Maundy Thursday

Judas Iscariot 1891 by Nikolai Ge

Last night we observed the betrayal of this Holy Week. We met at church for a lovely supper and took communion. We heard the Gospel of Mark: the annointing at Bethany, the disciples falling asleep, Peter denying Jesus, Judas and finally the crown of thorns. We celebrated the service of Tenebrae, or the extinguishing the light. The candles were snuffed out one by one until we sat in darkness. We left in silence. We wait now for Easter morning and the resurrection.

Palm Sunday!

Today is Palm Sunday - the beginning of Holy Week. I love Easter - it is my favorite observance. I love the story and the drama of this week and it also makes me profoundly sad. At church this morning all the children carried palm fronds and sang with the choir, "Hosannah Blessed is He that comes in the name of the Lord! Hosannah! Hosannah! Blessed is He that comes!"

We will go to church for Maundy Thursday and take communion. Then we will have a Tenebrae service - or the extinguishing of the light - symbolizing the darkness and aimlessness of Good Friday. We will awake Easter Morn and be so grateful, so happy that the light has returned! Resurrection! New Life!

I don't believe Jesus is the ONLY light, but he's the light most apparent and present to me.

Toward the end of our service today we left the jubilation of Jesus' grand entrance to Jerusalem and started toward Good Friday, reading the Passion Story. This story chokes me up the way hearing about an abused animal or child wrenches my heart. I feel physically ill at the torture and abuse of innocents. And so I feel that way about Jesus being mocked, spat on, beaten and tortured. It is almost too much to stand.

Matthew 27

24When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. "I am innocent of this man's blood," he said. "It is your responsibility!"
25All the people answered, "Let his blood be on us and on our children!"
26Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.

27Then the governor's soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. 28They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, 29and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand and knelt in front of him and mocked him. "Hail, king of the Jews!" they said. 30They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. 31After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.
32As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross. 33They came to a place called Golgotha (which means The Place of the Skull). 34There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it. 35When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots.[b] 36And sitting down, they kept watch over him there. 37Above his head they placed the written charge against him: THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS. 38Two robbers were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. 39Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads 40and saying, "You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!"
41In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. 42"He saved others," they said, "but he can't save himself! He's the King of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. 43He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, 'I am the Son of God.' " 44In the same way the robbers who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him.
45From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land. 46About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi,[c] lama sabachthani?"—which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"[d]
47When some of those standing there heard this, they said, "He's calling Elijah."
48Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink. 49The rest said, "Now leave him alone. Let's see if Elijah comes to save him."
50And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.
51At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. 52The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. 53They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus' resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people.
54When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, "Surely he was the Son[e] of God!"
55Many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for his needs. 56Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee's sons.
57As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. 58Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus' body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. 59Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away. 61Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb.

5th Sunday in Lent

Easter is upon us and I wrestle daily with my impatience and short temper. How can I engage differently on a day-to-day basis in my family life? It's so hard to imagine, before one has children, how one's patience is going to be tested, particularly if one is the type of person who needs some silence to think and some time during the day to oneself.

It all seems so much easier when they nap and simply throw a fit if they are unhappy. The constant negotiating wearns me down and we cultivate in them an interest in the world, and yet when they want to tell me all that they are thinking about I get overwhelmed. It's overwhelming, the amount of information a child processes in a day. To take it all in is exhausting.

I put this here to myself: I am not a short-tempered person. I am not an angry parent. I am a good parent full of patience and generosity toward my children. I want to hear all their thoughts and ideas. And I have the time to do it all - time for them, for me, for work, for light-heartedness, for my marriage, for chores and tasks that need attention - I can do it all.

Statements of Faith

I am mentoring a girl going through confirmation at our church and I meet with her every few weeks to work on projects together as she goes through this year-long confirmation process. In our UCC church, she will decide at the end of that time some of the things she believes at this time in her life, things she doesn't believe, whether or not she wants to be baptized in the chilly Tolt River and whether or not she wants to join the church.

Our current assignment is one of the most important - writing a statement of faith. While she writes hers, I am writing mine. I love the Apostles Creed, but it's not all of the things that I hold dear as the absolute tenets of my faith.

Here is the Apostles' Creed:

I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.

And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; he descended into hell; the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy catholic Church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. AMEN.


Here are my first few statements:

I believe in the perfect, absolute, parental love from God the Parent (sometimes Father)

I believe Jesus was A Son of God and that Jesus is the lens through which I see God best.

I believe in the perfect birth, the violence of the crucifixion and most importantly the redeeming resurrection of Jesus.

I believe in the Grace of God; that he forgives implicitly, completely and has no memory of my sins.

"But will it change my wife?" - Annie Hall

I love my life. I mean I really love my life. I love everything about it. I love where I live, where I drive each day, the structure of our family, our church, the grocery store where I shop, how I drive to work (and how little time it takes me to get there), the flexibility of my schedule. And to go even deeper: my kids and the ages they are right now (so fun), my husband and how dynamic and interesting he is, how funny and smart he is... Wow. I love my life. I am so incredibly blessed.

I was just driving back from the grocery store and thinking about how much I love my life made me speak it out loud. That happens with some regularity. And then I asked aloud, "I say I love my life and really own that, why am I afraid it will be taken away?" I often feel a sense of terror on the heels of feeling incredible gratitude for my life's circumstances. It's as if God isn't noticing my abundance until I open my big mouth and then all of a sudden He (or It or what have you) sees that I have too much. I got too big a helping of the main course and the universe will have to right that and exercise some portion control making it even-Steven. We can't have Paige so full of herself.

Where does that notion come from? Why would I be afraid to thank God for all the blessings in my life? Why do I think I fly under the radar unnoticed if I am happy and feeling good? Do I really think that God exists only to pity me but not to rejoice with me? Do I really think God hands out portions? Or do I actually believe that I claim my piece of the pie... That I am responsible for some of this... That is what I believe, but this other insidious notion skulks in and sits in the corner just waiting until I feel so lucky, grateful, overwhelmed by my good fortune. Then BAM, like a 2x4.

It's one of the things I'd like to eliminate. I feel a lot like the character Annie Hall, (remember this?) having just seen The Sorrow and the Pity (I paraphrase):

Annie Hall: that movie makes me feel guilty
Alvy Singer (Woody): It's supposed to
Annie Hall: Sometimes I ask myself how I'd stand up under torture.
Alvy Singer: You? You kiddin'? If the Gestapo would take away your Bloomingdale's charge card, you'd tell 'em everything.

I guess my feeling of fear at the luck and blessings of my life (I say luck, b/c there's a certain luck in being born white in America, for instance) is also a fear that if something terrible happened to me I wouldn't be the kind of person who feels gratitude anymore. I'd crack and descend into feelings of self-pity and woe-is-me. And I don't know that that's true, but I fear it.

Leaping Like Deer in a Leap Year

This being February 29th I am reminded of Leaping and thought of this passage from Isaiah. I love these visions of what is to come. What if we are to bring these visions about? In the 6th verse it is written that the lame will leap like deer and the mute will shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the desert.

It’s a vivid image – to leap like a deer and shout for joy. We are all a little lame, doncha think? We could all use some leaping and shouting with joy. The realization that the desert of our souls could burst forth in bloom is a promise not an ideal. To be redeemed: cleared, repurchased, retrieved, restored – this is our destiny.

Isaiah 35
Joy of the Redeemed
1 The desert and the parched land will be glad;
the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.
Like the crocus, 2 it will burst into bloom;
it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.
The glory of Lebanon will be given to it,
the splendor of Carmel and Sharon;
they will see the glory of the LORD,
the splendor of our God.
3 Strengthen the feeble hands,
steady the knees that give way;

4 say to those with fearful hearts,
"Be strong, do not fear;
your God will come,
he will come with vengeance;
with divine retribution
he will come to save you."

5 Then will the eyes of the blind be opened
and the ears of the deaf unstopped.

6 Then will the lame leap like a deer,
and the mute tongue shout for joy.
Water will gush forth in the wilderness
and streams in the desert.

7 The burning sand will become a pool,
the thirsty ground bubbling springs.
In the haunts where jackals once lay,
grass and reeds and papyrus will grow.

8 And a highway will be there;
it will be called the Way of Holiness.
The unclean will not journey on it;
it will be for those who walk in that Way;
wicked fools will not go about on it. [a]

9 No lion will be there,
nor will any ferocious beast get up on it;
they will not be found there.
But only the redeemed will walk there,

10 and the ransomed of the LORD will return.
They will enter Zion with singing;
everlasting joy will crown their heads.
Gladness and joy will overtake them,
and sorrow and sighing will flee away.

Marianne Williamson

Marianne Williamson wrote a special note to Oprah Winfrey on the ocassion of Oprah's 50th birthday. I want to commit this to memory and share it with my dear husband and all of my friends - this is how I feel about those dearest to me:

"In that holy place where you tell Him everything and He understands, there are angels who stand and wait to hear His every command. How may they serve you and increase your joy? I stand with them for this you have done for me."

Snow and St. John the Divine

We have had a lovely time so far in New York. Last night we saw, "In the Heights" a new musical (http://www.intheheightsthemusical.com/). Before we saw the show we met our friends Andy, Dan and Claire at The Irish Rogue for a drink. We had a late lunch yesterday at Les Deux Gamins with Mark Boyett in the W. Village. On Wednesday evening we went to the book signing at Borders (the book was Absolute Brightness by James Lescene who also wrote the film Trevor, 1994 Oscar for best Live Action Short and thus started The Trevor Project, a 24-hour hotline for gay and lesbian teens) and then went to the Stone Rose Lounge. We had a perfect view of the city and the lunar eclipse. Tuesday night we saw Matt and ate at Il Bastardo in Chelsea. During the day on Tuesday Lisa and I went to Town Shop and bra shopped. Then we went to tea at Alice's Teacup (wonderful).

Up in Morningside Heights where we are staying with Michael we've eaten at The Deluxe diner and Tom's Restaurant (of Suzanne Vega and Seinfeld fame), which happens to be a regular old diner at the end of the Michael's block. After eating at Tom's today, we walked over to St. John the Divine (http://www.stjohndivine.org/index.html) and there happened to be a choir concert going on while we walked about. It was serendipitous. The cathedral is meant for choral music so we were thrilled that we got to hear those children's voices - a beautiful choir.

So this evening we will be at Jon and Christopher's with Mike, Matt, John Dullworth, Ken, Lisa & Eric, Bennett & Helen... It will be great.

Chautauqua

This is a vacation Doug and I want to take some Summer. My mother used to talk about the Chautauqua Educational Movement and she even had a writing board and educational materials from the 1800s that she bought at an antique auction. Chautauqua is all about spiritual renewal, art, education and instruction. People travelled to Chautauqua, NY to hear lectures and participate in spa and restorative treatments along with receiving spiritual instruction. There was time for reflection and renewal. The Chautauqua movement spread out all over this country so that people who couldn't travel or leave their farms could participate in this type of artistic, spiritual and educational immersion.

Here is some information from their website:

http://www.ciweb.org/

The Chautauqua Institution is a not-for-profit, 750-acre educational center beside Chautauqua Lake in southwestern New York State, where approximately 7,500 persons are in residence on any day during a nine-week season, and a total of over 142,000 attend scheduled public events.

The Institution, originally the Chautauqua Lake Sunday School Assembly, was founded in 1874 as an educational experiment in out-of-school, vacation learning. It was successful and broadened almost immediately beyond courses for Sunday school teachers to include academic subjects, music, art and physical education.

Chautauqua plays a unique educational role today, offering studies on a vacation level, a more serious level and a professional level. In addition, there are enhanced learning opportunities within Chautauqua's other programming. Music, the arts, religion, recreation and the pursuit of knowledge are all available. Younger and older students often share learning experiences in an open, congenial atmosphere. Children and young people are also provided with their own special programs.

Many of the visitors who return to Chautauqua year after year describe it as an experience rather than a vacation -- a place for renewal. The Chautauqua Institution was founded on the belief that everyone “has a right to be all that he can be -- to know all that he can know.”

2008 Program:

• Week 1 June 21-28Sport in AmericaRoger Goodell, long-time Chautauquan and commissioner of the National Football League, will be among the featured lecturers in Week One. Sport looms large in the American culture, whether from an economic perspective or through the lens of its impact on our lifestyles and customs. Fun, competitive, entertaining? Yes. But big business too. Some estimates tag the sports business industry in the U.S. at over $300 billion annually. From youth and amateur athletics to college sports to the pros, we will examine the economics and the impact of sports on our cities, our youth, education, and culture. We will look at Title 9, the influence of television and escalating salaries, and the future of Olympic sports. And we will explore whether the interest of the general fan has been eclipsed by big money.
• Week 2 June 29 - July 5Restoring Legitimacy to our Election SystemMost Americans are both proud and grateful to live in a free and democratic country. But many are growing disenchanted with our system of electing a president. Are these concerns valid? If so, how do we go about restoring integrity into our election system? This week we'll look at some of the basic mechanisms that impact our political system and how they might be improved, including campaign finance, timing and duration of primaries, voter registration, the popular vote vs. the Electoral College and how we encourage or discourage citizen participation. Norman Ornstein, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and co-director of the AEI-Brookings Election Reform Project, will be with us during this week as both a presenter and facilitator.
• Week 3 July 6-12Roger Rosenblatt and Friends: On WritingEssayist, author, playwright and television commentator Roger Rosenblatt has lectured nine times from Chautauqua Institution's Amphitheater platform. For this week on writing, Roger will be joined by his friends and fellow authors E.L. Doctorow, Joyce Carol Oates, and Amy Tan, and poet Billy Collins and cartoonist Garry Trudeau.
• Week 4 July 13-19The Ethical Frontiers of ScienceThere are no shortages of ethical dilemmas arising from rapid advances in biomedical sciences and new discoveries about how the mind works. What are the prospects that new drugs and genetic discoveries will enable us to improve our memories, moods, and cognitive abilities? Should science aim only at treating disease or also at enhancing our mental and physical capacities, and those of our children? Is there a risk that new genetic technologies will lead to the quest for "designer children?" Are we on the verge of discovering a biological basis for morality, and if so, does this pose a threat to familiar notions of free will and moral responsibility? This week, Harvard professor Michael Sandel will help us explore the growing public debate at the intersection of ethics, biotechnology, and public policy. We'll hear from bioethics experts and scientists to help us think through the social and ethical implications of biological and biomedical advances.
• Week 5 July 20-26American Foreign Policy: Leadership and DialogueSince 1945, the United States has constructed its foreign policy around the fault lines of the demise of British colonialism, the contest with Communism and most recently the confrontation with terrorism. We will consider those historic roots and their influence on the current play of American interests on such issues as access to energy, markets, human rights and issues of military security. We will hear voices from other countries expressing their perspectives on U.S. foreign policy, and we will engage in dialogue about the prospects for the future.
• Week 6 July 27-August 2Healing the GlobeIn this Global Village, the health of one affects the health of all. In partnership with the Global Health Council, we will examine such twenty-first century challenges as maternal and child health, AIDS, TB, malaria, diseases related to global warming, the consequences of natural disasters, and response mechanisms to famine and pandemics. We will bring to the platform powerful voices who have invested themselves and their resources in this struggle for a healthy world.
• Week 7 August 3-9Faith in Public LifeThe United States is one of the most religiously plural nations in the world. The Abrahamic religions differ widely within and among their respective traditions, especially with regard to whether religion is solely a private matter or has a role to play in public life. In this year of national elections, the compelling questions become: How best are different religious perspectives expressed in the give and take of democracy, and what is the responsibility of people of faith in a democracy?
• Week 8 August 10-16What's For Dinner: Food and Politics in the 21st CenturyFood - from the old family recipe to the culinary arts - consumes a central role in our lives and is our most intimate and direct connection to nature. It elicits both passion and guilt, it comforts and satisfies, it sustains the body and is a source of beauty and art. What we eat and how it arrives in our kitchens and restaurants is also influenced by political and economic decisions. From the 100-mile diet, five-star restaurants and peppy television chefs to giant agri-business, this week will add context to our understanding of how food is produced, biologically altered and distributed, the rise of organic agriculture and the simple joys of eating.
• Week 9 August 17-23Darwin and Linnaeus: Their Impact on Our View of the Natural World2009 will mark the celebration of Darwin's 200th birthday as well as the 150th anniversary of the publication of On the Origin of Species. The public debate surrounding his theory of evolution seems to have diminished little in that span of time. This week we will focus on all that has followed, including the scientific, social, religious and legal ramifications of Darwin's work. In addition, this year marks the 250th anniversary of the 1758 publication of Swedish scientist Carl Linnaeus' system for giving Latin names to animals, indeed, cataloging the natural world. We will consider the legacy of that important work as well.

A Green Lent

Earth Ministries

Earth Ministry strives to inspire and mobilize the Christian Community to play a leadership role in building a just and sustainable future.

Forty Days of Fasting for the Environment: A Lenten Journey

http://earthministry.blogspot.com/