City Called Heaven

I receievd an email today, forwarded who knows how many times. It contained a picture of the Statue of Libery photoshopped to overlook a freeway, with photoshopped highway signs. One pointed the way to "Welfare Dept," "Social Security," and "Free Medical." The other announced "Entering Meximerica." [I have reduced the photo's resolution so it cannot be used for its intended purpose.] The original author of the email then provided commentary: "No apology for sending this! After hearing they want to sing the National Anthem in Spanish - enough is enough. Nowhere did they sing it in Italian, Polish, Irish (Celtic), German or any other language because of immigration." It goes on to decry Spanish versions of the Star Spangled Banner. And it is followed by other comments claiming the author has nothing against immigration, but that immigration today is not like it was in the good old days, presumably when their ancestors came. But the ...

There are many pictures which reflect the past six years of war in Iraq. Far too many show destruction, blood, and death. Today, even as U.S. military forces leave Iraqi cities, the conflicts and interests which have made Iraq a place of violence have not been transformed. Yet we look forward in hope that a step away from occupation is a step towards better governance for the people of Iraq, and a step towards healing some of the wounds of war. God of justice and God of hope, lead the nations of Iraq and the United States of America to peace. Heal the wounds of warfare and of division, that your people may prosper. Thwart the aims of the wicked, and restrain the hands of those who seek to do violence. Help us to know the immense cost of war, and let us seek always to build rather than bomb. Strengthen us in the ways of peace and the bonds of reconciliation, that we might overcome the next temptation to attack, trusting in the goodness of your desire for us and your hope for the world. ...

There are all kinds of things which make a celebrity. In the face of the on-going press of urgent competition for the world's attention, I would like to briefly recall someone from whom the media gaze will soon pass. Neda Agha Soltan has become a symbol of the violent suppression of dissent in Iran. Neda's name means "the voice" or "the call" in Farsi. She studied philosophy, took underground singing lessons, and was engaged to be married. On June 20, 2009 ahe was shot and killed, apparently by government security forces, during a Tehran protest against the Iranian election results. The graphic video of her death ( Neda Agha Soltan, killed 20.06.2009 ) has helped make her death a focal image for seeing the conflict in Iran (perhaps similar to images from the U.S. killings at Kent State in 1970). Her bloody image has been used in protests, and pictures of her have been used in memorial gatherings. And the killing of a peaceful demonstator, when seen in this w...

Albert Einstein is famously quoted as saying he could not believe that God plays dice with the universe. Not so, apparently, with apostolic succession! “And the believers cast lots, and the lot fell on Matthias; and he was added to the eleven apostles.” Acts 1:26 I like this story. It is, of course, possible to read this in a determinative way that sees God as in charge of every last detail of the universe, therefore the dice had to land the way God wanted them to, ensuring that the "right" disciple replaced Judas to complete Jesus' twelve-man leadership team. For me, this approach runs counter to my faith, and begs way too many questions. (If the Twelve were so important to Jesus and in Acts 1, whatever happened to that institution? And a myriad of issues related to predestination and theodicy. Did God "set up" Judas as the betrayer and did God demand the murder of Jesus? If God is in charge of everything, is not God then the author of evil? And this theo-log...

Notes on Acts 8:26-40 for the fifth Sunday in Easter. Everything about this story is incredible. Did you really expect to see an Ethiopian eunuch, a man at once powerful and marginalized? Add to this the fact he is either a very marginal Jew, or a God-fearer who has found in the God of Israel something that speaks to him. And speaks strongly enough for him to acquire and study the holy writings of Israel. Have you ever tried to read a Hebrew scroll while bouncing along a wilderness road? The appearance of the water itself is a surprising thing in the desert – but perhaps not as exalted or lush as painters have imagined it. We picture an oasis, but it might just as easily be a humble waterhole. The eunuch asks: "What is to prevent me from being baptized"? Well, almost everything. The eunuch is missing the sign of the covenant (circumcision) for Jewish males. And, missing his testicles, he would not have been permitted in the Temple to worship. He could never be a "full m...

Augusto Boal, actor, activist, teacher, humanitarian, died early on Saturday, May 2nd. Augusto Boal is best known internationally for developing Theater of the Oppressed (T.O.), what he called a "grammar" of theatrical methods, related to Paolo Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed. T.O. aims to help people, using their senses and bodies, perceive, analyze, and transform situations of oppression. It invites spectators to become spect-actors, fully involved not simply in theatrical performance, but in the life-work of liberation. Because of his work, Boal was viewed as a threat by Brazil's military rulers. Iin 1971, Boal was kidnapped, tortured, and eventually exiled to Argentina, then self-exiled to Europe. This period of exile led to the publication of his first major theater text, Theatre of the Oppressed , and to the spread of his method to Europe and North America. Since then, T.O. has literally traveled aroud the world, with active and beautiful work on every contin...

When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. They had been saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.” So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid. [Mark ...