Thoughts on Holy Week from Fr. Richard Rohr
I suscribe to Richard Rohr's daily meditations ... here's one very appropriate for this week:
Question of the day:
How do I stand against hate without becoming hate myself?
We would all agree that evil is to be rejected and overcome; the only question is, how? How can we stand against evil without becoming a mirror—but denied—image of the same? That is often the heart of the matter, and in my experience is resolved successfully by a very small portion of people, even though it is quite clearly resolved in the life, death and teaching of Jesus.
[Jesus gives us] a totally different way of dealing with evil—absorbing it in God (which is the real meaning of the suffering body of Jesus) instead of attacking it outside. It is undoubtedly the most counterintuitive theme of the entire Bible.
from Things Hidden: Scripture as Spirituality, p. 143-145
I'll include another beautiful Holy Week meditation after the jump ...
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Three Crises of Peace … #2
For years, many of us have been concerned about and involved with the crisis in Darfur. Many of us came together a few years ago for public demonstrations in Washington DC, in an event we called Worship in the Spirit of Justice.
Since then, we've seen progress made and then lost again and again. The racial, political and military crises have created a terrible humanitarian crisis as well. The Save Darfur Coalition leads the way in helping us never to forget ... an especially important reminder during genocide awareness month (this month). I check their website often to stay up to date on what's happening in and for Darfur.
If you're interested in learning more about reconciliation in general, let me recommend the Summer Reconciliation Institute at Duke, May 31 - June 5. I hear there are still several space available ... and I understand there are scholarships available for people who care about reconciliation but are short on funds. The early tuition discount and application deadline has been extended to May 1.
Registrants include senior leaders from InterVarsity Christian Fellowship and other national ministries … pastors from many denominations … leaders from the Fellowship of Reconciliation, Sojourners, L’Arche, Church of the Savior, CCDA, and urban and community development ministries … a Seattle cohort including folks from Seattle Pacific University … and several grassroots African leaders from Kenya, Uganda, and Burundi
To learn more or to register ... check out http://www.divinity.duke.edu/reconciliation/
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Three Crises of Peace … #1
If I could mobilize people around the world to care about three crises of peace today, I would prioritize these three:
1. Congo
2. Darfur, Sudan
3. Palestine
Here's a great 3-minute introduction to the crisis in Congo ... and a beautiful first step to get involved making a difference.
For more information, check out discoverthejourney.org
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Perspective …
My friend Linnea Nilsen Capshaw had a letter to the editor on Haiti published in the Washington Post recently ... She notes that "U.S. taxpayers have given $180 billion to bail out American International Group (AIG), but AIG will give $1.2 billion in bonuses company-wide this year. The money spent by AIG to pay bonuses would nearly wipe out Haiti's debt." (Haiti's debt is about 1.5 billion). Staggering, isn't it?
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Not in England this week …
I was so looking forward to being in England at Spring Harvest this week, but I wasn't able to get my visa to enter the UK in time. (The UK has really tightened up on people coming in to do any kind of work - religious, business, whatever.) I was especially eager to engage with the theme of the conference, related to Steve Chalke's newest book - The Apprentice. The book is tremendous, and I know everyone at Spring Harvest will have a tremendous time. Wish I could have been there!
Recent weeks have been good and full. After the wonderful gathering in Albuquerque, hosted by the Center for Action and Contemplation, I was treated to warm hospitality at Malone College in Ohio and then Eastern Mennonite University and Seminary in Virginia. Each group facilitated good dialogue and brought together tremendous people. I'll be in North Carolina April 17-19, then Chicago April 22, then Arkansas April 24 ... and then at Sojourners' Mobilization on Poverty April 27-29. Check my calendar (here on the site) for details if you'd like to come to any of these events.
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