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Signs of the Times  •  11 February 2016  •  No. 58

¶ Processional. “They have blessings – those who ask / Jesus himself said so / Hallelujah /  Jesus himself said so. . . . / They have life. . . . / They have joy. . . . / They have faith.” —“Wana Baraka” (They have blessings), traditional Swahili hymn from Kenya, arranged by Shawn L. Kirchner.

Right: Hamilton Pool Preserve is a natural pool that was created when the dome of an underground river collapsed due to massive erosion thousands of years ago. The pool is located about 23 miles west of Austin, Texas. Photo by Dave Wilson.

¶ Invocation. “The world is God’s and it will not fall apart. The church need not live out of fear as though the gospel were not true. Instead, we are destined to live toward freedom, toward the pain of the world, toward the hurt of the world, toward the joy of the world: The hurt and pain the world does not understand and the joy the world does not anticipate.”  —continue reading “The world is God’s,” a litany for worship adapting text from Walter Brueggemann’s Living Toward a Vision

¶ Call to worship. Imagine God singing (about-and-to us) this Muddy Waters tune on Ash Wednesday. “Forty Days and Forty Nights,” performed by B.B. King.

¶ Amazing news. Today “Morocco’s king will switch on the first phase of a concentrated solar power plant that will become the world’s largest when completed. The power station on the edge of the Saharan desert will be the size of the country’s capital city by the time it is finished in 2018, and provide electricity for 1.1 million people. . . . [saving] hundreds of thousands of tonnes of carbon emissions per year.” —Arthur Neslen, The Guardian

¶ More amazing news from Morocco. In late January some 300 Muslim clerics, scholars and other leaders approved the “Marrakesh Declaration” asserting the rights of religious minorities in predominantly-Muslim communities.
        Drawing historical precedent from the 1,400 year-old “Charter of Medina” which the Prophet Mohammad drafted to govern the first Muslim state, the affirmations in the Declaration are highly significant. The question now is whether this statement, and the four-year negotiation behind it, will stimulate the conversation needed to affect policies and cultural norms.
        You can read the summary of the Marrakesh Declaration here. Here’s a brief news story from Religion News Service. Here’s a longer New York Times report.

¶ Confession (in Ash Wednesday’s imposition line). “Excuse me . . . I signed up for eternal bliss. I think I may be in the wrong line."

¶ Hymn of praise. “Feeling Good,” Nina Simone.

¶ Speaking of interfaith engagement, this is an inspiring video (1:38) of Pope Francis affirmed “we are all children of God.”

¶ Inspiring news you won’t likely hear. “Meet The Rabbi Traveling Across The Country To Fight Islamophobia,” by Justin Salhani, thinkprogress.org. (Thanks, Shanta.)

¶ Not so inspiring news. “Are we going to surround the entire State of Israel with a fence, a barrier? The answer is yes, unequivocally. In the environment in which we live we must defend ourselves from the wild beasts." —Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, announcing this week the multi-year, multi-million dollar project. Andrea Germanos, Common Dreams

¶ Words of assurance. “If your world has only done you wrong / And all you find yourself is all alone / And if there's no one there to see you through / I'll be there for you.” —The Mavericks, "Come Unto Me"

¶ “Both miraculous and terrifying.” The largest glacier calving event ever caught on video. (Thanks, Susan.)

¶ Black History Month snippet: Brief profile of Ralph Bunche, career diplomat. —Steven J. Niven, “Ralph Bunche: A Diplomat Who Would Not Negotiate on Race” (Thanks, Richard.)

¶ “Hammerin’ Hank” Aaron celebrated his 82nd birthday this week. The photo (at left), from the Negro Leagues Museum, shows the 18-year-old Aaron leaving Mobile, Alabama, in 1952 to join the Indianapolis Clowns Negro League baseball team with a salary of $200 a month. He purportedly had $1.50 in his pocket, two changes of clothes and one major league dream.

¶ This is priceless! You may have heard that on 20 January, Stacey Dash, a FOX News contributor (she was a character in the ‘90s comedy “Clueless”), said that Black History Month shouldn’t exist. The good folk at “Yes!” magazine put together a one minute video of kids’ responses.

¶ Recovery of African American history. Just down the mountain to the east of where I live is the small town of Old Fort, NC. One Sunday in September 1950 (years before the phrase “civil rights movement” was a headline) Old Fort citizens were stunned to see African American children marching down main street (see the photo at right), carrying signs like “We want our school back,” in opposition to the county’s decision to close the Catawba View Grammar School. —read more of Dawna Goode’s story

¶ More historical recovery. “Virginia’s public education then [1956] was a hotbed of white-black conflict after [the US Supreme Court’s ruling] Brown v. Board of Education. Several Virginia counties temporarily closed their schools to avoid integration. Prince Edward County resisted integration to the point that eventually, in 1959, the county shut down its public school system indefinitely. Whites-only private schools were formed, perversely supported by state funds. For five years, from 1959-1964, there was no public education for black children.” —Jerry A. Miller, Jr., Asheville Citizen-Times

¶ This, too, is to be learned in Lent. “On Judgment Day God will hold us accountable for the permitted pleasures we failed to enjoy.” —Jerusalem Talmud

¶ It is, I hope, a permitted pleasure to enjoy personal acquaintance with publicly-recognized justice-seeking, peace-making, reconciliation-building icons—in my case two of this year’s five “Public Peace Prize” recipients: Marie Dennis, co-president of Pax Christi International, and Michael Lapsley, a South African priest who works with victims as well as authors of apartheid and other forms of repression (and a recent guest preacher for my congregation). Read more about all five recipients.

¶ Lent is an especially good time to give thanks for, and encourage, hospital and hospice chaplains. One recent testimony: “In the past week, I baptized two babies—one dead, one dying. I held a chair steady for a mother collapsing in tears, and I held a trash bin for a father vomiting in grief. I prayed for children who had cancer, held hands of children who had burns, sang songs to children who had been abused.” —Keith Menhinick, hospital chaplian in NC,  “The Spiritual Practice of Poetry”

¶ Among the lessons of Lent is the limit of speech. “I am reluctant to talk about God and what God thinks and how God acts. . . . I go there, but when I do, I’m reminded of Robert Capon saying we’re like oysters trying to explain ballerinas." —Barbara Brown Taylor

¶ A prophet speaks to profit. “If Wall Street can borrow money at 0.75% interest, so can college students. We need to stop treating students as profit centers.” —Senator Elizabeth Warren

¶ Preach it, Mr. President. "What better time than these changing, tumultuous times to have Jesus standing beside us, steadying our minds, cleansing our hearts, pointing us towards what matters.
        “His love gives us the power to resist fear's temptations.
        “He gives us the courage to reach out to others across that divide, rather than push people away.
        “He gives us the courage to go against the conventional wisdom and stand up for what's right, even when it's not popular. To stand up not just to our enemies but, sometimes, to stand up to our friends.
        “He gives us the fortitude to sacrifice ourselves for a larger cause. Or to make tough decisions knowing that we can only do our best." ­—President Barack Obama, National Prayer Breakfast, Thursday 4 February 2016. You can watch a video (1:41 minutes) and read a news report of his comments at Politico.

¶ Plundering “freedom” language. “. . . religious liberty is a code word for defending the right of Christians to continue to hold cultural authority and privilege.” —John Fea, “Ted Cruz’s campaign is fueled by a dominionist vision for America,” Religion News Service

¶ “It is directly contrary to the nature of Christ Jesus . . . that throats of men should be torne out for his sake.” —Roger Williams, colonial pastor, advocate for universal protection of religious liberty, founder of Rhode Island, a haven for religious dissenters, who was referred to by Puritan leaders of the Massachusetts Bay Colony as “an incendiary of the Commonwealth

¶ Lectionary for Sunday next. “Those who live there make their bellies their gods, belches are their praise; all they can think of is their appetites.” —Philippians 3:19, The Message

¶ “I asked God if it was okay to be melodramatic / and she said yes / I asked her if it was okay to be short / and she said it sure is / I asked her if I could wear nail polish / or not wear nail polish / and she said honey / she calls me that sometimes / she said you can do just exactly what you want to. . . .” —Kaylin Haught, “God Says Yes to Me.” Here  is a video rendition of the poem (3+ minutes).

¶ Call to the table. "We learn some things to know them; others, to do them.” —St. Augustine

¶ Benediction. “Defenseless under the night / Our world in stupor lies; / Yet, dotted everywhere, / Ironic points of light / Flash out wherever the Just / Exchange their messages: / May I, composed like them / Of Eros and of dust, / Beleaguered by the same / Negation and despair, / Show an affirming flame. —W.H. Auden, last verse of his poem “September 1, 1939”

¶ Just for fun. Comedic lip syncing Patsy Cline.

¶ Recessional. “Going home, going home / I'm jus' going home / Quiet like, some still day / I'm jus' going home / It's not far, yes close by / Through an open door / Work all done, care laid by / Going to fear no more.” —performed by Sissel Kyrkjebø, music by Antonin Dvorak from Symphony No. 9, Op. 95, lyrics by William Arms Fisher, who wrote that “the lines . . . should take the form of a negro spiritual.”

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Featured this week on prayer&politiks:

• “Wintering over,” a call to worship in a chilly season, by Abigail Hastings

• “With courage impart,” a litany for worship inspired by Psalm 27.

• “The world is God’s,” a litany for worship adapting text from Walter Brueggemann’s Living Toward a Vision, edited by Ken Sehested

Resources for Lent

• “Fasting: Ancient practice, modern relevance”

• “Wilderness: Lenten preparation: A collection of biblical texts that speak of wilderness”

• “Lent is upon us,” liturgical readings for Lent

• “Deepening the Call: A wilderness fast opposing a “Desert Storm,” a Lenten essay protesting the 1991 Gulf War

©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  •  4 February 2016  •  No. 57

¶ Processional.  Street percussion and dance in New York City, from “To the Culture” (2:28 minutes).

Right: Shelf cloud over Sydney, Australia, photo by Richard Hirst.

¶ Invocation. “Miserere Mei, Deus" (Psalm 51),  by 17th century Italian composer Gregorio Allegri (5:44 minutes).

¶ Call to worship. “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness” (Luke 4:1) —see “Wilderness: Lenten preparation: A collection of biblical texts on wilderness”

¶ Money can’t buy you love. This past Sunday, while stumping in Iowa to corral votes prior to Monday’s caucuses, presidential candidate Donald Trump visited a non-denominational church for worship, where he attempted to put money on the communion tray. “I thought it was for the offering.” —Nick Allen and Ruth Sherlock, The Telegraph

¶ The Reverend Richard Allen, founder and first bishop in the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, founded 200 years ago in the US, is the US Postal Service’s featured portrait for their Black History Month commemorative stamp. —for more information see Adelle M. Banks, Religion News Service 

¶ Notable Nobel Prize nomination. Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, SC—where a Christian terrorist assassinated nine members in June 2015—has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for the way it has handled that tragedy. —Andrew Knapp, The Post and Courier

¶ “Jarena Lee (February 11, 1783–1836, pictured below right) was a 19th-century African-American woman who left behind an eloquent account of her religious experience. The publishing of her autobiography made Lee the first African American woman to have an autobiography published in the United States. She was also the first woman authorized to preach by Richard Allen, founder of the African Methodist Episcopal Church in 1819. Despite Allen's blessing, Lee continued to face hostility to her ministry because she was black and a woman. She became a traveling minister, traveling thousands of miles on foot.” —Wikipedia

¶ As part of its coverage of Black History Month, The New York Times is printing a series of previously unpublished archival photos of African Americans—with new ones each day in February.

¶ Hymn of petition. “Choneni Elohim” (“Be gracious to me, O G-d”), from Psalm 51, written and performed by Christene Jackman.

¶ In memoriam—and in anticipation of the outcome of Lent’s discipline. “Freedom,” Richie Havens, who died this week at age 72, improvising “Motherless Child” at Woodstock 1969.

¶ Hymn of (amazing) praise.  Young Amira Willighagen sings Giacomo Puccini’s “O Mio Babbino Caro” (“Oh My Beloved Father”) on Dutch TV’s “Got Talent” program.

¶ Confession. “Most of our culture prefers to celebrate Valentine's Day rather than Ash Wednesday. Most are repulsed by the thought of smudging ashes on the forehead in the shape of a cross. Most, even in the church, shy away from the mark of crucifixion. Instead of the body-broken, blood-spilt meal which Jesus offered, most prefer the empty calories of candy. Valentine candy is the Gospel of our culture.” —Ken Sehested

¶ The history behind Valentine’s Day. “It is said that a jailer in a Roman prison had a daughter who was one of St. Valentine’s patients before he was arrested. He tended her for her blindness, but when he was arrested she still had not regained her sight.
       Before his execution Valentine asked the jailer for some parchment and ink, wrote the girl a note, and signed it 'From your Valentine.' When she opened the note, a yellow crocus flower fell out of the parchment and it was the first thing she had ever seen.” —Read Ken Sehested’s “St. Valentine: Remembering prisoners on his feast day.” Each year the children and youth in my congregation make homemade Valentine’s cards for prisoners, which are then distributed by local prison chaplains.

¶ “Valentine's Day is a time to spoil our beloveds, woo our secret lovers, and remember to call our mothers. It is also, to put things slightly less tenderly, a $20 billion macroeconomic stimulus aimed straight at the heart of the American chocolate-floral-lingerie industrial hydra.” —Derek Thompson, The Atlantic

¶ More children’s ministries. Circle of Mercy Congregation’s youth made several pillowcase banners in support of the #GiveRefugeesRest  campaign. Some were sent to our state’s governor, who was one of the 31 governors opposing Syrian refugee resettlement. Two were hand delivered by one of our members to Speaker of the House Paul Ryan.

¶ Why refugees matter. “The First Testament says it plainly enough: ‘You shall love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt’ (Deuteronomy 10:19, among a score of similar injunctions). In the Second Testament, the plight of strangers—the stranded, the stripped, the stricken and the strapped—is equated with the sake of Jesus himself. Thereby, and in these very days, the judicial transcript of Matthew 25 is published anew: Lord, when did we see thee. . . ?” —read Ken Sehested’s “Mamrean encounter: A meditation on the threat of refugees, the burden of strangers and the bounty of God”

¶ Words of assurance. “We're all / Born to trouble / In troubling times / This world has a way / Of wearing us down / But the earth / Keeps on turning / Night turns to day / And every new morning / Mercies come round.” —“Lay Back the Darkness,” Kate Campbell 

 ¶ “There are voices who are constantly claiming you have to choose between your identities. . . . Do not believe them. . . . You fit in here. Right here. You’re right where you belong. . . . You’re not Muslim or American, you’re Muslim and American. And don’t grow cynical.” —President Barack Obama, in his 3 February speech at the Islamic Society of Baltimore mosque. For more, see Michelle Boorstein, The Washington Post.

¶ Religious liberty for Muslims was championed by Roger Williams in colonial America, and specifically mentioned in early US constitutional wording. Thomas Jefferson, who 1786 penned Virginia’s Statue for Religious Freedom—which became the model for the religious liberty amendment to the US Constitution, approved by Congress in 1789 and ratified by the states in 1791—which extended explicit protection to “the Jew and the gentile, the Christian and the Mohametan” [the latter word meaning Muslim]. And, in fact, the Virginia legislature explicitly rejected inclusion of language recognizing “Jesus Christ” in the bill. —see Elahe Izadi, “Obama, Thomas Jefferson and the history of the fascinating history of Founding Fathers defending Muslim rights”

¶ "In the formation of the American ideal and principles of what we consider to be exceptional American values, Muslims were, at the beginning, the litmus test for whether the reach of American constitutional principles would include every believer, every kind, or not." —Denise Spellberg, author of Thomas Jefferson's Qur'an: Islam and the Founders

¶ Awesome. Listen to University of Maryland student Sabah Muktar’s introduction of President Obama prior to his speaking at the Islamic Center of Baltimore. (3:02 minutes).

¶ Twenty-five years of US combat operations against Iraq. Twenty-five years ago the US and its allies were midway through “Operation Desert Storm,” the action to expel Iraqi troops from Kuwait. —For more information, see Alan Taylor’s “Operation Desert Storm: 25 Years Since the First Guld War," The Atlantic.

¶ “Despite the prayers of millions of believers, both in this country and elsewhere, the war has begun. And it has been prosecuted on a scale never before witnessed in the history of humankind. On February 4, Major General Robert Johnston said that ‘[we have flown] approximately one bombing sortie for every minute of the Desert Storm operation.’” —read Ken Sehested’s “Deepening the Call: A wilderness fast opposing a ‘Desert Storm,’” a Lenten essay protesting the 1991 Gulf War

¶ US military strikes in Iraq have not ceased since 1991. Although a cease-fire was established 28 February 1991, the US and Britain established “no-fly” zones in southern and northern Iraq, engaging in near-daily attacks on Saddam Hussein’s forces right up until the 2003 “Shock and Awe” invasion of Iraq. US troops did not formally withdraw from Iraq until 31 December 2011, but then returned in June 2014. According to Pentagon spokesman Col. Steve Warren, there are now “well above 4,000” US troops in Iraq, and more are expected to be deployed.

¶ “Do not bother looking for Lent in your Bible dictionary. There was no such thing in biblical times. There is some evidence that early Christians fasted 40 hours between Good Friday and Easter, but the custom of spending 40 days in prayer and self-denial did not arise until later, when the initial rush of Christian adrenaline was over and believers had gotten very ho-hum about their faith.
        “When the world did not end as Jesus himself had said it would, his followers stopped expecting so much from God or from themselves. They hung a wooden cross on the wall and settled back into their more or less comfortable routines, remembering their once passionate devotion to God the way they remembered the other enthusiasms of their youth.” —Barbara Brown Taylor, “Settling for Less: A Lenten Meditation on Luke 4:1-13

¶ Preach it. “’Fear of God’ is not cowering, frightened intimidation. Those who fear God are not wimps and are not preoccupied with excessive need to please God. They are rather those who have arrived at a fundamental vision of reality about life with God, who have enormous power, freedom, and energy to live out that vision. ‘Fear of God’ is liberating and not restrictive, because it gives confidence about the true shape of the world.” —Walter Brueggemann, Remember You Are Dust

¶ Lectionary for Sunday next. "All who dwell in the dell of the Blessed Embrace shall raise anthems of joy and grace. My fortress, my shield, by mercy concealed: O Shelter, my shiv’ring displace." —continue reading “When you call I will answer,” a litany for worship inspired by Psalm 91

¶ Call to the table. “Idumea (Am I Born to Die),” Doc Watson and Gaither Carlton.

¶ Altar call. “Isn’t there anything you understand? It’s from the ash heap God is seen. Always! Always from the ashes.” —character in Archibald MacLeish’s play, “J.B.”

¶ Just for fun. Bobby McFarrin and Esperanza Spalding jam at the 53rd Grammy Pre-Tel  (Thanks, Graham.)

¶ Benediction. “Abide With Me," slow jazz instrumental rendition by Charles Lloyd and The Marvels.

¶ Some recessionals are for marching with martialed courage, like those children leaving the sanctuary, in 1963, of 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, to face police dogs and fire hoses. But some are for sauntering and slow dancing like “The Shadow of Your Smile” performed here by Glenn Frey (RIP).

Right: Art ©Julie Lonneman

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Featured this week on prayer&politiks:

•“Mamrean encounter: A meditation on the threat of refugees, the burden of strangers and the bounty of God,” a poem

• “St. Valentine: Remembering prisoners on his feast day,” the history behind the holiday

• “When you call I will answer,” a litany for worship inspired by Psalm 91

Resources for Lent

• “Fasting: Ancient practice, modern relevance”

• “Wilderness: Lenten preparation: A collection of biblical texts that speak of wilderness”

• “Create in me a clean heart,” a litany for worship inspired by Psalm 51

• “Heart religion,” a litany for Ash Wednesday

• “Spirit-led and Spirit-fed,” a litany for worship inspired by Luke 4:1-13

• “Lent is upon us,” readings for Lenten liturgy

• “Deepening the Call: A wilderness fast opposing a “Desert Storm,” 25th anniversary of a Lenten essay written prior to the 1991 Gulf War

©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  •  28 January 2016  •  No. 56

¶ Processional. “Traveller,” Anoushka Shankar, on sitar, dance by Shalini Patnaik. The dance form, Odissi, is one of the eight classical dance forms of India and is thought to be the oldest surviving dance of India.

Tibetan Prayer Flag Quilt by Peg Green, VA

¶ Invocation. "Oh, a storm is threat'ning / My very life today / If I don't get some shelter / Oh year, I'm gonna fade away." Watch David Wolfe's inspiring, multi-artist rendition of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards' "Gimme Shelter."

¶ This is amazing. German musician Felix Kleiser was born without arms. Yet he is an award-winning French horn artist, playing with his toes. Listen to him perform (with Christof Keymer on piano) Schumann’s “Adagio and Allegro in A flat major for horn and piano.”

¶ Hymn of praise. Led Zepplin’s “Kashmir” performed by The Louisville Leopard Percussionists (featuring xylophones—this is awesome).

¶ Backfired. “A Texas grand jury investigating video-recorded allegations that Planned Parenthood was illegally selling fetal organs instead indicted two of the people who made the controversial undercover videos.” —Trevor Hughes, Religion News Service

¶ Confession. “It's when we face for a moment / the worst our kind can do, and shudder to know / the taint in our own selves, that awe / cracks the mind's shell and enters the heart.” ―Denise Levertov, “On the Mystery of the Incarnation”

¶ Words of assurance. “I, God, am your playmate! / I will lead the child in you in wonderful ways / for I have chosen you. / Beloved child, come swiftly to Me / for I am truly in you. / Then I shall leap into love.” —Mechthild of Magdesburg, member of the Beguines, a non-canonical, self-supporting religious order founded by women in 12th century Europe whose lack of male oversight and mystical leanings resulted in their being repressed by the Church in the 14th century.

¶ “The Most Important Writing from People of Color in 2015.” —Zeba Blay, Huffpost Black Voices (Thanks, Mark.) 

¶ Good news. “On Friday, 15 January, the White House announced “a halt to new coal mining leases on federal lands until the administration conducts a comprehensive review on coal companies' royalty fees—a move that is expected to give new momentum to the environmental campaigns calling for a post-fossil fuel era.” —Nadia Prupis, Common Dreams

¶ Not so good news. A recent survey by Public Policy Polling asks respondents whether or note they supported a US bombing campaign of Agrabah: 30% of self-identified Republicans supported the action, while 13% opposed. Among self-identified Democrats, 19% supported and 36% opposed. Problem is, Agrabah is the fictional country from the Disney movie “Aladdin.” —see Miles E. Johnson, Mother Jones

¶ More not-so-good news. “The irony of gay marriage becoming legal in the United States is that it has made discrimination against LBGT people easier.” —read more analysis in “Can States Protect LGBT Rights Without Compromising Religious Freedom?” by Emma Green, The Nation

¶ More good news. “An incredible moving company in California helps victims of domestic violence by moving their belongings at no charge. After recognizing the scale of the need and unwilling to take money from people in such distress, the brothers decided to make free moving services for people fleeing violent situations a company policy.” —A Mighty Girl  (Thanks, Connie.)

¶ Science in service to whom? “The U.S. Department of Defense is asking the American Psychological Association (APA) to place its ethical considerations aside and reconsider its ban prohibiting psychologists from participating in torture at Guantánamo Bay and elsewhere.” Last summer the “Hoffman Report” undermined “the APA's repeated denials that its members were complicit in torture,” which led to the near-unanimous vote establishing the organization’s policy. —Lauren McCauley, Common Dreams

¶ That’s a bunch of bytes! One of the biggest scientific events of 2015 was the NASA New Horizons’ flyby of the planet Pluto. It took the spacecraft nearly 10 years to pass by close enough to Pluto and its moons to begin collecting information. The mission team back on earth will need about 16 months to download the associated data. Even though the radio signals that contain the data are moving at light speed, the download won’t be complete until early 2017! —Brian Heckert, Mozy

¶ Creative compassion can erupt from anywhere, anytime. “If you type the word ‘refugee’ using the new typeface Common Sans, something potentially confusing happens: ‘Refugee’ immediately autocorrects to ‘human.’ That’s not an error. It’s the handiwork of Swedish design studio Essen International. It created the graphic bit of activism as a pro bono project. ‘Often this is what you read in the headlines, about refugees, and you forget that they’re humans,’ says creative director Robert Holmkvist.” —Margaret Rhodes, Wired (Thanks, Abigail.)

¶ “More people from every corner of the globe have been uprooted by war, persecution or natural disasters than ever before in history. That amounts to 55 million people ‘forcebly displaced’ at the end of 2014, according to the UN Refugee Agency. That doesn’t count tens of millions more in poverty who are voluntarily seeking a better life.” —Jane Onyanga-Omara, USA Today

¶ “[I]f others neither have goods we want nor can perform services we need, we make sure that they are at a safe distance and close ourselves off from them so that their emaciated and tortured bodies can make no inordinate claims on us. —Miroslav Volf, “Exclusion and Embrace: A Theological Exploration of Identity, Otherness, and Reconciliation”

¶ “Justice demands that we seek and find the stranger, the broken, the prisoner and comfort them and offer them our help. Here lies the holy compassion of God that causes the devils much distress.” —Mechtild of Magdeburg

¶ “By majority vote [22 January] the Commissioners of the United States Commission on Civil Rights have issued a letter that requests the immediate end of the raids currently being carried out by the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement against Central American refugees.” —PRNewswire (Thanks, Greg.)

¶ Preach it. “Pope Francis is taking direct aim at the wealthy and powerful of the world, saying in his message for Lent that they are often ‘slaves to sin’ who, if they ignore the poor, ‘will end up condemning themselves and plunging into the eternal abyss of solitude which is hell. . . . The greater their power and wealth, the more this blindness and deception can grow,’ the pontiff wrote in his annual Lenten exhortation, which was released on Tuesday,” 26 January. —David Gibson, Religion News Service 

¶ Altar call. “Madrone's eyes were far away. Slowly she drew her attention back to the room, and shook her head.
        "I know my destiny," she said. "I had a dream."
        She turned to meet Bird's eyes, and gave him a little, hesitant smile, almost like an apology.
        "What kind of dream?" he asked, knowing before she spoke what she was going to say.
        "That kind of a dream," she said lightly. "The kind that messes up your life. It said, 'Build a refuge in the heart of the enemy.'" —“City of Refuge” by Starhawk (Thanks, Deborah.)

¶ “I don’t know about the levels and layers of heaven,
but I do know about tenderness
about curves of a baby’s bottom
about the touch of a loved one
about wrinkles
about dirt
about sunshine
about wild geese
about waterfalls
about mountains
and about a God who is here with us
        and above
intimate with those whose brokenness
        has become an opening for Him to enter.
This is a God
who is not just the God of the majesty and the mighty,
but a God of the broken down,
the poor,
the refugee.
This is a God is less the Prime Mover
        and more the Most Moved Mover.”
—Omid Safi, “A Theology of Cracked Spaces,” On Being

¶ “God bless the grass that grows through the crack / They roll the concrete over it / And try to keep it back. / The concrete gets tired, of what it has to do / It breaks and it buckles / And the grass grows through.” —“God Bless the Grass,” Pete Seeger

¶ Call to the table. “Ah the wars they will / be fought again / The holy dove / She will be caught again / bought and sold / and bought again / the dove is never free / Ring the bells that still can ring / Forget your perfect offering / There is a crack in everything / That's how the light gets in.” —“Anthem,” Leonard Cohen

¶ Zaatari refugee camp (left) in Jordan, where some 85,000 Syrian refugees live.  Altogether, the United Nations have registered 600,000 Syrian refugees in Jordan, though the total number could top one million. Keep in mind that Jordan is also the home of more than two million Palestinian refugees, who began pouring into the country after the creation of the state of Israel in 1948.

¶ Lectionary for Sunday next. “’Everything begins in ecstasy and ends in politics,’ according to Charles Péguy, the French poet and essayist. I think of this community of faith as a school for ecstasy; but ecstasy is so much more than an emotionally pleasurable experience. Ecstasy is thicker and sturdier. We’re not just ‘getting high’ on God. In fact, the ecstasy I have in mind is what gets us ‘low,’ which impels us down from the experience of transfiguration with Jesus to encounter the world’s convulsion.” —read Ken Sehested’s Transfiguration Sunday sermon, “From ecstasy to epilepsy”

¶ Just for fun. President Barack Obama wingin’ it on live TV (1:37 minutes).

¶ Benediction. “Always Stay Humble and Kind,” Tim McGraw. (Thanks, Lenora.)

¶ Recessional. “Ain’t Got Time to Die,” by Accoustic Choir of Romania.

N.T. Wright quote: photo by Tomsan Kattackal.

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Featured this week on prayer&politiks:

• “From ecstasy to epilepsy,” a Transfiguration Sunday sermon

• “Resilience Mojo for the Bonobo Year: A bleak midwinter sermon,” by Abigail Hastings

• “When grief sits with you,” a call to worship by Abigail Hastings

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

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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.