Iraqi Christians, 20 Years On

 

Iraqi Christians 

“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’  

But I say to you: Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also,  and if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, give your coat as well, and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile.  Give to the one who asks of you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you.  

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’  But I say to you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you...

Matthew 5: 38-44 NRSVue

Iraqi Christians are threatened with extinction 20 years after the US-led invasion

This is the grim headline from an opinion piece by Natasha Dado published as part of the widespread journalistic response to the 20th anniversary of the commencement of the Iraqi War. 

The United States launched a "shock and awe" attack on Baghdad on the basis of faulty intelligence regarding "weapons of mass destruction" (they didn't exist.) The subsequent invasion of Iraq by the "Coalition of the Willing and the ouster of despot Saddam Hussein was declared a victory by President George W. Bush but proved to be a protracted disaster for the Iraqi people, undermined global confidence in the United States, and likely destabilized the region. 

Dado's piece describes the ancient history of Christians in Iraq and that this small minority group speaks Aramaic, the language. This subject is personal for her, with family members murdered and her mother's church bombed in 2010 with loss of life. Ironically, under Saddam Christians had felt safer and enjoyed more religious freedom and protections. In the lawless world created by the invasion Isis identified members of the faith by marking homes belonging to Christians with the letter “N” for Nazarene – Arabic for Christian.

As a Catholic Iraqi American, I have watched from afar as my culture and heritage slowly disappear. Indeed, since the start of the war, the Christian population has reportedly diminished by more than 80 per cent, from an estimated 1.5 million to 250,000, according to Christian leaders as well as NGO and media reports. More than 350 churches have been destroyed in attacks carried out by terrorists during this period.

The irony is that peace-seeking Iraqi Christians were made vulnerable to persecution and death by supposedly enlightened Christians seeking revenge for the 911 attacks which occurred half a world away. I am grateful that Prime Minister Jean Chretien was unwilling to involve Canada in this ill-fated war, despite the pressure and scorn.  

You may recall President Bush pronouncing the name of the country as "Eye-rack" even as he and American leaders were blind to what to the realities of the region and the havoc they were creating. Years later Secretary of State Colin Powell expressed regret for his part in the invasion, but few others have. 

The saying that "an eye for an eye leaves everyone blind" certainly applies here, don't you think? On this sombre anniversary we can pray for the Iraqi Christians who remain. 

Wonderful, Fruity, Copenhagen

 

 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city. 

On either side of the river is the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month, and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.  

Nothing accursed will be found there any more. But the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him; they will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.  

And there will be no more night; they need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.

              Revelation 22: 1-5 NRSVue

Well folks, I'm going for the hat-trick -- three days in a row where I'm reflecting primarily on passages of scripture. 

I saw recently that the city of Copenhagen, Denmark is planting tree and shrubs which bear fruit. There is already a project to plant trees at childcare centres and the plan is to put more trees and shrubs along municipal streets to connect people with literally low hanging fruit. Here is one description:

Copenhagen set to plant hundreds of communal fruit trees on city streets

Copenhagen’s city council recently voted to plant public fruit trees, including blackberry bushes and apple trees, in a variety of public green spaces such as playgrounds, cemeteries, churchyards, parks, sports facilities, etc., in an effort to reconnect people with local flora and food. For Astrid Aller, a Copenhagen City Councilor from the Socialist People’s Party who helped spearhead the initiative, this interactive urban orchard is a way of connecting residents to their communities. “We think of the city as something that we all own,” she told Atlas Obscura. “We want all this collectively owned area to be something that people can use and interact with.” 

I like the church property idea and, actually, a few weeks ago I spoke with a Trenton UC member about the possibility of planting a few trees on our steep lawn, which can't be used for much else. Well, why not fruit trees? 

When I read the article I thought of the passage from the last book of the Christian bible, the Revelation of John, and the last chapter. The bible begins in a garden (Genesis) and concludes in a garden (Revelation) but the latter is in the new Jerusalem, an urban setting. John's vision of this city includes a river with crystal clean water, and a variety of fruit trees, and no street lights blocking the stars.This is my idea of heaven!

There are plenty of Christians hoping for this "new heaven and a new Earth" and see it as exclusively a future promise. Why can't we get with the program now, in our commitment to "living with respect in Creation"? (A New Creed UCC)

Oh yes, my apologies to Danny Kaye for this blog title. 

I see a new heaven. I see a new earth

as the old one will pass away,

where the fountain of life flows and without price goes

to all people who abide in the land.

1 There, there on the banks of a river bright and free,

yielding her fruit, firm in her root, the Tree of Life will be.  R

                                          Voices United 713

Wonderful, Fruity, Copenhagen

In Praise of Lengthy Scripture Passages

                                               

                                             Christ Healing A Man Blind From Birth -- Brian Kershisnik

 As he walked along, [Jesus] saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 

Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him.  We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. 

 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

John 9:1-5 NRSVue

 During Lent this year the gospel lessons for most Sundays are from John. We hear three one-on-one-ish encounters, the nighttime meeting between Jesus and Nicodemus, the healing of a man blind from birth (today), and the exchange between Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well -- his longest conversation with anyone in the gospels. The finale in these stories, next Sunday on Lent 5,  is the raising of Lazarus from the dead which includes a much bigger cast of characters.  

These are all fascinating, sometimes complex and even mystical moments. They are also lengthy, some might say looonnnnggg. Don't get me wrong, I love them all, and they aren't overly long, because the stories need length to tell them well. But we aren't accustomed to lots of scripture in worship services anymore. As I have noted, few congregations include a psalm now, which we always used to do as a form of responsive praise and prayer. For essentially all of my ministry I took a sort of "one from column A, one from column B" approach with either a Hebrew scripture passage or an epistle reading which were part of the lectionary, or table of lessons. Then a gospel passage, nearly always because we are Gospel people. 

                                                           Woman at the Well -- Bryn Gillette 

These Lenten passages are a unique challenge because of their length, and last week the story of the Woman at the Well was somewhat abbreviated and divided into two portions in our congregation. It was a good approach because there was still lots to chew on. 

To make things a little more complicated for next week, the Hebrew scripture passage is the wonderful Valley of the Dry Bones in Ezekiel 37, to accompany the "prequel" resurrection story of the raising of Lazarus. 

When I've visited some evangelical congregations through the years I've been surprised at how little scripture there is even though they claim to be "bible-believing." Long messages to be sure, but not a lot of bible. I hope we're not going to travel too far down that road. 

There is an irony that the word Lent means "lengthen" at a time when we are inclined to shorten in order to hold people's attention. What do we do in a time when many of us are afflicted with "monkey mind" when it comes to just about anything? Perhaps a new parable -- Jesus heals the terminally distracted. 

                                                     The Raising of Lazarus -- John Reilly

Psalm 23 & Our Life-breath

    

The LORD is my shepherd,

                              I shall not want.

    In grass meadows He makes me lie down,

                              by quiet waters guides me.

    My life He brings back.

                              He leads me on pathways of justice

                                             for His name's sake.

    Though I walk in the vale of death's shadow,

                              I fear no harm,

                                             for You are with me.

    Your rod and Your staff—

                              it is they that console me.

    You set out a table before me

                              in the face of my foes.

    You moisten my head with oil,

                              my cup overflows.

    Let but goodness and kindness pursue me

                              all the days of my life.

    And I shall dwell in the house of the LORD

                              for many long days.

Robert Alter, "Psalm 23" from The Book of Psalms: A Translation with Commentary. 

Copyright © 2007 by Robert Alter. 

During our Psalm Study at Trenton United Church I encouraged participants to read the lectionary psalm for the day and I've attempted to keep up the practice since the study concluded weeks ago. On Thursday the psalm switched to 23, which is probably the most familiar of all, even to those who wouldn't consider themselves religious. This will also be the psalm for this coming Sunday in Lent. 

I decided to look at Hebrew scholar Robert Alter's version and to read the commentary he provides. His translation and insight brought a freshness to my understanding of what could be a "whatever" experience of this psalm:

3. My life He brings back. Although "He restoreth my soul" is time-honored, the Hebrew nefesh does not mean "soul" but "life-breath" or "life". The image is of someone who has almost stopped breathing and is revived, brought back to life. 

I found this meaningful given what we have been through with the COVID-19 pandemic and reports of those who were gravely sick and dying unable to breath. As I continue to read about Medical Assistance in Dying I am also mindful of the experience of the physicians "calling" death after breathing ceases. We are living on a planet which is developing a sort of COPD with an increasing number of de-oxygenated dead zones in oceans and other bodies of water. Our forests are being cut at an alarming rate even though we depend upon them for oxygen. 

The ability to draw in our life-breath can't be taken for granted, even though our lungs and diaphram do so without much thought on our part, 12-16 times a minute. 

I've never thought about Psalm 23 as an aid to meditative prayer but "my life (breath) he brings back" is a mantra for health and wholeness as individuals, communities, our beloved Planet Earth. 

Unsaint Patrick & Green Christianity

5 I bind unto myself the name,the strong name of the Trinity,

by invocation of the same, the three in one and one in three,

of whom all nature has creation, eternal Father, Spirit, Word.

Praise to the Lord of my salvation; salvation is of Christ the Lord!

Voices United 317, vs 5

 Every year I wonder if I'll bother posting a St. Patrick's Day blog entry because I have done so many times and just about every year I write about one of the patron saints of Ireland once  again. Padraig, or Patrick probably lived in the fifth century, may have been a Welsh teen kidnapped into slavery in Ireland. His legend is that he escaped, only to return as a Christian evangelist and snake exterminator -- it's always good to have a side hustle. Patrick was never formally canonized by the Roman Catholic church, but that may not matter to the green beer drinkers (see cartoon above.)

While in congregational ministry I was inclined to include Patrick or St. Brigid, or St. Columcille (the three patron saints of Ireland) in sermons on the Sunday closest to March 17th. I even included lesser saints such as St. Kevin -- patron saint of extreme bird nerds?

 Learning about the Celtic Christian tradition was an essential part of my personal paradigm shift to an Earth-honouring faith because many of the Celts practiced what has been termed "Green Martyrdom", immersing themselves in the natural world as a vital form of often solitary spiritual practice. And many of the prayers and incantations of everyday Celtic Christians in Ireland and Scotland exhibited respect for Creator and Creation. 

In recent years I have become increasingly interested in the spirituality of Indigenous peoples as well, for similar reasons. As with the Celts, Indigenous spirituality is often a blend of pre-Christian and Christian sensibilities. 

This is a gloomy, rainy day, so not exactly ideal for getting outside and practicing "green' faith, but it can be a mindset we all adopt both in adoration and action. 

There are a couple of hymns in Voices United with words attributed to Patrick, as well as a blessing. Honestly, the hymns aren't very singable. 

My go-to Celtic blessing is:

Deep peace of the running wave to you

deep peace of the flowing air to you

deep peace of the quiet earth to you

deep peace of the gentle night to you

Sun and stars pour their healing light on you

Deep peace of Christ, the light of the world to you.

                                                   St. Kevin and the Blackbird linocut -- artist unknown

More Awe, More Wonder

1 Into the unshaped silence sings the sound of God's own voice.

The darkness bows to light newborn, the moon and stars rejoice.

2 Each day unfolds with wonders new, first grass, first tree, first bird!

Plain, peak, and vale all take their place, each shaped by God's own word.

3 The Word sings out with power once more, into the newmade earth;

and in their Maker's image formed, woman and man know birth.

4 A day of rest, and o'er the earth God's voice again is heard:

a song of joy that celebrates the goodness of the world.

5 God calls us all to join and sing the wonder of the earth

and through our careful stewardship to guard creation's worth.

Voices United 305 

I'm back, revisiting the subjects of awe and wonder which I addressed on Monday as a reflection on the sermon from Sunday. Rev. Isaac referred to a TVO Agenda interview with Dacher Keltner, and I have to say that Steve Paikin did an excellent job. Here is the TVO blurb about the episode:

Twenty years into teaching happiness, Dacher Keltner has now found his answer: find awe. He discusses his book, "Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life" and explains why we need it and how we can find more of it.

The reason I'm circling back is because Ruth, my partner in life, watched the interview to which Isaac referred (she is an excellent Mom) and was impressed, so we watched it together. I found it fascinating but as it progressed I commented that there was nothing about religion. Ruth reassured me that we would get there. 

Sure enough, the last exchange between Keltner and Paikin touched on the importance of religion as one of the universal wellsprings of awe. Keltner does observe that religion can get in the way of experiencing awe and wonder when it becomes rigid, ideological, "us and them." I have to agree. 

I couldn't resist the image above because Ruth loves sleeping in a hammock while camping to enjoy the night sky. A couple of summers ago she canoe-camped with a group of women friends and was in her hammock when a massive thunderstorm rolled through (she had the fly on and stayed dry). She was definitely awestruck but fortunately not lightning-struck. 

As I mentioned on Monday, I already had Keltner's book on reserve at the library so it will be interesting to see if he goes any further with religion and spiritual experience. Here is the transcript of the end of the interview and the link to the episode: 

Steve replies,

AMEN, BROTHER.

WELL, SPEAKING OF AMEN, BROTHER.

HOW ABOUT RELIGION?

COULD WE HAVE RELIGION TODAY

WITHOUT AWE?

Dacher answers,

YEAH, I THINK WE COULD AND,

YOU KNOW, BUT I THINK, YOU KNOW,

IT WAS SUCH AN INTERESTING

THING, WE'VE FOUND IN TWENTY-SIX

COUNTRIES THAT THERE ARE

UNIVERSALS TO THE SOURCES OF

AWE, LIKE NATURE AND BEAUTY AND

MUSIC, AND ALSO RELIGION, VERY

OBVIOUSLY.

IT'S A HUMAN UNIVERSAL TO BELIEVE IN

THE DIVINE.

AND THERE ARE CERTAIN THEORISTS

WHO REALLY WERE ANIMATED BY YOUR

QUESTION AND MADE THE CASE THAT

AWE IS THE CORE TO RELIGION.

EMILE DURKHEIM, THE GREAT FRENCH

SOCIOLOGIST, FELT IT WAS ABOUT

MOVING IN UNISON WHEN WE'RE

SINGING TOGETHER, DOING THE

RITUALS OF RELIGIONS, RIGHT?

THAT BRINGS US INTO A MOVEMENT

OF TOGETHERNESS THAT JUST

PRODUCES THIS ECSTATIC AWE

FEELING.

THAT'S OUR SENSE OF THE DIVINE.

AND THEN WILLIAM JAMES, THE

GREAT AMERICAN PHILOSOPHER, IN

THE EARLY 1900S, MADE THE SAME

CASE FOLLOWING RALPH WALDO

EMERSON, THAT AT ITS CORE

RELIGION IS ABOUT THESE

SELF-TRANSCENDENT EMOTIONS,

BLISS, AWE, JOY, LOVE OF

HUMANITY, WHERE THE SELF

DISSOLVES AND YOU DEVOTE

YOURSELF TO SERVICE AND TO OTHER

PEOPLE AND TO THE DIVINE.

AND THERE ARE A LOT OF

INTERESTING NEW LINES OF

THINKING THAT AWE IS PROBABLY

THE CENTRAL RELIGIOUS EMOTION,

AS YOU SUGGEST.

Steve says,

HMM.

LET ME ASK ABOUT IMPEDIMENTS TO

AWE.

AND TO THAT END, WE'LL LOOK AT

IDEOLOGY.

IDEOLOGY -- PEOPLE WHO ARE

PARTICULARLY IDEOLOGICAL ARE

VERY RIGID IN THEIR VIEWS, THEY

ARE NOT OPEN TO -- NECESSARILY

OPEN TO PERSUASION BY OTHERS.

YOU KNOW, MANY OF THEM BELIEVE

THEY'VE GOT ALL THE ANSWERS AND

SO ON.

EVERYTHING IS BLACK AND WHITE.

Dacher replies, YEAH.

Steve continues,

SO I GUESS THE QUESTION IS: IS

IDEOLOGY AN IMPEDIMENT TO

EXPERIENCING AWE?

Dacher responds,

IT IS.

I MEAN, AND WHAT A DEEP

OBSERVATION.

I WISH I HAD WRITTEN ABOUT THAT.

YOU THINK ABOUT THE POLARIZATION

OF OUR TIMES PREVENTING -- WHICH

IS DRIVEN BY IDEOLOGY AND THIS

PERCEPTION, YOU KNOW, BEING AN

IMPEDIMENT TO THE AWE WE MIGHT

FEEL TOWARD A FELLOW CITIZEN OF

CANADA OR THE U.S. WHO IS REALLY

DIFFERENT FROM US BUT THERE'S A

COMMON HUMANITY THERE.

AND IDEOLOGY -- AND I WOULD

ARGUE, STEVE, AND THERE ARE DATA

ON THIS MORE GENERALLY, MORE

RIGID PATTERNS OF THOUGHT WHERE

IT'S EITHER/OR, YES OR NO,

RIGHT, ARE IMPEDIMENTS TO AWE.

https://www.tvo.org/video/why-we-need-more-awe-in-our-lives

A Coronation & Happy Sperm Whales

 

Breaking news: no whale will be harmed for the coronation of King Charles III in May. This bulletin may not change the course of your day, but I find it rather interesting.

Through the centuries the crowning of a new monarch has been an affair of great pomp and circumstance and in Great Britain there has been a strong emphasis on divine blessing -- who can argue with the Deity? 

The event will take place in Westminster Abbey and the Archbishop of Canterbury will preside. And this means that even the content of the oil used for the anointing of the monarch is carefully orchestrated. They don't just grab a bottle of extra virgin olive oil from the Buckingham Palace pantry. A special "recipe" is used and the oil has already been created for the auspicious event. According to a piece in The Guardian:

A ceremony took place in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where the holy oil was consecrated by the Patriarch of Jerusalem, Theophilos III, and the Anglican archbishop in Jerusalem, Hosam Naoum. It has been created using olives harvested from two groves on the Mount of Olives, at the Monastery of Mary Magdalene and the Monastery of the Ascension.

The interesting part for me is that Charles has championed environmental issues through the decades and so has arranged for animal cruelty-free oil for his coronation. I now defer to a BBC report about the changes to a formulation which dates back to the 17th century: 

The sacred chrism oil has been reformulated and won’t include waxy substances from the intestines of sperm whales or secretions from glands of small mammals like civets, the BBC reported. Instead, the mixture will consist of olive oil, rose, jasmine, cinnamon, orange blossom and sesame.

Okay, perhaps not a special news bulletin, but I think I can hear whale song in the distance.I wonder if a whale will be in the congregation  Begrudgingly, well done King Charles III. 

Jimmy Carter and Giving Peace a Chance

Ev'rybody's talking 'bout

Bagism, Shagism, Dragism, Madism, Ragism, Tagism
This-ism, that-ism, is-m, is-m, is-m

All we are saying is give peace a chance
All we are saying is give peace a chance

C'mon, ev'rybody's talking about
Ministers, sinisters, banisters and canisters
Bishops and Fishops and Rabbis and Popeyes and bye-bye, bye-byes

All we are saying is give peace a chance
All we are saying is give peace a chance

            Give Peace a Chance -- John Lennon -- 1969

You can appreciate that I've shared this newspaper front page because of the headline about 99 cent, slice-it-yourself, bacon. Well, maybe the story beneath it about a Middle East peace deal was more important.

When the announcement was made a few weeks ago that 98-year-old former president, Jimmy Carter, had chosen to forego further medical treatment and live out his final days with hospice care at home there was a welter of retrospective pieces and accolades. It was suggested, rightly I think, that he has made his greatest contributions to the world in the 40+ years since the end of his presidency, and that this period was his defacto second term. 

I wrote about my admiration for President Carter, as I have in the past. He is a fine Christian at a personal and community level (he taught Sunday School for years), both talking the talk and walking the walk. He has also been a peacemaker on the world stage, although he hasn't shied away from addressing injustice, even when that has made him unpopular.

Recently Ruth was rummaging through one of those totes of curiosities many of us have tucked away for our children to dispose of and she discovered this front section of the Toronto Star from September of 1978. Carter was still president when he brought together Anwar Sadat of Egypt and Menachim Begin of Israel for nearly two weeks of intense negotiation. The peace accord which emerged included these two adversaries and other nations from the region. The phrase "give peace a chance" in the headline is borrowed from the goofy yet powerful ear worm song by John Lennon. 

We were living in Toronto at the time and I was a seminary student. I've always been a Globe and Mail guy but I may have seen the headline and decided to buy the Star because this was such a significant event. 

Carter continued his efforts for peace in the years that followed, willing to challenge Israel for its stance regarding the Palestinians of the West Bank and Gaza and in doing so receiving lots of criticism. 

So, we continue to wait and wonder about Jimmy Carter and pray that he is finding comfort with family, friends, and faith in these final days. 

Let me tell you now

Ev'rybody's talking 'bout
Revolution, evolution, masturbation, flagellation, regulation, integrations
Meditations, United Nations, congratulations

All we are saying is give peace a chance
All we are saying is give peace a chance