Recent

Signs of the Times  •  17 December 2015  •  No. 50 (WOO-hoo!)

¶ Processional. “Ode to Joy” flashmob performance (orchestra and choir), Sabadell, Spain.

¶ A full moon will rise on Christmas for the first time since 1977, only the ninth in US history. The next coincidence won’t occur until 2034.

Right: Full moon over the Bridger Mountains near Bozeman, Montana. Photo by Bruce T. Gourley.

¶ Invocation. “Sisters and Brothers, bend an ear to the singing of angels. Not that of seasonal carolers who pause at lace-curtained windows: offering familiar and favorite tunes in delicious harmony and frosted breath, providing splendid distraction from the agonized arias of the innocent. But for angels who, in the midst of Caesar’s endless census, erupt from darkest eclipse with unnerving news.” —continue reading Ken Sehested’s poem, “The Singing of Angels”

¶ Call to worship. “Canticle of the Turning” performed by Emmaus Way.

In case you haven't already figured this out, you can listen to the music links and read at the same time. Simply open two side-by-side copies of this page, with music playing on one, reading on the other, switching back and forth as you wish.

¶ Yikes! According to the recent “Templeton Giving Survey,” American citizens expect to spend 37 hours shopping for holiday gifts. That’s compared to 15 hours they’ll spend helping charities over the entire year.

¶ Good news. “Vernon Hills High School [in Chicago] is objecting to Islamophobia and racism with an initiative called “Walk a Mile in Her Hijab.” Over a dozen non-Muslim girls agreed to wear a traditional Islamic head scarf to better understand the Muslim faith and life as a Muslim woman.” —The Siasat Daily (Thanks, Michael.)

¶ Note to a friend, Rabbi Douglas.  “You’ll be interested in this. Most late afternoons I sit with Mom during her early dinner at the nearby assisted living facility where she resides. On Monday a combined Brownie-Girl Scout group came caroling. Two of the pieces they sang were Chanukah songs, one I hadn’t heard, about the miraculous oil lamp, the other a dreidel song.” —continued reading Ken Sehested's email exchange with Douglas

¶ “Mary is everywhere: Marigolds are named for her. Hail Mary passes save football games. The image in Mexico of Our Lady of Guadalupe is one of the most reproduced female likenesses ever. Mary draws millions each year to shrines. . . . She inspired the creation of many great works of art and architecture (Michelangelo’s “Pietà,” Notre Dame Cathedral), as well as poetry, liturgy, and music (Monteverdi’s "Vespers for the Blessed Virgin"). And she is the spiritual confidante of billions of people, no matter how isolated or forgotten.” —"How the Virgin Mary Became the Most Powerful Woman in the World,” Maureen Orth, National Geographic

¶ Words of confession. “And so this is Xmas (war is over) / For weak and for strong (if you want it) / For rich and the poor ones (war is over) / The world is so wrong (if you want it) / And so happy Xmas (war is over) / For black and for white (if you want it) / For yellow and red ones (war is over) / Let's stop all the fight (now).” —John Lennon, “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)”

¶ Words of assurance. “And finally, brethren, after while, the war will be over.“ —“Study War,” by Moby

¶ “It's odd how those who dismiss the peace movement as utopian don't hesitate to proffer the most absurdly dreamy reasons for going to war: To stamp out terrorism, install democracy, eliminate fascism, and most delusionally to ‘rid the world of evil-doers.’” —Arundhati Roy in “40 Days With Peacemakers: A daily reflection offered by William Penn House"

¶ Intercession. A soulful rendition of “Ave Maria,” by Aaron Neville.

¶ More evidence (if more is needed) that cartoonists are at least as important as theologians in pointing out popular theological confusion: Says Jeffy, one of the kids in the cartoon’s “Family Circus” household, to his Mom as he prepares to say his bedtime prayers: “Can God give Santa Claus a message? I just remembered something I wanted.”

¶ Can’t make this sh*t up. Bargain basement “14-piece Caucasian Nativity Scene” available at Sam’s Club, discounted from $119.86 to $79.71.”

¶ For those who get the blues amid the cheery holiday hoopla, Duke Ellington’s “Melancholia” is especially for you.

¶ Religion in a kinder public spotlight. In reporting from the recent UN Climate Change conference (COP21) in Paris, one NPR report noted, parenthetically, that among the strongest advocates in Paris were leaders from faith communities, specifically mentioning those inspired by Pope Francis’ encyclical on the environment, Laudato Si: On Care for Our Common Home, a statement by Tibetan Buddhist leader Dahli Lama, and the Islamic Declaration on Global Climate Change.

¶ What does “COP21” stand for? "Conference of Parties, 21st meeting." This event drew 150 heads of state, the largest such gathering in history. A total of 195 nations sent representatives. You can download a free copy of the UN Conference on Climate Change’s agreement.

¶ What’s the significance of the “Paris Agreement” on climate change? There are several ways to assess it. First, compared to what was in place before (the collapsed Copenhagen initiative of 2009, and the 1997 Kyoto protocol, which neither the US nor China ratified), this new accord is historic and creates the kind of momentum needed to create real and lasting change. Is it enough? Maybe, maybe not—most climate change activists are not convinced. Will the major CO2 emitter countries actually enforce this new agreement? More maybe, maybe-not.
        In the end, if you require political optimism to sustain attention and commitment, disappointment—and the corresponding lethargy it creates—will more likely than not be the result. Hope (the conviction that a different world is possible) and faith (“the evidence of things not seen”) are still essential.

¶ Old school Christmas classic. “A Cradle in Bethlehem,” Nat King Cole.

¶ For an analysis of the recently concluded “Paris Agreement” on climate change, see Tim Donnell and James West, “World Leaders Just Agreed to a Landmark Deal to Fight Global Warming," Mother Jones.

¶ “The most inspiring moment of December 12 was not the adoption of the United Nations Paris agreement but the sight of more than 20,000 people on the streets, building the power of the people, demanding climate justice and an end to dirty energy.” —Jagoda Munic, Common Dreams

¶ Animated video map (2:25 minutes) of what the Earth would look like if all the ice melted.

¶ “Historically, the transition from one energy system to another, as from wood to coal or coal to oil, has proven an enormously complicated process, requiring decades to complete. In similar fashion, it will undoubtedly be many years before renewable forms of energy replace fossil fuels as the world’s leading energy providers. Nonetheless, 2015 can be viewed as the year in which the epochal transition from one set of fuels to another took off.” —Michael T. Klare, “A New World Beckons”

¶ Market prophecy? “Fossil fuel stocks tumbled while renewable energy soared on Monday, the first day of trading after global leaders cemented their landmark climate pact in Paris.” —Lauren McCauley, Common Dreams

¶ “If it’s melted, it’s ruined.” Top 5 important and hopeful things about the Paris talks, from Ben & Jerry’s activism manager (1:39 video—scroll down a bit).

¶ “Every year the problems are getting worse. We are at the limits. If I may use a strong word I would say that we are at the limits of suicide.” —Pope Francis, Reuters, commenting to reporters on the climate crisis during a news conference aboard the plane bringing him back to Rome from his Africa visit

¶ For an a cappella, tight-harmonied, country-flavored arrangement of “O Holy Night” by Home Free.

¶ It was big news in 2007 when China became the world’s largest emitter of carbon dioxide, surpassing the US. What isn’t often noted is the fact that China has a population more than four times that of the US. In other words, the average US citizen is responsible for 4.3 times as much pollution as the average Chinese.

¶ Modern incarnation image. One of the strategies for undermining theological hubris is widening our images of God’s purpose, presence and provision. The accent is on expansive images, not simply “inclusive” ones.
        Take this one, for instance, of Lek, an Elephant Nature Park (ENP) keeper, singing a lullaby to Faa Mai, an elephant under her care. Can you picture God tending us in this way?
        By the way, ENP, in Chaing Mai, Thailand, rescues elephants from tourist and illegal mining operations, allowing them to live out their days in a natural habitat.

¶ Preach it. “We need to build the movement even bigger in the coming years, so that the Paris agreement turns into a floor and not a ceiling for action.” —Bill McKibben, New York Times

¶ War’s edge context of “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear.” The Christmas hymn was written by Unitarian minister Edmund Hamilton Sears (1810-1876) in the days leading up to the Civil War. The song’s original third stanza is missing in most hymnals: “But with the woes of sin and strife / The world has suffered long; / Beneath the angel-strain have rolled / Two thousand years of wrong; / And man, at war with man, hears not / The love-song, which they bring: / O hush the noise, ye men of strife, / And hear the angels sing!” —Michael Hawn, “History of Hymns: ‘It Came Upon a Midnight Clear’”

¶ Call to the table. “In the Bleak Midwinter” by Pierce Pettis.

¶ Just for fun. “Deck the Halls” inspired fun from the Shawnee Mission East High School Choir (3 minutes).

¶ Lectionary for Sunday next. “Clothe yourselves with royal attire: With compassion, kindness, humility, meekness and patience. Bearing with one another in the midst of disagreement, Forgiving one another in the aftermath of conflict. Having known forgiveness, by the One whose breath fills our lungs, we are granted the power to forgive others.” —continued reading Ken Sehested’s “Only this is sure,” a litany for worship inspired by Colossians 3:12-17

¶ Altar call. “There’s a light, there’s a light in the darkness / And the black of the night cannot harm us / We can trust not to fear for our comfort is near / There’s a light, there’s a light in the darkness.” —“There’s a Light,” performed by Beth Nielsen Chapman, Emmylou Harris, Pat Benatar, Sheryl Crow and Shea Seger

¶ Benediction. Samford University’s a cappella choir singing Jan Sandström’s stunning arrangement of “Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming.”

¶ Recessional. Go for it. “Hallelujah Chorus” from Handel’s “Messiah,” the Royal Choral Society and Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

#  #  #

Featured this week on prayer&politiks:

• “Call to Adventing,” a call to worship for Advent by Abigail Hastings

• “Keeping Watch: The angels’ appearance to the shepherds,” an Advent litany inspired by Luke 2

• “The Singing of Angels,” an Advent poem

• “Note to a friend, Rabbi Douglas,” email exchange with Ken Sehested

• “Only this is sure,” a litany for worship inspired by Colossians 3:12-17

¶ A word from Gerald, prayer&politiks’ guardian angel. “Masterful, insightful, powerful, courageous, moving writing,” is what Bill, a religious journalist and editor, wrote about Ken Sehested’s “Undo the folded lie: Notes on the reckless folly of our season.”  And Mandy, a pastor, wrote “Thank you for lending your wise and prophetic words. I needed to hear them, and, am sharing because I know there are others who need to hear them too.”
        These are among the reasons for supporting prayer&politiks, through your contributions of financial support and/or by circulating material from the site to your friends and contacts along with your own endorsement.

©Ken Sehested @ prayerandpolitiks.org. Language not otherwise indicated above is that of the editor. 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.

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 klsehested@gmail.com.

Signs of the Times  •  10 December 2015  •  No. 49

¶ Processional. My favorite Hanukkah song. “Light One Candle” by Peter, Paul and Mary.

¶ Invocation. "Only those with wombs of welcome / to heaven's Annunciation / can magnify God and heal the earth." —read Ken Sehested's Advent poem, "Annunciation: Mary's song of praise."

¶ Hymn of praise. “Blagoslovi, dushe moya” (“Praise the Lord”), Sergei Rachmaninov, performed by the USSR Ministry of Culture Chamber Choir .

At right: photo by Nate Zeman, Rocky Mountain National Park

¶ We need to take steps so that in the future people like Donald Trump do not become radicalized. —New Yorker satirist Andy Borowitz

¶ Intercession. “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.” Lovely new arrangement by Sarah McCoy.

¶ Words of Assurance. “Arise, you fear-confounded, attest / With Insurrection’s voice confess / Though death’s confine and terror’s darkest threat / Now govern earth’s refrain . . . and yet / Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel / Shall come to thee, O Israel!” —new lyrics to “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” by Ken Sehested

¶ When our children were in early grade school, each year before Christmas holiday break I went to their classrooms to read Cajun Night Before Christmas.

¶ Good news. “While hostility to Syrian refugees has dominated the national debate, many local leaders—among them elected officials, community advocates and direct service providers—are sending a different message by calling for compassion instead of fear. Here are seven efforts underway across the South to support Syrian refugees and fight Islamophobia.” —Allie Yee, Institute for Southern Studies

¶ Holy obedience. “The Chairman of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ committee on migration chided the governors for ‘using this tragedy to scapegoat all refugees,’ in a statement on Nov. 17. ‘They are extremely vulnerable families, women, and children who are fleeing for their lives. We cannot and should not blame them for the actions of a terrorist organization,’ Bishop Eusebio Elizondo said. Bishops from Chicago, New York, Missouri, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and New Mexico were also among those who penned opinion pieces for local papers or open letters calling for compassion over overreaction.” —Leslie Caimi, Washington Post

¶ “It is incumbent on every public figure, elected politician, and media outlet to stand up against the ‘dangerous tide of hatred, violence, and suspicion’ taking hold in the United States, over 700 prominent organizations and people declared in a full-page ad in Thursday's New York Times. ‘We grieve the many lives that have been lost or painfully transformed in recent weeks through extreme acts of violence. And we are appalled by the surge of divisive rhetoric that sows the seeds of more violence to come.’” —Sarah Lazare, Common Dreams

¶ “Put the glove of religion on the hand of either a revolutionary or a statesman, and religion will be pulled into the dynamics of cohesion, control, acquisition and maintenance of power, and the marking of boundaries—and will more likely than not turn violent. In other words, align moral self-understanding of society, state and religion, and even most peaceful religion will become ready to ‘take up the gun.’” —Miroslav  Volf, “In light of the Paris attacks, is it time to eradicate religion?”

¶ In 2010, during her Supreme Court nomination hearings in the Senate, Elena Kagan, then the federal Solicitor General, is asked by Senator Lindsay Graham to state the rationale for indefinite detention of “enemy combatants” at the US base prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Afterwards, Graham says “That’s a good summary. The problem with this war is that there will never be a definable end to hostilities, will there?”
        Kagan responds. “That is exactly the problem, Senator.” —quoted in Shadow Proof

¶  “In May, 2013, the Senate Armed Services Committee held a hearing on whether it should revise the 2001 Authorization to Use Military Force (AUMF). A committee member asked a senior Pentagon official, Assistant Secretary Michael Sheehan, how long the war on terror would last; his reply: ‘At least 10 to 20 years.’ At least. A Pentagon spokesperson confirmed afterward ‘that Sheehan meant the conflict is likely to last 10 to 20 more years from today — atop the 12 years that the conflict has already lasted.’ As Spencer Ackerman put it: ‘Welcome to America’s Thirty Years War,’ one which—by the Obama administration’s own reasoning—has ‘no geographic limit.’” —Tlen Greenwald, The Intercept

¶ "I think we're looking at kind of a 30-year war.” —Leon Paneta, former the Obama administration Director of the Central Intelligence Agency and then Secretary of Defense

"With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation."
— Isaiah 12:3. Photo above: WaterAid/Caroline Irby.

¶ “In great empires the people who live in the capital, and in the provinces remote from the scene of action, feel, many of them, scarce any inconveniency from the war; but enjoy, at their ease, the amusement of reading in the newspapers the exploits of their own fleets and armies. To them this amusement compensates the small difference between the taxes which they pay on account of the war, and those which they had been accustomed to pay in time of peace. They are commonly dissatisfied with the return of peace, which puts an end to their amusement, and to a thousand visionary hopes of conquest and national glory from a longer continuance of the war.” —Adam Smith, considered the “father” of modern economics, in The Wealth of Nations, published in 1776

¶ “10 Things I Wish Everyone Knew About Chanukkah,” by Rabbi Evan Moffic.

¶ The Chanukkah Candelabra is known as a Chanukkiah, not a Menorah. The Menorah is the seven-wicked candelabra that stood in the Jerusalem Temple. It became a symbol of Judaism and is carved into one of the gates of Rome as a symbol of the Roman conquest of Judea in 70 C.E.

¶ Not your grandfather’s Hanukkah music. —“Dreidel,” by Erran Baron Cohen, performed by Jules Brookes and Y-Love

At right: Pomegranate Tree Chanukiah by Yair Emanuel

¶ Is it spelled “Hanukkah” or “Chanukah”? These and more interested facts about the Jewish holiday commemorating the Maccabean victory over the Greek army in 2nd century BCE, with the temple Menorah’s miraculous store of lamp oil. —Chabad.org

¶ Here’s one way to visualize God as (in Francis Thompson’s verse) “the hound of heaven,” ever pursuing us, however fast we seek to flee from that Union of the soul which frightens yet, in fact, is so joyously ecstatic.

¶ Listen to Richard Burton’s rendition of Francis Thompson’s famous poem, “The Hound of Heaven.”

¶ “More than 1,000 people gathered in the bright sunshine on the steps of Helsinki Cathedral to sing the Finlandia hymn [“This Is My Song, O God of All the Nations,” lyrics by Lloyd Stone and, later, Georgia Harkness], one of the most popular compositions of composer Jean Sibelius, whose 150th anniversary has been celebrated nationwide. The Dec. 8 anniversary of the national composer's birth in 1865 has been marked with concerts and a 24-hour broadcast of Finnish music, mostly by Sibelius, including all seven symphonies.” Here is a video of the crowd singing.

¶ Read Ken Sehested’s new lyrics to “This Is My Song.”

¶ We cannot long survive as a democracy with these uncommonwealth indicators:
        •”The divide between the "haves" and the "have-nots" in the United States has never been so vast, with a new report out Tuesday revealing that the nation's 20 richest individuals own more wealth than the entire bottom half of the population. “
        • Half of the $176 million donated to presidential candidates thus far has been given by 158 families, along with companies they own or control. (The article’s graphic is, well, just that.) —Nicholas Confessore, Sarah Cohen and Karen Yourish, New York Times

¶ State of our disunion. “It was left to Bo Dietl, a former New York City cop, to cross the line from the simply stupid to the downright chilling, as he called for mass surveillance of mosques. ‘Let’s stop worrying about people’s rights,’ he said.” —Leonard Pitts

¶ “We love having all 16 Republicans candidates throwing crap at each other—it's great. The more they spend, the better it is for us." —Les Moonves, CBS Corporation chief executive, during a recent investor presentation

¶ Can’t make this sh*t up. “Gun company stocks surged after the latest massacre, and gun manufacturers admit behind closed doors that Sandy Hook and other atrocities have proved good for business—after, of course, adding their obligatory statements on the small bloody bodies at Newtown that "obviously we are all shocked” but hey they're obliged to “respond to market pressures.”
        A spokesperson for The Shopping Channel’s new 24/7 “Gun TV,” whose parent company is called the “Social Responsibility Network,” says “We saw an opportunity in filling a need, not creating one.” —excerpted from Abby Zimet, Common Dreams

¶ For the first time since 1920, the New York Times has placed its editorial on page 1: “It is a moral outrage and national disgrace that civilians can legally purchase weapons designed to kill people with brutal speed and efficiency.” —New York Times editorial, 4 December 2015

¶ Last week Republican senators had the opportunity to approve one common sense measure—to restrict gun sales to those on the FBI’s terror watch list. With the exception of Mark Kirk of Illinois, they all voted against it. Senator Coryn of Texas expressed concern over violation of constitutional rights. —see more at Mark Silk, Religion News Service

¶ “The front cover of the New York Daily News for Thursday takes a strong stance against how some politicians are reacting to the San Bernardino shooting with calls for prayer instead of tighter gun control laws.” —Jessica Durando, USA Today

¶ Just for fun. Andy Griffith’s famous 1953 stand-up monologue, “What It Was, Was Football” (5:39 minutes).

¶ Preach it. “Advent’s waiting is not listless. With training, death’s threat need not unnerve us. Fear not, though folded lies await.” —read Ken Sehested’s “Undo the Folded Lie: Notes on the reckless folly of our season”

¶ Altar call. “Would You Harbor Me?” Sweet Honey in the Rock.

¶ Call to the table. “Canticle of the Turning” performed by Emmaus Way.

¶ Benediction. “There's a light, there's a light in the darkness / And the black of the night cannot harm us / We can trust not to fear for our comfort is near / There's a light, there's a light in the darkness.” —“There’s a Light,” performed by Beth Nielsen Chapman, Emmylou Harris, Pat Benatar, Sheryl Crow and Shea Seger

¶ Recessional. “Simple Praise” by Joanie Madden.

¶ A word from Gerald, prayer&politiks’ guardian angel. There’s still time to contribute to the prayer&politiks fund-to-preserve-the-future. For a $52 or more contribution, we’ll send you a free copy of In the Land of the Living: Prayers personal and public. Besides early-retirement social security checks, reader contributions are our sole source of income. You can also support this work by circulating our web link to your friends and colleagues with your personal word of endorsement.

#  #  #

Featured this week on prayer&politiks:

•“Annunciation: Mary's song of praise,” a poem inspired Mary’s Magnificat

•“The Manger’s Revolt,” a sermon based on Mary’s Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55)

•“'Undo the folded lie': Notes on the reckless folly of our season”

•“This Is My Song (O God of all the nations),” new lyrics to an old hymn

©Ken Sehested @ prayerandpolitiks.org. Language not otherwise indicated above is that of the editor. 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.

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.