Congratulations to Amy-Jill Levine!

 Dr. Amy-Jill Levine has been elected president of the Catholic Biblical Association of America. This is an honour and one that took her off guard when she was nominated. Levine is a Jew and the Rabbi Stanley M. Kessler Distinguished Professor of New Testament and Jewish Studies at Hartford International University for Religion and Peace, in Hartford, Connecticut. She is also professor emerita at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. 

In an article in the National Catholic Register she offers:

"I have been carrying on a love affair with the Catholic Church since I was 7 years old, and that hasn't stopped," Levine said. "It's chaste, and it continues."

Levine said she values the association because its members connect rigorous historical research with theology and pastoral life. Rather than asking only what a biblical passage meant in the world in which it was written, she said, the association's scholars also consider how it has been interpreted through history and how it functions today in churches, classrooms, Bible studies and catechetical programs.

I've led several study groups at Trenton UC based on Levine's books including: Entering the Passion of Jesus, Sermon on the Mount, and Short Stories by Jesus. All of them are remarkable and provided insights from a Jew who has a deep respect for Jesus who was, of course, a Jew.

Kudos to the Association for taking this appropriate ecumenical step 

I hope a hearty "mavel tov" to Amy-Jill Levine is in order! 

The Sox, the Pope, & the Mitre Head

 Pope Leo resides at the Vatican and he is claimed as a beloved Peruvian where he served as bishop. Sometimes I forget that he was raised in the United States although he had taken a quiet but firm "you're not the boss of me" stance with the American president who thinks he's a supreme ruler.

Leo grew up a Chicago White Sox fan and I find it delightful that the baseball team recently honoured his allegiance not with a bobblehead but with what I suppose is a mitre head. After planning to give away 2,500 pope's hats management  distributed 40.000 to the sold-out crowd. Apparently the original plan was to do a papal bobble head (say that three times fast) but the Vatican wasn't thrilled.

The Sox are surprising leaders in what is admittedly a weak division. Divine intervention? 

I think this is fun, but does Leo share that sentiment? My sense is that he enjoyed this and I look forward to hearing about his reaction. 

Anticipating the Feast of Creation in Christ

Creator, you have wonderfully fashioned the heavens and the earth and us in your own image. 

Teach us to discern your hand in all your works and your breath in all creatures that we may be of service in the healing of the earth, 

through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, through whom you breathe all creation into being. Amen.

 In a few days many Christian denominations around the world will enter into the Season of Creation/ Creation Time/ Creationtide. The different terms for this liturgical period from September 1 to October 4 reflect the different approaches to this period, even as the commitment to observing a time of reflection and celebration has grown. 

This year the first day of September or the first Sunday of the month will be observed as the Feast of Creation in Christ as an even broader ecumenical celebration and the United Church of Canada will join in: 

At the 2026 annual meeting of the Consultation on Common Texts (CCT), held April 20–21 at the headquarters of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship in Decatur, Georgia, an ecumenical working group’s vision came to fruition of a new festival celebrating God’s role in Creation in the church calendar. The feast, which would be added to the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL), is the fruit of an ecumenical process convened by the World Council of Churches (WCC), the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), and various Christian world communions in recent years. 

I really like the scripture passages chosen for the three years of the lectionary cycle and the titles given for each of those years. I have included many of these readings in blog entries over the past 20 years:

Year A Holy Trinity, Creator’s many faces 

Proverbs 8:22-31 Psalm 33:1-9 Colossians 1:15-20 John 1:1-5 

Year B Creator and Creation, Genesis to Revelation 

Genesis 1:1-5 or up to full chapter or Genesis 2:4b-14 Psalm 148 Rev 22:1-5 Mark 1:9-13 

Year C Creator’s economy of abundance and web of relationships 

Job 38:4-11, 39-41 or Isaiah 40:12-17, 21-26 Psalm 104: 1-4, (10-13), 14-24 Romans 8:18-27 Luke 12.22-34

Since the 7th century, September 1 has symbolized the day of God’s creation of the world in the Byzantine tradition and has been the opening feast and "the beginning" of their liturgical year (in a parallel with the feast of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year). 

A series of ecumenical conferences, known as ‘The Assisi Process,’ has explored that rich theological symbolism and the potential of the ‘Feast of Creation in Christ’ to enrich the Christological nature of non-Byzantine liturgical calendars. In short, the feast contains four interrelated themes: (1) Creation as God’s creative act, (2) Creation as Christological mystery, (3) Creation as Trinitarian mystery, and (4) Creation as sacramental and covenantal. 

A Forgiveness Funeral?

 

It was perhaps 30 years ago that evangelical pastor Max Lucado was everywhere. He was and I think still is the pastor of a large congregation but he had a wide influence through his books and speaking engagements, I never read one of those books but through quotes and perhaps an interview I ended up with the sense that he was a person of deep Christian faith who wanted others to share that faith. Today there is so much loony evangelicalism, a lot of it wolfish Christian Nationalism in sheep's clothing that his approach is missed.

I came upon an article from Relevant magazine in which Lucado reflects on forgiveness, strangely a profound Christian tenet rooted in the cross and resurrection that doesn't seem to get much air time these days. We hear more about smacking both cheeks than turning one of them, as Jesus taught. 

Yet through the years I offered study sessions on Forgiveness in a number of congregations and they were generally the best attended groups I led. I often discovered after the formal session was over how deeply participants were struggling with forgiveness, for themselves or in extending it to others. Some were really angry and others were alienated from loved ones. Often individuals felt defeated by the unforgiveness they were experiencing, unable or unwilling to move forward. I have a shelf of really good books on the subject as well as an excellent video series that folks found meaningful. 

Here are a few paragraphs from Lucado's piece. He includes six steps to forgiveness and I've included the last one Mull over what he says and consider whether it rings true for you. I like the notion of a forgiveness funeral. 

he question is not, Did you get hurt? The question is, Are you going to let the hurt harden you? Numb you? Suck up all your joy?

Some people abandon the path of forgiveness because they perceive it to be impossibly steep. And it can be. So, let’s be realistic.. Forgiveness does not pardon the offense, excuse the misdeed, or ignore it. Forgiveness is not necessarily reconciliation. A reestablished relationship with the transgressor is not essential or always even possible. Even more, the phrase “forgive and forget” sets an unreachable standard. Painful memories are not like old clothing. They defy easy shedding. 

Forgiveness is simply the act of changing your attitude toward the offender; it’s moving from a desire to harm toward an openness to be at peace. A step in the direction of forgiveness is a decisive step toward happiness. 

Here is one final idea: 

6. Conduct a funeral. Bury the offense. I don’t mean to bury it in the sense of suppressing it. Nothing is gained by shoving negative emotions into your spirit. But something wonderful is gained by taking the memory, placing it in a casket (a shoebox will suffice), and burying it in the cemetery known as “Moving On with Life.” Take off your hat, cover your heart, and shed one final tear. When the anger surfaces again, just tell yourself, “It’s time to walk boldly into a bright future.”

Forgiveness is the act of applying your undeserved mercy to your undeserved hurts. You didn’t deserve to be hurt, but neither did you deserve to be forgiven. Being the recipient that you are of God’s great grace, does it not make sense to give grace to others? 

Sugar and the Last Supper

 

We have watched two full seasons of the noir series called Sugar about a suave private detective played by Colin Farrell. John Sugar loves classic movies, he wears bespoke suits, and drives a 1966 Corvette Stingray. He's cool and he's an alien. You need to watch the series to find out more about that twist. 

In the second season a villain who should be a good guy sneaks into a hospital to eliminate a drug dealer who is comatose and on a ventilator. These things happen in detective shows. As he moves in for the kill he intones words which were immediately familiar to me because I've used them often in funeral and memorial services. They are from John's gospel: 

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.

This is not a series containing much or anything else in the way of religion. How many viewers would have a clue they were Jesus in his farewell address to the disciples during the Last Supper? So, why these phrases, here? Who was the writer who decided to throw them into the scene?  I imagine I'll never know. 

What I do know is that religious and spiritual stuff finds its way into a fair amount of popular culture even though we live in an increasingly secular age. Some of it mocks religion or paints it in a negative light. There are also positive uses and some such as this one that are just perplexing. Here for a moment and then gone. 

I recommend Sugar, as an entertaining watch, although I'll refrain from suggesting that it's out of this world. 

Spiritual Neutrality in the Canadian Military

The evangelical magazine Christianity Today offered an article with this headline not long ago: 

Canadian Military Chaplains Can’t Mention God in Public

Adam MacInnis

A new directive bans members of Canada’s military from using religious language at events.

While Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth seeks to make US military chaplains more explicitly religious, the Canadian government is heading in the opposite direction as new directives ban chaplains from using religious language at public events.

Released on July 29, the instructions noted that members of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) making public remarks at any type of public or semi-public event “shall uphold the principle of state religious and spiritual neutrality by not using words, actions, or symbols that are specific to a particular SFT [Spiritual or Faith Tradition] on the part of the Government of Canada.”

It also instructs chaplains not to offer prayer at official events, including military ceremonies or commemorations. If chaplains are asked to pray at a public event while serving as a representative of the CAF, they are told to instead offer a spiritual reflection without religion-specific language.

This is correct, not something we can take for granted from American sources writing about Canada. This directive has been in the works for a while and met with resistance by lots of people in this country. There have been assurances that this doesn't mean that there won't be chaplains anymore. They will continue to provide worship opportunities and counsel related to faith, and this is important. They'll just be offering spiritually neutral uplift, I suppose. So why bother? And what chaplain of any faith wants to do this? Will respectful repatriation processions such as the one shown above now exclude chaplains?

                                     The first Buddhist chaplain in the Canadian Military

I've had mixed feelings about this change over the past couple of years. I have attended many Remembrance Day services over time where there were specifically Christian prayers and hymns and even homilies. In one community our congregation printed up copies of the hymn sung every year because the crowd tended to mumble through it without the lyrics. It seemed disrespectful not to sing with assurance. 

Still, we know that in our pluralistic society that members of the military and those who gather for events are of different faiths or none. Why should they be expected to endure Christian elements that are often represent theology from another era anyway? 

I would prefer this rather lame neutrality to the exclusive nonsense emanating from the Pentagon these days. Even Roman Catholics are being pushed aside by Hegseth's directives. 

We'll see what happens in the days ahead. 

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION: THE GLOBE AND MAIL. Stained Glass, Riga CATHEDRAL: Getty Images. Pete Hegseth: AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES.

Created in God's Image

I know next to nothing about Ariana Grande other than that she's famous. I suppose I am aware that she is a hugely popular singer and has been on a world tour. And that the Grammy winner was nominated for an Academy Award for her role in the highly successful musical film Wicked. Olay, I'm aware of a bit about her.

I have also seen recent photos of Ariana and thought that she seemed to be shrinking, physically, and appeared almost translucent in her frailty. It turns out that a lot of people have been aware of this and the speculation about her physical and mental health has been huge and intrusive.. 

Now we've been told that Grande will halt her tour and take time away from the public eye, something she says has been in the works for a while. According to a statement: 

Ariana will be taking a step back from visibility after she completes the Eternal Sunshine Tour. She looks forward to finishing the tour and ending it on a high note, both healthily and happily, and then taking a much-deserved break from public-facing work and appearances which has led to endless, ongoing public scrutiny. 

This is the curse that goes with the blessing of fame, isn't it, especially for women? Gain weight and the shamers are on it. Become waif-like and social media lights up. There are performers who decide that they will not be bullied by expectations and are applauded and even idolized. Then they go on the latest weight loss regime and are condemned as sell-outs. 

Mere mortals go through this as well in a culture that is obsessed by body image. We aren't allowed to be satisfied with who we are whether we're young or not so young. There was a piece in the Globe and Mail this past weekend featuring half a dozen women and men who spend thousands of dollars every year to look younger than they are. This, apparently, is newsworthy. 

During my ministry there were members who became physically and mentally unhealthy because of body dysmorphia. One lovely teen developed what was called sports anorexia at that time, running incessantly and losing an alarming amount of weight. There were others who became virtual recluses because of obesity. 

I figure that it's a good plan to be healthy, eating good food and and staying active.  I wonder if there is a greater role for the Christian community to address these issues, affirming that we are all made in the image of God and that we are loved and accepted in our differences? The Seventh Day Adventists are a conservative Christian group who strongly encourage vegetarianism and a healthy lifestyle. I'm not sure that the fare at most United Church meals would be regarded as heart-healthy, but maybe we could learn.

Meanwhile, we can wish Ariana Grande well.