Easter 4 - Monday - Three Sources of Evil?

Text: Colossians 3:18-4:18 (see below)

I subscribe to a daily meditation by Richard Rohr, a Franciscan priest who heads up The Center for Action and Contemplation in New Mexico. He is a brilliant theologian and wonderful writer. On Saturday last, Rohr sent out the following post under the title “The Spiral of Violence.”

What struck me about his piece was a connection I saw with the Baptismal rite in my own tradition. In the Episcopal liturgy, the candidate for baptism (if they are old enough to answer for themselves) or the parents and god-parents must renounce three forms of evil – cosmic, worldly, and personal. I have always been fascinated by those three renunciations and the following affirmations about Jesus. Triggered by Rohr’s post, I plan to spend the week writing about what exactly the Church teaches on the subject of evil and our response as Christians. I hope you will join me again. Here is Richard Rohr’s quote:

“Traditional Catholic moral teaching says there are three sources of evil—the world, the flesh and the devil. Dom Helder Camara, who was the holy and wise archbishop of Recife, Brazil, taught this in terms of “a spiral of violence” spiraling from the bottom up. “The world” (systemic evil) is at the root a lie, in the middle is “the flesh” (personal evil), and at the top is “the devil” (evil disguised as “good power” to enforce the first two).

“Up to now in human history most people’s moral thinking has been overwhelmingly oriented around the personal evils of “the flesh.” There was not too much knowledge of the social foundations of evil behavior until very recently.

“The Biblical Prophets of Judaism were the unique and inspired group who exposed all three sources of evil and it’s also why they have been largely ignored, as was Jesus, the greatest of the Jewish Prophets. They didn’t concentrate on the flesh, but on “the world” and what we will describe this week as “the devil,” which very often passes as good and necessary “evil.” You see what we are up against, and why evil continues to control so much of the human show.” (The Spiral of Violence)

More on Wednesday…. until then

Love One Another – Brian

Checking His Stock

Samuel Taylor Coleridge

From his brimstone bed at break of day

A walking the Devil is gone,

To visit his snug little farm the earth,

And see how his stock goes on.

Source: The Devil's Thoughts

Colossians 3:18-4:18

Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives and never treat them harshly. Children, obey your parents in everything, for this is your acceptable duty in the Lord. Fathers, do not provoke your children, or they may lose heart. Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything, not only while being watched and in order to please them, but wholeheartedly, fearing the Lord. Whatever your task, put yourselves into it, as done for the Lord and not for your masters, since you know that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward; you serve the Lord Christ. For the wrongdoer will be paid back for whatever wrong has been done, and there is no partiality. Masters, treat your slaves justly and fairly, for you know that you also have a Master in heaven. Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with thanksgiving. At the same time pray for us as well that God will open to us a door for the word, that we may declare the mystery of Christ, for which I am in prison, so that I may reveal it clearly, as I should. Conduct yourselves wisely towards outsiders, making the most of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer everyone.

Easter 4 - The Sunday Musical Offering

Today is the Sabbath, I encourage you to attend your parish church and give God thanks for the blessings of the past week. If you are traveling, be sure to visit a local congregation and experience something potentially new and inspiring.

The Sunday Musical Offering for today simply "sparkles" with joy. I do not remember the first time I heard Gaetano Donizetti's comic masterpiece "Don Pasquale" but it has always left me in high spirits and is a delightful evening of theater. Two moments stand out: the first is the overture that never fails to enchant the listener. It is hard to believe that in forty years at the Met, James Levine had never conducted the opera until the 2010 season. Here he leads the "mighty" Metropolitan from a recent Live in HD broadcast.

My other favorite moment comes in the Second Act of the opera. I have often heard singers say that when they are singing bel canto operas they wished that they got paid "by the note!" Listen to this phenomenal duet between Don Pasquale (bass) and Dr. Maletesta (baritone). If you are like me, you will be smiling at the end hoping and cheering for more! 

Love One Another - Brian

Easter 3 - Saturday - The Weekly Round-Up

Devoted Reader: Another interesting week in and around Hudson, Ohio. I want my friends and supporters to know simply this.... it may feel like Good Friday right now but Easter is on the horizon! Never loose hope....always believe that in the end truth and light endure.

A great week of reflections, articles and a very funny video clip from the "King" of Late Night - Johnny Carson (remember him?). Click on the links below for more information. Today, one of you will put me over the 9,000 visitors mark. Thank you for your support and continued interest in my blog.

Best Reflection from a Progressive Christian
Rachel Evans, patheos.com

Letters to a Future Church

What? No Hell?
twofriarsandafool.com

95 Tweets Against Hell

Taking a Sabbatical from Church
The American Jesus

Liberating Christians from the Quotas of Checklist Christianity

Excellent Reflection on Diversity
Sharon Pearson, BuidlingFaith.org

Visualize Diversity

I Used To Pray In That Church
Episcopal Cafe, The Lead

Episcopal Cathedral in Providence Closing

Best Musical Article of the Week
Daniel J. Wakin, The New York Times

Oiling "The Ring"

Best New Hymn Based on 1 John 3
Carolyn Winfrey Gilette, Sojouners.com

Loving in Truth and Action

Best Theological Reflection of the Week
Marcus Borg on Easter

Jesus Lives! Jesus is Lord!

This One Will Make You Think
Ewen MacAskill, The Guardian

The Plight of Native Americans

This One Will Make You Think Too!
Jim Wallis, Sojourners.com

Legislation Undermines Christian Values

Nuns on the Run
Gary Wills, NYRBlog

Bullying The Nuns

Hope Rising From the Ashes of Tragedy
Andrew Hough, The Telegraph

Human Kindness At Its Finest

Star Light, Star Bright
Andrea Wulf, The Wall Street Journal

The Celestial Event That Sparked a Revolution

Most Viewed Post This Week at John13:34 Blog
"Barnburner"

The OSU Jazz Ensemble


Always End With Children, Animals or Adults Having Fun
Johnny Carson and Dom Deluise, Youtube

Love One Another - Brian

Easter 3 Friday - Willingness and Prayer

Text: Colossians 2:8-23 (see below)

The other night as I was reading out of the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions book on Step Three for my recovery program, I came across these words:

“’Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood God.’ Practicing Step Three is like the opening of a door which in all appearances is still closed and locked. All we need is a key, and the decision to swing the door open. There is only one key, and it is called willingness. Once unlocked by willingness, the door opens almost of itself, and looking through it, we shall see a pathway beside which is an inscription. It reads: ‘This is the way to faith that works.’…. Like all the remaining Steps, Step Three calls for affirmative action, for it is only by action that we can cut away the self-will which has always blocked the entry of God into our lives” (page 34).

These words encouraged me to reflect on the difficulty I sometimes experience in prayer. I often come to the Lord in prayer with my hands so tightly clenched that, in a sense, it is impossible for God to enter into my being: “This is what I want, Lord!” or “I know I can overcome this mountain simply by my self-will!” Those types of statements are lies and predicated by the false self.

It is only by my willingness to “die” or “surrender” the self-will that makes it possible for God to find room in my heart while I pray. And once God is in my heart, leading me and guiding me, all things are possible. How willing are you in your prayers to turn your life, your actions, and especially your will over to the care of God?

In Jean Vanier’s book Community and Growth, the author describes a time when a former Archbishop of Brussels came to the L’Arche community to speak about authority as a gift from God. In his address to those assembled, he said:

“When I get home after a long day, I go to the chapel and pray. I say to the Lord, ‘There it is for today; things are finished. Now let’s be serious, is this diocese mine or yours?’ The Lord answered: ‘What do you think?’ I answered: ‘I think it’s yours.’ ‘That is true,’ the Lord said, ‘it is mine.’ And so I said: ‘Listen, Lord: it is your turn to take responsibility for and direct the diocese. I am going to sleep now.’” (page 210)

Here was a Christian leader fully aware that to be true to whom he was, and what he believed, he had in prayer to willingly turn his life, his ministry, the whole diocese (!) over to the care of God. I wager, for the most part, he slept very peacefully night in and night out.

Most of us will not have the opportunity in this life to be an Archbishop (thanks be to God!); but the principle is just as true. Whether we are a parent, a CEO of a small business, an employee on a factory line, a musician in a jazz band, a mayor of a city, a student trying to complete a Masters program, or simply a regular “Joe” or “Jane”, the more we can go to the Lord in prayer and turn our lives and will over to God, the additional freedom, faith, and joy we shall find.

Love One Another – Brian

Release the Peace

Gayle Brandeis

"Come back to the heartbeat, the pulse, the rhythm we all walk to, regardless of nation or color. Come back to the breath – inhale, take the world deep into your lungs; exhale, give yourself back fully. This is what the body says: release the peace that lives within your skin."

Source: The Body Politic of Peace

Colossians 2:8-23

See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe, and not according to Christ. For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have come to fullness in him, who is the head of every ruler and authority. In him also you were circumcised with a spiritual circumcision, by putting off the body of the flesh in the circumcision of Christ; when you were buried with him in baptism, you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. And when you were dead in trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive together with him, when he forgave us all our trespasses, erasing the record that stood against us with its legal demands. He set this aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and made a public example of them, triumphing over them in it. Therefore do not let anyone condemn you in matters of food and drink or of observing festivals, new moons, or sabbaths. These are only a shadow of what is to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. Do not let anyone disqualify you, insisting on self-abasement and worship of angels, dwelling on visions, puffed up without cause by a human way of thinking, and not holding fast to the head, from whom the whole body, nourished and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows with a growth that is from God. If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the universe, why do you live as if you still belonged to the world? Why do you submit to regulations, ‘Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch’? All these regulations refer to things that perish with use; they are simply human commands and teachings. These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-imposed piety, humility, and severe treatment of the body, but they are of no value in checking self-indulgence.

Easter 3 - Thursday - Two Favorite Prayers

Text: Colossians 1:24-2:7 (see below)

Continuing my reflections on prayer and the spiritual life, here are two of my favorite prayers that have brought me serenity, blessing, and closeness to God. The prayer by Saint Teresa is especially meaningful during these difficult days.

Let nothing upset you,

Let nothing startle you,

All things pass,

God does not change.

Patience wins all it seeks.

Whoever has God lacks nothing

God alone is enough.

Teresa of Avila

(1515-1582)

Be

Silent,

Still, Aware

For there in your own heart

The Spirit is at prayer

Listen and Learn

Open and Find

Heartwisdom

Christ

Salisbury Cathedral

(1988)

What are your favorite prayers, thanksgivings or adorations? Leave a comment and share your spiritual offerings with others.

On another note…. I am thinking of beginning a new series for the John 13:34 Blog entitled “Ask a….” For example, a dear friend of mine is a Roman Catholic nun. If you could pose to a nun any question you wanted to learn more about what nuns do or believe, what would you ask? If I gather enough questions, I will encourage my friend to respond. Thanks for your help.

Love One Another – Brian

Welcome Change

Emmett Fox

"Welcome any change that comes into any phase in your life; insist that it is going to turn out for the better – and it will. See the Angel of God in it, and the Angel of God will make all things new."

Source: Verse and Voice

Colossians 1:24-2:7

I am now rejoicing in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am completing what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church. I became its servant according to God’s commission that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, the mystery that has been hidden throughout the ages and generations but has now been revealed to his saints. To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. It is he whom we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone in all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil and struggle with all the energy that he powerfully inspires within me. For I want you to know how much I am struggling for you, and for those in Laodicea, and for all who have not seen me face to face. I want their hearts to be encouraged and united in love, so that they may have all the riches of assured understanding and have the knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I am saying this so that no one may deceive you with plausible arguments. For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, and I rejoice to see your morale and the firmness of your faith in Christ. As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

Easter 3 - Wednesday - The Jesus Prayer

Text: Colossians 1:15-23 (see below)

I have received a lot of hits in the past week on my post about The Serenity Prayer. In addition, I have had many great conversations with friends in and around Hudson about that prayer. It seems I struck a nerve and that my readers are seeking more reflections on prayer and the spiritual life. So I thought today I would write about The Jesus Prayer.

“The Prayer” as it is sometimes referred to is a formula prayer that has been held in high esteem in the Eastern Orthodox Church since at least the Fifth Century CE. It goes like this:

 “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner.”

Or in the Greek…

“Κύριε Ἰησοῦ Χριστέ, Υἱὲ τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἐλέησόν με τὸν ἁμαρτωλόν.”

I first came across this prayer back at General Seminary when my professor Margaret Guenther taught and discussed the spirituality of the Eastern Churches. This prayer is to be repeated continually as part of a personal ascetic practice. The tradition is that as you repeat this prayer, your heart begins to open and by doing so you move closer to praying unceasingly as encouraged by the writings of Saint Paul. While this prayer is truly a possession of the Eastern Orthodox, I believe, if I am not mistaken, that when one recites the Anglican Rosary, a portion of that contemplative prayer includes The Jesus Prayer.

Most scholars suppose that the origins of The Jesus Prayer are found in the Egyptian desert where the Desert Fathers and Mothers settled in the Fifth Century CE. The form of the prayer that we know today apparently took shape over the course of the next hundred years and appears in the writings of Abba Philimon who lived sometime around 600 CE. Later a Greek saint by the name of Diadochos tied the practice of The Jesus Prayer to the purification of the soul and taught that the repetition of the prayer would produce inner peace. My favorite understanding of The Jesus Prayer comes from the anonymous nineteenth century Russian spiritual classic The Way of a Pilgrim. That is a book you should have in your library.

Father Steven Peter Tsichlis writing for the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America states that “This prayer, in its simplicity and clarity, is rooted in the Scriptures and the new life granted by the Holy Spirit. It is first and foremost a prayer of the Spirit because of the fact that the prayer addresses Jesus as Lord, Christ and Son of God; and as St. Paul tells us, "no one can say 'Jesus is Lord' except by the Holy Spirit" (1 Cor. 12:3).”

In his article, Father Tsichlis goes on to describe the scriptural roots of The Jesus Prayer. He writes: “The Scriptures give the Jesus Prayer both its concrete form and its theological content. It is rooted in the Scriptures in four ways:

1. In its brevity and simplicity, it is the fulfillment of Jesus' command that "in praying" we are "not to heap up empty phrases as the heathen do; for they think that they will be heard for their many words.  Do not be like them . . . (Matt. 6:7-8).

2. The Jesus Prayer is rooted in the Name of the Lord. In the Scriptures, the power and glory of God are present in his Name. In the Old Testament to deliberately and attentively invoke God's Name was to place oneself in his Presence. Jesus, whose name in Hebrew means God saves, is the living Word addressed to humanity. Jesus is the final Name of God. Jesus is "the Name which is above all other names" and it is written that "all beings should bend the knee at the Name of Jesus" (Phil. 2:9-10). In this Name devils are cast out (Luke 10:17), prayers are answered (John 14:13 14) and the lame are healed (Acts 3:6-7). The Name of Jesus is unbridled spiritual power.

3. The words of the Jesus Prayer are themselves based on Scriptural texts: the cry of the blind man sitting at the side of the road near Jericho, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me" (Luke 18:38); the ten lepers who "called to him,  Jesus, Master, take pity on us' " (Luke 17:13); and the cry for mercy of the publican, "God, be merciful to me, a sinner" (Luke 18:14).

4. It is a prayer in which the first step of the spiritual journey is taken: the recognition of our own sinfulness, our essential estrangement from God and the people around us. The Jesus Prayer is a prayer in which we admit our desperate need of a Savior. For "if we say we have no sin in us, we are deceiving ourselves and refusing to admit the truth" (1 John 1:8).”

I took out my copy of The Way of a Pilgrim the other day and began flipping through it coming across two highlighted passages. The first describes the author’s transformed vision of the world through the use of the Jesus Prayer. He writes: “When I prayed in my heart, everything around me seemed delightful and marvelous. The trees, the grass, the birds, the air, the light seemed to be telling me that they existed for man's sake, that they witnessed to the love of God for man, that all things prayed to God and sang his praise.” A most lovely image.

The second passage tells of the author’s transformed relationship with his peers and colleagues: “Again I started off on my wanderings. But now I did not walk along as before, filled with care. The invocation of the Name of Jesus gladdened my way. Everybody was kind to me. If anyone harms me I have only to think, ‘How sweet is the Prayer of Jesus!’ and the injury and the anger alike pass away and I forget it all.” Wouldn’t it wonderful to be that free?

Love One Another - Brian

Cultivating and Caring

Robert Corin Mooris

"What we cultivate and care about inwardly either freshens or poisons the bloodstream of humanity."

Source: Sojourners Voice and Verse

Colossians 1:15-23

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him. He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross. And you who were once estranged and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his fleshly body through death, so as to present you holy and blameless and irreproachable before him— provided that you continue securely established and steadfast in the faith, without shifting from the hope promised by the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven. I, Paul, became a servant of this gospel.

Easter 3 - Tuesday - Blog Sabbath

Tuesdays will be a Sabbath Day for the John 13:34 Blog. Back at it tomorrow.

Colossians 1:1-14

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the saints and faithful brothers and sisters in Christ in Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father. In our prayers for you we always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. You have heard of this hope before in the word of the truth, the gospel that has come to you. Just as it is bearing fruit and growing in the whole world, so it has been bearing fruit among yourselves from the day you heard it and truly comprehended the grace of God. This you learned from Epaphras, our beloved fellow-servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf, and he has made known to us your love in the Spirit. For this reason, since the day we heard it, we have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may lead lives worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, as you bear fruit in every good work and as you grow in the knowledge of God. May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Easter 3 - Christ Light

Text: Mark 3:1-6 (see below)

The following quote came from this week's Sunday Bulletin at the Community of Saint Peter's in Cleveland, Ohio. A wonderful reflection to ponder with joy written by Gail Ramshaw. I am not sure which book this quote came from. Perhaps, one of my readers will know and leave a post for the rest of us.

"The Christian faithful believes that Christ is the light. Enacted annually at the Great Vigil of Easter, recalled in the gospel for Christmas Day, remembered each night at evening prayer, recognized in the candle at the casket, and ritualized by the candle at baptism, "Christ our Light" is our claim. It is not that Christ does away with darkness, that the baptized walk about in perpetual light. No, speech about perpetual light shining upon us is the hope of the resurrection, the promise of God's light finally victorious over death's night. But not now. Now the paschal candle is a reminder of what often seems a small flicker in the darkness that continues envelop us all. So if the world remains dark, what does the illumination of baptism actually do?

"Ambrose of Milan said it this way, 'You went, you washed, you came to the altar, you began to see what you had not seen before.' You began to see the light of Christ, yes. But you also began to see more clearly the world's darkness. For many Christians, Ambrose speaks a closer truth. We begin to see. We all come weekly to celebrate the light, to absorb more of it in our faces, to see one another shining. The blind leading the blind, we help each other grope towards the light that is God. Perhaps we finally come to recognize even God in the center of the darkness itself."

Love One Another - Brian


Beginning to See
Ambrose of Milan

"You went, you washed, you came to the altar, you began to see what you had not seen before."

Source: Sunday Bulletin, Community of Saint Peter's, Cleveland, Ohio


Mark 3:1-6

In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’ This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said, ‘The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.”’ Now John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then the people of Jerusalem and all Judea were going out to him, and all the region along the Jordan, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

Easter 3 - The Sunday Musical Offering ~ "Barnburner" by Les Hooper

Today is the Sabbath, I encourage you to attend your church or a faith community of your choosing. Start the day right by worshipping God and giving thanks. You will be glad that you did

The Sunday Musical Offering is from a recent performance of The Ohio State University Jazz Ensemble. You may recognize the drummer, if you can even see him from the camera angle. The Jazz Ensemble is under the direction of Dr. Ted McDaniels and they perform Les Hooper's "Barnburner". This will start your day with a bang!

Love One Another - Brian

Easter 2 - Saturday - The Weekly Round-Up

A gentle rain falls this morning in Hudson, refreshing the parched earth, and bringing forth the new life of spring. What is it about the sound of a gentle rain that brings peace and comfort? The Weekly Round-up features a diverse collection of thought this week. Thanks to all for your kind words and reflections after reading my post on The Serenity Prayer.

Best Editorial of the Week
Nicholas Kristoff, The New York Times

A Veterans Death, The Nation's Shame

This One Will Make You Think
Christian Piatt, Sojourners

From "Mad Men" to "Girls" - The Evolution of Sexism

Most Provocative News Title of the Week
Reuters, Huff Post Religion

Nuns Gone Wild!

Best Post on Prayer and the Spiritual Life
Mark Batterson, Huff Post Religion

The Circle Maker

Learn More About Another Faith
John Stanley, Huff Post Religion

Buddhism, Cosmology and Evolution

Best Insight Into Dealing With Others
David Vryhof, Society of Saint John the Evangelist

Exercising Tolerance

And Now A Word from The Episcopal Church....
Bonnie Anderson, Opening Remarks to Executive Council

Adaptive Challenges and Responsibility Taking

Best Ideas for Your Adult Formation Classes
Sharon Pearson, Building Faith, online Christian Ed. community

Adult Formation Resources

Why It Is Time To Go Back To England
BBC News

St. Cuthbert Gospel

Some Good News for Northeast Ohio
Knightfoundation.org

Engaging Young Professionals in Civic Leadership

Most Viewed Post This Week at John 13:34 Blog
Brian Suntken

The Serenity Prayer

Always End With Animals, Children or Adults Having Fun
David Letterman, You Tube

"Bailey, play dead!"

Love One Another - Brian

Easter 2 - Thursday - The Serenity Prayer

Text: John 15:12-27 (see below)

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,

the Courage to change the things I can,

and the wisdom to know the difference. AMEN.

This prayer has become a cherished friend in my daily spiritual life. Every Wednesday evening, a group of anonymous individuals recite the prayer to begin our meeting. At the close of the hour, we stand, hold hands in a circle and close with those words: “God, grant me the serenity….” Powerful testimony to the One who holds each one of us in the palm of His hand.

The Serenity Prayer is attributed to Reinhold Niebuhr who was an American theologian and commentator on public affairs. “Starting as a leftist minister in the 1920s indebted to theological liberalism, Niebuhr shifted to the new Neo-Orthodox theology in the 1930s, explaining how the sin of pride created evil in the world. He attacked utopianism as ineffectual for dealing with reality, writing in The Children of Light and the Children of Darkness (1944):

‘Man's capacity for justice makes democracy possible; but man's inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary.’

“His realism deepened after 1945 and led him to support United States' efforts to confront Soviet communism around the world. A powerful speaker, he was one of the most influential religious leaders of the 1940s and 1950s in American public affairs. Niebuhr battled with the religious liberals over what he called their naïve views of sin and the optimism of the Social Gospel, and battled with the religious conservatives over what he viewed as their naïve view of Scripture and their narrow definition of ‘true religion’” (Wikipedia).

Niebuhr’s famous prayer took form in 1943 with its inclusion in a sermon. Niebuhr himself did not publish the Serenity Prayer until 1951, in one of his magazine columns, although it had previously appeared under his name. “Niebuhr was quoted in the January, 1950 Grapevine as saying the prayer ‘may have been spooking around for years, even centuries, but I don't think so. I honestly do believe that I wrote it myself.’ The original that is attributed to Niebuhr translated into English is:

“God, give us grace to accept with serenity

the things that cannot be changed,

Courage to change the things

which should be changed,

and the Wisdom to distinguish

the one from the other.

“Living one day at a time,

Enjoying one moment at a time,

Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace,

Taking, as Jesus did,

This sinful world as it is,

Not as I would have it,

Trusting that You will make all things right,

If I surrender to Your will,

So that I may be reasonably happy in this life,

And supremely happy with You forever in the next.

Amen” (Wikipedia).

Next to the Lord’s Prayers, the Jesus Prayer and perhaps even the Roman Catholic Rosary, this prayer offered to the world by a faithful Christian has probably moved and shaped the hearts of more people than any other. Today, may you accept those things in your life that cannot be changed; may you be granted the courage to change those things in your life that you can; and may God grant you wisdom, just for today, to know the difference.

Love One Another – Brian

John 15:12-27

Jesus said: ‘This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant* does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another. ‘If the world hates you, be aware that it hated me before it hated you. If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own. Because you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world—therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, “Servants are not greater than their master.” If they persecuted me, they will persecute you; if they kept my word, they will keep yours also. But they will do all these things to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. Whoever hates me hates my Father also. If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not have sin. But now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. It was to fulfill the word that is written in their law, “They hated me without a cause. When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf. You also are to testify because you have been with me from the beginning.”

Easter 2 Monday - Young People and Opera: La Traviata at The Met

The Metropolitan Opera
Seating Chart

I was very fortunate when I was a kid living in New York City. My parents were subscribers to the Saturday matinees at the Metropolitan Opera at Lincoln Center. Our seats were located about a third of the way up in The Family Circle. I came to learn after many years in the house, those are still the best seats in the auditorium for the fusion of sound - the very essence of opera. It was those afternoons, way back in the late sixties and early seventies that solidified my life-long love affair with the opera. Thanks, mom and dad.


Yesterday, while I was waiting for the Live HD broadcast to begin, the cameras were panning the audience and I saw many young people attending the opera with their parents. I was filled with a profound sense of thanksgiving that these adults were continuing a tradition of sharing their passion for the opera and opening this amazing world to these young minds. I hope that fifty years from now, the opera is still opening new worlds to young generations of fans.


But why La Traviata? Why a very adult story about the love affair of a young man and his Parisian courtesan that ends in the heroine's death by tuberculosis? This certainly is not a "kid-friendly" tale?

Giuseppe Verdi
1813-1901

 Depending on which tradition you believe, La Traviata was either a disaster of monumental proportion or a Venetian triumph. I tend to lean towards the former based on the writings of the composer two days after the premiere in Venice, March 1853. To his secretary-pupil Emanuele Muzio, Verdi wrote: "La Traviata last night, fiasco. Is it my fault or the fault of the singers? Time will tell." To Ricordi, his publisher: "I am sorry to give you the sad news, but I cannot hide the truth. La Traviata was a fiasco. Let us look for the causes. This is the story. Addio, addio." To Luccardi, the sculptor, in Rome: "It was a fiasco! A solid fiasco! I don't know whose fault it was: it is better not to talk about it. I won't say anything about the music; and allow me to say nothing about the singers. Give this news to Jacovacci [the impresario of the Teatro Apollo in Rome] and say this is my answer to his last letter, in which he asks me about one of the cast." 

Natalie Dessay as Violetta
Act Two

On Saturday, none of that mattered, for the audience was treated to waves of melody and poignant music written by the great Italian composer that could not fail to inspire and touch the very heart. The cast featured Natalie Dessay, in her first Violetta at the Met. It was clear from her opening vocal entrance that Dessay was suffering from a cold. While the top of her voice was splendid, the middle and lower range were in and out all afternoon.

In her defense, the role of Violetta is one of the most difficult in the repertory. Act One calls for a coloratura soprano. In Act Two, the soprano has two big duets with Alfredo and Germont which calls for a more dramatic weight to the voice. In Act Three, the color of the voice is completely different as the composer calls for a more lyric quality.



Beverly Sills

I remember a story of a performance at New York's City Opera of La Traviata. The soprano that day finished Act One and called it a day; unable to continue. Beverly Sills, the General Manager of the company at that time was in a pickle. Somebody in the house, informed her that the soprano Ashley Putnam was attending the performance. Sills came to her at the first intermission and asked if she would sing the rest of the afternoon's performance. Not missing a beat, Putnam replied, "Happy to, now that the difficult part of the opera is over!" Apparently, Putnam brought down the house that afternoon with her willingness to step in and her performance. There is nothing like the opera!

I was impressed that Natalie Dessay decided to "go the distance" on Saturday. She deserves much credit. It was not her best performance but she still had the courage to sing. Here is the end of the first act.

Matthew Polenzani sang the role of Violetta's lover Alfredo. He has a nice voice and looks the part. Unfortunately, he was asked by the director, Willy Decker to do some bizarre things while singing. One example will suffice. In his cabaletta at the beginning of Act Two, Polenzani, singing in his underwear had to dress himself in order to run off  and deal with the couples growing debt. He barely got his pants on - forget about the tie and jacket. Really? How does a director get away with such nonsense at the expense of the music.

Giuseppe Verdi's La Traviata - Act One

Dmitri Hvorostovsky playing the role of Alfredo’s father, Germont, sang with great passion, lyricism, and style. His duet with Dessay in Act Two is why the opera still moves the hearts to this day. M. Owen Lee, a Roman Catholic priest and musicologist writes: "The love in that music ['Amami, Alfredo'], which surely owes something to the love Verdi found in Giuseppina Strepponi, is so strong, so clear, so true (even if not blessed by the Church) that it touches the heart of that strictest of conventional moralists, Alfredo's father. He becomes more of a father to the courtesan he comes to challenge than to the son for whose sake he intervenes. An honest man, he becomes for a fallen woman the true father she never had. 'Embrace me like a daughter,' she says when she rises to the sacrifice he asks. 'Then I shall be strong'" (Metropolitan Education Guide).

But the real champion of the afternoon was the incomparable music of Giuseppe Verdi. This was what touched my soul decades ago in the Family Circle on a Saturday afternoon. I did not understand the complex relationships happening on stage or the effects of tuberculosis on the human body. None of that really mattered.

What mattered was how the music could describe emotions and feelings that were too deep for words. This music spoke eternal truth to my soul that forever changed my life in a most positive direction. For that I will always be grateful.

Love One Another - Brian



Easter 2 - The Sunday Musical Offering ~ Bing Crosby & Louis Armstrong ~ Cole Porter: Now You Has Jazz

Today is the Sabbath: go and worship at your own church or a faith community of your choosing. The musical offering for this week is taken from one of my all time favorite movies - High Society. Here are two performers, at the top of their game, just enjoying making music with a couple of other very talented musicians. There is nothing better.

Love One Another - Brian

Easter Saturday - The Weekly Round-Up

A typical week in April for Northeast Ohio with a sunny 60 degree day followed by snow, sleet and cold temperatures the next. But that couldn't keep our Wahoo spirits down as the Indians returned to Progressive Field. While they have lost four out of the first five games, the Club did sign Johnny Damon to a contract. It will be fun to watch him get his 3000th hit in an Indians' uniform. The sublime, wacky, and fascinating follows in my Weekly Round-Up

Best Editorial of the Week
Ben Yagoda, The New York Times

Fanfare For The Comma Man

Best Opinion on Anglicanism: Next Stop Canterbury?
Paul Valley, The Independent

A Successor For Canterbury?

Former Presiding Bishop Weighs In on The Future Church
Frank Griswold, Faith and Leadership, Duke University

Maybe This Is Desert Time?

Best Reflection on NFL Star Tim Tebow
Christian Piatt, Sojourners

Tebowing On Easter Sunday

News from the Silliest State Legislature in the United States (Tennessee, that is)
Hunter, Daily Kos

Holding Hands Could Lead To Sex - Who Knew?

Best Reflection on Tithing I Have Read In A Long Time
Tim King, Sojourners

Tithing: No Buts About It

Great Insight on The Episcopal Church and the Budget for the Next Triennium
Susan Brown Snook, A Good and Joyful Thing

Short Term Solutions To Long Term Problems

This One Will Make You Think
Christian Piatt, Sojourners

Young Adults Forget Church, Follow Jesus

How Much Water Did You Use Today? 
Jack Palmer, Sojourners

Water: Clear Gold In The Desert

Most Viewed Post at John 13:34 Blog for This Week

Easter Day: Rise Heart Thy Lord Is Risen

Always End With Children, Animals or Adults Having Fun
Tribute To Bubba Watson, Youtube

Love One Another - Brian

Easter Friday - A Healing In Jerusalem

Text: Luke 24:1-12 (see below)

“At early dawn, they came to the tomb.”

When I first traveled to Israel I was in awe of the sights, the sounds, the smells, the land, the people… well, everything! It is like no other place in the world. The Holy City of Jerusalem is the only city that can boast of a church that has an empty tomb in it!



The Dome of the Church of the Resurrection in Jerusalem
panoramio.com

The Church of the Resurrection (Eastern Tradition) or Church of the Holy Sepulcher (Western Tradition) is an amazing architectural conglomeration of Chapels, Rotunda, Edicule, Basilica, altars, arches, dome and stairwells all built over a first century limestone quarry.  Today The Church serves as the headquarters of the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem. Control of the building is shared by a number of families in a most complicated arrangement that has been in place for many centuries. This is the spiritual home for the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches. I have been told that under such a complicated arrangement of ownership, the changing of even a single light bulb is truly an “act of God”!

All that aside, the best time to visit the Church of the Resurrection is “at early dawn” – as soon as the doors are unlocked – about 4:30 or 5:00 am. My daily routine while staying at Saint George’s College was to walk down Saladin Street towards The Damascus Gate. Before entering the Old City, I would purchase some freshly baked sesame bread from a local vendor – eating on my way.

Old City of Jerusalem
peanutbutternomads.com

Once through Damascus Gate, you head down the steps with the Christian Quarter on your right and the Muslim Quarter on your left. At the fork in the road, you head to your right on Suq Khan Ez-Zeit and begin to pass the numerous closed meat markets, sweet shops, and other boutiques. The swells at that time of the morning are not always pleasant but you don’t really care for your destination still awaits you in another quarter mile or so.

After crossing the Via Dolorosa, you take the second right and the next immediate right onto Suq al-Dabbagha Road. Passing through an arch you are now on Saint Helena Street and standing on the Parvis in front of the Church. The sun is beginning to rise over the great dome. It is very quiet and you are glad that you have made the effort to be up so early.

Once inside the Church, I make a decision to go and pray in one of the many different chapels that the Church offers to pilgrims. This is the story of my time in the Chapel of the Holy Prison. This small worship space can be found at the east end of the north aisle (see the map below – it is located at the top of the pictures near the Arches of the Virgin Mary).

On that particular morning I had come with a friend and we decided to spend an hour in prayer scattered through the many chapels in the Church. I decided to venture into the Chapel of the Holy Prison. According to a 12th-century tradition, Jesus was housed here with the two thieves before the Crucifixion. The first known mention of this is in the 8th century, by Epiphanius the Monk. Historically, the chapel probably originated as a liturgical station where the Passion and Death of Christ were commemorated.

When I entered the Chapel I could see that I was not alone. Two persons, a man and a woman, of African decent, were kneeling in front of the altar. They did not notice my entry as I took a spot on the floor at the rear of the Chapel, closed my eyes and began to center myself. Silence fell over the three of us and for at least ten minutes, or so, it was blissfully calm.

Entrance to the Chapel of the Holy Prison
bibleplaces.org

Then things began to happen near the altar. The woman began to pray out load. While I could not understand a word of what she was saying, it startled me out of my rhythm. I opened my eyes to see what was going on. The woman had laid her hands on the man’s shoulders and it appeared, from her tone of voice, that she was invoking the presence of God. As the petitions continued, her voice and tone grew more intense. Like a New Yorker on a Subway train when confronted by an odd situation, I looked the other way and finally closed my eyes invoking the Lord’s presence for an entirely different reason!

The prayers grew more and more intense and finally the man joined in what sounded like gibberish yet the emotions were raw and real. This man was suffering and appeared to be possessed either emotionally or physically. From what I could ascertain from listening to all of this heightened prayer was that the woman was present to offer some sort of healing for whatever ailment the man had come under. She had laid her hands on this guy and was not going to stop praying until the Lord had answered her appeals.

This went on for what seemed like an eternity and I felt as if my body had become affixed to the floor. I wanted to escape but was caught up in this moment of struggle between the powers of light and darkness. At this point my prayers were concerned with the healing of this man, protection from the enemy, and the power of God to be made manifest. Three people who had never met, never even noticed the other, were now united in a state of intercession that was fighting for the very soul of an individual.

Finally, something was said by the man and repeated by the woman (I did not dare open my eyes – I was too frightened to look) which seemed to break the conflict. The tone of the verbal prayers began to subside. In their own native tongue you could detect the tenor of thanksgiving and praise. They both began to cry as they prayed. I was crying as well. A healing had occurred and two souls were once again reunited.

At last, there was silence. This time an awesome silence, the kind of slience that transcends time and space. God was present in that prison on that very early morn – new life had risen out of the ashes of bondage, sin and death.

The Parvis
pbase.com

Having the courage to get up and leave the Chapel, I am confident that those two dear souls never noticed me go on my way. Drained from my experience, I met my friend outside the Church waiting for me in the Parvis. He looked at me quizzically and asked, “You look like you just saw the Devil?” Utterly amazed at his question, I responded, “You have no idea!”

We walked back to the College, this time through The New Gate, in silence.

There are many people I know at this present time who are wrestling with their problems and desire resolution to many concerns and issues. Loved ones are ill; family members are in crisis; friends are trying to overcome addictions; congregations are divided; people are in need. God’s grace is sufficient in every situation we face if we will call upon the Lord and ask for healing, direction, and compassion. Easter comes only through the ashes and turmoil of Good Friday. There is no other way. But, the good news is that Easter still triumphs!

I have no idea what happened to my two friends whom I encountered in Jerusalem that early morn. I am only confident in the knowledge that the Lord freed one of them from bondage and led him to new life. I have prayed often for that individual interceding that he still knows the joy of resurrection and recovery.

Love One Another - Brian

A Dialogue of Self and Soul

W. B. Yeats

I am content to follow to its source

Every event in action or in thought;

Measure the lot; forgive myself the lot!

When such as I cast out remorse

So great a sweetness flows into the breast

We must laugh and we must sing,

We are blest by everything,

Everything we look upon is blest.

Source: Dancing With Joy edited by Roger Housden

Luke 24:1-12

But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in, they did not find the body. While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them. The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men* said to them, ‘Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.’ Then they remembered his words, and returning from the tomb, they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest. Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told this to the apostles. But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; then he went home, amazed at what had happened.