How do we respond in the face of violence? This is the question that revolves in my mind as I watch the news coming out of Gaza and Ferguson and hear about the looting of the Ebola clinic in Sierra Leone. I think of it too as I read the comments that are like violence towards the Williams family and our memories of Robin Williams. And of course it is foremost in my mind when I think of the vandalism we have suffered on Camano.
Responding in love when others despitefully use us and others we care for is not easy. Acting in love when we are afraid or insecure is even harder. Insecurity breeds anger and violence resulting in a vicious cycle of hate, turmoil and yet more violence. Sometimes we are indifferent to the images of violence because when we watch them on TV or the internet they seem more like a game then reality.
Tragically we all tend to respond not with love to any form of atrocity or violence. Our natural response is “fight or flight”. In other words we either want to run away from violence and pretend it is not happening or we want to join in. We fight violence with violence.
But what is the Christian response?
I think that the Christian response needs to begin with listening, not with action. Listening and giving full attention to those who have been victims or perpetrators of violence means that we do not run from it. We do not pretend that violence is not happening and we do not pretend that it does not involve us. We recognize its horror and we gird up or spirits to take a stand.
We need to listen to the pain and the grief that creates violence, listen to the stories that tell of the results of violence and listen to the stories of how God’s reconciling love can and has been shown in the midst of that. We also need to listen to the hopes and dreams of the victims of violence. So often these reflect the cry for a more just and equitable society in which peace, equality and justice is shown to all.
Then we need to listen to the responses of our own spirits. Deep, heartfelt listening makes it impossible for us not to respond. Our hearts and our spirits start to cry out for justice to happen. Sometimes we start to recognize how our own actions, or lack of actions have resulted in the violence we see. Sometimes we get in touch with the violence within our own souls and need to seek forgiveness and healing.
I love the work of groups like Christian Peacemaker Teams which is committed to work and relationships that:
- Honor and reflect the presence of faith and spirituality
- Strengthen grassroots initiatives
- Transform structures of domination and oppression
- Embody creative non-violence and liberating love
Creative non-violence and liberating love are responses far different from those we usually see to violence. A Christian response to the victims and perpetrators of violence is a form of hospitality. By responding out of love not hate or indifference to, we welcome a stranger who is often very difficult for us to embrace. And in so doing we can often do find that we are embracing and welcoming Christ into our midst.
So my question for today is:
How are you responding to the violence you have heard about in this last week? and Where do those responses come from?
You might like to meditate on this prayer as you think about this.
God is love,
May this love take root in our hearts
And overflow.
Love does no wrong to another.
May God’s love spread like healing balm,
Wherever there is violence.
Love never celebrates injustice.
May it fall like gentle rain,
On thirsty ground,
And bring peace where trouble reigns.
Love binds us together.
May it reach out through us to neighbours,
And draw us into God’s eternal family.
Two years ago I was in the middle of writing my book on listening and I was stuck. I had written a good chapter on listening for the sake of mission. I had written three chapters on listening to God in communal discernment, in communal spiritual practices and through communal engagement with the Bible. I had written basic chapters on listening skills, why and how we listen, and obstacles to listening. I had one chapter left to write, focused on listening to each other within a congregation.
I had quite a few good stories to use in that one remaining chapter, but I didn’t have a central idea for the chapter. My stories and ideas felt scattered.
I set the book aside to go to an academic conference that I was not particularly excited about. The only thing I was anticipating was two keynote talks by Nancy Tatom Ammerman. She described her most recent research on spiritual patterns among people in various religions, and to my great delight she gave me the unifying idea for my troublesome chapter. In addition to helping with that chapter, her research helped me gain an entirely new perspective on the significance of listening in all forms of discipleship and spiritual formation.
Ammerman and her team of researchers interviewed dozens people in Boston and Atlanta about their spiritual convictions and practices. They sought out people with diverse religious commitments: Protestants, Roman Catholics, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus, Wiccans, atheists, agnostics, New Age practitioners, etc. They found that the people who had the deepest spiritual commitment also had friends with whom they talked about the overlap between their spiritual commitment and their everyday lives, between the sacred and the secular, between the holy and the ordinary. Ammerman called these friends “spiritual compatriots.”
The research showed that people most often found these spiritual compatriots in three settings: congregations, the home and the workplace. The congregation has special significance, because congregations provide places for people to learn to talk about this overlap between God and daily life. People then brought that ability to talk about God’s role in everyday life into their homes, and they often found people at work with whom they could talk about it.
Ammerman said that the people who were the most comfortable talking about this overlap of the holy and the ordinary were the people who were the most involved in mission of various forms.
After listening to Ammerman, I spent a lot of time thinking about the places in congregations where people talk about the overlap between their faith and their daily life: small groups, men’s and women’s events, retreats, coffee hour, etc. Good sermons model ways to talk about this overlap. The key is to make space for people not just to chat and get to know each other, but to go deeper to the place where they are able to talk about where God is in their daily lives, how they feel called to follow Jesus in everyday life, where they feel the Holy Spirit’s guidance and empowering.
I began to think about pastoral care, which has often been viewed as a good and necessary thing, but somewhat separate from discipleship or mission. Often the major crises of life are the places where we see God at work most profoundly. Maybe God seems clearly present guiding the cancer patient to the right doctor or helping feuding siblings to get along at a funeral. Maybe God seems particularly absent in a crisis. Making room for people to talk about God’s presence and absence in big challenges, a major task of pastoral care, now seems to me to be integrally connected to Christian discipleship and mission.
Conversations where we can talk about the overlap between the Christian faith and daily life require good listening, drawing people out, and asking perceptive questions. We need to allow conversations to go on long enough for people to work their way around to the issue of where and how they experienced God in a particular situation. Because of Nancy Ammerman’s research (recounted in her book Sacred Stories, Spiritual Tribes: Finding Religion in Everyday Life , I saw the significance of listening in congregational life in a whole new light.
Today’s post is written by regular Godspace contributor Lynne Baab.
bio: Lynne Baab’s recent book, The Power of Listening: Building Skills for Mission and Ministry, focuses on the many ways listening undergirds congregational life. Lynne is a Presbyterian minister and lecturer in pastoral theology. Visit her website at www.lynnebaab.com.
Robin Williams
I posted this prayer which I wrote yesterday while thinking about the impact Robin Williams on the Light For The Journey Facebook page. Its popularity made me think some of you would like to read it too. I know that his death has been devastating for many of us.
God we know the wounds our world can inflict,
And have felt the heartache of its brokenness.
Let us have eyes to see and ears to hear,
That pain can give birth to laughter,
That humour often hides our fears.
Let us look at sorrow and anguish and not blink.
Accepting responsibility let us become pilgrims in the ruins,
Choosing to respond with love and compassion,
To all who are hurting and in pain.
Celtic retreat gathering – photo Andy Wade
This is the third of the litanies that we used for our retreat last weekend. Some of it is adapted from the Book of Common Prayer, some from Iona Worship material. Some of it is original – sorry that I cannot distinguish which parts for you but hope that you enjoy it anyway.
Evening Gathering
Gathering song – Go In the Wilderness
God today we have gazed on the beauty of your world,
And been enthralled by its splendor.
We have eaten of its fruit,
And cherished the gift of its food.
We have drunk in its wonder,
And been filled with the water of life.
Now we pause to give thanks,
And remember your generous hospitality.
We have come into your dwelling place, O God,
And caught a glimpse of your holy mountain,
You have given us a foretaste of your eternal banquet,
A lavish feast, an invitation for all the people of the world.
This morning we placed objects on the altar as symbols of God’s hospitality. But the day has taught us new things about generosity and hospitality. It has given us new companions, stirred within us a new sense of the journey of sharing God calls us to. What are the new things you take with you today as preparation for the journey ahead?
Pause for a time of sharing.
Lord Jesus Christ as we share these gifts and partake of your generous hospitality,
We breathe in the wonder of your love,
And say thank you.
We breathe in the fragrance of your life,
And say thank you.
We breathe in the joy of your presence,
And say thank you.
Thank you for love and life and presence.
Thank you for abundance and generosity and hospitality.
Thank you for blessings that overflow.
We breathe in and are filled with the glory that is you.
Song: Be Thou My Vision
The Eucharist – The Great Thanksgiving
Now as we come to the communion table, let us welcome as Brigid did all the little ones God sends to feast with us. This is the table not of the Church but of Christ. It is for all those who love him and want to love him more. It is for those who have tried to follow and those who have failed. Let us come remembering those whose faces we cannot see, those desperate for God’s generous hospitality, those who live on the edge, the poor and the sick and the abandoned. At this table we all meet together to enjoy this foretaste of God’s eternal banquet feast.
An Affirmation of Faith
We believe in a loving and hospitable God, who made us and all things, who loves us and all the world with a father’s tenderness and a mother’s strength.
We believe in God our maker.
We believe in a saving and generous God who became human and lived among us, who died and rose to set us free.
We believe in Jesus Christ, our redeemer.
We believe in a living and faithful God, breath of life in all life. The gift of God to the people of God.
We believe in the Spirit, our life-giver.
Brigid’s Prayer
Brigid left us with this beautiful prayer which is a glimpse into her generous and hospitable heart. As we read it together may we too be inspired by her spirit of hospitality and generosity.
I should like a great lake of finest ale,
for the King of Kings.
I should like a table of the choicest food,
for the family of heaven.
Let the ale be made from the fruits of faith,
and the food be forgiving love.
I should welcome the poor to my feast,
for they are God’s children.
I should welcome the sick to my feast,
for they are God’s joy.
Let the poor sit with Jesus at the highest place,
and the sick dance with the angels.
God bless the poor,
God bless the sick,
and bless our human race.
God bless our food,
God bless our drink,
all homes, O God, embrace.
Let us gather around the table with God’s gifts of bread and wine and read together these words that Jesus taught his disciples:
Eternal Spirit, Earth-maker, Pain-bearer, Life-giver,
Source of all that is and that shall be,
Father and Mother of us all. Loving God, in whom is heaven.
The hallowing of your name echoes through the universe!
The way of your justice be followed by the peoples of the earth!
Your heavenly will be done by all created beings!
Your commonwealth of peace and freedom sustain our hope and come on earth.
With the bread we need for today, feed us.
In the hurts we absorb from one another, forgive us.
In times of temptation and test, spare us,
From the grip of all that is evil, free us.
For you reign in the glory of the power that is love, now and forever. Amen.
Loving and generous God, through your goodness we have this bread and wine to offer. It is given from the earth, a symbol of your hospitality. It was made by human hands to be shared as Brigid did, with love and generosity. In this we are reminded of and celebrate together the life that Jesus shared among his community throughout the centuries and shares with us today.
Living among us, Jesus loved us. He broke bread and shared hospitality with outcasts and sinners, healed the sick and proclaimed good news to the poor. He yearned to draw all the world to himself yet we were heedless of his call to walk in love and generosity.
On the night before he died Jesus shared a meal with his friends. He took bread, gave thanks to God, broke it and gave it to them saying: Take, eat, this is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.
As supper was ending, Jesus took the cup of wine. Again he gave thanks to God, gave it to them, and said: Drink this, all of you. This is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for you and for all for the forgiveness of sins. Whenever you drink it, do this for the remembrance of me.
Now gathered at your table, O God of all creation, and remembering Christ crucified and risen, who was and is and is to come, we offer to you our gifts of bread and wine, and ourselves, a living sacrifice.
Pour our your Spirit upon these gifts, that they may be the body and blood of Christ. Breathe your Spirit over the whole earth and make us your new creation, the body of Christ given for the world you have made.
In the fullness of time bring us, with Mary, the mother of Jesus, Brigid and Columba and all your saints, from every tribe and language and people and nation, to feast at the banquet prepared from the foundation of the world.
Through Christ and with Christ and in Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, to you be honor, glory and praise, for ever and ever. Amen
Alleluia, We break this bread to share in the body of Christ.
We who are many are one body, for we all share in the one bread. Alleluia.
The Invitation
Draw near and receive the body and blood of our Saviour Jesus Christ in remembrance that he died for us. Let us feed on him in our hearts by faith with thanksgiving.
All are welcome at the Lord’s Table to receive holy communion. Children are welcome at parental discretion. Receive the consecrated bread in the open palm of your hand and assist the chalice bearer by guiding the cup to your lips, or if you prefer dip the bread into the cup and then eat it.
Communion Music by Matt & Sundee Frazier: Don’t Be Weary Traveller.
Post Communion Prayer
Gracious God in the bread and the wine
we have been given a foretaste of your eternal banquet.
We have been nourished by faith, hope and love,
And shared in the hospitality of your generosity.
Send us out in the power of your Spirit,
to live and work to your praise and glory.
We ask this in Jesus’ name
Amen
The Blessing
May the blessing of the one
who died for us
be on you.
May the blessing of the one
who is risen
be on you.
May the blessing of the one
who invites us to the banquet feast
be on you.
The blessing of God,
creator, redeemer, sustainer,
be yours this day and evermore.
Amen
Our kickstarter campaign is off to a good start. We have crossed the 20% mark, but still need $4,000 to reach our goal. It is a tense and exciting time and we hope that you will help this happen. The campaign will launch our new venture into e-courses, this first one based on my popular book Return to Our Senses.
Numbers have already told us they are looking forward to sharing this with their churches and small groups. Others are wanting to use the material for personal retreats. Everyone I speak to is excited by this wonderful opportunity to further the work of Mustard Seed Associates and challenge our constituency to become more whole life disciples.
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We have just had such a wonderful weekend at the Celtic retreat and people have been so enthusiastic about the liturgies that I hate to break the flow, but I must.
The downside of the weekend was that we have problems with vandals. This has always been a problem but recently their vandalism has become more destructive. Most heartbreaking of all is that they have shot at our new building, hitting the new windows and shattering the glass sliding panels. I was so upset that I could not even photograph the results. And I confess that my thoughts towards them were not loving and kind.
Then I read the words of our opening liturgy:
God you show us that hospitality opens doorways into your eternal world.
Whether the sun is at its height, or the moon and stars pierce the darkness,
May this place be always open.
May it never be closed to anyone, lest we should close it to Christ himself.
And God transfixed me. And I was not the only one impacted by the words. How do we show hospitality to those who have vandalized our property became quite a discussion point. We talked about everything from putting up signs inviting them to lunch at our next event, to trying to have someone meet and befriend them or even putting up a shooting target with a sign saying “Please shoot this not our building”. We even talked about how to “redeem” the broken glass by creating a mural or other art form with the shards. Perhaps we could even incorporate some of the spent shotgun shells.
Found behind the altar – our new Celtic cross
Just before we left the Mustard Seed Village site on Sunday morning, Andy Wade and I stood in our chapel area, talking about the acts of vandalism which began with the destruction of our Celtic cross – just a tree branch nailed to another tree with vines woven for the circle, but symbolic of who we are and what we want this land to represent. As we talked I walked behind the altar, and there in the grass was a rusty old piece of junk that looked just like a Celtic cross. I felt God was saying:
Garbage into gold, I can restore, redeem and make new all that is created.
It was a very heartening note on which to end the retreat though its implications continue to resound in my head, reminding me of the principles of restorative justice rather than punitive justice. In looking for resources on restorative justice I came across this fascinating pdf downloadable book The Little Book Of Restorative Justice which has just jumped to the top of my reading list.
So my question for the day: How do we in all challenging situations work for restoration and transformation rather than punishment and incarceration?
The second litany we used on Saturday incorporated a couple of ancient Celtic prayers and the practice of lectio divina. We adapted this practice so that participants had time alone, time in small groups and then time to share in the whole group. It was a powerful and productive time for all of us. And you might like to check out the first litany from our morning gathering too.
Our altar made from gathered objects
The Celtic Christians believed that hospitality was not only meant to be a custom in their homes, it was a key into the Kingdom of God. To offer hospitality was seen as receiving Christ into their midst and fulfilling the law of love. Brigid, who presided over the monastery at Kildare, was particularly known for her generous hospitality. As a child she often gave away her parents possessions. At Kildare, Brigid often made butter for visitors. Tradition has it that when churning the butter she would make thirteen portions – twelve in honour of the apostles and an extra one in honour of Christ which was reserved for guests and the poor.
Let us sit in silent prayer for a moment to remind ourselves of the incredible hospitality of God who invites us, together with all creation, into the divine presence and into eternal family.
(Silence)
God, we are aliens and sojourners in this world, but you invite us to be your guests.
You lavishly offer us your hospitality and lovingly welcome us into your family.
You invite us to share in the abundance of your eternal world,
And welcome us to your banquet feast.
The King is knocking.
If you desire your share of heaven on earth,
lift the latch and let in the king of Kings.
God you show us that hospitality opens doorways into your eternal world.
Whether the sun is at its height, or the moon and stars pierce the darkness,
May this place be always open.
May it never be closed to anyone, lest we should close it to Christ himself.
Whether our guests are rich and noble or poor and ragged,
No matter how small our larder, may it always be open.
May we never refuse to share our food, lest the Son of Mary should go hungry.
Pause to remind yourself of ways that God has extended hospitality to you.
Song – Brigid’s Feast
God we want to fulfill your law of love and be your hospitality to our world,
We open our hearts to be the hospitality of Christ to all who come to our door.
We open our hearts to Christ in the stranger,
To Christ in the faces of colleague and friend.
We open our hearts to the ones who are wounded,
To Christ in the hungry, the homeless, the lonely
We open our hearts to the ones who have hurt us,
To Christ in the faces of sinner and foe.
We open our hearts to those who are outcast,
To Christ in the broken, the prisoner, the poor.
We open our hearts to all who are searching,
To Christ in the world, God’s generous gift.
Pause to remind yourself of ways that you could extend God’s hospitality to others.
Song – Brigid’s Feast
Generous God, take our ordinary everyday lives as pleasing sacrifices to you.
Hospitable and welcoming God, encourage us to fix our attention on you,
So that we will be changed and renewed from the inside out.
God we want to love you more and become your hospitality to our world.
God transform us into the generous, hospitable people you intend us to be,
Let your welcoming love flow from the center of our being,
Let it reach out in friendship and compassion for the disadvantaged and marginalized.
God we want to love you more and become your hospitality to our world.
Open our eyes to see the beauty hidden in every face,
Assist us to practice hospitality to those we usually overlook or ignore,
Let us share your abundance with joyful and grateful hearts.
God we want to love you more and become your hospitality to our world.
Song – Brigid’s feast
Introduction to Lectio Divina
Open your word, O Lord,
Enable us to listen.
Open our minds, O Lord,
Enable us to hear.
Open your thoughts, O Lord,
Enable us to respond.
Open our hearts, O Lord,
Enable us to enjoy.
Scripture Readings
Isaiah 25: 6-10 The Message
But here on this mountain, God-of-the-Angel-Armies
will throw a feast for all the people of the world,
A feast of the finest foods, a feast with vintage wines,
a feast of seven courses, a feast lavish with gourmet desserts.
And here on this mountain, God will banish
the pall of doom hanging over all peoples,
The shadow of doom darkening all nations.
Yes, he’ll banish death forever.
And God will wipe the tears from every face.
He’ll remove every sign of disgrace
From his people, wherever they are.
Yes! God says so!
Also at that time, people will say,
“Look at what’s happened! This is our God!
We waited for him and he showed up and saved us!
This God, the one we waited for!
Let’s celebrate, sing the joys of his salvation.
God’s hand rests on this mountain!”
Regathering Song: A feast of food & finest wine
Luke 14:16-24 The Message
There was once a man who threw a great dinner party and invited many. When it was time for dinner, he sent out his servant to the invited guests, saying, ‘Come on in; the food’s on the table.’ Then they all began to beg off, one after another making excuses. The first said, ‘I bought a piece of property and need to look it over. Send my regrets.’
“Another said, ‘I just bought five teams of oxen, and I really need to check them out. Send my regrets.’ “And yet another said, ‘I just got married and need to get home to my wife.’
The servant went back and told the master what had happened. He was outraged and told the servant, ‘Quickly, get out into the city streets and alleys. Collect all who look like they need a square meal, all the misfits and homeless and wretched you can lay your hands on, and bring them here.’
“The servant reported back, Master, I did what you commanded—and there’s still room.
“The master said, ‘Then go to the country roads. Whoever you find, drag them in. I want my house full! Let me tell you, not one of those originally invited is going to get so much as a bite at my dinner party.’”
Regathering Song:
Lord Jesus Christ, you welcome us to your banquet table.
May we open our arms to embrace you,
May we see you in the faces of strangers,
May we welcome you in the love of friends.
You welcome the abandoned, the misfit, the excluded to your feast.
Forgive us for the times we have allowed our prejudices to overrule,
And rejected you because you are different, ostracized or despised.
We believe that there is beauty hidden in each person.
Forgive us for the times we have failed to see you,
Because you are hidden in the face of the disabled, poor, and homeless.
We believe we are all precious in your sight.
Forgive us for when we have counted you unworthy of our love,
For when we have been indifferent to your cries.
We believe we are called to share life together as members of one family.
Forgive us for when we have been unconcerned for your suffering,
And failed to see your face in the diverse members of your worldwide community.
All humankind is created in God’s image, redeemed by Christ, filled with the Holy Spirit.
We are all invited to feast at God’s banquet table.
We are welcomed into God’s eternal kingdom, with all the peoples of the earth.
The hospitality of Saint Brigid, a giving in and of Christian charity, offered such a powerful example that it set the standard for the hospitality of the Irish people, as is reflected in the Irish Rune of Hospitality:
I saw a stranger yesterday;
I put food in the eating place,
drink in the drinking place,
music in the listening place,
and in the name of the Triune God
he blessed myself and my house,
my cattle and my dear ones, and the lark said in her song
often, often, often,
goes the Christ in the stranger’s guise,
often, often, often,
goes the Christ in the stranger’s guise.
May we follow Saint Brigid’s example and receive Christ in the stranger’s guise.
Pause to pray for people to whom you would like to offer God’s hospitality.
Song – Brigid’s feast
May the blessing of the five loaves and the two fishes,
Which God shared out among the five thousand, be ours.
May the King who did the sharing ,
bless our sharing and our co-sharing.
The blessings of God be upon this place,
With plenty of food and plenty of drink,
With plenty of beds and plenty of ale, with much riches and much cheer
With many kin and length of life ever upon it.
Amen
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