KUCC Blog

Good Friday, Earth Day

karenm21 — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 13:00:29 +0000

Good Friday and Earth Day: A Providential Convergence

by William P. Brown and Stanley P. Saunders

By a rare coincidence Earth Day falls on Good Friday this year, the first time ever. (The next time is in 2095.) “Good Friday” is the day Christians commemorate Christ’s crucifixion. Earth Day calls attention to the continuing crucifixion of our planet. While some may consider this chronological convergence a rude distraction from the Holy Week of Christ’s Passion, we believe the coincidence is providential. Both Good Friday and Earth Day draw our attention to suffering, death, and the hope of redemption.

How strange it seems to call “good” a day that commemorates crucifixion. The historical reason is that “good” meant “holy” back in the time of Shakespeare and the King James Bible. But now that meaning is lost. The Swedes offer an alternative: “Long Friday” (Långfredagen). Crucifixion was not quick and easy. It was meant to assert Rome’s control over subject peoples by means of a prolonged, public display of suffering.

Earth Day was founded by Gaylord Nelson, a United States Senator from Wisconsin and a Methodist, who called for an environmental teach-in on April 22, 1970. It was his response to the Santa Barbara oil spill of the previous year—a spill that involved a relatively miniscule amount of oil compared to the recent one off the Gulf coast. Earth Day invites us to remember not just particular crises, however, but the prolonged public suffering the earth is experiencing at human hands.

James Howard Kunstler refers to “the long emergency” that is now upon us, a time of converging economic and ecological crises. The evidence is chilling. On the economic front, today’s global markets seem ever vulnerable to collapse as they continue to operate under the grand but deadly illusion of growth at any cost, both human and environmental.

Alarmed at the rapid rate of disappearing species, biologists in a recent issue of Nature warn that the earth is on the brink of a sixth massive extinction, comparable to the one that wiped out the dinosaurs 65 million years ago. But what makes this one unique is its cause, namely, human activity: habitat destruction, pollution, climate change, and competition for resources.

Extinction and crucifixion share much in common. In our hands, the earth continues to suffer its own via dolorosa. Call it “The Passion of the Creation.” The apostle Paul described creation as “groaning” and “subjected to futility” (Romans 8:18-23). He was also clear that the fate of humankind is bound up with the fate of creation. We live in a good and groaning world, a world created good, according to Genesis, and now groaning under the crushing weight of our carbon footprint.

With Earth Day converging on Good Friday this year, a lesson is to be learned. It begins with the dawning awareness of a connection that has long been forgotten, namely, the indissoluble bond between Christ and creation. Christ, the Word made flesh, dwelt in a world made of flesh. Christians call this the incarnation: when God saw fit to become a part of creation. Faith in the incarnation takes seriously God’s creation.

While it is tempting on Good Friday to look away from the cross toward Easter’s empty tomb, we must remember that Christ’s resurrected body still bears the scars of his crucifixion (John 20:27). Our planet, too, bears lasting scars. During this time of Lent, may we reflect on the magnitude of our sin against God and God’s creation. As we tremble at the foot of the cross on Good Friday, may we tremble also at the cross the earth now bears on account of our greed, consumptive habits, and toxic policies. May we hear the groans of our bruised and battered world echoed in the cries of Jesus on the cross.

To tremble at the cross and repent is what makes this day “good.”

William P. Brown and Stanley P. Saunders are founding members of Earth Covenant Ministry ( www.earthcovenantministry.org) and teach at
Columbia Theological Seminary.

A Child’s Sorrow – A Child’s Hope

karenm21 — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 15:59:57 +0000

“How does she tell their 2 year old that her father died?”

That was the question posed to me at 5:00 this morning. I was stumped. How do you explain something like death to a 2 year old? It’s my worst fear, not that I will die, but that someone will have to explain it to my daughter and she won’t be able to understand why I don’t come back to her.

It’s been haunting me all morning.

I pray that someone would tell her every day how much I love her. Tell her that I didn’t want to leave her. Tell her it’s okay to be sad or mad and it will also be okay to laugh again some day. I love to hear her laugh.

But it’s not about me right now, it’s about this family. And all I can say is, “Hold her close. Be honest. Help her grieve and remember. And let her lead you back to wholeness in the way only a child can do.”

Love Sorrow

Love sorrow. She is yours now, and you must
take care of what has been
given. Brush her hair, help her
into her little coat, hold her hand,
especially when crossing a street. For, think,

what if you should lose her? Then you would be
sorrow yourself; her drawn face, her sleeplessness
would be yours. Take care, touch
her forehead that she feel herself not so

utterly alone. And smile, that she does not
altogether forget the world before the lesson.
Have patience in abundance. And do not
ever lie or ever leave her even for a moment

by herself, which is to say, possibly, again,
abandoned. She is strange, mute, difficult,
sometimes unmanageable but, remember, she is a child.
And amazing things can happen. And you may see,

as the two of you go
walking together in the morning light, how
little by little she relaxes; she looks about her;
she begins to grow.

Mary Oliver
Red Bird

Heroines

karenm21 — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 13:56:45 +0000

Last night we attended a seder meal for the first night of Passover with friends in our community. It was a beautiful, if a bit chaotic, evening. The meal went on for hours as we moved through all the symbolic foods and wine, shared in the story of the Exodus, relaxed with our friends, and indulged in a celebratory meal. As the Exodus story was read, I got stuck on the part where Jochebed, Moses’ mom, placed the infant Moses in a basket in the river to spare his life from the Egyptians. She let him float away to an uncertain future, but away from certain death if she held on to him.

Earlier in the day I sat with a 19 year old woman as she wrestled bitterly with the decision to make an adoption plan for her newborn son. We met on Friday at the hospital the day after “Jonah” was born. “Ashleigh’s” boyfriend had called us to initiate the adoption plan. Ashleigh decided that she would take Jonah home for one night and then we would meet her at their house to complete the surrender documents. I doubted we would hear from her again and questioned how much her boyfriend was driving this process. But she did call us, and Monday afternoon we met at her home to sign the documents relinquishing her rights and then take the child.

It was a humble apartment - one bed, no other furniture, and no food in the kitchen of which to speak. Ashleigh and her boyfriend lived there with Asheligh’s one year old son. As far as most of our clients go, you might say they were lucky. They both have jobs, she receives foods stamps and WIC, they have a car, they have family to help with child care. But when you’re a Waffle House waitress, the future is not very certain. Or maybe it is certain, you are certain to struggle. Ashleigh wanted more for her sons. Despite the boyfriend’s seeming involvement in her and her children’s lives, she told a different story. She couldn’t count on him to be there. He would take off for days and leave them without transportation. The money from his supposed 3 jobs never seemed to make it home. He told me he had no history with drugs or alcohol, but only after a long silence and a diverted glance that let me know the truth was more complex.

As we always do, we tried to help Ashleigh explore all her options for parenting this child. We believe in preserving that biological bond if at all possible. Yet even though open adoption carries no guarantees, she chose for him an uncertain yet hope filled life rather than the certainty of struggle she knew in her life. She signed the papers through tear streaked eyes, then she handed Jonah to us and quickly walked away. As I strapped him snuggly into his car seat, my heart broke for her and for him but also marveled in the sheer strength and courage I had just witnessed.

At dinner last night, it occurred to me that Moses is not the hero of the Exodus story. He is one among many, and many of them are women. Women like Ashleigh and Jochbed who made the agonizing decision to let their children go in order to preserve their lives. Women like the midwives who bravely refused to follow Pharoah’s orders to kill all the male Hebrew children. All of the Hebrew women who carried their pregnancies, brought life into this world, and fought with all they could to preserve that life in the face of great oppression.

Stations of the Cross

karenm21 — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 18:24:55 +0000

Near my office in Norcross is an outdoor ‘Stations of the Cross’ path
that allows the celebrant to take a step out of the busyness and routine
to a place that is refreshed, energized, enlightened, spiritually
awakened- an ordinary space made sacred space- through a purposeful,
peaceful walk through the stations. As we celebrate this Holy Week, may
our paths give way to moments of the sacred and the Divine. And may we
seek out these spaces in our routine, wherever we may find ourselves.
Shalom.

from Gary Garrett

Light through the Cracks

karenm21 — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 13:54:05 +0000

from Gary Garrett:

Pencil-thin sunlight, tiny beams of intense light, bursting with energy
and hope, spilling in and flowing in the cracks between tree limbs and
barn doors and drives through the country-side. Light bursting through,
unexpectedly- intense and important and renewing- reminds me of the
Wednesday morning conversation surrounding the Lenten writings of Henri
Nouwen – how we are able to break into the complexities and the
‘messiness’ of the relationships and situations and everyday life we
live with a word of encouragement, a word of hope, an understanding and
empathy for the other person in this moment by moment saga we call Life.
God, in turn, likewise breaks into those cracks in our day to day
experience to enlighten us.

We breathe; our hearts beat; we live, in the minutia, in the presence
and the light of God. Let it be for us this day.

Integrity

karenm21 — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 14:45:23 +0000

All the reasons I love the United Church of Christ became very clear to me yesterday. I cannot go into details, but suffice it to say, I work for an organization that chose the cowardly way rather than bearing witness to a God of extravagant welcome.

The whole mess reminded me of the internal conflict I went through when trying to decide whether to leave the United Methodist Church or to stay and try to work for change within the denomination. It finally came down to a matter of integrity for me. I refused to lie about who I was just to become ordained, even though that meant I would not be able to work toward change from the inside. Other faithful people make different choices, choices that are right for them and allow them to maintain their integrity – I give thanks for their continued work in changing hearts and doctrine in the UMC. Leaving the UMC was the right choice for me. Since moving to the United Church of Christ, I have been able to live and work with a deep sense of integrity, bringing all of who I am to my life and ministry.

Maybe you face a similar challenge in your work or personal life. Questions of integrity face us all the time. Whether it is an ethical dilemma in your work dealings; the balancing act of trying to work for an organization you believe in yet being desperate for a job… any job; managing your investments for retirement without funneling money into companies you do not believe in; the day to day of maintaining relationships with family or friends with whom you deeply disagree; or trying to speak or live what you believe is right, even in the face or great opposition. All of these situations and more test our integrity. But I believe that God calls us not to take the easy way, to stand for what is good and right, to speak truth to power, to defend the poor and marginalized, to live a life of integrity.

Friends, believe that I am writing this for myself, as well as for you. As I sit at my desk today, I feel deeply conflicted about what to do. Do I leave with no other job prospect? Do I stay because the clients we serve need someone like me to advocate for and serve them? Do I stand against the cowardly and unethical behavior though it may cost me my job? I don’t know the answer today, but I walk with you in this journey to live a life of integrity, a life where our Still Speaking God’s voice and light can be see in me.

My peace I give to you

karenm21 — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 02:03:08 +0000

I’m sitting on my front porch, listening to the trickle of water in the fountain and the hum of crickets. I know there is unrest in much of the world, maybe even down the street. But right here, in this moment, in my small corner of the world, there is peace. I give thanks for this peace and pray that I will take it into the world and work to bring about God’s peace and justice. May you also find your own moments of peace this Lent to carry forth into the world.

Elephants

karenm21 — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 13:50:53 +0000

I have always been drawn to elephants. They are fascinating creatures who exhibit a wide range of emotional and social behavior. One of the characteristics that attracts me most is their interaction with the dead and dying members of their herds. Elephants are known to travel great distances to visit the bones of their deceased members. They often display ritualistic behaviors with these bones, caressing the bones and clearly mourning the loss of their fellow elephant.

I think the same thing that draws me to elephants also draws me to chaplaincy. I am not scared of death. I certainly want to live a long, full life, but I do not fear the day that death will come. I believe that death can be a beautiful experience in addition to the pain and sadness that accompany it. There are moments of tenderness and compassion, celebrations of life and legacies, glimpses of the transcendent, and and an opportunity to meet one another and God at our deepest and most raw levels. No one can meet death, either your own or a loved one’s, and not be moved.

Much against the prevailing culture, I long to be around those who are dying or who are losing a loved one. In my experience, this is where life really begins – in the acceptance that we are all mortal beings with an unknown and finite life span. Embrassing life to its fullest extent, celebrating all of life’s joys and sorrows, embracing each day we are given as a gift from God is the key to truly living. We honor God when we live not in fear of death, but in celebration of life.

Forgiveness

karenm21 — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 19:06:34 +0000

I recently heard someone say, “Not forgiving is the poison you take, hoping someone else will die.” Holding on to a grudge or feeling of hurt or anger does little to punish the person who wronged us yet it slowly eats away at us. I was recently mad at a friend for a perceived wrong (don’t worry, it wasn’t you). My friend didn’t even know I was mad at her, but inside I was seething. The anger interupted my days causing me to dwell on it incessantly and to lash out at completely unrelated events or people. It wasn’t healthy. I finally realized that I could not carry that burden of anger any longer; I had to forgive her. Selfishly, not for her sake, but for mine. I still believe her actions were wrong, but I have forgiven her and moved on. I felt the freedom that came from that forgiveness almost immediately.

Jesus tells Peter in Matthew 18 that we must forgive someone who sins against us 70 x 7 times. In other words, forgive extravagantly. Forgive and forgive again until the forgiveness truly comes from your heart and not jsut a sense of obligation. Forgive even when the one you are forgiving doesn’t know or even doesn’t believe they need to be forgiven. Forgive because God forgave you. Forgive because another has forgiven you. Forgive to help another to heal. Forgive to heal yourself. Forgive because we are all human and make mistakes. Forgive because we have all been hurt in the past. Forgive to be set free. Forgive because you love. Just forgive.

Embody Me

karenm21 — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 14:37:17 +0000

With all the mix of sadness and joy expressed in our prayer time during

worship yesterday, this poeem came to mind.

May we all embody God and never lose sight of God’s presence in our midst.

"Go to the Limits of Your Longing"
by Rainer Maria Rilke; translation by Joanna Macy and Anne Barrows
God speaks to each of us as he makes us,
then walks with us silently out of the night.

These are the words we dimly hear:

You, sent out beyond your recall,
go to the limits of your longing.
Embody me.

Flare up like a flame
and make big shadows I can move in.

Let everything happen to you: beauty and terror.
Just keep going. No feeling is final.
Don't let yourself lose me.

Nearby is the country they call life.
You will know it by its seriousness.

Give me your hand.

Book of Hours, I 59