Make a Joyful Noise

10/9/16

It was time to try something different. Whenever we have had the Open Choir as part of our service we would try and integrate their musical style with our service. But this time it was time to let the whole service roll with their energy and rhythm, truly reflect the way of work. Give it a chance to breathe. 

Larger crowd than normal. Several here just to see/hear the Grotowski folks. I used this line from Psalm 66 to frame the whole service:“Make a Joyful Noise to God, all the Earth”
We began as usual with our song by Bishop Tutu:“Goodness is Stronger than Evil” :

Goodness is stronger than evil;
love is stronger than hate;
light is stronger than darkness;
life is stronger than death.
Victory is ours, victory is ours
through him who loved us.
Victory is ours, victory is ours
through him who loved us.We do the Psalm together as an OPENING PROCLAMATION:

Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth;
sing the glory of his name;
give to him glorious praise.
Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!
Because of your great power, your enemies cringe before you.
All the earth worships you;
they sing praises to you,
sing praises to your name.”Selah
Come and see what God has done:
he is awesome in his deeds among mortals.

He turned the sea into dry land;
they passed through the river on foot.
There we rejoiced in him,
who rules by his might forever,
whose eyes keep watch on the nations—

let the rebellious not exalt themselves.Selah
Bless our God, O peoples,
let the sound of his praise be heard,
who has kept us among the living,
and has not let our feet slip.
For you, O God, have tested us;
you have tried us as silver is tried.
You brought us into the net;
you laid burdens on our backs;
you let people ride over our heads;
we went through fire and through water;
yet you have brought us out to a spacious place.[a]
Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth!
And then it was time for the Workcenter of Jerzy Grotowski and Thomas Richards
Felecita

Felicita begins

sang her usual opening song"Ho Everyone who Thirsts” from Isiah 55 and then Aga brought the action of a woman in the crowd, with text from Thomas’ Gospel “Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breast that fed you.” And then Graziele performed one of their standards from the African American tradtition: “Child of God”

After reading from Thomas’ Gospel “Woe to the Pharisees and the scribes, ” Jorge brought a song from his Andean culture, "El Niñito de Maria" followed by Feli’s soulful "Madre Agua”.

We read together from the prophet Jeremiah 29: 1, 4-7 about “seeking the welfare of the city where you are” and then Eduardo’s “City of Refuge” naturally followed.

My friend Daniel shared "Ada al Kaun" and the text from Schrawardi, “The story of the Western Exile" and another song "La Ilaha Illa la”. Russ recognized then as coming for the Sufi tradition and this was probably the first time the words Allah u akbar have bene chanted at West Park.

Then another text from Thomas’ Gospel:

“Recognize that which is in your sight” and Jeremy led us into the African-American “Can't Nobody Hide" followed by Carol’s  “I Couldn’t Hear Nobody Pray”

Carol sings

and Grazier’s “Look How They Done My Lord” (not a mumblin’ word)

Aga returned with the action of a woman in the silence with text from Thomas’ Gospel “Whomever drinks from my mouth will become as I am and the hidden things will be revealed to him.”

Action with text from Thomas’ Gospeland Felicia followed with “He’s All” (Felicita)

Jorge embodied an old man with Nativity texts we returned to Spanish with Ururu Usurer by Jorge and Reina de los Jardines by Felicita.

Jeremy brought to life his Russian Jewish grandfather and "Hold to His Hand" and Aga took off with text from Thomas’ Gospel “The kingdom of the sky is like a mustard seed” with a brilliant riff on the birds who made nests in the bush that grew from the mustard seed.

Aga "bird speaks"

And finally, Mario’s Here am I, send me. 

John R, Rachel, Mario and Billy

                                                                ****

Reading this, you don’t hear/see/feel the music, the words. What was also different this time is that the Workcenter has worked primarily in the tradition of African American Southern (pre) Gospel must and movement. This time, different participants went into their own traditions to find songs that find what my friend Katherine used to call the same channel but from different anguages and cultures, Chrisitan, Muslim, Jewish, Spanish, Arabic, Hebrew…

I am still intrigued and somewhat puzzled at the whole process. Each performer, and they are performers, creates a character for whom this music is vital. They become that character as they perform the song.

Where is the line between this and worship? What does the performer experience emotionally and spirituality? When  is a line crossed between presenting/putting on and actually being?

Even more so, I’m intrigued by the collection of young people who come from all over the world to go to Pontedara, Italy and immerse themselves in this practice. Much like the Dzieci company (the church of Dzieci) and even the Bread and Puppet Company in Vermont.

I intuitively understand that tall these are connected to that experience we call church, but not sure I can fully articulate that or draw the connection together. In the emerging world we live in, there is something vitally rich and important happening here.

For more, listen to my friend Russ’ podcast interview with Mario :

http://loveinadangeroustime.net/spirit-and-dance-music-art-the-powerful-work-of-the-open-choir-with-mario-biagini/

"The Gateways: The Wisdom of 12 Step Spirituality" by Jane Galloway. A review.

10/14

Just finished The Gateways: The Wisdom of 12 Step Spirituality by Jane Galloway. It’s subtitle is “Dynamic Practices that Work.”  I recommend this book for anyone wrestling with addiction problems, but even more so for anyone  seeking a deeper spiritual experience and inner healing. Jane begins with a theological exegesis of the traditional 12 step path and then leads us to deeper spiritual connections across a variety of traditions.The book is set up as more of a “workbook” than a didactic instruction book. It is intended to provide ways to actually explore and experience  a richer spiritual life. My highest compliment would be that at a certain point in the introductory section, I began looking forward to the Gateways as a way to deepen my own spiritual experience. It is also indicative of Jane’s commitments that she includes a section on how these practises can be used in building community. This is a book only Jane Galloway could have written. She has lived in both the worlds of traditional mainline “church” and also New Thought, worlds which often don’t touch, or see, each other.She is a very valuable “bridge person”between these worlds. As you will discover,  she has also explored Wisdom literature, and practice, in the broadest possible way. She is a scholar, a theologian, a preacher, but most of all pastor.  Its from that caring perspective this book is written.  I will always be thankful for our years as colleagues at West Park and for what I learned from her Sanctuary community and what I continue to learn from her as a friend. 

(Search "Jane Galloway" to read about her years at West-Park)

How much faith is enough?

10/2

After we read Psalm 137 this morning, I played “By the rivers of Babylon” by the Melodians…covered by Bobmarley and Linda Ronstadt among so many others. It’s part of my stretching out to do songs I  thought I could only  do with Jeremy, now  on my own.

I talked about  its last verse:

Happy shall they be who take your little ones

and dash them against the rock!  

Earlier this week I had posted on Facebook and asked if this was from the Koran or Bible. Radical Islam has nothing on us when it comes to redemptive violence. The  best sermon I ever heard on this verse was by Walter Wink who said we can’t ignore these verses. God wants us to say what we truly feel. And by giving it up to God, we let it go. 

Our Gospel today is Luke 17:5-10

As we begin, I need to clear a way a couple of things…..

First of all, we have slavery…cultural considerations and all, nothing here is to be read as Jesus condoning slavery. .and as to Jesus’ question, "Who among you would say to your slave who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, 'Come here at once and take your place at the table'? The answer from his disciples could be, that SOUNDS exactly LIKE WHAT JESUS WOULD SAY….

Then there is this issue of thanks…we DO need to thank people for doing their job…people need to feel appreciated…I remember a member who once told when she asked her boss about  raise, the answer was “Your raise is you have a job.”

Looking at this  another way,Jesus is making a point that there’s no extra credit for  doing what you’re supposed to do…During World War II, the French Huguenot village of Le Chambon sur Lignon, where every family  saved a Jewish family, did not want to be honored…We only did what was right they said. When asked why, they pointed not the quote above their church door, ”little children love one another” We could do no other, they said. 

So…the question is, How much faith is enough?

I’m going to be personal here. FAITH. I’ve been waiting for weeks for my Social Security  check. There’s been one issue after another. Last week, it was due to come in on Monday. By Wednesday, it still wasn’t there. Here it is… I’ll take responsibility for nuclear proliferation, climate change, Israel-Palestine and (maybe) Donald Trump.  All I’m asking God for is a little help on a simple bank transaction. 

And I remembered all the rules about praying…if you really want it, ti won’t come through. You just need to let go and let God. All of that. Then I  realized that’s what you call magical thinking..So I remembered the psalms and said what I felt. And it still didn’t come. 

What does faith looks like, feel like?

Traditional community organizing talks about “winnable issues…” something  has to be “definable, measurable, achievable…” Sharon Welch says that’s not necessarily so. You do something because it’s right, just to make the next step possible…not to accomplish the whole thing…..which may not happen in your lifetime. 

Of course the Rosa Parks action of refusing to move then back of the bus was planned, part of a strategy, not just the random act of a tired woman. …BUT…nevertheless, the actions of one person launched the Montgomery Bus Boycott that was a pivotal moment in the Civil Rights struggle. 

Our bulletin cover this morning features Colin Kaepernick of the San Francisco 49ers.  His one man silent option toot stand for the national anthem has led to a growing movement to draw attention to the ongoing persecution and life threatening reality for black Americans.

Kaepernick’s witness had now spread to New York City Council where council member Jumaane Williams refused to rise for the opening pledge to allegiance. After receiving death threats, other council members like Brad Lander have line him in solidarity. 

Cornel West in a recent podcast with our member Russ Jennings (https://www.podcat.com/podcasts/odplze-love-in-a-dangerous-time/episodes/ugnnwb-revolutionary-christianity-a-talk-about-dangerous-times-with-dr-cornel-west-ldt066)  speaks of the issue of timing…an individual’s action either lights a spark or goes unnoticed…but you keep trying anyways, just because it’s right. 

In the end, faith is like pregnancy. You can’t be a little bit pregnant, you are or you’re not. Even the tiniest bit of faith is faith, and that’s where we begin.

Leila's communiuon table

Psalm 137:1-9

1By the rivers of Babylon-

there we sat down and there we wept

when we remembered Zion.

2On the willows there we hung up our harps.

3For there our captors

asked us for songs,

and our tormentors asked for mirth, saying,

"Sing us one of the songs of Zion!"

4How could we sing the Lord's song

in a foreign land?

5If I forget you, O Jerusalem,

let my right hand wither!

6Let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth,

if I do not remember you,

if I do not set Jerusalem

above my highest joy.

7Remember, O LORD, against the Edomites

the day of Jerusalem's fall,

how they said, "Tear it down! Tear it down!

Down to its foundations!"

8O daughter Babylon, you devastator!

Happy shall they be who pay you back

what you have done to us!

9Happy shall they be who take your little ones

and dash them against the rock!

Gospel Luke 17:5-10

5The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!" 6The Lord replied, "If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you.

7"Who among you would say to your slave who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, 'Come here at once and take your place at the table'? SOUNDS LIKE WHAT JESUS WOULD SAY8Would you not rather say to him, 'Prepare supper for me, put on your apron and serve me while I eat and drink; later you may eat and drink'? 9Do you thank the slave for doing what was commanded? 10So you also, when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, 'We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done!'"

San Lazaro

9/26

I’m not sure what it was about this police shooting. Terrence Cutcher, Tulsa, Oklahoma.  That he was a choir member? Coming home from a music class? That photo of him and his wife? Or just that he was from Tulsa? A place I hold dear? I went to jail over Amadou Diallo. I have a close friend on Staten Island near where Eric Garner died. But this… I had a visit from old friends, former students from Tulsa.  We spoke of the race war of 1921. How the program our church did was the first they’d ever learned of it. I mean they used planes to bomb the black neighborhoods…

As of Keith Lamar Scott just killed in Charlotte, North Carolina, there have now been 194 African Americans shot dead by police this year. In Charlotte rioters have been  threatened with loss of  food stamps and welfare forever…

Enough.

Lazarus..San Lazaro…I could spend the whole service with this…

there is the story itself…the parable…

For centuries, people believed it was a factual story…for two two reasons….it is the only parable in which Jesus uses  a name..and secondly, because it feels true…ultimately.the Bible is not about fact, but about truth….

There was the Order of Hospetallleirs of St. Lazarus established in the crusader kingdom of Jerusalem…he was the patron saint of lepers…

He appears throughout all the varieties of Afro-Caribbean religion , which have managed to preserve West Africa Yoruban forms to an amazingly strong and visible manner…the saints are stand in covers for orishas, or spirits, like San Lazaro is babaluaye, …..guardian against leprosy, AIDS, and other viruses…..

This story has bene used in popular culture from the medieval Child ballads to Paul Simon to David Bowie..just before he died.

Let’s leave aside theological questions of the afterlife…what about this chasm? Is it punishment? How can there be no forgiveness? (This really brothers my Lutheran friends…) It is not so much punishment as it is what we have created for ourselves….if we have cut ourselves off from others, from humanity, then we are alone…and the chasm can not be crossed.

In a reflection from Jill Duffield, we read, there is a difference in aid and charity…

Don’t confuse aid with charity. Charity is old coats. Donating a coat doesn’t make you a good person but I bet it makes you feel like one. You didn’t even want that coat anymore, what you wanted was the closet space. Sure, you could have sold it at a garage sale and made, like, twenty bucks. It was an expensive coat, damn it. But you, with your heart of gold, gave it away. There’s a twinkle in God’s eye just for you.

What is needed is your vote, not your coat…

Vote? Yes. Like for a minimum wage of (at least ) $15 an hour…like supporting Sweat Shop FreeUpper West Side in their efforts to stop companies from avoiding fines and back wages  by delaying bankruptcy and reorganizing…(like a certain presidential contender…)

Likewise, a friend wrote me that her church in Tulsa had begun a six week series…on self-examination of white privilege…

So the question is , if this is about Lazarus at the gate, who is at the gate that we are ignoring?

Thank you Leila

Scriptures….and notes…

First Reading Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15

1The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the tenth year of King Zedekiah of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar. 2At that time the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem, and the prophet Jeremiah was confined in the court of the guard that was in the palace of the king of Judah, 3awhere King Zedekiah of Judah had confined him.

6Jeremiah said, The word of the LORD came to me: 7Hanamel son of your uncle Shallum is going to come to you and say, "Buy my field that is at Anathoth, for the right of redemption by purchase is yours." 8Then my cousin Hanamel came to me in the court of the guard, in accordance with the word of the LORD, and said to me, "Buy my field that is at Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, for the right of possession and redemption is yours; buy it for yourself." Then I knew that this was the word of the LORD.

9And I bought the field at Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel, and weighed out the money to him, seventeen shekels of silver. 10I signed the deed, sealed it, got witnesses, and weighed the money on scales. 11Then I took the sealed deed of purchase, containing the terms and conditions, and the open copy; 12and I gave the deed of purchase to Baruch son of Neriah son of Mahseiah, in the presence of my cousin Hanamel, in the presence of the witnesses who signed the deed of purchase, and in the presence of all the Judeans who were sitting in the court of the guard. 13In their presence I charged Baruch, saying, 14Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Take these deeds, both this sealed deed of purchase and this open deed, and put them in an earthenware jar, in order that they may last for a long time. 15For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Houses and fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land.

This is about the Courage to invest in a time of occupation…sovereignty will one day return…it’s the LONG VIEW…

like Bishop Tutu in the midst of apartheid could say, we have already won or my communist friends who never give up on the 

Ultimate victory of the people. 

Psalm 91:1-6, 14-16

1You who live in the shelter of the Most High,

who abide in the shadow of the Almighty,

2will say to the LORD, "My refuge and my fortress;

my God, in whom I trust."

3For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler

and from the deadly pestilence;

4he will cover you with his pinions,

and under his wings you will find refuge;

his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.

5You will not fear the terror of the night,

or the arrow that flies by day,

6or the pestilence that stalks in darkness,

or the destruction that wastes at noonday.

14Those who love me, I will deliver;

I will protect those who know my name.

15When they call to me, I will answer them;

I will be with them in trouble,

I will rescue them and honor them.

16With long life I will satisfy them,

and show them my salvation.

To which after last week we could add, or bombs that explode in the dumpster

Second Reading 1 Timothy 6:6-19

6Of course, there is great gain in godliness combined with contentment; 7for we brought nothing into the world, so that we can take nothing out of it; 8but if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these. 9But 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. 10For 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.

11But as for you, man of God, shun all this; pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness. 12Fight the good fight of the faith; take hold of the eternal life, to which you were called and for which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13In the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you 14to keep the commandment without spot or blame until the manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15which he will bring about at the right time-he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords. 16It is he alone who has immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see; to him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.

17As for those who in the present age are rich, command them not to be haughty, or to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but rather on God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. 18They are to do good, to be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share, 19thus storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of the life that really is life.

Here we are contining the discussion begun last week…no one can serve two masters…

Gospel Luke 16:19-31

19"There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. 20And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, 21who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man's table; even the dogs would come and lick his sores. 22The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. 23In Hades, where he was being tormented, he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side. 24He 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.' 25But 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. 26Besides 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.' 27He said, 'Then, father, I beg you to send him to my father's house-28for I have five brothers-that he may warn them, so that they will not also come into this place of torment.' 29Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.' 30He said, 'No, father Abraham; but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.' 31He 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.’"

San Lazaro….

medieval church, a literal story…(questions about view pf afterlife) ONLY parable with a name….

parable vs pharisees (jews refuse to believe)

parable vs Sadducees(purple, fine linen, father’s house is Annas, high priest) threaten to kill lazarus when raised….new covenant

Eleazar…servant of Abrahamthe spokeswoman 

Where? Hades? (eastern orthodox and ads, waiting place) hell?

Note: In the Latin liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church, the words of In paradisum are sometimes chanted as the deceased is taken from church to burial, including this supplication: "Chorus angelorum te suscipiat, et cum Lazaro quondam paupere aeternam habeas requiem." (May the ranks of angels receive you, and with Lazarus, who was poor, may you have eternal rest.")

from Paul Simon Rhythm of the Saints

Always a stranger when strange isn't fashionable

And fashion is rich people waving at the door

Or it's a dealer in drugs or in passion

Lies of a nature we're heard before

Do my prayers remain unanswered

Like a beggar at your sleeve

Babalu-eye spins on his crutches

Says leave if you want

If you want to leave

from Jill Duffield:

What if we listened to Jeremiah this week and took the long view - the really long view -believing in God's promises to provide, to save, to see us through the darkest valley, to bring us home no matter how long the exile... would we more eagerly let go of our coat, our crumbs or care?

We have Moses and the prophets and the One who returned from the dead, too. Is that enough to give us the eyes to see Lazarus and the willingness to respond to him with not scraps but an invitation to the sumptuous feast?

What about the witness of Timothy? Can we heed his word to not be haughty, to be rich in good works, generous and ready to share? Or will we get caught up in the "I am" culture that causes us to wander away from the faith?

The texts for this week, particularly the New Testament offerings, could come across as finger wagging or, dare I say it, "preachy" in the worst sense of that word. I recognize, too, that I am assuming we are the rich man, not Lazarus. That is certainly not universally true in our congregations. What is at stake for all of us, rich man and Lazarus alike, is our true identity, our created good humanity and the abundant life that results when we recognize who we are, who others are and who God is.

This Sunday is an opportunity to listen to Moses and the prophets, to Luke, Timothy and, most importantly, the One who returned from the dead who said, "These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you - that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled ... the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations."

Is that enough for us? Are we convinced? "It" isn't about us. The one who returned from the dead did so for all the nations, for the rich man and for Lazarus, the Canaanite woman, her daughter, the wayward sons still far off and the ones who never left home. We aren't called to indulge in the sweet smell of self love, we are to follow the fragrance of the One whose feet were anointed by the sinful woman. I am certain he will lead us to the hungry and all will be fed, enriching both body and soul.

This week:

1 Jeremiah is able to take a very long view. When have you been able to act with a long, future view in mind? When has your congregation done so?

2 1 Timothy talks about being content. Are you content? What makes for contentment or not?

3 The verses from 1 Timothy contain several sayings that have become commonplace. "We brought nothing into the world, so we can take nothing out of it." And, "The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil." Where have you heard these expressions outside of church? How do they shape your view of money and possessions?

4 Neither the Luke text nor the passage from 1 Timothy condemn money, but they do contain pointed admonishments about wealth. How do we recognize when we are being good stewards or when we are justifying our wealth?

5 In Jeremiah the phrase "in the presence of" is repeated. Why is having witnesses to this purchase so important?

6 Try to notice those "at the gate" this week. Who do you see? Where are they? What are they longing for?