Caravaggio, Pope Francis, & The Reluctant Call

As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax-collection station, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him. And as he sat at dinner[a] in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came and were sitting[b] with Jesus and his disciples.  When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” But when he heard this, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.  Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous but sinners.”

Matthew 9: 9-13 NRSVue

Those of you who have read this blog for a while will know that I'm a fan of the Renaissance painter, Caravaggio. His images are remarkable contrasts of light and dark and there are raw and psychological qualities to them that go beyond the devotional conventions of the time. Caravaggio was a troubled guy, given to excess and violence. He was a fugitive from justice several times and died young. 

I was pleasantly surprised to read that the favourite painting of Pope Francis was the Calling of St. Matthew by Caravaggio. This is impressive given that the Vatican oversees the largest art collection in the world. And when the new pope is elected in a couple of weeks it will be in Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel. 

There is a New York Times article, Piercing the Shadows of the Pope’s Favorite Painting by Jason Farago, that explores Francis'  fascination with Caravaggio and the Calling of St. Matthew in particular. Here are a few excerpted paragraphs: 

And Francis, the first Jesuit pope, spoke often about art, music, literature and cinema — both as instruments of evangelization and guardians of human dignity. Art, for him, was a “vital reality,” one he contrasted with the “throwaway culture” of the global market.

During his trips to Rome when he was still the archbishop of Buenos Aires, Francis favored lodgings right near San Luigi dei Francesi. “Every time I came to Rome,” he later said during an address at St. Peter’s, he would seek out one painting in particular. It was the “Calling of St. Matthew,” in the church’s Contarelli Chapel.

“It is the gesture of Matthew that strikes me,” Francis said shortly after his elevation to the papacy. The instinctive lunge for the coins was one he saw in himself. “He holds on to his money as if to say, ‘No, not me! No, this money is mine.’”

You are comfortable, you’re not looking for it, but the calling comes just the same. “Here, this is me, a sinner on whom the Lord has turned his gaze,” the pope continued. “And this is what I said when they asked me if I would accept my election as pontiff.”

As someone who loves the arts, got an undergraduate degree in art history, and experienced a compelling call to ministry this resonates with me. The more I learn about Francis the more I admire him. I hope and pray his successor is as diverse in his interests and exhibits his  compassion.  

Bob Dylan & the Riverside Hootenanny

 We finally got around to watching the film A Complete Unknown, the biopic about Bob Dylan's early years as a musician starring Timothy Chalamet. We didn't seek it out in the theatres because neither of us was ever a Dylan fan and the honour of the Nobel Prize for Literature he chose not to show up for didn't change our opinion. We were young in the 1960s but old enough to be aware of the strong statements some of his songs such as Blowin' in the Wind represented during a turbulent time.

Rolling Stone magazine fact-checked the movie and came up with 25 significant departures from actual events in Dylan's life. I was intrigued by the scene of an all-day folk festival that took place at Riverside Church in New York City, an event that helped put Dylan on the musical map. The 1961 hootenanny -- what a blast-from-the-past term! -- did happen at Riverside although in their theatre space, not the sanctuary, and the scene was not filmed in the church. 

Through the decades I've been impressed by the presence and witness of Riverside with it's cathedral-like structure and progressive outlook. This is from their website:

Welcome toThe Riverside Church in the City of New York

We are an interdenominational, interracial, international, open, welcoming, and affirming church and congregation. Whoever you are: You are safe here. You are loved here. You are invited into full participation in our life together. We welcome, affirm, and celebrate all God’s children, LGBTQIA+. We actively work to become an anti-racist congregation.

While the hootenanny scene (I just had to use the term again) was fleeting it was good to be reminded of the ministry of the congregation. Perhaps it is a sign of hope that downtown churches don't all have to be converted to condos. Some can still survive and thrive in a changing religious climate.  

Still Doubting, Still Believing

 

                                                 The Incredulity of St. Thomas -- Caravaggio 1601-02 

A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”  Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”  Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”

John 20:  26-29 NRSVue 

This is the first Sunday after our Christian celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus, the Christ. This year some United Church congregations will be celebrating it as Earth Sunday and may choose appropriate scripture passages but the lectionary will follow tradition and offer the passage from John's gospel about the skeptical or doubting disciple, Thomas. John tells us that Thomas wasn't present when the Risen Christ appeared to them on Easter evening. Jesus comes to them again, offering assurance and inviting Thomas to touch the wounds from his crucifixion. It is high drama and a powerful invitation into our own wrestling with faith and doubt.

This brings to mind a scene in one of the most streamed films in recent days, Conclave. It is about choosing a new pope after the death of a beloved, left-leaning pontiff. The central character is Cardinal Lawrence who as dean has the challenging task of bringing together the "herd of cats", the college of cardinals from around the world, some of whom jockey for position while doing their utmost to appear humble and unworthy of this sacred trust.

                                                                 Ralph Fiennes as Cardinal Lawrence 

Cardinal Lawrence lives with his own doubts and wants to retire to an order to address his struggles with prayer. In his opening address to the conclave he goes off his safe and dull script to say:

 “There is one sin which I have come to fear above all others: certainty. Certainty is the great enemy of unity. Certainty is the deadly enemy of tolerance. … Our faith is a living thing precisely because it walks hand in hand with doubt. If there was only certainty and no doubt, there would be no mystery and, therefore, no need for faith. Let us pray that God grants us a pope who doubts.” 

Of course this ruffles the feathers of the men in red and while it does seem to be dramatic license, consider these words from Pope Francis :

If someone has answers to all the questions, this is proof that God is not with them.It means that they are a false prophet, someone who exploits religion, who uses it for themselves. The great guides of God’s people, like Moses, always left space for doubt.

Francis was a person of deep Christian faith who "walked the walk" along with "talking the talk" yet he made room for doubt as a sign of humility. Doubt is not noble and it's a miserable place to be stuck, but it is the shadow side of faith. 

I have experienced lots of doubt through the years, often most deeply because of the dismaying actions of people whose certainty about their flavour of religion is an embarrassment to the gospel. This extends to other religions as well. 

I also wonder why the wicked prosper, a question repeated in scripture. And why do the innocent and vulnerable suffer? Where is God in all this? 

At times I question why I continue to believe, and yet I do. Easter is a day, but it is also a season in the Christian year. I hope that these weeks will be a time of renewal, a deepening of faith for all of us, and that Jesus, crucified and Risen, will assure us -- "peace be with you." 

 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book.  But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.

John 20: 30-31 NRSVue

                                                    Still Doubting -- John Granville Gregory, 1990

Entertaining Angels & Pope Francis

 

Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it. Remember those who are in prison, as though you were in prison with them; those who are being tortured, as though you yourselves were being tortured.

Hebrews 13:1-2 NRSVue 

Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt...

Matthew 2: 13-14 NRSVue  

We are early risers, whether we want to be or not, so we did tune in to some of the CBC television coverage of the funeral for Pope Francis. The wealthy and powerful were present in the opulent St. Peter's Basilica while hundreds of thousands of mourners gathered in the Vatican square. 

There were a number of commentators and guests during the broadcast, including Canadian sculptor Timothy Schmalz. While so much of the adornment of St. Peter's, inside and out, is from centuries ago there are several of Schmalz's sculptures close at hand. One is a depiction of refugees and migrants from around the globe and across the ages, all in the same boat.

"Angels Unaware" is a monumental piece commissioned by Pope Francis who was deeply committed to the displaced and dispossessed and unveiled during mass on the 105th World Day of Migrants and Refugees in 2019. It includes Christ's  parents Mary and Joseph who were forced to flee to Egypt with their infant child because of persecution. The decision to give such prominence to  contemporary sculptures was criticized by some but Francis was committed to issues of the present, not the past. 

Francis was buried at St. Mary Major church rather than St. Peter's where most popes have been laid to rest. It was the church to which he would go to pray before major papal trips or undergoing surgery. He gave instructions for a relatively simple interment, in the earth, perhaps a reflection of his passion for the Earth and Creation care. On the steps into the church were 40 people representing prison inmates, the homeless, LGBTQ2s+ persons, migrants, all dear to Francis' heart. 

I've been thinking of my conversation with Timothy Schmalz years ago who then generously sent me a cast model of his Homeless Jesus sculpture. One of the life-size versions of this sculptures is installed at Vatican City. 

At times I forget I have it but today I am reminded of the importance of seeing Christ in those who might otherwise be invisible, the lowly and cast aside. We are all in the same boat and we too must entertain angels. 

Apologies & Our Moral Compass

Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema attends a ceremony at the Portuguese Synagogue marking the opening of the new National Holocaust Museum in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Sunday, March 10, 2024. (Bart Maat/Pool Photo via AP, File)

Yesterday the mayor of Amsterdam, Femke Halsema, apologized for the role the Dutch capital played in the persecution of its Jewish citizens during World War II, saying the government at the time “let its Jewish residents down terribly.” This apology came at an event marking Israel's Holocaust Remembrance Day. 

Of the estimated 80,000 Jews who lived in Amsterdam at the outbreak of World War II, only 20,000 survived.  During the time of the Nazi occupation they were aided by a number of  city officials to track Jews down and arrest them. Some of the people complicit in this atrocity turned in neighbours. Among those deported was teenage diarist Anne Frank and her family.

Back in January the names of around 425,000 people suspected of collaborating with the Nazis during the German occupation of the Netherlands were published online for the first time.The names represent individuals who were investigated through a special legal system established towards the end of World War II. More than 150,000 faced some form of punishment while a signficant number were exonerated. The list also contained files on war criminals, the approximately 20,000 Dutch people who enlisted in the German armed forces, and alleged members of the National Socialist Movement (NSB) - the Dutch Nazi party.

We know that many courageous citizens helped Jews to escape or gave them shelter, often at considerable risk to their own lives. Some did so because of their Christian convictions such as the family of Corrie Ten Boom. Others had a strong moral compass that wasn't necessarily motivated by religious faith. I wrote a while ago about Miep Gies, the young woman who worked for Otto  Frank and was instrumental in protecting them for over two years until someone betrayed them. The drama series A Small Light told this story so well. 

While this apology is important, and understanding the history of the Netherlands during the war is as well, I am mindful of the prevalence of anti-Judaism now, including here in Canada. I also see that with the rise of fascist ideology in the United States there are people who are taking risks to protect neighbours being sought out for imprisonment and deportation. 

Always we need to search our consciences about how we would respond if we witnessed injustice or persecution. Would we speak and act according to our morals and would the light of Christ guide us? 

Elbows Up for Canadian Climate Action

 In Canada we are in the home stretch for the federal election with the Conservatives and Liberals duking it out to form the next government. The main opposition for both of them is the Trump Party with the American emperor posing the biggest threat for Canadian sovereignty. 

While the NDP and the Greens have been speaking up for the environment as a leading issue its down the list for a lot of Canadians and neither the Conservatives nor the Liberals are offering anything substantial in their platforms other than vague "aspirational" ideas. While the Liberals are probably the "least worst" party with a chance of winning that isn't saying much. Both suggest that we can pipeline our way out of dependency on the US for our oil and gas exports. 

You may have seen late last week that Canada's municipal politicians have spoken out to whoever forms government after the election, offering an Elbows Up for Climate Action manifesto. https://elbowsupforclimate.ca/

Here is how the CBC reports it:

Municipal politicians across Canada have written a letter to the five main federal party leaders calling for climate-related actions they say would improve the country's resilience to environmental calamities. 

The group includes Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante, Jasper, Alta., Mayor Richard Ireland, former Toronto mayor David Miller, Princeton, B.C., Mayor Spencer Coyne and Ben Hendriksen, the deputy mayor of Yellowknife. A total of 128 mayors, deputy mayors, city councillors and area directors signed on.

In the  letter published Friday, the mayors and councillors say their ideas would create jobs and use Canadian steel, aluminum and lumber — sectors of the economy threatened by American tariffs — and appear to take aim at the Liberals' and Conservatives' focus on resource extraction projects to make the economy less dependent on the U.S.

The group wants the next federal government to build a national electric grid that includes the North, move ahead with a high-speed rail network, build two million non-market "green homes," make homes and buildings more energy efficient and fund a "national resilience, response and recovery strategy."

Today I heard a spokesperson for firefighters across the country who noted that wildfire season is about to begin and that political leaders need to establish a federal action plan. This makes a lot of sense to me but again there is no recognition of this priority by the frontrunner parties. 

I have already voted but I agonized over my decision. We have four grandchildren and I want them to have a future that isn't dystopian. As a Christian I want my vote to count toward "living with respect in Creation", to once again use a phrase from the United Church "New" Creed. I'm concerned that my prayers are going unanswered in what the UCC has identified as Earth Week. https://united-church.ca/news/together-love-creation-earth-week-2025

Political parties may conveniently push the climate emergency into the background but it isn't going away. Maybe it's time that they listen to municipal leaders and firefighters and Indigenous peoples and environmental scientists and even a few theologians. 

Dementia and Rituals for Leave-taking

 

                                                                           Jen Hsieh

A long-time friend and a close family member have been experiencing dementia for several years now. One has Alzheimers and both are dealing with rapidly advancing memory loss. It's just sad to watch this process, as it was for my late mother. All were or are wonderful persons with deep and sustaining Christian faith but the various forms of dementia have no boundaries of race, creed, or colour. 

We have been fortunate to this point that friend and family member still recognize us, as my mother did virtually to the end of her days. It can be a cruel blow to companions and caregivers when that is no longer the case. As a minister I saw persons who were in lengthy loving relationships turn on their partners, sometimes violently. 

A recent New York Times article had the heading

THE NEW OLD AGE --

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                 When They Don’t Recognize You Anymore

People with dementia often forget even close family members as the disease advances. “It can throw people into an existential crisis,” one expert said.

 The piece explores how devastating this particular loss can be and how we might respond:

Ms. [Alison] Lynn encourages participants in her groups to also find personal rituals to mark the loss of recognition and other reverse milestones. “Maybe they light a candle. Maybe they say a prayer,” she said. 

Someone who would sit shiva, part of the Jewish mourning ritual, might gather a small group of friends or family to reminisce and share stories, even though the loved one with dementia hasn’t died. 

“To have someone else participate can be very validating,” Ms. Lynn said. “It says, ‘I see the pain you’re going through.’”

In all my years of pastoral support and leading study groups on dementia it never occurred to me to offer friends and family these wider pools for ritual gathering. Yes, I prayed with immediate loved ones and the person living with dementia. At times we would sing or repeat the 23rd Psalm because old hymns and familiar passages often remain in memory when much else disappears. We would share in communion together as well. 

Still, it makes a lot of sense to include others before a funeral or memorial. Ya live and ya learn. 

Earth Day & the Legacy of Pope Francis

                                                             Earth Day Poster -- Montreal 1970

This is Earth Day, the global celebration of our planetary home that first took place on April 22nd 1970, in part as a response to the unnatural disaster of a blown oil derrick off the coast of Santa Barbara, California. The resulting oil slick killed seabirds, dolphins, seals, and sea lions.

Earth Day is always a combination of the good, the bad, and ugly. We are grateful for the astonishing complexity of the natural world, chastened by our abuses, determined to do better. 

Christians and other people of faith also acknowledge both Creator and Creation. In the United Church of Canada many congregations include an Earth Sunday, usually the Sunday closest to Earth Day. This year the United Church has established Together for the Love of Creation and invited our "communities of faith, networks, and regions...to initiate and participate in climate justice events during the week of April 20‒27 to pray, learn, and act for the love of Creation." https://fortheloveofcreation.ca/earth-week-2025/

                                                  United Church Moderator Carmen Lansdowne 

Yesterday we received the sad but not surprising news that Pope Francis had died at the age of 88. The pope was the first to adopt this name in recognition of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of the environment. During his pontificate Pope Francis was committed to honouring Creation. His greatest achievement was his 2015 environmental encyclical, Laudato Si: On Care for Our Common Home. It seems appropriate that Francis died between Easter Sunday and Earth Day given his deep commitment to the Risen Christ and caring for Creation. 

To recognize the 10th anniversary of Laudato Si a group of us revisited the document during a three-week study and we used the excellent book, The Ten Green Commandments of Laudato Si as a guide. Here are those directives from Laudato Si as identified by author Joshtrum Isaac Kureethadam. We can all read them and take them to heart:

The main messages of the encyclical can be summed up in terms of “ten green commandments” from Pope Francis. Here they are: 

I. Earth, our common home, is in peril. Take care of it. 

II. Listen to the cry of the poor who are the disproportionate victims of the crisis of our common home. 

III. Rediscover a theological vision of the natural world as good news (gospel). 

IV. Recognize that the abuse of creation is ecological sin. 

V. Acknowledge the deeper human roots of the crisis of our common home. 

VI. Develop an integral ecology as we are all interrelated and interdependent. 

VII. Learn a new way of dwelling in our common home and manage it more responsibly through a new economics and a new political culture. 

VIII. Educate toward ecological citizenship through change of lifestyles. 

IX. Embrace an ecological spirituality that leads to communion with all of God’s creatures. 

X. Care for our common home by cultivating the ecological virtues of praise, gratitude, care, justice, work, sobriety, and humility.

Farewell & Godspeed to Pope Francis

 

Yesterday Pope Francis, appearing from a balcony overlooking St. Peter’s Square, blessed those present after a Vatican aide delivered a papal speech on his behalf. Yara Nardis/Reuters

Last evening I watched the evening news with our 12-year-old grandson who is an astute young man. His family doesn't have old-school TV so he hasn't seen Pope Francis in a while and when there was a piece on the pontiff waving to the Easter crowd in St. Peter's Square he was surprised at his fraility. "He looks so different" was his comment, and that was true. This morning I'll let him know that Pope Francis died overnight, having survived his lengthy battle with pneumonia to make it to a final celebration of Christ's resurrection.

I admired Pope Francis even though at times we was bewildering. He would take steps forward on the inclusion of women in leadership, kindness toward LGBTQ2S+ persons, and contrition toward Indigenous peoples only to slip sideways or backwards. He never really altered church doctrine in key areas but to be fair he was facing immense resistance to change. In a Roman Catholic church that asserts papal infallibility he was relentlessly attacked by conservatives who were disrepectful and conniving. It was shameful and it's hard to imagine the outcome of the conclave to decide on his replacement. 

So much will be written about the ministry and legacy of Pope Francis. I will always be grateful for his environmental encyclical Laudato Si: On Care for Our Common Home. This year marks the 10th anniversary of this vital and comprehensive document.

It is fitting that perhaps his last significant statement was a rebuke of the Trump administration for its wretched treatment of migrants. He instructed American bishops to resist what is occurring and when Vice President Vance visited the Vatican on the weekend he directed a cardinal to diplomaticaly school him on the gospel imperative of compassion. Francis still made time to meet with Vance and his family. 

Pope Francis washes the feet of an inmate at the Rebibbia women's prison on the outskirts of Rome as he celebrates the Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord's Supper on March 28, 2024. The pontiff washed the feet of 12 inmates at the prison, all women.. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)

On Maundy Thursday Pope Francis visited a prison, something he has done throughout his pontificate. He was not able to wash the feet of inmates, something he has done in the past, but he spoke with individuals about their lives and gave out bibles. 

His commitment to the poor and the marginalized was evident to the end and it was impressive. We've heard that the Orange Menace has suggested a military parade in honour of his own 79th birthday, yet another example of his narcissism. The contrast brings to mind the Roman military parade entering Jerusalem  from the west 2,000 years ago while Jesus made his way into the city from the east, humbly mounted on a donkey. It was the compassionate way of Christ, not Roman might that prevailed.

Thank you, Francis, for following Jesus. 

Pope Francis makes remarks as he gives an apology for the treatment of First Nations children in Canada's Residential School system, during his visit to Edmonton in 2022. 

Cole Burston/Getty Images

An Easter Prayer for Palestinians in the Holy Land

 

                                                               Easter Morning -- Georges Roualt

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb...

John 20:1 NRSVue

Christ is Risen! He is Risen indeed! 

This will be the call and response in churches around the world today, or variations on this declaration. This year is unusual in that Protestants, Roman Catholics, and Orthodox Christians will be celebrating Easter on the same Sunday. Because of the vagaries of the Julian and Gregorian calendars, with the phases of the moon thrown in, Easter is truly a moveable feast. 

The bleak irony is that this year a relatively small number of Christians who have lived their entire lives in the land where Jesus was born, carried out his ministry, was crucified and raised from the dead will be able to visit holy sites in Jerusalem. Palestinian and Arab Christians who have a history of peaceable coexistence in Israel and the Occupied Territories are restricted in their movement and often harrassed by the military and ultra-Orthodox Jews. The official stance of the Israeli government is commitment to religious freedom but the influence of those on the political and religious right belies this. According to an article in The Guardian:

..religious intolerance and antichristian sentiment has been made mainstream by Israeli political leadership – the ultra-hardline national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, described Israelis spitting on Christians as “an old Jewish tradition” – and old suspicions have escalated into brazen, all-out violence. There have also been growing incidences of settler groups attempting to seize Christian land in Jerusalem. In 2023, the Holy Land Roman Catholic patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa accused the government of establishing a “cultural and political atmosphere that can justify, or tolerate, actions against Christians”...

Xavier Abu Eid, a Palestinian Christian political analyst and the author of Rooted in Palestine: Palestinian Christians and the Struggle for National Liberation 1917-2004, said that despite the mounting harassment they faced, the diminishing numbers of Christians left in the West Bank and the unrelenting horrors of the war in Gaza, he still viewed Easter as a time of hope and “the timely message that life defeats death”. 

“As Palestinian Christians, we know that this generation will either make it or break it,” said Abu Eid. “So making clear to the Israeli occupation that we are going to stay, that we will celebrate the same religious events that we’ve been celebrating for centuries is both a national mandate and a religious mission that we have. Keeping our Christian traditions alive, praying – they have become an act of resistance.”

Two years ago we were in Jerusalem on Easter weekend and attended Sunday worship at the Garden Tomb site. Despite tensions in the city we moved about with relative freedom even though we were visitors from a distant place. 

In a few hours we will gather in celebration with other Christians enjoying a freedom I won't take for granted. And I'll say a prayer for brothers and sisters in Christ who desire that same freedom. 

 Christ is Risen! He is Risen indeed! 

Peep if you Love Easter!

 

Many congregational choirs consider Easter as the "big deal" occasion for music. At least they once did because choirs have fallen on hard times in many traditional faith communities while contemporary worship is often focussed on praise group leadership.

 I was fortunate to serve several larger congregations with budgets for music which allowed us to bring in brass and timpani players to augment Easter morning music. These instruments along with the pipe organ and guests to fill out choir sections really were fitting for the celebration of the Resurrection of Christ. 

These days I'm partial to the choirs of the wetlands with a heavenly host of frogs and toads giving voice to the Creator. Okay, their songs are more horny than heavenly but they are a wonderful declaration of abundant life. It's estimated that 70% of Ontario's wetlands have disappeared to development so hearing these all but invisible reptiles really is hopeful. This year their songs are happily coinciding with Easter. I heard an expert this morning describe the decibel level in the midst of a marsh full of frogs and toads as the equivalent of a heavy metal concert rather than a church service. 

You might remember that it was April of last year when lots us were seeking out good viewing spots for the path of totality to view  for the solar eclipse. We made our way to a large field in Prince Edward County bordering on an extensive marsh. When the darkness swept across the area the Spring peepers yelled their tiny heads off and then quieted down in a wave as light returned. It was an experience I'll never forget. 

I don't think I've ever seen a Spring peeper but they can't be more elusive than a tenor for most choirs these days. 

I appreciate that readers farther to the north are still waiting for these harbingers of Spring but they are coming! Here is a link to a video with various Ontario frog and toad songs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=FFtkIRWbNeE

Crucial Good Friday

                                                                  Tree of Life -- Blake Debassige

 1 Beneath the cross of Jesus I fain would take my stand:

the shadow of a mighty rock within a weary land,

a home within the wilderness, a rest upon the way,

from the burning of the noontide heat and the burden of the day.

Crucial: definition 

1

a

: IMPORTANT, SIGNIFICANT

… what use we make of them will be the crucial question.—Stanley Kubrick

Vitamins are crucial for maintaining good health.

b

: important or essential as resolving a crisis : DECISIVE

She played a crucial role in the negotiations.

c

: marked by final determination of a doubtful issue

the crucial game of a series

2

archaic : CRUCIFORM

While I was getting my hair cut yesterday I asked my barber if she would be working today as well. She said that because she doesn't have children she doesn't mind being open for business on the holiday and she was fully booked. There was no mention from either of us that this would be Good Friday, the most solemn day in the Christian calendar, and the notion that this is meant to be a time of sober reflection on the crucifixion of Jesus. I wasn't prepared to go there, rightly or wrongly. We're not exactly on those terms of theological exploration. 

Her casual indifference to the meaning of Good Friday is not surprising. Our secularized and pluralistic society takes this statutory holiday with a shrug -- who's going to complain about a day off? I was a bit surprised to find out that the YMCA is closed today but open on Easter. How did that get decided? 

I should also note that during nearly four decades of congregational ministry Good Friday was never a well attended service compared to Easter morning. I did serve congregations where we would have in the neighbourhood of 100 worshippers and others where combining with other churches meant that there were hundreds more. But lots of devout people were happy to jump from Palm Sunday to Resurrection morning. 

Good Friday's reminder of a cruel death is unappealing, as it should be. Who wants that sort of reminder, let alone the profound mystery of God Incarnate as the "Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world" ? There are plenty of different interpretations of what the cross means for Christians, even different definitions of atonement.

As the years have gone by the crucifixion has remained crucial to my faith (same Latin root). I have made my peace with the tension of engaging in respectful interfaith conversation while also holding the conviction that the sorrowful events of Calvary are necessary to identifying as a Christian. Jesus was an earthy and earthly human who was wrongly executed by a merciless regime. He was also the embodiment of the Creator, as the Redeemer. I am content to have all these sometime confusing aspects swirl around even though I miss the simple and perhaps simplistic convictions of my earnest youth. 

I would also say that I am increasingly mindful that the specificity of the crucifixion at a particular place and time two thousand years ago has significance for the planet in all times --"for God so loved the world that he gave his only Son..."  It is crucial for Christians to open their eyes to the meaning of Good Friday for all creatures and the planet. 

2 Upon the cross of Jesus my eyes at times can see

the very dying form of one who suffered there for me; 

and from my smitten heart, with tears, two wonders I confess,

the wonder of his glorious love, and my unworthiness.

3 I take, O cross, your shadow for my abiding place;

I ask no other sunshine than the sunshine of his face,

content to let the world go by, to know no gain nor loss,

my sinful self my only shame, my glory all, the cross.

                                                                  White Crucifixion -- Marc Chagall