When Lent and Ramadan Coincide

 

You desire truth in the inward being;

    therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.
7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
    wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
    let the bones that you have crushed rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins,
    and blot out all my iniquities.

                   Psalm 51: 6-9 NRSVue

This is the first day of the Christian season of Lent, although the Trenton United Church Ash Wednesday service has been pre-emptively cancelled because of an impending snow storm. This is ironic given that the psalm for this solemn day includes the phrase "wash me, and I shall me whiter than snow." Perhaps an Ash Wednesday snowball skirmish would have been a refreshing change.

It was traditional during the 40 days of Lent to do some serious fasting as a form of repentance and contemplation.I recall chatting with a brother in a Cistercian monastery about the rigours of doing farm work during Lent and the blessed relief that came with breaking the fast at Easter.  In the United Church we've never been big on fasting and we'd probably be more inclined to hold a potluck dinner to earnestly discuss why it wouldn't be just to make some people abstain from food.

I see that this is also the beginning of the Islamic observance of Ramadan, 30 days of fasting which Muslims definitely take seriously. Can there be common ground between these two religious traditions? 

There is a little gem of an article in the latest issue of Broadview magazine by Samuel Dansokho called Fasting Toward Resurrection. Samuel grew up as a Christian in Senegal where 90 percent of the population is Muslim. He loves fasting in Lent as a time of vulnerability and awareness, his hunger and thirst as an offering rather than deprivation. I recall chatting with a Muslim teenager at our local mosque about his first Ramadan during which he fasted and how important this practice was for him. 

I don't imagine I'll take up fasting from food at my advanced age but i do respect those who do so in both Christianity and Islam. 

I would happily fast from snow removal but I better make sure the batteries for my electric snowblower are charged up and ready to go -- whiter than snow, whiter than snow...

The Apostle, Robert Duvall

None of the three contestants in this recent episode of the Jeopardy Invitational Tournament figured out the correct response to this Final but it was Boo Radley, the enigmnatic figure in the 1962 classic film, To Kill a Mockingbird. 

The actor was a young Robert Duvall (first film role) who has died at the age of 95. Duvall went on to be nominated for an Oscar a bunch of times and won for Tender Mercies. He was in The Godfather and Apocalypse Now and so many more roles where one says, "right, he was in that!" One headline described him as a chameleon because he could shift into just about any role in any genre.

He was also Academy Award nominated for playing the evangelical preacher Sonny Dewey in The Apostle. Duvall fincanced it, wrote the script, directed, and starred in the picture because he was fascinated by the theatricality and the flawed yet sincere faith of many of these preachers. Here is an excerpt from a 1998 article and interview:

What does Duvall think of southern Christianity and revivalist preachers in general? He has a fascination for them which began more than thirty years ago when he visited a Holiness church in the small town of Hughes, Arkansas. He says that he was intrigued by the cadence, rhythms and honest faith he witnessed in the songs and tent meetings there. For Duvall, these revivalist tent meetings are “an important part of American culture.” The preaching is “a distinct American artform.”

“The best preacher I ever met,” says Duvall, “was a 96 year-old black man from a little church in Hamilton, Virginia. He seemed to me more spiritual than the Dalai Lama or Mahatma Gandhi. This guy was great. He had a great cadence of preaching, a great honesty.”

Duvall invited a Jewish film-director friend and his Catholic wife to hear him preach. “It was terrific,” Duvall recounts. “The director told me a year and a half later that he could never get the preacher entirely out of his mind. He was that impressive. A lot of these preachers are phony, but a lot of them are not.”

The Candian talk show host, Dini Petty, did a great interview with Duvall back and he describes how some of the other preachers in the flim are the real deal. So here's the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXVCSCtzT_o

                                                                     Boo Radley and Scout 

Water at the Bon Echo Rock

                                               Ruth in Repose in Bon Echo Provincial Park (note the sign)

The LORD said to Moses, ‘Go on ahead of the people, and take some of the elders of Israel with you; take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. I will be standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may drink.’ 

                      Exodus 17: 5-6 NRSVue

Three days in a row last week we visited different Ontario Provincial Parks -- Presqu'ile, Bon Echo, and Sandbanks. The days were sunny and cold and we had a feeling that the weather would some become milder and our truly Winter opportunites might come to an end. 

At Bon Echo we cross-country skiied in to the narrows of Mazinaw Lake, a spot with a wonderful view of this large body of water with it's cinched waist. To the north is the majestic cliff rising 100 metres, a place considered sacred by Indigenous peoples for hundreds of years with pictographs along the base. In another time it was also the site of a lodge which catered to Christian clergy and artists, including members of the Group of Seven. 

                                                            Old Man and the Ski(s)

There was plenty of snow on our way through the pine woods to the lake and the surface was frozen after a prolonged cold spell. Still, we chose cautin and travelled along the shore to the narrows which were open. We've experienced this open water in other years, even when we were sufficiently confident to ski across to the cliff. 

The narrows can be incredibly busy during camping season with inexperienced paddlers doing their bumper car imitation. On Friday we sat in the silence with no one else around and savoured our "communion" picnic of sandwiches and tea. The sun reflecting off snow and ice and open water was stunning and we felt blessed. 

Today's psalm reading was from Psalm 78 and refers to Moses striking a rock in the wilderness to miraculously provide water to God's people. Even though our wintry moment was half a world away from the parched Negev Desert there was a sense of the miraculous in our experience. We make a point during our outdoor excursions to pause and acknowledge the Creator, taking nothing for granted. 

I assure you we did not drink from the icy waters of Mazinaw Lake, nor did we swim. I did take the plunge last October -- holy Moses! -- but I wasn't even slightly tempted on frosty Friday. 

                                                         Bon Echo -- AJ Casson, Group of Seven 

The Discipline of Walking in the Light

 

A scoundrel and a villain goes around with crooked speech,

 winking the eyes, shuffling the feet, pointing the fingers,
 with perverted mind devising evil, continually sowing discord;

on such a one calamity will descend suddenly, 

   in a moment, damage beyond repair.

 There are six things that the Lord hates,
    seven that are an abomination to him:
 haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,
 a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that hurry to run to evil,
 a lying witness who testifies falsely, and one who sows discord in a family.

Proverbs 6:12-19 NRSVue

This passage from Proverbs was one of the daily readings this past week and for some reason a certain politician came to mind as I read about crooked speech and sowing discord, the latter phrase twice. Proverbs is not a book of the bible I'm inclined to visit but these verses were so powerful in this discordant, violent time we find ourselves in. 

I chatted about this with Ruth over our morning coffee (I'm a fun guy to start the day) and we touched on the phrase in the Prayer of Jesus, "deliver us from evil." We repeat it every Sunday morning to the point that it becomes rote but it is essential. 

It's hard not to be discouraged these days when it does seem that feet run toward evil yet the writer of Proverbs goes on to offer encouragement, Yes, we need to be clear-eyed about the threats we face but the values of our forebears and the presence of God will sustain us and guide us in our sleeping and our waking. 

Walking in the light is a discipline and our hope in Christ. 

20 My child, keep your father’s commandment,
    and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.
21 Bind them upon your heart always;
    tie them around your neck.

22 When you walk, they  will lead you;
    when you lie down, they will watch over you;
    and when you awake, they will talk with you.

23 For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light,
    and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life,

              Proverbs 6:20-23 NRSVue

The Pitt and an Unexpected Blessing

 May you be gentle and loving, clear and sure. 

May you trust in the unseen providence that has chosen you to be a family. 

May you stand sure on your ground, and know that every grace you need will unfold before you — like all the mornings of your life.

from To Bless the Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings." Father John O'Donohue 

We have been watching Season 2 of the emergency room drama The Pitt, and while we're still impressed it doesn't have the same power as the multiple Emmy Award winning first season. The exception for us so far is episode three with two scenes we found moving, one I may describe at another time.

                                      Nurse Practitioner Donahue and Dr. Langdon

A doctor, a male nurse practitioner, and the dad of a boy who has managed to lodge marbles up his nose are musing on fatherhood as they problem-solve. The physician, Dr. Langdon, shares a prayer, a blessing he learned during hard times. It was written by the late John O'Donohue, an Irish priest who died in his sleep at the tender age of 52. How did this priest find his way into the script of a medical series? Star of the show and script writer Noah Wyle explained in an interview: 

"John O'Donohue is an author that I got turned on to several years ago by David Crosby's widow, Jan — a good friend who was looking for some koans of wisdom to help her through a difficult time," Wyle shared. "His 'Book of Blessings' I found to be just absolutely beautiful. Every one, on every subject, had some really lovely phrasing, and some really lovely wisdom. So he's just been in my back pocket."

That personal connection eventually found its way onto the page.

"When it came time to writing this scene," Wyle continued, "it's three fathers in a room with a kid that won't sit still — and that's a rare thing to get. Donahue [the nurse] is a new father; he's got a baby at home. Langdon's got [slightly] older kids. And fatherhood doesn't come with a manual. So you've got three guys in there talking about their experiences of being fathers."

We like that Wyle includes the stuff that has influenced him on life's journey.

A curioius connection with O'Donohue in our family. When our son, Isaac, walked the Camino de Santiago, an 800 kilometre pilgrimage walk, as a 19-year-old he took the priest's book Anamchara with him. An older Irish pilgrim saw Ike with the book and mentioned that he was friends with the author. A couple of months after he returned from Spain Isaac received an autographed copy of the book in the mail from his walking companion. 

Blessed are those who Mourn in Tumbler Ridge

                                                                  Tumbler Ridge Memorial

The massacre of innocent children in a small BC town, along with a teacher and family members of the perpetrator, has shaken Canada. We are not accustomed to school shootings in Canada, thank God, and as always mass killings results in shock, even when we are far from the events. 

It was appropriate that Members of Parliament took time in the House of Commons for solemn reflection and leaders of the political parties offered heartfelt statements of condolence and support. Many members, including Prime Minister Carney, were moved to tears. Yves Francois Blanchet. leader of the Bloc Quebecois made an exception to speaking only in French as he offered his remarks. 

                                                                       Prime Minister Mark Carney

Elizabeth May the acting leader of the Green Party, a party of one in the House, spoke through her emotion to address this horror. May is a Christian who in a conversation I had with her at Laurentian University 30 years ago told me that after she was Prime Minister she would become an Anglican priest. Neither aspiration has come to fruition but her faith continues.

May quoted scripture in her remarks, a reference from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. Here is a portion of what she offered: 

We are not just a nation, we are a proud nation. We are also a family.

We love each other.

Today, our hearts are broken. 

I think of Matthew 5:4, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted”, but that comfort may feel far, far away right now if you are in Tumbler Ridge. Know wherever you are that we are praying for the injured, for the 12-year-old little girl fighting for her life in hospital. We will be with you this day, yes, and whether we are believers or not, we are all one in the human family and we hold you all close. If there is ever any opportunity for us, as individual members of Parliament, to do anything to alleviate the pain, the suffering and the grief of the people of Tumbler Ridge, we are with you today.

We always will be.

I hope we do love one another in this country and that those who want to turn this tragedy into an anti-transgender hate-fest will be rebuked and sllenced. The families of those who lost loved ones and a grieving community deserve better. Jesus also said, Blessed are the peacemakers. 

                                                                             lizabeth May

Antoni Gaudi, Architect and...Saint?

 

"God, our Father, who inspired your servant Antoni Gaudí, architect, with a great love for your Creation (...) Grant me success in fulfilling my task and deign to glorify your servant Antoni, by granting me, through his intercession, the grace that I ask of you (state your request). Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen."

There is a detective series from Spain, City of Shadows, in which the grisly murders occur at various buildings in Barcelona designed by the visionary architect, Antoni Gaudi. One of those buildings is featured in the poster above. It's a great premise and we watched a couple of episodes but the torture and subtitles got to us. 

I have written about Gaudi more than once in relation to the Sagrada Familia church, a building begun in 1885 and nearing completion more than a century later. The plan is to consecrate the church some time in 2026. 

This year is also the 100th anniversary of the death of Gaudi and there is hope that this year a decades long effort to recognize Gaudí as a saint of the Roman Catholic church will be realized. Another architect, Jose Manuel Almuzara describes Gaudi as the "architect of God" and hands out cards with a photograph of Gaudi on one side and the prayer above on the other.

                   

                                                                                    Antoni Gaudi

The Vatican declared Gaudi "venerable" last year, so it may happen. While my respect for the architect wouldn't be increased or diminished by a designation of sainthood I do feel that his creativity was God-given, but I think this of a lot of artists, whether they are sacred or secular in intentions. 

I do appreciate the Vatican's description of Gaudi:  

Born in 1852, Antoni Gaudí i Cornet accepted the task of directing the project of the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona in 1883. His focus was making art a hymn of praise to the Lord and he considered it his mission to make God known and bring people closer to Him.

                                                   Inside Sagrada Familia