Refugees

The story of Jesus’ birth which is found in Matthew’s gospel narrates events that took place months, or perhaps even years, after the miraculous night described in the Gospel of Luke.  We don’t know precisely how long it took the Magi, after they first saw the star, to outfit their caravan and make their way along the ancient trade route from Persia to Judea.  Stopping first in Jerusalem to inquire about the child, they were delayed while Herod consulted the temple authorities concerning prophecies of the Messiah.  The protocols of oriental hospitality would have extended their stay in Jerusalem even longer. 

By the time the Magi arrived in Bethlehem, the holy family was living in a house, not the rude stable-cave where Jesus had been born.  (see Matthew 2:11)  Jesus most likely was already a toddler playing at his mother’s knee.  This supposition is strengthened by the fact that Herod targeted boy-children two years of age and under in his attempt to assassinate the Christ child.  Thanks to a timely warning by one of God’s messengers before the massacre could occur, Joseph took Mary and Jesus and fled into Egypt.  There they lived as refugees until they received word that Herod had died.  Though there is considerable uncertainty about the exact dates for these events, it would seem that the family lived for at least a year or two in Egypt before they were able to return safely to Judea and take up permanent residence in the town of Nazareth.

Religious Freedom

There is good evidence that the first Shatto (Château) immigrants to North America represented a mixed marriage.  Jean Nicol was Protestant, perhaps Huguenot, and his wife Eva Maria appears to have been Roman Catholic.  Assuming this was indeed the case, it would provide one reason for their choosing Philadelphia as their destination.  Founded by Quaker William Penn on the principle of religious freedom, Pennsylvania was long a refuge for those fleeing religious persecution.  In 1739 it would have been one of the few places where the young couple could live and rear their children without fear of harassment.

More than a half century later, freedom of religion was codified in the First Amendment to the Constitution of the newly formed United States of America.  “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof …”  In the centuries since that amendment was ratified in 1791, numerous court and legislative battles have been fought over just what it means and how it is to be applied in daily life.  There is a constant effort to find balance between the rights of the individual and the interests of the state in securing the common welfare.

Journey to the Holy Lands - Part 2

After a long hiatus, I'm back to editing the remainder of my photos from my study tour of the Holy Lands.  Here are the next few albums.  I'll keep adding until I'm done.

On May 1, we left Tiberias and headed for Jerusalem, stopping in Nazareth and Caesarea on the way.

May 2 found us on and around the Temple Mount in Old Jerusalem.

The following day we visited the ancient Canaanite villages of Beit Ummar and Hebron.

Friday we were again in Jerusalem, on the Mount of Olives and along the Via Dolorosa.

Saturday took us to the Dead Sea, the lowest land spot on earth, and to Masada and Qumran.  At 1:30 pm someone said the temperature was 104 degrees F. 

We spent Sunday, May 6 ~ our last full day in Israel/Palestine ~ learning more about life on the Palestinian side of the separation wall.  We visited neighborhoods in East Jerusalem and witnessed the site of home demolitions.

Very early Monday morning, we left the Gloria Hotel for the final time, boarding the bus that would take us to the Tel Aviv airport.  Now that I have finished editing my photos, I plan to do more writing about my experiences.  Look for blog posts in months to come.

Christians and Climate Change

In recent months I have been reading with deep concern about the acceleration of anthropogenic (human-caused) climate change.  Many Christian denominations, driven by their understanding of stewardship and care of creation, are now turning their attention to what is happening to our planet.  Some are engaged in advocacy to curb the human activities which are rapidly changing the make-up of our atmosphere.  Others are focused more on ministering with those – many of them in poor, developing countries – who are most likely to suffer from the effects of climate change.  Still others are participating in preparations, such as the Transition Towns movement, which will assist communities in adapting to a changed world.

Opposed to these efforts, however, are other Christian groups which not only deny the reality of climate change but are also actively opposing any efforts to prepare communities or to make the necessary alterations in our lives which may help to slow its acceleration and mitigate its effects.  In my reading, then, I have been trying to understand the reasoning and the theology behind these oppositional forces.  There seems to be a number of underlying causes involved.

Sikhism

 

In light of the mass killing at a Sikh temple earlier today (08/05/2012), I am posting this article with hope that it may provide readers with basic information about a religion which is not well known in the United States. With more than twenty-seven million adherents worldwide, Sikhism is the fifth largest religious group. Recent estimates place the U.S. population of Sikhs at somewhere between 500,000 and 700,000, with approximately 20% of the total living in California.  (Population figures are difficult to obtain because the U.S. census does not disaggregate Sikhs as a separate religious or ethnic group.)

Sikhism is a relative newcomer to world religious practice, having been founded by Guru Nanak Dev in the latter part of the fifteenth century.  Born into a Hindu family in 1469, Guru Nanak early exhibited a deep interest in and gift for the spiritual life.  As a young man tending his family’s herd of cattle, he engaged both Hindu and Muslim holy men of the area in deep spiritual discussion.  After his marriage at the age of 16 and the birth of his two sons, he was employed as an accountant but spent many hours of the evenings and early mornings in meditation and hymn singing.  In the latter he was accompanied by a childhood Muslim friend who played the rahab, a stringed instrument.

Speaking Truth to Power

This recollection dates from June 2003.  I'm posting it now in solidarity with all the Sisters who will be gathering next week in St. Lewis to discern a path forward for the Leadership Conference of Women Religious.  May they be wise and strong in continuing their witness of speaking truth to power.

The good news came in an email message, as so much news does these days.  My friend Willie would not be going to prison.  It’s not that she was not prepared to do so.  In fact, she and her co-defendants had already refused one plea bargain that could have let them off with just a fine, insisting instead on a trial that could well result in jail time of up to a year for each of them.  As she explained to us a few days before her court appearance, accepting a fine or community service would involve admitting that what they had done was wrong, and not one of them believed that.  They were determined to be imprisoned for their witness to truth in the face of military might rather than to deny their beliefs.

“Willie” is Sr. William Julie Hurley, a sixty-something Sister of Notre Dame who has devoted her life to work with the poor and marginalized of society.  Whether it is teaching in southern Africa, serving in prison ministry, or coordinating hospice support for people living with AIDS, she brings a large measure of compassion, caring, and impish good humor to her work.  Today she teaches seniors at Lowell Catholic High, a poor school trying to provide quality education for inner-city youth.

Palestinian Christians

Palestinian Christians

Recently I spent three weeks in the Middle East on a study tour titled Ancient Stories, Current Struggles: Engaging the Lands of the Bible.  Beginning in Cairo, Egypt, we traveled to Luxor, through the Sinai, into Jordan to visit the partially-excavated city of Petra, then to Bethlehem, north through the Galilee, and ended in Jerusalem.  Throughout the tour we combined visits to ancient archeological sites and holy shrines with meetings and discussions with those who were able to give us varying perspectives on the current reality in their countries.

Over the next few months I intend to report on a number of those meetings.  I’m also preparing photo essays depicting our days of travel and posting them on my Facebook page.  Links to the photos can be found in the post titled Travels in the Holy Lands. 

Journey to the Holy Lands - Part 1

For most of the past month, I've been traveling through the Middle East ~ from Egypt to Jordan to Israel/Palestine.  Now I'm home again with over 1700 digital photos and half a thick notebook full of notes and jottings to edit, reflect upon, and publish.  I've started with the photos, and I'm putting them on Facebook because that's the easiest way to share them with family and friends.

Two albums are up so far and more will be coming.  I've added a running narrative so that they are more like photo essays than just albums of pictures.  Here are links to view them if you are not one of my FB friends: Cairo and Luxor.  I'll return to this blog post and add more links as I finish the remaining albums, so please check back every few days for the next couple of weeks.  And enjoy!

Monday morning, 14 May: I've completed the album on the Sinai.

Monday evening, 14 May: Here's the link to Petra.

Thursday afternoon, 17 May: Jordan is now posted.

Wednesday, 23 May: After a few days' delay, I'm back up and running on a brand new computer.  It does make uploading and editing photos a lot easier.  So here is April 27 in Bethlehem.

Friday, 25 May: On Saturday, April 28, we drove north to Tiberias through Taybeh and Nablus.

Monday, 28 May: Our first full day in the Galilee was spent in Northern Galilee: Safed (Tzfat), the Golan Heights, and Banias (ancient Caesarea Philippi).

Wednesday, 27 June: Well, I've finally gotten back to editing photos.  Here is the album from our day on and around the Sea of Galilee.

I've run out of tags and still have a week to go, so please continue with Journey to the Holy Lands - Part 2.

The Sower and the Seed

“A sower went out to sow.”  Many will recognize this as the opening line of one of Jesus’ most familiar parables.  Versions of it appear in all three synoptic gospels: Matthew 13:3-8; Mark 4:3-8; and Luke 8:5-8.  Jesus lived in an agricultural society and illustrated his teaching with examples with which his listeners would be familiar.  Other well-known references to seeds and planting include the parables of the Mustard Seed, the Wheat and the Tares (weeds), and the Growing Seed.

Regarding the Keystone XL Pipeline

Joe Pitts, the Congressional Representative from our Pennsylvania 16th District, writes a weekly column for the Lititz Record-Express, the paper that publishes my columns.  I usually don't pay much attention to his articles; reading them is hard on the blood pressure.  But last week he castigated President Obama for "bowing to political pressure" and refusing to okay the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline.  His column regurgitated all the Big Oil distortions and half-truths that we've been hearing of late.  I felt compelled to respond.  My letter to the editor, reproduced below, was printed in this week's issue (January 26, 2012).  I've included links for further reading.

And just to give out-of-state readers a sense of Pitts' general political leanings, here are ratings of his voting record from several organizations: Peace Action gave him 8% for 2009 and 13% for 2010.  The AAUW (American Association of University Women) awarded him 20% in the 110th Congress and 0% for the 111th Congress.  The ACLU gives him a lifetime score of 9%.  And the Human Rights Campaign has scored him at Zero for the 109th, 110th, and 111th Congresses.

Widening Embrace

For the past year I was deeply and joyfully involved in Widening Embrace, the newest music project from Carolyn McDade.  The year began with rehearsals and editing of the songs to be included on the CD.  It ended with ten launch concerts stretching literally coast to coast, with one in Vancouver, BC, and another in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.  Here’s a bit of the story of what I’ve been doing.

Our Widening Embrace on the wide, wide prairie of Saskatchewan

Epiphany

Epiphany – a manifestation, a showing forth, especially of the divine.  In the Christian church calendar, it is the name given to the period immediately following the Christmas season.  The Feast of the Epiphany, which falls on January 6^th, in the Western church commemorates the visit of the Wise Men from the East to the Christ child, an event understood to be the first revelation of his divinity to the Gentiles.  In the Eastern church there is a dual emphasis, with the primary focus on the revelation of Jesus’ divinity at his baptism.