Thursday, February 28, 2013

A Vision for Peace & Justice in the Middle East


We are delighted to welcome
Israeli President of Rabbis for Human Rights,
Arik Ascherman
to the All Saints’ Rector's Forum
on Sunday, March 3, at 10:15 a.m.

 
Head of Rabbis for Human Rights in Israel, Rabbi Arik Ascherman has given his life to making a just peace between Israel and Palestine a reality. Born in Pennsylvania and educated at Harvard, Ascherman emigrated to Israel in 1994. His passion for peace with justice comes from the rabbinical concept tikkun olam, “repairing the world.”

Join us for an exceptional opportunity for a window into the current state of Israeli-Palestinian relations.

For more information call 626.796.1172 or visit the All Saints website

 

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Lenten words of wisdom from Bishop Steven Charleston

"We are the children of God. All of us. No exceptions. No orphans. Every human being is a child of God. Every one of us. God called you into life when you took your first breath. God has watched over your life every year that you have lived. And God will hold your life in safe keeping even after you lay it down and walk from this world to the next. There is no space outside the circle of God's care. We are all the beloved of the household of God. No exceptions. No orphans. We are the children of God. We are what love becomes when love is given life."
                                                                                                                         Bishop Steven Charleston

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Marcus Borg Returns to All Saints Church: March 17 & 18


"RECLAIMING THE CHRISTIANITY OF JESUS" with Marcus Borg

We are delighted to welcome noted theologian and gifted teacher Marcus Borg as the keynote speaker for All Saints’ LENT EVENT 2013.

Internationally known in both academic and church circles as a leading biblical and Jesus scholar, Dr. Borg has been in the forefront of the movement calling the church to reclaim the Christianity of Jesus by putting its faith in action in the world.

Calendar for the entire Lent Event weekend:

Sunday, March 17: Marcus Borg in the Rector’s Forum at 10:15 a.m.
“Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time”

Taize Contemplative Worship,
4:30 p.m. in the Forum

Marcus Borg’s presentation:
“The Passion of Jesus: The Way and the Kingdom,” 6:00 p.m.

Monday, March 18: Marcus Borg’s presentation:
“The Passion of Jesus: Holy Week, Good Friday, and Easter,” 7:00 p.m.

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 $20 for any and all of the weekend, payable online or at the table on the lawn on Sundays

For more information and to register visit the All Saints website
or call Norma Sigmund at 626.583.2734


Sunday, February 17, 2013

Lent One: Reflections on "The Imperial Temptation" by Marcus Borg

LENT I — February 17  
Luke 4:1-13

 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. Jesus ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. The devil said to him, “If you are the Chosen One, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.” Jesus answered, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’” Then the devil led Jesus up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And the devil said to him, “To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” Jesus answered, “It is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only God.’” Then the devil took Jesus to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying, “If you are the Chosen One, throw yourself down from here, for it is written, ‘God will command angels concerning you, to protect you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’” Jesus answered, “It is said, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” Having finished every test, the devil departed from him until an opportune time.

 
Reflection from Marcus Borg* on The Third Temptation

The third temptation. “You can have all the kingdoms of the Earth if you will fall down and worship me,” the devil says to Jesus. “You can have all the kingdoms of the Earth.” 

On a personal level, I suppose this is the temptation to power; perhaps even to wealth; to standing out, if you will.  But it's also the imperial temptation--the temptation to rule the world.

This is the temptation that we as a nation face in our time, for we are the imperial power of our time.  Ever since the end of the Cold War, we are the world's only superpower, and that power is made up of two elements: military power and economic power.  Those are the two classical marks of empire.

Empire is not simply about geographical expansion.  Empire is possessing military and economic power to such a degree that you can shape the world in your own interest.  We, the United States, are the imperial power of our time, and how we use that matters greatly. 

It's very important to realize that in the First Century, the phrase “Kingdom of God” was a political metaphor, and it was also a religious metaphor. Jesus could have talked about the community of God or the family of God, but he talks about the Kingdom of God.

 He lived in a world in which there were other kingdoms.  When he spoke about the Kingdom of God, his hearers would have thought to themselves, “Well, we know about the kingdom of Herod, and we know about the kingdom of Caesar. Here is this fellow talking about the Kingdom of God. That must be something different.”

The imperial temptation is the temptation that we now face as a country.  It is a test of loyalty that faces us as Christians.  I don't mean that Christians can come out on only one side of an issue.  But I do mean that Christian reflection needs to take seriously the Biblical suspicion of empire and Christian teaching about war and peace.

We need to be as thoughtful, responsible, and creative as possible in the use of our imperial power … for imperial power can be used in two very different ways.  We can use it to control the world in our own self-interest – to structure the system so that it serves us to impose our will on the world.  Or imperial power can be used to build up.  We can use it with the world's well-being in mind, rather than with primarily our own well-being in mind.

Lent is a season in which we are reminded of the temptations that face us, not just in this hour, but more comprehensively across our lives – a season of repentance in which we need to be discerning about the temptations of our lives.  In this season, we are called to repent, which means to return to God – to reconnect with the one from whom we came and in whom we live and move and have our being.  It means to go beyond the mind that we have as we learn once again and learn more deeply: that we do not live by bread alone, that we should not put God to the test, that we are to worship and serve God alone, that God alone is our Lord. Amen.

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* We are delighted to welcome noted theologian and gifted teacher Marcus Borg as the keynote speaker for All Saints’ LENT EVENT 2013. Internationally known in both academic and church circles as a leading biblical and Jesus scholar, Dr. Borg has been in the forefront of the movement calling the church to reclaim the Christianity of Jesus by putting its faith in action in the world. For more information or to register for the Lent Event click here.

Saturday, February 16, 2013

Lent One and the Temptation of Scriptural Literalism

by Susan Russell



Luke 4:1-13

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread."

Jesus answered him, "It is written, 'One does not live by bread alone.'"

Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And the devil said to him, "To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours."

Jesus answered him, "It is written, 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.'"

Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written,

'He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,' and 'On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.'"

Jesus answered him, "It is said, 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'" When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until a more opportune time.

===========

I can’t even begin to estimate how many times I’ve heard and/or preached this Gospel According to Luke appointed for the First Sunday in Lent … and yet this year I had one of those “heard it again for the first time” experiences with it.

And what I heard – for the first time – is that the third temptation … the one that sends the devil off to wait for “a more opportune time” … is arguably the Temptation of Scriptural Literalism.

Seriously. Check out the passage above.

In the first two challenges, Jesus responds with quotes from Scripture: “One does not live by bread alone” and “Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him” – and the devil is stumped.

It is in the third one that the pattern changes.

This time it is the devil who leads with Scripture – trying to tempt Jesus to jump off the temple with: “For it is written 'He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you” and “On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.”

And while Luke records Jesus’ answer as “Do not put the Lord your God to the test” what I also heard his year was “Dude! You’re not supposed to take this stuff literally! These Scriptural texts are powerful metaphorical language for the love of God that so palpably surrounds us that even in times of trial, challenge and danger we can dare to risk all for the Good News of God’s love, justice and compassion, knowing that nothing can separate us from that love and from its source. This isn’t about jumping off a roof, for Pete's Sake – it’s about changing the world! Now get out of here – I’ve got work to do.”

And there it is. After decades of reading, marking, learning and inwardly digesting this Gospel According to Luke, on this First Sunday in Lent 2013 I was struck with the divine irony that when the devil had run out of other temptations, he turned to Scriptural Literalism in his last ditch effort to keep Jesus from his appointed rounds as the rabble rousing rabbi from Nazareth.

I am confronted with how that pattern has continued in the church over the last two thousand years as it has succumbed over and over again to the temptation to confuse the Living Word of God with the Literal Words of God and has let the devil tempt it into using the Scriptures as weapons to defend the Institutional Church rather than as tools to build the Kingdom of God.

And I am convinced that we can do better than that. Just as Jesus refused to let the devil tempt him with Scriptural Literalism in the 1st century wilderness, we must resist the same temptation in the 21st – because it makes no more sense now than it did then to take the Living Word of God and misuse it as the Literal Words of God. Jesus knew that – and when he called the devil on it, the devil had no option but to “retire until a more opportune time.”

May God give us the grace – and the wisdom and courage – to go and do likewise. Because God knows we've got work to do!

Friday, February 15, 2013

Some Mary Oliver for Lent

Wild Geese
“You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
call to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting –
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.”

New and Selected Poems, 1992

Thursday, February 14, 2013

A Poem for Lent by Madeline L'Engle

“For Lent, 1966” by Madeleine L’Engle
It is my Lent to break my Lent,
To eat when I would fast,
To know when slender strength is spent,
Take shelter from the blast
When I would run with wind and rain,
To sleep when I would watch.
It is my Lent to smile at pain
But not ignore its touch.
It is my Lent to listen well
When I would be alone,
To talk when I would rather dwell
In silence, turn from none
Who call on me, to try to see
That what is truly meant
Is not my choice. If Christ’s I’d be
It’s thus I’ll keep my Lent.

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Choosing a Both/And Lent

 















Ash Wednesday 2013: Choosing a Both/And Lent
7am | February 13, 2013 | Susan Russell
 
We have arrived at Ash Wednesday again –
the entry point for yet another 40-day Lenten journey toward Easter.
We hear again the words as familiar
as their outward-and-visible signs etched on our foreheads:
“Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return.”
 On this Ash Wednesday,
as the liturgical season shifts from Epiphany to Lent,
we are called to make a shift, too.

During these weeks since Christmas
our lessons have focused on the “epiphanies”
of those who encountered Jesus along the way
and knew somehow,
at some point,
in some perhaps indescribable way,
that they had experienced the holy:
had experienced what a clergy colleague once called
one of the “Ahas!” of God.
 
And now our focus shifts,
as it does every year at this time,
from stories about those outward manifestations
of God's presence among us
to a more interior place
as we journey with Jesus
on the road we know leads to Golgotha –
to the cross –
and ultimately, to the resurrection.
 
And so, on this Ash Wednesday,
I want to call us to a "both/and" Lent
with my annual advice for the journey ahead:
Don't give up epiphanies for Lent.
 
A both/and Lent is one
where we refuse to become so inwardly focused
that we forget to notice –
to give thanks for –
to respond to –
those encounters we can and will have with the holy
in the next 40 days.
 
A both/and Lent
prevents us from succumbing to the temptation
to become so focused
on our own “journey with Jesus” that we forget
that as long as there are still strangers at the gate,
"walking humbly with our God" is not enough:
and reminds us that we are also called to "do justice."
 
A both/and Lent empowers us to
claim “justice doing”
as essential to our identity as Christian people –
as Lenten pilgrims and always.
 
And a both/and Lent gives us the grace
to pray silently to God
who is in secret,
and gives us grace
to proclaim loudly to the world
that our gospel call to do justice is rooted
deeply in our history as a people of God –
as we hear today in these words of the prophet Isaiah:
 
"Why do we fast, but you do not see?
Why humble ourselves, but you do not notice?"
Will you call this a fast,
  a day acceptable to the LORD?
Is not this the fast that I choose:
  to loose the bonds of injustice,
  to undo the thongs of the yoke,
  to let the oppressed go free,
  and to break every yoke?
Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer;
    you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am.
 
“Here I am,” our God promises –
ready to lead us through whatever wilderness we face:
to accompany us wherever the journey goes.
 
And on this Ash Wednesday 2013,
I believe one of the wildernesses we are being called into
is labeled “gun violence”
as we continue to work with those committed
to ending the culture of violence
in our streets and in our nation.
 
Another is called “economic justice”
as we continue to advocate
for those on the margins
who are most vulnerable
to the changes, chances and challenges of the global economy.
 
And yet another is marked “equality”
as we strive to live out our baptismal promise
to equally respect the dignity of absolutely every human being,
regardless of race or gender,
sexual orientation or gender identity,
class or culture.
 
If we are to be a people
who have bread to share with the hungry
we must continue to challenge those
who prioritize drone warfare over child welfare.
 
If we are to serve the God
whose fast is “to let the oppressed go free”
we must speak out when gay and lesbian families
continue to fall short
of the equal protection guaranteed all Americans.
 
And if we are to choose the fast Isaiah offers us this Lent,
we must continue to undo the thongs of the yoke of oppression
as we work for just immigration reform.
 
Because, my brothers and sisters,
my fellow Lenten pilgrims:
Now IS the acceptable time.

And may the God who calls us into this wilderness
be with us and bless us on the journey
with a “both/and” Lent
as we walk with Jesus
on the road we know leads to Golgotha –
to the cross –
and ultimately,
to the resurrection
and to new life.
Amen.