance. In this once-and-future land the arrogant are humbled by the countenance of Truth. / Holy the Name, whose might is manifest in mercy. Prosper the work of every generous hand.” —continue reading “Prosper the work of every generous hand,” a litany for worship inspired by Psalm 90

¶ Dirk Willems (see illustration at right) was a 16th century Dutch Anabaptist who is most famous for escaping from prison, turning around to rescue his pursuer—who had fallen through thin ice while chasing Willems—to then be recaptured, tortured and killed for his faith. —Wikipedia

¶ Hymn of praise (which gets my vote for a modern Reformation hymn). “If I Had a Hammer,” The Weavers.

¶ One way to understand the Protestant Reformation (and maybe our own age as well) is to turn to the oft-cited quote from Anglican Bishops Mark Dyer, popularized in the writing of Phyllis Tickle:

        “The only way to understand what is currently happening to us as 21st-century Christians in North America is first to understand that about every 500 years the church feels compelled to hold a giant rummage sale," when “the empowered structures of institutionalized Christianity become an intolerable carapace that must be shattered in order that renewal and new growth may occur." —see more at Tom Roberts, National Catholic Reporter

¶ The Reformation is typically divided into two wings from the 16th century: the “Magisterial” Reformation (think Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, etc.) who were supported by their respective existing political institutions, and the “Radical” Reformation, a diverse collection of movements commonly designated as Anabaptists, who were very nearly killed off (by Reformation and Roman Catholic authorities) after a generation. The bodies known now as Mennonites, Brethren, Amish, etc., are among the Anabaptist heirs.

¶ Near the end of seminary training, I made a listing of what had been the most important books in my theological education. As one reared in deep-water Baptist tradition, I was shocked to recognize that more than two-thirds of my “most important” guides were Roman Catholic authors. . . . I now say that while my ship of faith has many sails, its mainsail is that legacy flowing from the anabaptist outburst of the 16th century. —continue reading “My ship of faith has many sails: What it means to live into particular religious identity in the midst of spiritual plurality”

¶ Reformation as “democratizing access to the holy.” “Much of the history of the church is the story of the unfolding details of who gets to say and do what in the life of the believing community. It is the story of an increasingly complex bureaucracy detailing who gets to approach God on behalf of the people and approach the people on behalf of God. The early baptist impulse was to say that the unlettered and the unwashed also testify to the work of the Holy Spirit. The unanointed, the unlettered, the non-ordained also have access and also are called to speak to the difficult choices involved in following Jesus.” —continue reading “The baptist impulse: Notes toward a renewal of baptist identity”

¶ Confession. “We have divided Jesus into at least 41,000 denominational pieces when there is actually only one Jesus vine and, through the ages, billions of branches, because we . . . are the branches Jesus is referring to.” —Rev. Mari Larson, “Lutherans and Catholics Jointly Commemoration Reformation’s 500th Anniversary," The Catholic Key

Right: Dissenting Czech theologian Jan Huss, declared a heretic and burned at the stake in 1415 in Constance, Germany.

¶ “If anything signals the ‘overness’ of the Reformation, it has to be the appearance of Pope Francis at the Lutheran World Federation’s [LWF] formal inauguration of the year leading up to the October 2017 anniversary of the 95 Theses. This festive worship on October 31, 2016 featured the startling image of the pope—whose office was not infrequently identified by Luther as that of the Antichrist—processing up the aisle of the great cathedral flanked by Bishop Munib Younan, president of the Lutheran World Federation, and Martin Junge, general secretary of the LWF.” —Sarah Hinlicky Wilson, “Is the Reformation over? Yes and no,” Christian Century

¶ Hymn of supplication. “O God of earth and altar, / bow down and hear our cry, / our earthly rulers falter, / our people drift and die; / the walls of gold entomb us, / the swords of scorn divide, / take not thy thunder from us, / but take away our pride.” —Iron Maiden, “O God of Earth and Altar” (click “show more” to see all the lyrics)

¶ THIS is the profound failure not only of the Magisterial Reformation but of the church as a whole, in effectively removing the actual life and teachings of Jesus from the Christian story (from John Calvin’s Geneva Catechism, 1545)
        Question 55: “Why do you leap at once from [Jesus’] birth to his death, passing over the whole history of his life?”
        Response: “Because nothing is treated of here but what so properly belongs to our salvation, as in a manner to contain the substance of it.”

¶ Words of assurance. “Thou, greatest solace in all suffering, / Help us to fear neither shame nor death, / that we do not despair / before the enemy sues for our life. / Kyrioleis.” —lyrics to Martin Luther’s Pentecost hymn “Come, Holy Ghost, God and Lord”

Left: Martin Luther’s burning of the Papal Bull excommunicating him

¶ As with most all historical naming, the date of 31 October 1517 as “Reformation Day” is biased. Dissent against the Holy Mother Church had already been underway for a century. The choice of this date comes because one of the most identifiable and volatile acts occurred that day.

        “A simple act . . . but it triggered an epic era of political and religious convulsions that changed the shape of Europe” when “a monk named Martin Luther walked to a church in the German town of Wittenberg and nailed his 95 theses to its wooden doors, lighting the fuse of the Reformation.” —Harriet Sherwood, “After 500 years of schism, will the rift of the Reformation finally be healed?” The Guardian

        New technology was a key factor. “The Protestant Reformation had a lot to do with the printing press, where Martin Luther’s theses were reproduced about 250,000 times, and so you had widespread dissemination of ideas that hadn’t circulated in the mainstream before.” —Nate Silver, author and statistician

¶ Luther was a prolific and eminently-quotable writer. Here are a few of my favorites:

        • “Our Lord has written the promise of the resurrection, not in books alone, but in every leaf in spring-time.”

        • “As long as we live, there is never enough singing.”

        • “A religion that gives nothing, costs nothing, and suffers nothing, is worth nothing.”

        • “You are not only responsible for what you say, but also for what you do not say.”

        • “I consider looseness with words no less of a defect than looseness of the bowels.”

¶ It’s also true that Luther had some horrendous things to say about women, e.g., that women had but two roles: wife or prostitute. And even worse things about Jews, urging in “On the Jews and Their Lies” that “Jewish synagogues and schools be set on fire, their prayer books destroyed, rabbis forbidden to preach, homes burned, and property and money confiscated. They should be shown no mercy or kindness, afforded no legal protection, and ‘these poisonous envenomed worms’ should be drafted into forced labor or expelled for all time. . . . [W]e are at fault in not slaying them.” —Wikipedia

¶ Professing our faith. “If you preach the gospel in all its aspects with the exception of the issues that deal specifically with your time, you are not preaching the Gospel at all.” —Martin Luther

¶ Hymn of resolution. “Give Me Jesus,” Danny Gokey.

¶ Short story. For a short (8:17) video telling the story of Martin Luther’s revolt against the church’s practice of selling “indulgences” (to help speed one’s way, after death, from purgatory to heaven) to help rebuilding St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, see “An Introduction to the Protestant Reformation,” Khan Academy.

¶ For a summary of the major characters of the Protestant Reformation, see History World’s “History of the Reformation.”

¶ For a brief survey of the four currents within the “Radical Reformation”—the Protestant reformers who carried on the church’s reformation without official sanction from governing authorities—see “The Reformation Era,” Christianity Today.

Left: Oil painting after the etching La Pendaison (The Hanging), from Les Grandes Misères (“The Great miseries of War”), one of a series of 18 etchings by French artist Jacques Callot. The art depicts the destruction unleashed on civilians during the Thirty Years War in Europe (1618-1648), sparked when the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II attempted to push back the advance of Protestant rulers, primarily those of Sweden, France, Spain and Austria, with most of the conflict occurring on German soil. The “Peace of Wesphalia” treaty ending the wars reshaped the religious and political map of central Europe and set the stage for the development of the modern sovereign state.

¶ Preach it. Harold Bender, the Anabaptist scholar, writes that the notion of following was the key distinctive of the Anabaptist movement's birth in the 16th century. By and large the radical reformers were in agreement with the magisterial reformers, but felt they hadn't pushed the Reformation far enough. The notion of ‘salvation by grace alone’ was good but not sufficient. . . . Nachfolge Christi—following Christ—was the insistent refrain from the Anabaptists. They insisted that any idea, any cognitive affirmation, about God is tested by the way it transforms the shape of our lives. —continue reading “Trust and obey: Reflections on living in the Spirit”

¶ Can’t makes this sh*t up. President Trump declared the week of Oct. 15-21 National Character Counts Week in a proclamation Friday. "We celebrate National Character Counts Week because few things are more important than cultivating strong character in all our citizens, especially our young people," Trump said. —USA Today

¶ Call to the table. “When three of us began daydreaming about a starting a new congregation . . .  one of the things we immediately imagined was worship centered around communion. This tangible ritual act—of re-membering in the midst of a dismembered world—is poignantly expressive of our theological vision.” —continue reading “Eucharistic conventions: Why we practice these (somewhat) odd manners at the Lord’s Table”

¶ The state of our disunion. “Forasmuch as experience hath plentifully and often proved that since the first rising of the Anabaptists, about one hundred years since [a gross, willful, or ignorant misrepresentation], they have been the incendiaries of the Commonwealth, and the infectors of persons in matters of religion.” —“Act of the General Court of Massachusetts Bay Colony law November 1644

¶ Best one-liner. “We must make the invisible kingdom visible in our midst.” —John Calvin

¶ For the beauty of the earth. “There is not one blade of grass, there is no color in this world, that is not intended to make us rejoice.” —John Calvin

¶ Altar call. “Even if we were not sinful by nature, the sin of having private property would suffice to condemn us before God; for that which he gives us freely, we appropriate to ourselves.” —Swiss Protestant reformer Huldrych Zwingli

¶ Benediction. “We should ask God to increase our hope when it is small, awaken it when it is dormant, confirm it when it is wavering, strengthen it when it is weak, and raise it up when it is overthrown.” —John Calvin

¶ Recessional. “Never Turning Back,” Street Choir Festival at Jubilee Square in Leicester, made up of 30 choirs across the UK.

¶ Lectionary for this Sunday. “For the nations shall tremble, the earth shall quake, at the stirring of Holy Intent. For the Beloved awakes to the cries of the poor, to the mourning of land and sky.” —continue reading “Nation of frivolous piety,” a litany for worship inspired by Psalm 99 & Isaiah 1:15

¶ Lectionary for Sunday next. “Prosper the work of every generous hand,” a litany for worship inspired by Psalm 90.

¶ Just for fun. A Calvinist arrives at St. Peter’s gates and sees that there are two queues going in. One is marked “predestined,” and the other is marked “free will.” Being the card-carrying Calvinist that he is, he strolls on over to the predestined queue. After several moments an angel asks him, “Why are you in this line?” He replies, “Because I chose it.” The angel looked surprised, “Well, if you ‘chose’ it, then you should be in the free will line.” So our Calvinist, now slightly miffed, obediently wanders over to the free will line. Again, after a few minutes, another angel asks him, “Why are you in this line?” He sullenly replies, “Someone made me come here.”

¶ Just for fun #2. “Monty Python—The Adventures of Martin Luther.”

#  #  #

Featured this week on prayer&politiks

• “Prosper the work of every generous hand,” a litany for worship inspired by Psalm 90

• “My ship of faith has many sails: What it means to live into particular religious identity in the midst of spiritual plurality,” a short essay

• “Eucharistic conventions: Why we practice these (somewhat) odd manners at the Lord’s Table,” a short essay

©Ken Sehested @ prayerandpolitiks.org. Language not otherwise indicated above is that of the editor, as are those portions cited as “kls.” Don’t let the “copyright” notice keep you from circulating material you find here (and elsewhere in this site). Reprint permission is hereby granted in advance for noncommercial purposes.

Feel free to copy and post any original art on this site. (The ones with “prayerandpolitiks.org” at the bottom.) As well as other information you find helpful.

Your comments are always welcomed. If you have news, views, notes or quotes to add to the list above, please do. If you like what you read, pass this along to your friends. You can reach me directly at kensehested@prayerandpolitiks.org.

Signs of the Times  •  10 October 2017 •  No. 139

¶ Processional. “Grace,” early American melody, performed by the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus the day after the mass shooting in Las Vegas.

Above: Centuries old juniper tree in the Canary Islands, molded by trade wind. Photo by Eckhard Pecher.

¶ Invocation. “"Something's your vocation if it keeps making more of you." —character in Gail Godwin’s novel “Evensong”

¶ Congratulations ICAN! “The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) for drawing attention to the “catastrophic humanitarian consequences” of using nuclear weapons and for its efforts in a nuclear treaty, the Norwegian Nobel Committee said on Friday.
        “ICAN, which was founded in Australia, is based in the offices of the World Council of Churches in Geneva, Switzerland. It acts as an umbrella organization for 468 non-governmental organizations, including peace, rights and development groups, which are all trying to push for global nuclear disarmament.” —for more see Tara John, “5 Reasons Why ICAN Won the Nobel Peace Prize," Time

Right: Beatrice Fihn, Executive Director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) receives a bottle of champagne from her husband Will Fihm Ramsay (r) next to Daniel Hogsta, coordinator, while they celebrate after ICAN won the Nobel Peace Prize 2017, in Geneva, Switzerland. Photo by Denis Balibouse/Reuters

¶ Call to worship. “Be forewarned, you nation of frivolous piety: You who turn the Most High God into a mascot for your charade of innocence while deceitfully invoking the Sovereign’s blessings on your affairs.” —continue reading “Nation of frivolous piety,” a litany for worship inspired by Psalm 99 & Isaiah 1:15

¶ Los Angeles is the most recent (and largest) city in the US to declare 9 October as “Indigenous People’s Day” instead of or in addition to “Columbus Day.” To date, four states and 55 cities and counties have approved such a measure. —see the list at Jennifer Calfas, Time

¶ “Columbus Day as a national, and international, phenomenon reflects a much larger dynamic that promotes myriad myths and historical lies that have been used through the ages to dehumanize Indians, justifying the theft of our lands, the attempted destruction of our nations and the genocide against our people.” —Russell Means & Glenn Morris

¶ Hymn of praise. “Holy Spirit, / Giving life to all life, / Moving all creatures, / Root of all things, / Washing them clean, / Wiping out their mistakes, / Healing their wounds, / You are our true life, / Luminous, wonderful, / Awakening the heart from its ancient sleep.” —“Spiritus Sanctus,” Hildegard von Bingen, performed by Lumina Vocal Ensemble

¶ “Gold is a treasure, and he who possesses it does all he wishes to in this world, and succeeds in helping souls into paradise.” —Christopher Columbus

¶ Watch this video (3:38) surveying the legacy of Christopher Columbus.

¶ “If you want to read about a European pioneer on Columbus Day, learn about Bartolomé de las Casas. His story is one of unfolding repentance over the course of his life in regard to treatment of the indigenous population of the Spanish conquest of the ‘New World.’” —continue reading “Witness to villainy: An excerpt from Bartolomé de las Casas’ documentation of Spanish conquest in the Americas”

¶ Hymn of supplication. “La Paz de la Tierra/The Peace of the Earth,” a traditional Guatemalan blessing arranged and performed by Marty Haugen and Marc Anderson (sung first in Spanish, then in English).

¶ Confession.
        Men: What good can come from such vile remembrance? Can we not safely and how then can we live with such terrible knowledge?
        Women: We can live because the truth unknots the cords of enmity. But first, a NO has to be spoken with clarity, a renunciation has to be made, before a YES can be asserted, before an affirmation can be announced. —continue reading “Limb by limb: Repenting and repairing a legacy of violence against women,” a litany for worship

¶ October is “Domestic Violence Awareness Month.” An international coalition of faith based groups and non-governmental organizations are sponsoring “Speak Out Sabbath” 13-15 October, encouraging faith groups to give focused attention to domestic violence. Worship resources available. Watch this brief (1:09) video.

¶ “Timeline of Legal History of Women in the United States.” —National Women’s History Project

¶ Judges 19—the Bible’s most brutal chapter. “But as [Phyllis] Trible reminds us, even the best English translations cannot do justice to the original Hebrew, where all of the verbal forms and the object in this statement are written in feminine gender. Literally, if awkwardly, translated it becomes “And all who saw her said, ‘SHE was not, and SHE was not seen such as this from the day that the people came up out of the land of Egypt.’” In other words, the unnamed woman [of Judges 19], the one with no status and object of unspeakable terror, is at the center of this story demanding our attention.” —continue reading “She was not: Judges 19: The Bible’s most vividly brutal story and why we must read and remember it,” a sermon on domestic violence

¶ Words of assurance. “What a Friend We Have In Jesus,” Alabama.

¶ The Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), approved by the United Nations in 1968 and then extended indefinitely in 1995, is a multilateral treaty aimed at limiting the spread of nuclear weapons including three elements: (1) non-proliferation, (2) disarmament, and (3) peaceful use of nuclear energy.

Above: U.S. Air Force B-52 Stratofortresses bomber

       • Nine countries possess nuclear weapons: United States, Russia, United Kingdom, France, China, India, Pakistan, North Korea, and Israel. Only the first five have signed the NPT. The US and Russia have 93% of these weapons.

        • ”Fact Sheet: Who Has Nuclear Weapons and How Many Do They Have?” —Elizabeth Chuck, NBC News

        • One Ohio-class US nuclear submarine (the US has 14) carries 24 Trident II ballistic missiles, each of which splits into eight independently-targeted nuclear warheads.

        • The US is planning a $1.2 trillion upgrade of its nuclear weapons program. Doing so will likely provoke a new nuclear arms race with Russia and China.

        • Currently there are 15,000 nuclear weapons, 9,400 active in military arsenals, 4,000 in a state of constant readiness.

        • At the height of the Cold War the global stockpile of nuclear weapons was 40,000+. The negotiated reduction is good; but that’s a bit like saying you used to have 40,000 hammers in your workshop but now only 15,000.

        • The largest US weapon would kill 1.4 million within the first 24 hours; the largest Russian weapon, about half that many. Many millions would die in the weeks and months after.

        • Today’s strategic nuclear weapons are between 6 and 333 times more powerful than the bombs dropped by the US on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.

        • As few as 100 nuclear bomb explosions would create a “nuclear winter,” sending enough ash into the air to block sunlight and dramatically lower temperatures, eventually destroying most life forms.

        • The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) was adopted by the UN General Assembly in July 2017 to strengthen the Non-Proliferation Treaty by comprehensively prohibiting nuclear weapons. 122 nations voted in favor; the Netherlands voted against; Singapore abstained; and all nine nuclear powers (and many of their allies) refused to take part in the negotiations.

        • “Nuclear Weapons 101.” —Physicians for Social Responsibility

        • It’s not widely known that the US has never adopted a no-first-use policy regarding nuclear weapons.

Left: Painting by Jeffrey Robin

¶ Two overlooked premises. First, if you believe in principled ethics—that the same norms should apply consistently—then nations possessing nuclear weapons have no moral basis for denying them to others. Second, if you believe in the rule of law, then nuclear powers are bound by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty to take concrete, tangible action to abolish all nuclear weapons. For that goal, the US only has thoughts and prayers.

¶ Hymn of resolution. “Nearer My God to Thee” (for 9 cellos), The Piano Guys.

¶ “10 Horrifying Facts about Nuclear Weapons.” —Citizens for Global Solutions

¶ “Surveys show that 13 of the leading nuclear weapons manufacturers combined spent $81 million per year lobbying US legislators. These same companies combined received an incredible $334 billion over two fiscal years. Every dollar invested in lobbying and campaign contributions resulted in about a $1,000 return in federal dollars.” —Terry Clark, Asheville Citizen-Times

¶ Short story. This is an extraordinarily moving story from National Public Radio about a music therapist and a dying patient. Listen (5:08) or read the transcript. —Erika Lantz

¶ Offertory. “Rodrigo’s Aranjuez Concerto” featuring Rafael Aguirre’s classical guitar.

¶ Preach it. “I have come into this world to see this: the sword drop from men's hands even at the height of their arc of rage because we have finally realized there is just one flesh we can wound.” —Hafez

¶ Can’t makes this sh*t up. Overheard in a cable news channel report: “We are just now finding out that Russia hacked into the National Security Agency, compromising the agency’s information gathering operations.” Russians hack. The US merely gathers information.

¶ Call to the table. Imagine we were following Issy Emeney down the aisle, mimicking her every Appalachian flatfooting dance moves with ease, coming to the communion table.

¶ The state of our disunion. The July issue of Ms. Magazine reports in the “No Comment” section an ad for a bowling alley in Michigan, which reads “Have some fun. Beat your wife tonight. Then celebrate with some good food and drink with your friends.”

¶ Best one-liner. When you hear Republican politicians offering thoughts and prayers today [for the mass shooting in Las Vegas], remember they voted in February to sell guns to the mentally ill. —Jessica Taylor, NPR

¶ “It is incomprehensible to us, as Australians, that a country so proud and great can allow itself to be savaged again and again by its own citizens. We cannot understand how the long years of senseless murder, the Sandy Hooks and Orlandos and Columbines, have not proved to Americans that the gun is not a precious symbol of freedom, but a deadly cancer on their society.

        “We point over and over to our own success with gun control in the wake of the Port Arthur massacre, that Australia has not seen a mass shooting since and that we are still a free and open society.” —editorial, Sydney Morning Herald, which goes on to recommend eight specific, commonsensical policy recommendations (Thanks Ivan.)

¶ Another foreign perspective on US gun violence, this one from the Dutch, with a satirical take. —NRA-Sunday with Lubach (3:14 video. Thanks Norman.)

¶ “The 12 Most Common Fallacious Gun Arguments (and How to Refute Them),” by gun owner Michael E. Sparks. —Independentthinker

¶ For the beauty of the earth. Feather star fish in motion. (0:36 video)

¶ Altar call. The poem about gun violence every American needs to hear.” —IN-Qu, Occupy Democrats (3:14 video. Thanks Virginia.)

¶ Benediction. “It is said that those who walk on flat ground need not hold hands. But we who climb a steep and slippery road must hold onto each other to make our way securely.” —St. Francis de Sales

¶ Recessional. “I’ll Fly Away,” Ransomed Bluegrass.

¶ Lectionary for this Sunday. “Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” —Philippians 4:8-9

¶ Lectionary for Sunday next. “For the nations shall tremble, the earth shall quake, at the stirring of Holy Intent. For the Beloved awakes to the cries of the poor, to the mourning of land and sky.” —continue reading “Nation of frivolous piety,” a litany for worship inspired by Psalm 99 & Isaiah 1:15

¶ Just for fun. Slow motion video (0:31) of 17-year-old pole-vaulter Mondo Duplantis setting a new prep record of 19’1”. (Thanks Anne.)

#  #  #

Featured this week on prayer&politiks

• "Witness to villainy: An excerpt from Bartolomé de las Casas’ documentation of Spanish conquest in the Americas”

• “Limb by limb: Repenting and repairing a legacy of violence against women,” a litany for worship

• “She was not: Judges 19: The Bible’s most vividly brutal story and why we must read and remember it,” a sermon on domestic violence

• “Nation of frivolous piety,” a litany for worship inspired by Psalm 99 & Isaiah 1:15

• “Witness to villainy: An excerpt from Bartolomé de las Casas’ documentation of Spanish conquest in the Americas”
 

©Ken Sehested @ prayerandpolitiks.org. Language not otherwise indicated above is that of the editor, as are those portions cited as “kls.” Don’t let the “copyright” notice keep you from circulating material you find here (and elsewhere in this site). Reprint permission is hereby granted in advance for noncommercial purposes.

Feel free to copy and post any original art on this site. (The ones with “prayerandpolitiks.org” at the bottom.) As well as other information you find helpful.

Your comments are always welcomed. If you have news, views, notes or quotes to add to the list above, please do. If you like what you read, pass this along to your friends. You can reach me directly at kensehested@prayerandpolitiks.org.

Signs of the Times  •  3 October 2017 •  No. 138

¶ Processional. “Never Turning Back,” Street Choir Festival at Jubilee Square in Leicester, made up of 30 choirs across the UK.

Above: Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, just west of Las Vegas. Photo by Terry Tyson.

¶ Invocation. “Throw off the covers of earth’s darkened slumber! Unplug your ears, you creatures of flesh! From deepest sigh of tear-stained eye, set your sight on Heaven’s resolve. For the sky’s bright luster, alive with motion, shows the wonder of Blessed intention. The Word—shorn of words—springs from every nick and cranny. By night and by day the silent sound of Wonder drenches every listening ear.” —“Blessed intention," a litany for worship inspired by Psalm 19

¶ Call to worship—A litany for Puerto Rico. “Loving Almighty One, we claim your promises of wholeness and provision when we pray for one another.
        “God, as we join in prayer and in spirit for your people, our brothers and sisters in Puerto Rico. We celebrate that You are our comfort and strength in times of disaster, crisis and pain.
        “Today Puerto Rico faces a great challenge and has chosen to shout Puerto Rico se levanta—Puerto Rico rises up. Surround them with your Grace and peace.” —continue reading Xiomara Reyboras Ortiz’s “Litany for Puerto Rico” (Thanks Suzi.)

¶ Hymn of praise. “Woah I, know I've been changed / And I know I've been changed / I know I've been changed / Angels in heaven done sign my name / Angels in heaven done sign my name.” —“Angels in Heaven,” performed by two of Asheville’s finest buskers, Abby the Spoon Lady and Chris Rodriguez

¶ Seven days after Hurricane Maria devastated the island, half its 3.5 million citizens lack potable water. Restoring the island’s power grid could take months.

        I almost didn’t use the Judson Memorial Church sign (left below), since most of the people I know in Puerto Rico don’t want to be US citizens.

        Nearly half of US citizens don’t know that Puerto Ricans are US citizens.

        Puerto Rico, presently a “possession” of the US, is the world’s oldest colony, having first been colonized by Spain in the 15th century and then ceded to the US after the 1898 Spanish American War, a war the US had been planning for at least eight years. Puerto Ricans were not allowed to vote on whether to become an independent country until 1967. By then the island’s economy was so intertwined with that of the US that the majority favored remaining as a territory, though support to become the US’s 51st state has been growing—something Congress is highly unlikely to approve.

        It’s true, as President Trump famously complained, that Puerto Rico is facing a massive debt problem. They cannot declare bankruptcy, as businessman Trump has done six times.

        For an explanation of the island’s debt crisis, see Dara Lind, “Puerto Rico’s debt crisis, explained in 11 basic facts,” Vox

        In case you missed it, listen to San Juan, Puerto Rico Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz issue an agonizing call for help. —NBC Nightly News (2:07 video)

        Watch President Trump help distribute emergency aid in Puerto Rico—by tossing roles of paper towels to the crowd. —CNN (1:06 video)

        For more background on the status of Puerto Rico, see Frances Robles, New York Times, and Katy Collin, “Puerto Rico votes on statehood on Sunday—for the fifth time. Here’s what’s at stake,” Chicago Tribune

¶ Confession. "This is an island surrounded by water, big water, ocean water." —President Trump, speaking 29 September, about the hurricane devastation of Puerto Rico

¶ Blistering commentary. Lt. General (ret.) Russel Honoré had some blunt things to say about the Trump Administration’s response to the humanitarian crisis in Puerto Rico, in an interview on Erin Burnett’s OutFront program. Honoré is best known for cleaning up the Bush administration’s Federal Emergency Management Agency mess after the 2005 Hurricane Katrina devastation of the Gulf Coast. —CNN (1:07 video)

¶ The controversy NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick (unintentionally) created in 2016 by refusing to stand for the national anthem prior to the game has escalated significantly this year. Remember: His refusal to stand was related to the killing of unarmed black men by law enforcement officials, though with President Trump’s attention, the debate has broadened to include patriotism in general. (For more see “Colin Kaepernick, national anthems, and flag-flown piety: Commentary on what is and is not sacred.”)

¶ Why do whites oppose the NFL protests? “In a poll, whites were asked whether the NFL players kneeling in protest during the national anthem are helping or hurting the cause of racial justice. No fewer than 85 percent said they are hurting it.

        “Oh, wait. I’ve got that wrong. Those figures don’t come from a new poll. They come from a survey taken in 1966 asking whites whether ‘the demonstrations by Negroes on civil rights have helped more or hurt more in the advancement of Negro rights.’

        “Only 15% of whites surveyed thought those peaceful protests would advance the cause of integration and equality. Martin Luther King Jr. and his nonviolent methods are honored even by conservatives today, but in 1967, half of whites said he was harming blacks, with only 36 disagreeing.” —Steve Chapman, Chicago Tribune

¶ Words of assurance. “Weep No More,” the Esh family.

¶ As it turns out, violation of the US Code governing flag use is quite common. A few for-instances:

• “The flag should never be carried flat or horizontally, but always aloft and free” (§176c). Which means displays like the one pictured above prior to a National Football League game are actually illegal.

• “The flag should never be used for any advertising purpose” (§176i). Why is it that car dealerships fly the biggest (or most) flags in town?

• “When on display [as in a church sanctuary], the flag is accorded the place of honor, always positioned to its own right. Other flags should be to the speaker's left” (§175k). Which means if you’re properly displaying the US and Christian flags in your sanctuary (with the US flag to the pulpit’s right as facing the congregation—to the left as seen from the pews), the symbolism is that the Caesar’s billing overshadows Christ’s.

• “The flag should not be embroidered on such articles as cushions or handkerchiefs and the like, printed or otherwise impressed on paper napkins or boxes or anything that is designed for temporary use and discard” (§176i). Careful about those July 4th cookout napkins!

• “The flag should never be used as wearing apparel, bedding, or drapery” (§176d). Do a web search for “US flag apparel images” to see your choices for civil disobedience.

¶ The earliest “flag desecration” laws (every state had one by 1932) were not enacted to squelch political dissent but to prohibit use of the flag for political or commercial ends—something that now happens all the time. The only attempt at federal law criminalizing flag desecration (in 1968, specifically aimed at repressing flag burning) was overturned by the Supreme Court in 1989.

¶ Hymn of prophecy. “But your flag decal won't get you / Into Heaven any more. / They're already overcrowded / From your dirty little war. / Now Jesus don't like killin' / No matter what the reason's for, / And your flag decal won't get you / Into Heaven any more.” —John Prine, “Your Flag Decal Won’t Get You Into Heaven Any More”

¶ For more information on how the flag has been used, see Marc Leepson, "Capturing the Flag,” Washington Post

¶ Watch this brief (2:00) video on what Colin Kaepernick’s been up to since being snubbed by the NFL. (Thanks Edward.)

¶ Until the Civil War, the US flag was only used on government buildings and military installations. "For the first two thirds of our nation’s history, it was almost unheard of for individual Americans to fly the flag or display the flag," according to Marc Leepson, author of Flag: An American Biography. That changed when the Confederates attacked the Union outpost Fort Sumter in Charleston, S.C., in April of 1861, in what would be the start of the Civil War. "It has been said that when the flag came down in Fort Sumter, it went up everywhere in the North," Leepson added. —Olivia B. Waxman, “How the American Flag Pattern God So Popular,” Time

¶ Hymn of intercession. “African Prayer" (Trad. Zulu), Stellenbosch University Choir.

¶ Listen to The Daily Show’s Noah Trevor opening monologue on the mass shooting in Las Vegas. (3:56 video)

¶ “1,516 mass shootings in 1,735 days: America's gun crisis—in one chart.” —The Guardian

¶ Testify. “You should be outraged not only as an airman, but as a human being.” —Lt. General Jay Silveria, superintendent of the Air Force Academy, in a blistering five-minute speech to 4,000 cadets and 1,500 staff following an incident where racial slurs were written on the dormitory boards of five black students. A video of Silveria’s speech is here.

¶ Offertory. “Occhi chorni” (“Очи Чёрные”), Russian gypsy accordion music.

¶ “We have been taught that ignorance and hate lead to racist ideas, lead to racist policies,” Kendi said. “If the fundamental problem is ignorance and hate, then your solutions are going to be focused on education, and love and persuasion. But of course [Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America] shows that the actual foundation of racism is not ignorance and hate, but self-interest, particularly economic and political and cultural.” Self-interest drives racist policies that benefit that self-interest. When the policies are challenged because they produce inequalities, racist ideas spring up to justify those policies. Hate flows freely from there.” —Ibram Kendi, director of a new anti-racism center at Ameican University, in Lonnae O’Neal, "The Undefeated" (Thanks Paul.)

¶ Preach it. “Preach the Gospel at all times. When necessary, use words.” —St. Francis of Assisi, on the eve of his 4 October feast day

¶ Can’t makes this sh*t up. “Gun stocks rose Monday following the deadliest mass shooting in American history late Sunday night [in Las Vegas]. . . . The stocks have tended to rally in the immediate aftermath of mass killings.” —Paul R. La Monica, CNN Money

¶ Good news. “More than 40 Catholic institutions are to announce the largest ever faith-based divestment from fossil fuels, on the anniversary of the death of St Francis of Assisi. The sum involved has not been disclosed but the volume of divesting groups is four times higher than a previous church record, and adds to a global divestment movement, led by investors worth $5.5tn.” —Arthur Nelsen, The Guardian

¶ The state of our disunion. "Now I hate to tell you, Puerto Rico, but you’ve thrown our budget a little out of whack because we’ve spent a lot of money on Puerto Rico." —Jill Colvin & Calvin Woodward, Associated Press

¶ Best one-liner. "I am unable to commit to any messiah who doesn't knock over tables." —Garret Keizer

¶ For the beauty of the earth. Scrap metal sculpture artist John Lopez. (2:57 video. Thanks Amanda.)

¶ Altar call. Here’s my new mental metaphor of the Holy Spirit’s work in coaxing wannabe-believers into an actual life of faith. (2:16 video)

¶ Benediction. “Prayer of St. Francis” by Sarah McLachlan.

¶ Recessional. Frédéric Chopin’s “Prelude No. 4 in E minor, Op 28,” performed by Jimmy Page.

¶ Lectionary for this Sunday. “Steer clear of the barking dogs, those religious busybodies, all bark and no bite. All they’re interested in is appearances—knife-happy circumcisers, I call them.” —Philippians 3:4b-6, The Message

¶ Lectionary for Sunday next. “Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” —Philippians 4:8-9

¶ Just for fun. Seal gets a belly rub from a diver. (Thanks David.)

#  #  #

I'M DELIGHTED TO ANNOUNCE that Peace Primer II: Quotes from Jewish, Christian and Islamic Scripture & Tradition which I edited with my friends and colleagues Rabbi Lyn Gottlieb and Muslim chaplain Rabia Terri Harris, has been reprinted by Wipf & Stock Publishers. It’s an excellent tool for interfaith dialogue or for personal devotional reading.

#  #  #

Featured this week on prayer&politiks

• “Blessed intention,” a litany for worship inspired by Psalm 19

• “Colin Kaepernick, national anthems, and flag-flown piety,” commentary on what is and is not sacred

 
Other features
• “Another Word is in the wind: A psalm of complaint and avowal,” a new poem
 

©Ken Sehested @ prayerandpolitiks.org. Language not otherwise indicated above is that of the editor, as are those portions cited as “kls.” Don’t let the “copyright” notice keep you from circulating material you find here (and elsewhere in this site). Reprint permission is hereby granted in advance for noncommercial purposes.

Feel free to copy and post any original art on this site. (The ones with “prayer&politiks.org” at the bottom.) As well as other information you find helpful.

Your comments are always welcomed. If you have news, views, notes or quotes to add to the list above, please do. If you like what you read, pass this along to your friends. You can reach me directly at kensehested@prayerandpolitiks.org.

Signs of the Times  •  20 September 2017 •  No. 137

¶ Processional. “Chaiyalim Adonai dances at Rosh Hashanah.”

¶ Invocation. “Let the beauty we love be what we do. There are a thousand ways to kneel and kiss the ground.” —Rumi

¶ Shana Tova! Happy New Year (5778 on the Jewish calendar).

        The Jewish new year, Rosh Hashanah (have “a sweet new year”), which began at sundown yesterday, literally means “the head of the year.” The date is variable on the Gregorian calendar, since, like Easter in the Christian tradition, it is based on a lunar calendar. Rosh Hashanah marks the first day of the “10 Days of Repentance” (or “Awe”) where Jewish people acknowledge their sins of the previous year, culminating in Yom Kippur, the day of atonement, marked by fasting to symbolize the longing for forgiveness. All together this season represents the “High Holy Days” of Judaism.

        In Hebrew rosh has many meanings, including “head” or “first” or “start,” and shanah means “year,” with ha simply meaning “the.” In combination, the name of the holiday translates as “head of the year.”

¶ Call to worship. “Rosh Hashanah Rock Anthem,” Aish.com.

¶ “4 Things Jews Do on Rosh Hashanah,” Mayim Bialik. (Thanks Ivan.)

¶ How to say “happy New Year” in Hebrew. —Menachem Posner, chabad.org

¶ “Though it depends on which Jewish tradition is being followed, much time is spent at a synagogue. During services, a hollowed-out ram's horn, known as a shofar, is blown, symbolizing a call to repentance. Many Jews also observe a tradition called tashlich, meaning "casting off" in Hebrew, in which they go to a nearby river or lake and throw pieces of bread, which signifies the washing away of sin.” —for more see Matthew Diebel, USAToday

        Apples dipped in honey, challah (round sweet bread), and/or pomegranates are consumed to symbolize the sweetness of the new year, the circle of life and/or the many seeds yet to be sown (and even fish heads, representing the “head” of the new year). —for more see Carol Kuruvilla, “The Spiritual Meaning Of The Food On Your Rosh Hashanah Table,” HuffPost

¶ Hymn of praise. “Psalm 104” (in Hebrew). Yamma Ensemble .

¶ Confession. "Days pass, and the years vanish and we walk sightless among miracles." —Jewish Sabbath Prayer

¶ Words of assurance. “Ya Rab” (“My Lord God” in Arabic), Yuval Ron Ensemble featuring Sukhawat Ali Khan & Najwa Gibran.

¶ While researching art for this issue, I found one image with the jar of honey and traditional blessing in Hebrew. But underneath, printed in the product’s distinctive typeface, is the wording “Say it with Coca-Cola.” The fruitful delight of creation transposed by the well-documented corporate marketing of sugar, which is at the root of our nation’s obesity health crisis. Then again, given the sugary, insubstantial character of much that passes for spirituality, maybe this is appropriate.

¶ I’ve long been taken with juxtaposing the Jewish “Days of Awe” beginning with Rosh Hashanah and ending with Yom Kippur with the “Shock and Awe” military doctrine that launched the 2003 US attack on Iraq.

        The “fear of the Lord” in Scripture, the basis for awe, is not a form of heavenly terrorism designed to keep humans in line. Rather, as Walter Brueggemann writes, to “fear God” is to take God and God’s intention with utmost seriousness, to be honored above all other demands for devotion and obedience.

        “Shock and awe,” on the other hand, is a military doctrine entailing deployment of "instant, nearly incomprehensible levels of massive destruction directed at influencing society writ large, meaning its leadership and public, rather than targeting directly against military or strategic objectives even with relatively few numbers or systems." (With this background, can you see the brutal rationality of attacks by terrorists on crowded urban streets?) "Shock and Awe" language meets every definition of “terrorism.” —for more see Harlan K. Ullman and James P. Wade, "Shock and Awe: Achieving Rapid Dominance,” National Defense University Institute for National Strategic Study

¶ Hymn of supplication. “Avinu Malkeinu” (“Our Father, Our King”), Barbara Streisand. The song is a Jewish song of supplication, sung from Rosh Hashanah until, 10 days later, Yom Kippur. The Talmud (T.B. Ta'anith 25b) records Rabbi Akiva (died 135 CE) reciting two verses each beginning "Our Father, Our King" in a prayer to end a drought.

¶ Good news. “Meet the 14-year-old girl (left) from Odisha, India, who has invented a fuel-free bike. With the increasing levels of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide in the air, big cities in India have been suffocating with harmful pollutants. In these times, 14-year-old Tejaswini Priyadarshini has invented an ‘air bike’ which runs at up to 60 km per hour.” —Your Story

¶ Short story. “There's a lovely Hasidic story of a rabbi who always told his people that if they studied the Torah, it would put Scripture on their hearts. One of them asked, ‘Why on our hearts, and not in them?’ The rabbi answered, ‘Only God can put Scripture inside. But reading sacred text can put it on your heart, and then when your hearts break, the holy words will fall inside.’” ―Anne Lamott, “Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith”

¶ Testify. “The apple symbolizes Gan Eden (the Garden of Eden), which according to the Midrash has the scent of an apple orchard, and in Kabbalah is called ‘the holy apple orchard’. . . . When Solomon depicts the love G‑d harbors for His nation, he writes (Song of Songs 8:5): ‘Beneath the apple tree I aroused you[r love].’ Eating an apple on Rosh Hashanah is an attempt to remind G‑d of our age-old love.” —Rabbi Baruch S. Davidson, Chabad.org

¶ Hymn of intercession. Julie Geller, “Sheya'alu שיעלו” (“They Will Ascend”).

¶ The largely-unknown international hero of the 20th century. The world has only recently learned of the death of a Soviet soldier (pictured at right) credited with saving the world from nuclear holocaust, during a time of high tension between the US and the Soviet Union, 6 years before the Berlin War came down.

        “Stanislav Petrov (Станислав Евграфович Петров), born in 1939, was the duty officer monitoring an early warning system from a bunker outside Moscow on September 26, 1983, when the radar screen suddenly appeared to depict a missile inbound from the United States.

        “The Soviet Molnyia, vast elliptical orbiting satellites, were supposed to decrease the likelihood of natural phenomena being mistaken for a launch. However during that midnight Autumn Equinox in 1983, the sun’s reflection on high altitude clouds against the darkness of space mimicked the launch of first one, then later several, U.S. missiles on a trajectory toward the Soviet Union. It was a particularly volatile time because just three weeks before this incident, the Soviet Air Force had shot down Korean Air Flight 007 with 269 people on board, including US Congressman Larry McDonald and several other Americans.

        “‘All my subordinates were confused, so I started shouting orders at them to avoid panic,’ Petrov told the Russian news agency RT in 2010. ‘I knew my decision would have a lot of consequences.’

        “The alert siren wailed. A message on the bunker's main screen reported that four more missiles had been launched, he said. Petrov had 15 minutes to determine whether the threat was real and report to his commanders.

        “Petrov, thinking that any U.S. attack should have involved even more missiles to limit the chance of Soviet retaliation, told his Kremlin bosses the alert must have been caused by a malfunction. He persuaded Moscow not to shoot back.” —watch a brief (0:53) news video about Stanislav Petrov and read John Bacon’s “Stanislav Petrov, Soviet soldier credited with saving world from nuclear war, dies at 77,” USAToday , and Barbara Kaufman, “Stanislav Yevgrafovich Petrov: Not On My Watch: The Enemy Who Saved the World”

¶ Call to the table. “A New Year: Communities around the world celebrate the new year…in song,” 92nd Street Y.

¶ Pictured at left is a stained glass window in the sanctuary of Sixteenth Street Baptist Church. The bombing decapitated Jesus. Indeed, every bombing, anywhere, does the same.

¶ Last week marked the 54th anniversary of the 15 September 1963 bombing of Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, which killed four children, Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson and Cynthia Wesley, ages 11 to 14.

        It would be another 14 years before a determined Alabama attorney general reopened the case and secured the conviction of the first of four suspects, Ku Klux Klan member Robert Chambliss.

        During his trial, a witness said Chambliss told her that that he had "enough stuff put away to flatten half of Birmingham." A second suspect died before his trial. It would take another 13 years before the remaining two suspects were convicted. All together, it took 27 years, a shifting public consensus, and an attorney general with a conscience to meet the bare minimum of "justice."

¶ Watch this brief (3:24) video, “Birmingham Bombing 1963.”

¶ Between 1947 and 1965, there were 41 bombings (and one attempted bombing that we know of) in Birmingham, a city nicknamed “Bombingham.” Back then, such acts—and similar ones across the US—were not widely considered as terrorism, and no trillion-dollar war was launched.

¶ What is especially important to remember is the fact that this horrific bombing came just 18 days after the historic March on Washington which included Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech.

        I have no doubt that the march’s success played some role in galvanizing the resolve of the Birmingham bombers’ resolve for vengeance, since Sixteenth Street Baptist Church was a frequent gathering place to launch the civil rights marches now remembered by TV footage of police attack dogs and fire hoses being unleashed on the marchers.

        Which is to say: Dreams that matter will provoke resistance. We should not be surprised at—and should be prepared for—the terms of death-defying endurance.

¶ News about the bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church so moved Welsh artist John Petts that he volunteered to create a replacement stained glass window for the one depicting Jesus that was destroyed. The editor of his hometown newspaper in Llansteffan, Wales, launched a front page appeal to cover the cost. Petts’ “Wales Window for Alabama” (left) depicts a black Christ, chest thrust out and arms outstretched as though on a crucifix, the right one pushing away hatred and injustice, the left offering forgiveness. —for more info see BBC News

¶ The state of our disunion. In his speech at the United Nations, President Trump threatened to “totally destroy” North Korea, home to 25 million citizens. At the outbreak of such an attack, North Korea's 10,000 artillery pieces (and maybe their thermonuclear warheads) aimed at the 25 million South Koreans in the metropolitan Seoul area would commence firing. Think about that for a minute. Then begin pondering what you can do about it.

¶ How does climate change make hurricanes worse? Here’s a brief (0:49) summary.

¶ Best one-liner. “They tried to defeat us. We survived. Now let’s eat.” —summary of Jewish theology by Jonathan Sacks, former Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations, UK

¶ For the beauty of the earth. “What A Wonderful World With David Attenborough,” BBC (2:00 video).

¶ Altar call. “Prayer is meaningless unless it is subversive, unless it seeks to overthrow and to ruin the pyramids of callousness, hatred, opportunism and falsehood. The liturgical movement must become a revolutionary movement, seeking to overthrow the forces that continue to destroy the promise, the hope, the vision.” —Abraham Joshua Heschel

¶ Benediction. “I want to be written again / in the Book of Life / to be written every single day / till the writing hand hurts.” —Jehuda Amicha, The Poetry of Yehuda Amichai

¶ Recessional. Cantor Avraham Feintuch, “Yom kippur Kol nidre prayer.” 

¶ Lectionary for Sunday next (World Communion Sunday). “Our Presbyterian friends get credit for initiating [World Communion Sunday], back in the mid-1930s, then adopted in 1940—at the brink of world war—by the Federal Council of Churches (now National Council of Churches). I’m not sure if it’s celebrated much outside the US. And that may be because much of the world suspects that ‘world communion’ holds the same promise of what we call ‘globalization.’ A globalized economy is supposed to work for everyone. ‘Everyone has an even chance,’ so we’re told. But casino owners say the same thing, knowing the process is heavily tilted toward the house.” —continue reading “Remembering the Future: Bright with Eden’s dawn: A World Communion Sunday sermon”

¶ Just for fun. Comedic outbreak for train riders in Europe. Performers along a 30 killometer stretch perform theatre for train passengers. (0:58 video. Thanks Judy.)

Featured this week on prayer&politiks
• “Remembering the Future: Bright with Eden’s dawn," a World Communion Sunday sermon
• “If justice and only justice: Lamech's threat of escalating violence,” a new poem

#  #  #

©Ken Sehested @ prayerandpolitiks.org. Language not otherwise indicated above is that of the editor, as are those portions cited as “kls.” Don’t let the “copyright” notice keep you from circulating material you find here (and elsewhere in this site). Reprint permission is hereby granted in advance for noncommercial purposes.

Feel free to copy and post any original art on this site. (The ones with “prayer&politiks.org” at the bottom.) As well as other information you find helpful.

Your comments are always welcomed. If you have news, views, notes or quotes to add to the list above, please do. If you like what you read, pass this along to your friends. You can reach me directly at kensehested@prayerandpolitiks.org.