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The information received in preparing the Canadian response to the Windsor Report indicated to me that about ¼ to 1/3 of Canadian Anglicans are strongly conservative on this issue, but about 2/3 of church members would fall in the middle and liberal parts of the spectrum of Anglican opinion.
From Affirming Catholicism Canada,
as blogged by Patricia Bays (chair of the Windsor Report Response Group at General Synod)
For the past half year or so I have done a bit more reading some early documents. You can still see NT Wright's Judas and the Gospel of Jesus : A Christian Response sitting on the reading list, although I finished it last spring. One of the other books I have recently read is by Darrell Bock. It's called The Missing Gospels. It is a fairly good introduction to the Nag Hammadi texts; the many so called "gospels" which pop up in the news, in pop culture and in scholarship on a regular basis. (Usually around Christmas and Easter, in order to "debunk more fully the mythology" which traditional Christianity has assembled around those dates.)
For the rest of the week I will be doing some posting around this particular area. What are these "other gospels" which one hears about? What do they say about Jesus? Bock does a great study of the original materials, both the Nag Hammadi & the traditional gospels, and compares them in several categories: God and Creation; Jesus - Divine and/or Human; the nature of Redemption - Spiritual/Physical; Jesus' death. I will also throw in some stuff from Wright's analysis of the Gospel of Judas.
There are so many fundamental questions involved it's hard to know where to begin, but let me suggest this as a starting point. in my reading of various churchy-type publications (okay, I like to read church newspapers), I came across a description of a traveling Jesus Seminar presentation in the Diocese of Calgary:
For those who attended the Seminar at All Saints, our speakers presented Jesus as one who was just as radically counter cultural in his own day as he is in ours.
An illiterate rural peasant from a dirty town, itinerant preacher and a day laborer...
Sower (big pdf, pg 8)
There are two things which jump out at me. First is having a look at some of the "alternative texts" which people use to establish a new idea/picture of Jesus. And second is the question of whether there are fundamental problems which arise in this sort of re-drawing of Jesus. Many folks might be startled by this description. Jesus an illiterate peasant? How then shall we think of this:
When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:
‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.’
And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him.
Let us fix our eyes on Him.
This section of Luke seems to hit me in the wallet.
This week continues to focus attention on some issues related to wealth/possessions with the contrast of poverty thrown into the mix, a healthy dose of "afterlife balance adjustment", and an appeal to the witness of Scripture and the resurrection. Most commentaries will also point out that this might be a reworking of some existing folklore themes or stories.
There are a few things that stick out at me in this one. There is the contrast between dives (let's give him a name, as this is one of the few, or is it the only, parable in which the characters have names. Or maybe that is part of the point: it is the rich man who is nameless and it is the poor man who has a name. Lazarus ("God helps") is named because it reinforces the sense of his personhood; he is not invisible to God. The rich man has the Rolex and Mercedes of his day - purple clothes and fine linen; while Lazarus has sores and a few dog licks.
16:19 "There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. [20] And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, [21] who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man's table; even the dogs would come and lick his sores.
It appears what the rich man has chosen is a lifestyle in which he does not even recognize Lazarus. Lazarus is the sort of person to be stepped around on the sidewalk.
[22] The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. [23] In Hades, where he was being tormented, he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side. [24] He called out, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in agony in these flames.'
It is interesting to remember that Abraham was also a wealthy man in his day, and wealth is after all a sign of God's favor, isn't it? So on one level we have a bit of the reversal of the popular conception that material wealth is a sure sign of God's favour. On the other hand, Abraham was a wealthy man and here he is as the figure in paradise. So what is the difference between the rich man in the parable and Abraham - it's not just the objective presence in their lives of material wealth. I'm not certain I want to go too far in that direction. At least this much is clear: wealth and poverty are no longer the sure signs of God's favour that they were in Abraham's day.
The imagery is contrasting: Lazarus is carried by angels (an upward image?) while the rich man "died and was buried" (a downward image?). This I think is reinforced with the image of the rich man "looking up" to see Abraham. And then there is the reversal: while at first Lazarus hungered for just of morsel of what the rich man has, now the rich man thirsts for just a drop of what Lazarus has.
I also think there is going to be some more work to be done about the whole torment and agony bit. I still think that one of the best ways of looking at this is what is found in Dante's Inferno: God will give you the true form of what you desire, but that is a major series of posts best reserved for Lent or some such penitential time. One of the questions this raises is the difference between true "feasting" and mere "gluttony". If you have thoughts on what you might say (or not say) about the torment and agony, have at it.
[25] But Abraham said, 'Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in agony.[26] Besides all this, between you and us a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who might want to pass from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.'
Well, this parable at least seems to take the afterlife seriously: temporal actions (or inactions) have eternal consequences. Abraham explains the reversal of fortune. Question to myself: what is God's idea of justice?
[27] He said, 'Then, father, I beg you to send him to my father's house—[28] for I have five brothers--that he may warn them, so that they will not also come into this place of torment.'
[29] Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.'
[30] He said, 'No, father Abraham; but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.'
[31] He said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.'"
At first glance I considered the rich man's words to be a beginning of some sort of redemptive thought, and maybe they are. But the nature of his request is a] centered only on his brothers ("don't even Gentiles do the same"); b] fails to address the real problem - attitude and action toward Lazarus' peers. It strikes me that the rich man's warning is mere "fire insurance"; his concern has not actually come around to helping the Lazari of this world. And all of these teachings are not new - they are there in Moses and the prophets.
The last reversal is the greatest - "even if someone rises from the dead".
More later.
1 Timothy 6: 6...
6 Of course, there is great gain in godliness combined with contentment; 7 for we brought nothing into the world, so that we can take nothing out of it; 8 but if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these. 9 But those who want to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains.
Why a mission to women, in Rwanda? Because the women in Rwanda have borne the brunt of the genocide which took place in 1994. Their husbands and children were killed, often meaning they lost their land and consequently their livelihood. They lost the support of husbands who have been in prison for taking part in the genocide. Now the wife must provide food for the imprisoned husband. In families of mixed race the survivors often turned on each other. Because the genocide took place between neighbours and within families and because survivors have returned to those same communities and neighbours after the genocide, there is acute isolation. Each goes through life in solitude...
The SOMA team included: Kjeryn Allard, Dudley Baker - Team Leader, Patricia Halligan-Baker - St. Paul’s Anglican Church, Edmonton; Kay Forsyth, St. Timothy’s Anglican Church, Edmonton; Wanjiku Kironyo, Anglican Inland Church, Cura, Kenya; (Director, Maji Mazuri Intl., Nairobi); Michael Williamson, Rector, St. Paul’s Anglican Church, Edmonton.
full story here
On Sunday, September 30, the sol cafe will be meeting for one of our regular "service services", where our Sunday gathering and worship takes the form of some work in the community. This month we will be back at the Salvation Army downtown food sorting depot (9618 101A Avenue), processing donations and doing whatever other work they might need done.
If you can join us, please meet at the depot at 5 pm; you'll need to be relatively prompt because the facility will need to be locked once we're inside. If you've never been before or need a lift, we will also have a couple of volunteers at Cafe Dabar at 5 pm to shuttle people over.
The parable of the "shrewd manager" is probably one of the more difficult readings for us to make sense of, which fact is unrelated to the fact that the curate ended up on the preaching schedule this weekend... But we will try to post something later today.
You could also check out Millionaires for Jesus. Lots of err, interesting stuff.
Matt has a great quote in the comments.
Hmm... Well, there is always the question of whether or not a parable works like an allegory - X stands for person Y.
The manager might be commended by us if we think that he is viewing wealth as a means, rather than an end in itself. Money functions as a tool (albeit in his case for selfish ends). I wonder as well if we had the same attitude which the manager has toward our possessions. After all, the manager is free with the goods because the goods are not really his - so why not be rather free with the accounting? The goods belong to his boss. It is interesting to think as to whether or nto we have the same freedom with our material possessions as the shrewd manager has with his boss's wealth. I mean, if we really saw ourselves as "managers" of what we have, rather than presuming to be the outright "owners". The manager certainly exhibits a freedom with material wealth which I find difficult to do. The difference is that I see all my wealth as primarily MINE, and not really belonging to God.
The manager came to see that his master's wealth was a tool which could be used to gain (temporal) "friends". Jesus challenges his disciples to have the same freedom with wealth.
Steve London has some thoughts here.
ps. If we think this set of teachings is troublesome, then the next few weeks bring up the questions again. Although there is stark contrast between Lazarus and the rich man (comes up a few verses later) , there is also the question of when we move from simply having enough, to a form of gluttony.
Update: since I don't have to preach tomorrow, what I've really been trying to work on today is this.
What I need to do next is see the sol cafe web guy, since I have a domain name, but the site just hasn't pointed in the right direction yet. Been using iweb and Forklift. We'll see how it goes. Now there is this, which seems to be up and running. Which brings us around to what I have really been thinking about lately, which is evangelism. I would like for us to have a website which is helpful for present members of the parish, but is also inviting and comfortable for others, unchurched, non Christians - without being over the top.
You know, no one uses the Yellow Pages anymore to find a church...
excerpt:
But I believe God is about to do a new thing.
“…Where morning dawns … you call forth songs of joy.” Psalm 65:8
Just days ago, I returned from Africa where I had the privilege, together with Canon Charlie Masters and Dr. Terry and Cheryl Chang, of participating in the consecrations of several new North American bishops – all good and godly men and dear friends of the Anglican Network in Canada. Bishops Bill Atwood and Bill Murdoch were consecrated in Nairobi on August 30th, while Bishop John Guernsey was consecrated in Kigali on September 2nd.
What a time of celebration and thanksgiving! I wish you could have been there with me – and the thousands gathered for both services. (Estimates for the outdoor service in Uganda ranged up to 10,000.) Had you been there, your heart would have soared. The preaching was solidly Biblical and the intensity of the love and joy expressed in the worship was overwhelming. Both events were substantive. The Kenyan service lasted almost five hours, while the Ugandan service required six.
Note: since it is also International Talk Like a Pirate Day, I may later attempt to translate some of Bishop Harvey's letter into Pirate dialect.
Important Update: some Pirate translation of parts of the letter:
“…'ere mornin' dawns … ye call fore songs o' joy.” Psalm 65:8
Jus' days ago, I returned from Africa 'ere I had th' privilege, together wi' Canon Charlie Masters an' Dr. Terry an' Cheryl Chang, o' participatin' in th' consecrations o' several new North American bishops – all good an' godly men an' dear shipmates o' th' Anglican Network in Canada. Bishops Bill Atwood an' Bill Murdoch be consecrated in Nairobi on Augst 30th, while Bishop John Guernsey be consecrated in Kigali on Septembree 2nd.
What a time o' celebration an' thanksgivin'! I wish ye could ben thar wi' me – an' th' thousands gathered fer both services. (Estimates fer th' outdoor service in Uganda ranged up t' 10,000.) Had ye been thar, yer heart would be havin' soared. Th' preachin' be solidly Biblical an' th' intensity o' th' love an' joy expressed in th' worship be overwhelmin'. Both events be substantive. Th' Kenyan service lasted almost five hours, while th' Ugandan service required six. Aaarrr.
EDMONTON - Mayor Stephen Mandel wants four sculptures outside the Shaw Conference Centre taken away immediately after local Hindu leaders complained they're disrespectful of one of their faith's beloved gods.
The works by Edmonton artist Ryan McCourt use castoff industrial material to depict the elephant-headed Ganesha in various poses, including one piece in which he stands with his head lying on the ground beside a pillar that holds a breast and female genitals.
The temporary display has been outside the conference centre on Jasper Avenue since last November.
from the Edmonton Journal
There has been a bit of backlash against the work of Ryan McCourt, a local sculptor. His work involves the depiction of Hindu deity. There are some interesting questions and social interactions here. Leaders from the local Hindu community find the pieces "disrespectful". Ryan McCourt argues that the principle of freedom of expression is at stake. Tax payers from the burbs will wonder how they ended up partially funding this project, no doubt.
I find it refreshing that at least, for once, it is not the Christian community up in arms about another ho-hum artistic depiction of Jesus or Mary doing something which is supposed to "shock" the hegemony out of us.
More importantly, it raises some interesting questions about the nature of art, the relationship between an artist and the wider (multi-faith/multi-cultural) community and society. I'll be interested to see what else comes of this.
We are still finding bodies - buried in pits, dumped in rivers, chopped in pieces. Besides providing the details of this very sad story, my goal with this book is to tell an amazing, uplifting story. It is the story of the new Rwanda, a country that has turned to God, and which God is blessing.
It is wrong to say that Rwanda was forgotten or hated by God. That is like saying that God forgot Jesus when He was on the cross...Rwanda was abandoned and forgotten by the world, especially by the rich and powerful nations, but God did not forget Rwanda.
from
The Bishop of Rwanda: Finding Forgiveness Amidst a Pile of Bones.
The Rt. Rev. John Rucyahana, a Tutsi, was elected as bishop of Shyira Diocese in Rwanda in 1997.
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