Expanding the Circle

We began our last class with a Circle.  The Circle gives us opportunity to practice the ways of peace with one another.
--Everyone is respected
--Everyone gets a chance to talk without interruption
--Everyone has a chance to be heard
--Participants explain ourselves by telling our own stories
--Everyone is equal; no one person is more important than anyone else
--Values and principles are  celebrated
--Dialogue and learning are fostered
--Differences are explored rather than conquered
--Everyone is accountable to one another and to the process
In response to a prompt, each of us shared thoughts and reflections on the impact of the death of Freddie Gray in Baltimore, the community's demonstrations and calls for justice, and subsequent rioting  that was then covered extensively by the news media.  There were a number of responses and thoughts shared, questions raised.We listened carefully to one another.  A number of the earlier reflections focused on the riots seen on tv; over time, there was more attention given to Mr. Gray, the pain of the community, the need for healing of relationships and careful listening to the stories of people who have not been heard; the establishment of new history not bound by the repeated patterns of the past, in Baltimore and throughout our country. The people of Sandtown and other neighborhoods in Baltimore, families, those protesting, the police, and members of the wider community were humanized.  Attention was also drawn to the plight of people in Nepal after the earthquake there and the need for engaged, compassionate response,
One of our class members had been in Baltimore last week and had witnessed a large, nonviolent demonstration that articulated the pain and grief of the community assertively, calling for justice without responding to violence with violence. It was enlightening to have this first-person account of a response to tragedy that predated any violence and further destruction.  As we listened to each other, we pondered important issues and needs in-- hopefully--a broader and more mutual sense.
As we went on to explore what role we might have in addressing the issues and processes of healing in Baltimore and throughout our society, we went back to our fruitful discussion from two weeks ago about peacemaking in the manner of Jesus.  We recalled the points that the working groups in the class had brought forth:

Learning
Listening
Being honest
Practicing Forgiveness
Being Generous and Other-Centered
Joining with people where they are
Sharing not only food but a better way of living
Interrupt violence, violent patterns

We added:
Leadership
Accountability
Compassion
Not being judgmental

It was suggested that churches could take the lead in providing space for dialogue and listening.
Faith communities can model engagement, inclusion, accountability, desire for truth to be told and heard, willingness to learn and to be part of the change we would want to see in establishing a more just society.
What would you add?
 

The New Community

Acts Chapter 2, verses 42 through 47 described life in the new community born in the wake of Jesus' resurrection.  This community was called The Way.  Today we call it the Church.

(a) Many people were joining the faith
(b) The community was characterized by sharing.
(c)  People were divesting themselves of personal resources and investing benefits in the lives of others.
(d) Teaching and Learning were central to life together.  Followers of Jesus learned about:
--Forgiveness
--What it meant to walk in Jesus' footsteps
-- Love as an action, a way of life
--Healing
(e)  They broke bread together, and ate with glad and generous hearts.
(f)  They were a community of prayer.

In what ways are these qualities reflected in our church today?

Blessed are the Peacemakers

"Peace be with you.  As the Father has sent me, so I send you."  --John 20:21

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God." --Matthew 5:9

What is the peace that Jesus offers his disciples, then sends them out to share with the world?
When we considered the story of Jesus and his "locked-up" followers in the Gospel of John last week (John 20:19-31), you said:
--"Don't be afraid."
--"I am with you.'
--"Face what's outside."
--"Take a deep breath."

In the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), Jesus declares peace-makers as the "blessed" who will be known and recognized as the "children of God."
Jesus comes forth from a faith community that refers to peace in terms of shalom.  The concept of shalom is that:
"All of creation is one, every creature in community with every other, living in harmony and security toward the joy and well-being of every other creature."  *

We broke into small groups and responded to two questions:
1)  How did Jesus practice peace?
2)  What would it mean for us to be peacemakers?

In answer to the first question, members of the class said that Jesus practiced peace by:
--learning
--listening
--being honest
--practicing forgiveness
--being generous and other-centered
--joining with people where they were
--sharing, not only food but a "better way to live"

In answer to the second question, folks said that if we were to be peacemakers we would:
--practice forgiveness
--refuse to fight, offering alternatives
--"be the change (the difference) that we want to see in the world"
--be honest
--be self-giving, generous
--would live "unmasked," and our way of living would urge others to put down their "masks' as well
--be willing to assume leadership in this new way of life
--be committed to awareness

What qualities and characteristics might be added to these two lists?

It was noted that people can be trained as peacemakers, just as people in the world have often been trained for war.  For many years, we at St. Andrew's had a ministry called Teens Acting for Peace (TAP), which trained teenagers in the ways of peace and prepared them to be peace educators for elementary-age children.  The Pledge that our TAP teens made had seven points, each with a curriculum to learn.

1) Respect Self and Others
2) Communicate Better
3) Listen Carefully
4) Forgive
5) Respect Nature
6) Play Creatively and Nonviolently
7) Act Courageously

Who might be interested in learning these ways now?  If God's children made these kinds of commitments, and were willing to do all of the good learning, it would make an enormous impact in the world




* definition from Peace by Walter Brueggemann, Chalice Press, 2001, p. 13.

Easter Continues

On Wednesday evening we considered the story in John 20:19-31.  It is set on the evening of Easter, and even though Jesus has risen from the tomb, his disciples are still locked up tight in a room of fear.  They are afraid of dying, of  facing the kind of rejection and crucifixion that Jesus received at the hands of the mob and the authorities. Someone observed that maybe they are also afraid of facing their own failure.  If they have to face Jesus, they will have to face judgment for their failure to stand by him.
But Jesus comes, penetrating the locked doors and standing among them, and saying."Peace be with you."  What does peace mean in this circumstance?, we asked.  Our answers:
--"Don't be afraid"
--"I am with you"
--"Face what's outside"
--"Take a deep breath".
"Jesus unlocks the most difficult doors" in life, someone said.  This is the nature of forgiveness.
Jesus' actions are defined by his love for them and his commitment to them; they are not a reaction to what the disciples did wrong.
He shows them the wounds in his hands and side.  He rises to new life even as he carries the wounds.
He offers his peace again.  Then, remarkably, he commissions them to go forth and do the kind of ministry that he has done in the world: "As the father has sent me, so now I send you."  
They will take the message of forgiveness to everyone.  And as people who themselves have been forgiven, they will know what they are talking about!

Resurrection!

Good Friday

Jesus lived the nonviolent, self-giving love of God to the fullest.  He never compromised that love, even in the face of ridicule, punishment, and the cross.  When he calls out, "It is accomplished," he is announcing the wholeness of that life.  In a way, it is the completion of God's original creation of the human being, because Jesus has fulfilled the life God has intended for all of us "from the beginning,"
and opened a path of fulfillment for us as well.  This is why we call Holy Friday "Good."  

Maundy Thursday

"To allow Jesus to cleanse our feet is to remove all that prevents us from using our feet to follow him, to scrub away our insecurities, to wash away our weariness, and to buff off our bitterness."
                                                                                                ---Alyce McKenzie