Private Manning Goes to Washington

8/2/16

Private Manning Goes to Washington

On Tuesday night. We welcomed back the Representatives. West-Park has enjoyed its relationships with this intimate theatre company and has been happy to host previous Representatives productions as concrete examples of what we see as the mission of the Center at West-Park, a center for the transformation of the individual and society.  Having previously been the venue for productions like Bazarov, Stan Richardson’s successful take on Turgenev’s Fathers and Sons to the nourish thriller pilot, Beddy Tear, this time we opened  our doors for Private  Manning Goes to Washington as an open preview on its way to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.  And a turn away capacity Mc Alpin Hall audience of church members, artists and neighbors turned out for the performance and conversation.

Stan Richardson, Pastor Brashear and Matt Steiner

Although Representatives’ productions always engage current social political reality, this may be their most existentially engaged production yet, especially in a year of a US presidential election that approaches magical realism. National security, wiki leaks, the rights of transgender persons, the specific case of Chelsea Manning who recently attempted suicide, all are present in this production. What we have is a reality based fantasy that tells Chelsea Manning’s story through the experience of hacker Aaron Swartz, an actual suicide victim.

We also see an exploration of the intersection of artistic creation and activism. The conceit is that Aaron Swartz and his (created) friend believe that writing a play about Chelsea Manning could raise a public cry to free her, just as Stan and his Representatives partner Matt Steiner believe(d) their work could do the  same.  At this point, we’re into one of those art/life/art infinite regression cycles. And damn well played, if I might say so. Stan’s writing always goes down satisfyingly easy like a well crafted artisanal brew, full bodied, flavorful.

Original rep Matt Seiner and company collaborator E. James Ford play their parts well, including a coda between Private Manning and the President. Yep, Obama himself in dramatic cameo…). The conversation that followed the performance touched on all the salient issues, nothing concluded,,but issues explored.

The conversation

What we wanted. Glad we could see the guys off to Edinburgh. May they do well there. And may we welcome  them home….and yes, FREE CHELSEA MANNING….

Homelessness: What would Jesus do?

7/31/16

Recently, I made a  trip to North Carolina. Now, I can barely tolerate first class, but we’ve now gone way beyond that.  I understood the taking your shoes off routine to be about security. But did you know that for some extra dollars ,you can  keep your shoes on? Uh,….security? And now with American Airlines, anything but center seats are “premium”? For a few dollars more?  And Southwest Airlines…which used to be first come, first served based upon your check in time. B now you  can buy a higher position. Thank god, the Subway is still democratic. Can you imagine a first class subway?

You want to talk about lines? Lines? Waiting in line for Shakespeare in the park is part of quintessential New York City summer experience. BUT if you become a supporter, you can pass the summer Shakespeare line altogether. Well, maybe that is arguably fair…but over half the ‘’Free ‘seats are reserved for corporate donors..

What about amusement parks?  The Disney worlds? No democracy. Money takes you to the front of the line…(But not in Brooklyn, NOT the Cyclone…pure democracy…only the take a  2^nd ride for $5offer after you’ve finished…no complaint there..

What if in baseball you could buy an extra ball as  a pitcher or an  extra strike as a batter…an already seemingly interminable game would never end….

What we’re talking about here is COMMODIFICATION…the idea that everything, everybody,has a price….that like with one of our candidates, there is always a deal to

 be made…

Even health is a commodity to be bought and sold. In our society teeth are a class issue…the rich get teeth, the rest of us dentures…Luke reminds us that death is still the ultimate democratic experience. We are called to be rich toward God…now what does that mean?

In Colossians 3:11 we read again, that there is   Neither Jew nor Greek….in an election year where one candidate believes in separation, we are called to a different way of being…Christianity is  not a belief but a way of life…

There has been an increasingly loud conversation concerning homeless in this neighborhood…on our steps…underneath the conversation is a desire not to have to see or be near people who are not like us…

In talking about the homeless issue, there are several rights:

1.     The right to enjoy your home and neighborhood

2.     The right of the church to preserve it’s beauty and to be respected

            Sometimes these slide over we just don’t want to see them…

And there I’m troubled…

As a follower of Jesus, I must always ask the question, what would Jesus do?

I was touched by the quality of conversation at this point. John will always help homeless people. Understands that there but for the grace of God go I quality of the reality. But he draws the line at inviting people into his home. I know people who  have done that and it has never worked out well. Except for maybe Rudy. Leila faces this issue with me every day. But I’m especially gratified when Marsha speaks of her displeasure with the neighborhood. The sense of privilege that wants to hide our children …and more ourselves from unpleasant realities…she’d like to have a happy hour and invite our neighbors to discuss the issue..I have felt marginalized and ostracized in this discussion so Marsha’s support is much appreciated…)

We say out prayers. Sing our hymns. Our benedictions. Our Amens. And head back to the streets. And our homes.

Meanwhile the Restoration Ministries LGBTQ African-American pentecostal church is finishing it’s last Sunday in our sanctuary. They are moving to the Village and Judson.  The documentary film crew is wrapping up its last shooting.

thank you, Leila

            

How should we pray?

7/24

The Lord’s Prayer

11 He was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” 2 He said to them, “When you pray, say:

Father,hallowed be your name.
    Your kingdom come.
3     Give us each day our daily bread.
4     And forgive us our sins,
        for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us.
    And do not bring us to the time of trial.”

Perseverance in Prayer

5 And he said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; 6 for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.’ 7 And he answers from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’ 8 I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs.

9 “So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. 11 Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? 12 Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion? 13 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

What do you pray for?

When we read the Lord's Prayer in Luke....what do you see?  Well we do notice it’s not the form we usually use liturgically. The Matthew version is closer to what we say whenever we say the Lord’s prayer. First of all, it’s direct. Begins with an ascription of holiness to God. Naming God as singular and holy.  And it assumes an intimacy, a relationship. God is like your father, or mother. No grandiose, cosmic, regal, honorific titles...And it deals intrinsically with the most basic needs, our daily bread in all of its forms.

He prayer presents us as worthy of  forgiveness based on an action of ours, that we have already forgiven others. And the word associated with sins is debts, the way we Protestants pray it.  There is this very real sense of obligation, what is owed to others, what others owe to us.  But we can’t miss the fact that thee is also the very concrete sense of economic debts as well in that it was an essential paft of the Jewish understanding of the law that there was to be a debt amnesty every seven years. (The basis of our bankruptcy laws). The principle was that no family was to be perpetually indebted to others, that poverty and dependence was not to extend over generations.  And Jesus’ self-understanding pf his own mission can be seen as wanting to make that finally real. The sermon on the mount, the beatitudes, can e  seen as an expression of the principle of jubilee.

The Lucan version ends with the desire that we not be tested. it’s a conscious awareness of how hard it is on a daily basis to do the right thing, with values often in conflict and situations often complex.

The request are all very direct. There’s not much "buttering up" of God going on.

It’s interesting that Jesus follows up this teaching with a parable. Of a late night visit to a friend ready for bed. Who has to be pestered until he finally gives in. What does the parable tell us? Is Jesus telling us that God is like that neighbor?  Is he perhaps reflecting his own experience? Encouraging us to keep praying, keep focused, keep asking even when God seems unresponsive? It’s an interesting image of God.

But In the end, there is reassurance. He calls on our shared experience as parents. That most parents will do their best to give their children  good things. (The reference to you who are evil is closer to imperfect than morally evil. Jesus view of us in this teaching about prayer is quite compassionate. Throughout this whole discussion Jesus is quite understanding of  the frailty of w e humans who despite our limitations, struggle to do our best. (Again, does this understanding come from his own experience?)

In the end, what is it we are absolutely assured to receive? Well, not exactly what we ask for. We will receive what we need, not necessarily what we want. And In this case, what we are guaranteed is the Holy Spirit...that which can sustain us through all the difficulties and frustrations.

So, when you pray….be direct. Be explicit. With no fear. Say exactly what you feel. And keep coming back. Again and again. And be open to receiving the Holy Spirit and willing to trust and rely on its sustaining power.

A basket of summer fruit

7/17/16

As we gather for worship today, we are here on the one year anniversary of the death of Eric Garner.  (Last week  also the anniversary of the death of Sandra Bland…)  And so I must ask, one year later, where are we?

Amos gives us an image of …  a basket of summer fruit… I’m sure at least one year when this passage came up I actually brought in a basket of summer fruit for us all to share…it’s ironic because it is basically a pleasant image…but for Amos, it’s a sign that the best is past…that what looks fresh and pleasant and abundant is already rotting…

Thank you, Leila....

We recall that Amos last week protested that he was not a “prophet or a prophet’s son…”, just a simple working man, a herdsman, and a dresser of sycamore trees…but nevertheless, he answers God’s call to speak to God’s people, and his people in his own language…

In his book Sabbath as Resistance, Walter Breuggeman sees this passage as a sign of a society where everything and everyone has been commodified….

Where there is no time for rest because as, the prophet says,

⁴ Hear this, you that trample on the needy,
    and bring to ruin the poor of the land,
⁵ saying, “When will the new moon be over
    so that we may sell grain;
and the sabbath,
    so that we may offer wheat for sale?

What has been set in motion is a time of a society falling apart…and be clear, this is not a judgment imposed from outside but a result of allowing  the bonds that tie us together to weaken and break…our worship, our feasts and celebrations will be empty…and meaningless in Goid’s eyes…tp the extent that we do no tcare fpr the weakest among us, we bepcms vulnerable to falling apart…vulnerable to any enemy

And in such a society, the biggest loss of all will be the absence of the word of God…

Prophecy is like the best science fiction, like Star Trek, for example…….it’s not a predictive describing of what will be but a metaphoric description of what already  is…

On this Sunday one  year after the death of Eric Garner, what is in  our basket of fruit?

Given that Eric’s last words were I can’t breathe, I was moved to include this hymn today:

1 Breathe on me, Breath of God,
Fill me with life anew,
That I may love what Thou dost love,
And do what Thou wouldst do.

2 Breathe on me, Breath of God,
Until my heart is pure,
Until with Thee I will one will,
To do and to endure.

3 Breathe on me, Breath of God,
Till I am wholly Thine,
Until this earthly part of me
Glows with Thy fire divine.

4 Breathe on me, Breath of God,
So shall I never die,
But live with Thee the perfect life
Of Thine eternity.

And then these words from the Peace Poets:

"I still hear my brother crying ‘I can’t breathe’
Now I’m in the struggle and saying 'I can’t leave'
Calling out the violence of these racist police.
We ain’t gonna stop till people are free
We ain’t gonna stop till people are free"

Might I say, I’m proud that the Peaec Poets recorded their CD here at West- Park…

This is what the Lord God showed me—a basket of summer fruit.^[a] 2 He said, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A basket of summer fruit.”^[b] Then the Lordsaid to me,

“The end^[c] has come upon my people Israel;
    I will never again pass them by.
³ The songs of the temple^[d] shall become wailings in that day,”
says the Lord God;
“the dead bodies shall be many,
    cast out in every place. Be silent!”

⁴ Hear this, you that trample on the needy,
    and bring to ruin the poor of the land,
⁵ saying, “When will the new moon be over
    so that we may sell grain;
and the sabbath,
    so that we may offer wheat for sale?
We will make the ephah small and the shekel great,
    and practice deceit with false balances,
⁶ buying the poor for silver
    and the needy for a pair of sandals,
    and selling the sweepings of the wheat.”

⁷ The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob:
Surely I will never forget any of their deeds.
⁸ Shall not the land tremble on this account,
    and everyone mourn who lives in it,
and all of it rise like the Nile,
    and be tossed about and sink again, like the Nile of Egypt?

⁹ On that day, says the Lord God,
    I will make the sun go down at noon,
    and darken the earth in broad daylight.
¹⁰ I will turn your feasts into mourning,
    and all your songs into lamentation;
I will bring sackcloth on all loins,
    and baldness on every head;
I will make it like the mourning for an only son,
    and the end of it like a bitter day.

¹¹ The time is surely coming, says the Lord God,
    when I will send a famine on the land;
not a famine of bread, or a thirst for water,
    but of hearing the words of the Lord.
¹² They shall wander from sea to sea,
    and from north to east;
they shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the Lord,
    but they shall not find it.