Thursday, November 17, 2016

Leonard Cohen, Writer of Song 'Hallelujah,' Dies at 82

The Wired Word for the Week of November 20, 2016
In the News
Singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen, who died November 7 at age 82, was also a poet and novelist who was often mentioned in the same breath with Bob Dylan as one like him who had both spiritual and artistic depth in a maverick sort of way. But most people, even if they know little or nothing about Cohen himself, have heard the song for which he is most well known: "Hallelujah." It's been covered by at least 300 singers in both recordings and concerts and has been used in the soundtracks of films and TV shows and by contestants in televised talent contests.
The song has been used so much, in fact, that some reviewers, even those who like it, have called for a moratorium on it, but most hearers among the general population continue to appreciate it no matter how often it turns up or who sings it.
Because of the song's popularity, as well as its obvious reference to two biblical stories (those of David and Samson) and its allusion to the human tendency to work against one's own well-being, we are taking the occasion of Cohen's death to consider a theme from his song, bearing in mind that poets often write more for the feelings their words evoke than to convey a clearly elucidated thesis.
Still, the theme of self-sabotage is there in the song, and to consider it, we're looking at some comments by author Alan Light from his 2012 book, The Holy or the Broken: Leonard Cohen, Jeff Buckley and the Unlikely Ascent of "Hallelujah," an excerpt of which appears in the Rolling Stone article in the links list below.
Cohen wrote some 80 verses for this song, but used just four in his recorded version, included in his 1984 album Various Positions. Other singers have sometimes used other verses, adding to or deleting some of the original four, and Cohen himself sometimes used additional verses along with the four he first recorded. Light's comments, however, refer to the version first recorded. (See the "Hallelujah" lyrics in the links list below. You may wish to print them out for your class members.)
"Cohen's song begins with an image of the Bible's musically identified King David, recounting the heroic harpist's 'secret chord,' with its special spiritual power," wrote Light, referring to David's soothing of King Saul, who was possessed of an evil spirit (1 Samuel 16:23).
"But this first verse almost instantly undercuts its own solemnity," said Light. He noted that "after offering such an inspiring image in the opening lines, Cohen remembers whom he's speaking to, and says to his listener [perhaps he means Saul] that 'you don't really care for music, do you?'"
Cohen next describes, the harmonic progression of the verse: "It goes like this: the fourth, the fifth / the minor fall, the major lift." And he ends the verse with "the baffled king composing Hallelujah!" This, said, Light, is "a comment on the unknowable nature of artistic creation, or of romantic love, or both."
Light noted that the second verse of "Hallelujah" shifts to the second person -- "Your faith was strong but you needed proof." The narrator then references another incident in the David story, the king's lust for Bathsheba (see 2 Samuel 11:2).
Light then quotes the Rev. Dr. R. M. A. "Sandy" Scott, who in a 2011 service at St. Paul's Presbyterian Church in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, explicated David's story and its usage in the song.
"The story of David and Bathsheba," said Scott, "is about the abuse of power in the name of lust, which leads to murder, intrigue and brokenness." Scott said that until this point, David had been a brave and gifted leader, but that he now "began to believe his own propaganda ... he began to take what he wanted."
Referring to the "baffled king" lyric in the song, Scott called the word choice "an obvious understatement on Cohen's part, adding, "The great King David becomes no more than a baffled king when he starts to live for himself." Scott continued, "There is so much brokenness in David's life, only God can redeem and reconcile this complicated personality. That is why the baffled and wounded David lifts up to God a painful hallelujah."
The lyrics now switch to the story of Samson and Delilah – "She tied you to a kitchen chair / she broke your throne, she cut your hair" -- before, said Light, "resolving with a vision of sexual release: 'and from your lips she drew the Hallelujah!'"
Light added that both David and Samson "are brought down to earth, and risk surrendering their authority, because of the allure of forbidden love. Even for larger-than-life figures and leaders of nations, the greatest physical pleasure can lead to disaster."
Light then quoted the Rev.Thomas G. Casey, a professor of philosophy at the Pontifical Gregorian University, who said, "The man who composed songs of praise with such aplomb and the man whose strength was the envy of all now find themselves in a stark and barren place."
But both men repent and seek divine favor after their transgressions and some kind of atonement.
Light says that in verse 3, Cohen "builds to the song's central premise -- the value, even the necessity of the song of praise in the face of confusion, doubt or dread. 'There's a blaze of light in every word; / it doesn't matter which you heard, / the holy or the broken Hallelujah!'"
"Every word, holy or broken -- this is the fulcrum of the song as Cohen first wrote it," said Light. "Like our forefathers, and the Bible heroes ... we will be hurt, tested and challenged. Love will break our hearts, music will offer solace that we may or may not hear, we will be faced with joy and with pain."
"But," Light added, "Cohen is telling us, without resorting to sentimentality, not to surrender to despair or nihilism. Critics may have fixated on the gloom and doom of his lyrics, but this is his offering of hope and perseverance in the face of a cruel world. Holy or broken, there is still hallelujah."
The fourth verse, said Light, starts "with an all-too-human shrug: 'I did my best; it wasn't much.' Cohen reinforces his fallibility, his limits, but also his good intentions, singing, 'I've told the truth, I didn't come to fool you.'"
And the song concludes, "And even though it all went wrong, / I'll stand before the Lord of Song / with nothing on my lips but Hallelujah!"
Light then quoted Cohen: "I wanted to push the Hallelujah deep into the secular world, into the ordinary world. The Hallelujah, the David's Hallelujah, was still a religious song. So I wanted to indicate that Hallelujah can come out of things that have nothing to do with religion."
"He's rescued the word hallelujah from being just a religious word," said the Right Rev. Nick Baines, Bishop of Croydon (UK), cited by Light. "We're broken human beings, all of us, so stop pretending, and we can all use the word hallelujah because what it comes from is being open and transparent before God ….'"
TWW editorial team member Mary Sells commented, "To me one of the apparent missions of Leonard Cohen was using his gift for songwriting to stir a person to acknowledge the reality of a living God in our very broken lives."
More on this story can be found at these links:
Applying the News Story
Since both David and Samson fell by giving in to lust, it may be hard for some of us who have not damaged our lives via that particular vice to identify with the "Hallelujah" lyrics. But we should think more broadly. The upsets some of us apparently feel compelled to inflict upon ourselves from time to time are part of the riddle of what it means to be human.
There seems to be something in many of us that has a perverse need to introduce a complicating component into our lives when things are going well. It's as if something within us becomes uneasy when our lives finally become balanced and harmonious.
For some of us, it's the small, self-defeating, self-destructive, self-sabotaging things that are really hurtful. Maybe, in the words of the song, they're a "minor fall," but they can do major damage. For example:
  • We gossip or say negative stuff that comes back like a boomerang and hits us where it hurts.
  • We often overcommit because we can't say no.
  • We're willing to enable abusive relationships.
  • We strongly fear succeeding, which makes us unconsciously booby-trap the path to success.
  • We have a fixed income but wildly unfixed spending habits.
  • We make rash decisions, even though we know we should think more carefully before stepping out into the abyss.
  • We show up for work or school drunk or hungover.
  • We should attend class but don't.
  • We procrastinate, and it undermines us every time.
  • We insist on spending time with the wrong friends.
And so on.
Better to praise the Lord -- "hallelujah" in Hebrew means "praise Yahweh" -- and seek his help before we sabotage our lives, of course, but God invites us to seek him after we do as well. God hears both the holy and the broken hallelujah.
The Big Questions
1. When have you knowingly undercut what you clearly knew was good for you? What insight, if any, did you gain about why you behaved as you did?
2. When, if ever, have you felt that you had nothing left but to turn to God? In what sense might that have felt like a broken hallelujah? What, if anything, happened to change it into a holy hallelujah?
3. What means do you use to examine your urges to make significant changes in your life beforeyou actually do so? Whom do you consult? What role does prayer play? What role does the church play?
4. In the "In the News" section above, Light quotes the Bishop of Croydon: "We're broken human beings, all of us, so stop pretending, and we can all use the word hallelujah because what it comes from is being open and transparent before God ….'" What is your response?
Confronting the News With Scripture and HopeHere are some Bible verses to guide your discussion:
Psalm 150:1 (Holman Christian Standard Bible)
Hallelujah! Praise God in His sanctuary. Praise Him in His mighty heavens. (For context, read 150:1-6.)
Revelation 19:6
Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty thunderpeals, crying out, "Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. (For context, read 19:1-10.)
"Hallelujah" appears in both testaments, as the two verses above show, but in most Bible versions you won't find the word in the Old Testament. It's actually there several places in the underlying Hebrew, but most English translations render that Hebrew as "Praise the Lord!"
That's why we quoted Psalm 150:1 above from the Holman Bible, because it's one of the few versions that translate the Hebrew hallelu, which means "to praise joyously," and yah, which is a shortened form of the name for God, as "Hallelujah." As used in the Old Testament, it is an instruction to the hearer to praise God.
In the New Testament, "hallelujah" appears only in the book of Revelation, where it is not an instruction but an actual expression of praise to God and a lyric of a song of rejoicing occurring in heaven.
Seminary professor Robert W. Neff used to tell his Old Testament classes that everyone already knows two Hebrew words -- "amen" and "hallelujah" (to which we might add "shalom"). Most of us say hallelujah only in a positive context, almost as a synonym for "Eureka!"
Questions: When have you literally said "hallelujah"? Why? Have you ever said hallelujah in a negative circumstance? If so, how did it apply?
Romans 7:15
I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.(For context, read 7:14-25.)
Speaking of people who sabotage themselves, here's the apostle Paul owning up to it. He tells here in chapter 7 of his own shortcomings as an introduction to his explanation of life in the Spirit, which he discusses in chapter 8.
Questions: When have you personally identified with Paul's comment here? In light of your own struggles, how do you feel reading about Paul's inner conflict? Why? How would the cold and lonely hallelujah work in situations like Paul's?
Psalm 16:6
The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; I have a goodly heritage. (For context, read 16:5-11.)
When the psalmist says boundary lines have fallen for him in pleasant places, he's using vocabulary from the book of Joshua, where boundary lines referred to the division of Canaan among the tribes of Israel, granting each tribe a portion (see, for example, Joshua 18:10). The tribes believed that their destiny from that point onward was tied up with the land portion they received.
Here in Psalm 16, however, the psalmist is using boundary lines in a metaphorical way, to say that his life is marked by good fortune and destiny in God that cannot be taken from him because God himself holds it fast. In some ways, his statement about boundary lines is not unlike saying, "I got lucky," "I got dealt some pretty good cards," or even "All my hard work and sacrifice is finally paying off."
But if the psalmist is like many people, he won't leave things there indefinitely. The boundary lines may have fallen for him in pleasant places, but sooner or later, he'll grow dissatisfied with the status quo of the settled life and go looking for what is beyond the boundary lines, deliberately throwing a wrench into his life. It's self-sabotage, and it's not unintentional.
The fact is, upsetting the status quo of our lives is sometimes painful for us but it's almost always painful for somebody. If we are the one seeking the change, then the excitement of the new thing may cover over some of the pain for us personally. But we cannot overlook that others who have counted on us or who have gotten used to the way we were going may be thrown off balance or even hurt by changes of direction we make that affect them. That is the interconnectedness of life, and we cannot escape it.
Thus, every urge to rip apart something significant in our lives needs to be examined seriously, and even prayerfully. If God is calling us, we should listen. But if the yen to change is simply change for its own sake, we should count the cost and move cautiously.
Questions: When have you identified a self-sabotaging impulse in yourself but consciously turned away from it? Did you have deal with that same impulse again, or was that matter settled? What helped?
Psalm 51:1-2Have mercy on me,O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.(For context, read 51:1-17.)
This is the psalm considered to be from David reflecting on his sins of lust and murder. In contrast to Cohen's song, the word "hallelujah" seems to be conspicuously absent. However, though the psalm uses a different Hebrew word for "praise" (tehillâ) when, reflecting upon God's forgiveness, David declares, "O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise" (v. 15), tehillâ is drawn from the same root word as is hallelu (see commentary on Psalm 150:1 above.) Specifically, both tehillâ and hallelu are derived from halal, which means to "celebrate" or "commend."
The psalm indicates repentance is a necessary step between sin and praising God for forgiveness. David acknowledges his sinfulness and his sins against God before pleading, "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me" (v. 10).
Nor is God's forgiveness only something to be kept to oneself. It is to be shared: "Then I will teach transgressors your [God's] ways, and sinners will return to you" (v. 13).
Questions: When have you personally identified with David's pleas in this psalm? What has been your response to God's forgiveness of you?
Isaiah 57:15
For thus says the high and lofty one who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with those who are contrite and humble in spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite. (For context, read 57:14-19.)
Isaiah reminds us that God will revive the humble and contrite. Had the prophet known Cohen's song, he might have worded this as "God will revive those who offer broken hallelujahs."
Questions: Synonyms for "contrite" include remorseful, repentant, penitent, regretful, sorry, apologetic, rueful, sheepish, hangdog, ashamed, chastened, shamefaced, conscience-stricken and guilt-ridden. Why do you think we have so many words in our language related to the same concept? How are these related to the matters of salvation, reconciliation and healing?
How has "revival," in the sense of being revived back into a life-giving situation or restored to good relationship with God and with others, made itself felt in your life?
For Further Discussion
1. From 2002-2006, there was a television series called Everwood about a widower doctor and his two children living in a small Colorado town. The doctor's son, Ephram, was dating a girl his age named Amy, and to viewers of the show, they seemed an ideal couple with a lot going for them. But during Ephram's senior year in high school, he experienced some unsettled feelings, and found himself rethinking his plans for the future. At one point, he tells his father that he does not understand himself. Here, he has a wonderful relationship and has been accepted at a top-flight music school, and yet he finds himself thinking of breaking up with Amy, not going to college and backpacking through Europe instead. "Why am I doing that?" he asks, puzzled. His father responds that such things are part of the nature of life. 
            Is his father's response correct? If you were Ephram's father, what further advice would you have offered?
2. The song "Hallelujah" was used in the computer-animated fantasy-comedy film Shrek when the characters realize their flaws have caused what appear like irreparable fractures in their various relationships. A conversation ensues between Shrek, who is an ogre, and Donkey, as follows:
Shrek: For your information, there's a lot more to ogres than people think.
Donkey: Example?
Shrek: Example... uh... ogres are like onions! [holds up an onion, which Donkey sniffs]
Donkey: They stink?
Shrek: Yes ... No!
Donkey: Oh, they make you cry?
Shrek: No!
Donkey: Oh, you leave 'em out in the sun, they get all brown, start sproutin' little white hairs …
Shrek: [peels an onion] NO! Layers. Onions have layers. Ogres have layers... You get it? We both have layers.
Donkey: Oh, you both have LAYERS. Oh. You know, not everybody likes onions. CAKE! Everybody loves cake! Cakes have layers!
Shrek: I don't care what everyone likes! Ogres are not like cakes.
Donkey: You know what ELSE everybody likes? Parfaits! Have you ever met a person, you say, "Let's get some parfait," they say, "... no, I don't like no parfait."? Parfaits are delicious!
Shrek: NO! You dense, irritating, miniature beast of burden! Ogres are like onions! End of story! Bye-bye! See ya later.
Donkey: Parfait's gotta be the most delicious thing on the whole ... planet!
What are your "layers" like and how do they affect how you steer your life?
3. Comment on this, from TWW editorial team member Frank Ramirez: "The scripture 'Hallelujah' focuses on seems to be David's story, where his songs temporarily soothe King Saul, but do not prevent that king's tragic end, or David's own inability to control his sexual proclivities, or his inability to deal with a daughter's rape by her half-brother, that led to further dysfunction and death. The David story is the story of where we live, and God's walk with us despite our flaws. We tend to ignore scriptures that deal with trauma, yet trauma is where we live."
            Ramirez also said that "Hallelujah" makes him think of the ending of Samuel Beckett's novel The Unnamable, with its rambling, disembodied voice, that ends, "I can't go on. I'll go on."
4. Discuss this, from TWW editorial team member Stan Purdum: "These wrinkles some of us seem compelled to inflict upon ourselves might be called the upset-the-fruit-basket factor. 'Upset the fruit basket,' is a children's game. It's a variation of musical chairs in which the children put their chairs in a circle. Each child is placed into a fruit group -- apples, oranges, bananas and so forth, usually with four or more children in each group. Then all the children sit in their chairs, and the leader calls out a fruit group. If the leader says, 'apples,' for example, then only the apples have to stand up and walk around the circle. While they are walking, the leader removes one chair. When the leader calls 'apples' again, all the apples scramble for a chair. The apple child left standing is out of the game. The game continues in similar fashion with the leader calling out 'bananas,' or 'oranges' or some other fruit. But if the leader says 'upset the fruit basket' then all the children have to get up and walk around the circle while the leader removes a chair. The winner is the last child in the 'basket' at the end of the game. 
            "As a child's game, it's all right, I guess, although it may not seem so to kids who get eliminated from the game, but as a way of injecting abrupt change into our lives, upsetting the fruit basket can be downright painful. We have a tendency to upset the fruit basket of our lives precisely at those times when our lives are as arranged and as peaceful as a basket of summer fruit."
Responding to the News
First, don't worry if you can't understand everything in the song, for God speaks to us through many formats, and not all of his messages are clear. It was St. Augustine who said, "We are talking about God. What wonder is it that you do not understand? If you do understand, then it is not God."
That said, "Hallelujah" invites us to be aware of our complicated human nature and our tendency toward self-sabotage, but it also helps us to hear afresh the Bible's message that God does not abandon us even when we deliberately "jump off the wagon" of stability and righteousness.
This is a good time to remember that whether we approach God with a holy or a broken hallelujah, God hears us.
Prayer (adapted from Rueben P. Job and Norman Shawchuck)
Lord God, you who are the source of all truth, wisdom, justice and love, lead me each day that I might constantly rest my life upon the eternal foundations of your love and presence. Save me from haste, confusion, self-sabotage, wrongful desire and the net of evil. Through the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, enlighten, instruct and guide me all day long. Accept my "Hallelujah" in the name of Jesus. Amen.
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Thursday, November 10, 2016

Churches Offer Vigils, Prayer Services and Open Communion During Election Process

The Wired Word for the Week of November 13, 2016
In the News
During this election week, many churches around the country offered prayer services, some including open communion, aimed at starting a healing process among a fractured electorate following the ugliest presidential race in the memory of anyone alive today. Other congregations opened their sanctuaries for prayer during voting hours. Still other churches, in their services this weekend, will be praying for healing of the national divide.
For example, on election day eve in Seattle, Washington, Saint Mark's Episcopal Cathedral hosted a nonpartisan, interfaith vigil where Jewish, Muslim and Christian leaders led prayers "for those in elective office, for those with whom we disagree, and for healing in our nation," according to Saint Mark's website.
A spokesperson for Saint Mark's said the event was scheduled because the pastors were aware that people were especially anxious and concerned about the election.
Some churches held open communion services on election day. In Decatur, Georgia, the Lutheran Church of the Messiah took part in election day communion with six other area congregations. Rev. Nathan D. Hilkert, pastor of that Lutheran congregation, said, "I do struggle to understand people who are equally strong for the opposite candidate," and that's where sharing communion helps.
McLean Baptist Church in Northern Virginia, scheduled their service for the day after the election, noting that the presidential campaign had "exposed deep fault lines over race, religion, class and gender." Katie Morgan, minister of spiritual formation and outreach at the church, said, "The goal is to remind ourselves that God is One. The scriptures that will be read have to do with God and God's people being one and being united."
Not everyone agrees that attending a church service with prayer and communion will help to bring people together. In a post before the 2012 presidential race, blogger Fred Clark, responding to the announcement of a communion service for that election day, said, that while he appreciated the idea of election day communion, "it risks trivializing the enormous stakes today for many millions of people by treating all political disagreements as little more than angry looks exchanged between neighbors with different yard signs."
Jason Boone, a Mennonite lay leader who organized election day communion for his denomination this year, said he understands why those who feel most intensely about the election might be leery of a shared communion service. He admires their devotion to causes but he also thinks such persons could benefit the most from election day services. "There's a perspective and a grounding that can only happen through the church," he said.
More on this story can be found at these links:
Applying the News Story
Many Americans can testify to how bitter and wounding the campaign has been on a personal level. A number have seen political discussions in which they've participated devolve into angry diatribes or personal attacks. Some, in hope of not damaging relationships with family members and long-time friends, have found it necessary to refuse to discuss politics altogether. Others have avoided Internet news and opinion sites just to maintain peace of mind.
A week before the election, Deena Winter, a freelance journalist, wrote in a blog post that differences of opinion between her and family members about the candidates had led to her blocking her uncle on Facebook. She and her mother also clashed in Facebook posts.
If you're still seething from the campaign, we suggest you avoid reading the post, because it is clearly against one of the candidates (but if you do wish to read it, you can view it here.) We cite it not to continue the pre-election debate but only to illustrate how deeply the presidential race impacted even family members who love each other, and we are quoting enough of Winter's post here to convey the tone without referring to those in the presidential race.
Winters described her family members, including herself, as "die-hard Christians," but she wrote, "I don't want to go home for Thanksgiving this year -- for the first time in my life. We are not a family that dreads Thanksgiving. We are not a family who fights. We're a family who loves each other truly, madly, deeply."
Winter continued, "But I know my father won't be able to restrain himself from talking politics, no matter who wins the election, and a battle will ensue. This election has exposed a huge divide between us .... And I don't think we can turn back the clock .... Not in my family, and not in America."
The Big Questions
1. To what degree, if any, did you find the electoral season to be bruising? (Answer without rehashing arguments from the campaign.) Were any personal relationships affected? How did you deal with that?
2. Are there any personal relationships damaged by election disagreements that you need to repair? What steps are you planning to initiate in that regard? Are there any that you believe not to be worth the effort to repair? If so, why?
3. Has your outlook on the democratic process changed in anyway, and if so, how? (Answer without discussing the individuals in the race and assuming that the balloting was properly conducted.)
4. How do you expect prayer to affect your ongoing relationships and your interactions with other Americans? What do you receive from communion that might be of benefit?
5. In what ongoing healing ways should churches be involved in the national conversation? In what ongoing healing ways can you personally be involved? In what way can organizations of Christians be involved?
Confronting the News With Scripture and HopeHere are some Bible verses to guide your discussion:
2 Chronicles 7:14
... if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, pray, seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. (For context, read 7:12-18.)
1 Timothy 2:8
I desire, then, that in every place the men should pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or argument ... (No context needed.)
These two verses -- one from each testament -- are calls for prayer based on the belief that prayer does indeed change things. The 2 Chronicles text is part of God's response to Solomon's prayer at the dedication of the temple. Note that God says both forgiveness and healing can be the result of humble prayer.
The 1 Timothy verse is from the apostle Paul, and calls for prayer that is without anger or argument. That is, not prayer against someone but prayer that faithfully seeks God's will and petitions God for what we need as a people.
Questions: Why do you think Paul urges prayer to be universally practiced by Christians? What is the relationship between godliness, healing and prayer? Why do we need it now?
Matthew 5:23-24
So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift. (For context, read 5:21-26.)
These words from Jesus remind us that any ritual -- such as communion or worship liturgy -- can be empty and meaningless if there is not an accompanying effort to be reconciled with those with whom we are at odds.
Questions: What different approach is Jesus urging here from how we might otherwise behave? In what ways can you seek reconciliation with people in your circle where the relationship has been negatively affected by political differences?
Luke 6:27But I [Jesus] say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you ... (For context read 6:27-36)
A discussion of "enemies" might seem strange in a lesson concerning healing of political disagreements. But it might help in preventing a false let's-all-hold-hands-and-sing-kum-ba-yah feeling from dominating.
Jesus says to love your enemies.
That implies that you will have enemies. And, by definition, politics is one place enemies -- or at least "opponents who strongly resist our views and support laws to make us act according to their views" -- are likely to arise. Some are enemies because they use devious means, nasty tactics and dishonest claims to cause their side to prevail.
Still, Jesus tells us to love our enemies. The trouble is, it's not all that clear-cut how we are to do that. Some things are straightforward: Do good to them, pray for them, bless them. Sometimes it even involves letting our opponents have their way.
But there is another point Jesus makes: "As you wish that others would do to you, do so to them." A logically equivalent wording is, "don't do to others what you don't want them to do to you."
That seems to imply that one way to "love our enemies" is to make fewer people our enemies.
Not very easy. We sinners like to think of ourselves as better than others. Consequently, we can come to think that we have the right -- or even the duty -- to tell them what to do and how to act. When we seek to use force -- government -- to make them act the way we want, then we have made them into enemies.
At times that might be justified. More likely, given our sinful tendencies, it unjustly makes people our enemies. Not an easy choice.
Questions: What are some actions done by the candidate you opposed -- or his or her supporters -- that have made them your enemies? What are some ways you have responded or might respond? What actions done by the candidate you supported -- or your fellow supporters -- that have made other people your enemies? What are some ways you might seek reconciliation with them?
Ephesians 4:1-3
I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. (For context, read 4:1-6.)
Questions: Reading between the lines, what sorts of problems do you think Paul was aiming at with the words above? How well do you think these words describe how you attempt to live?
John 13:35
By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. (For context, read 13:31-35.)
Although we sometimes interpret these words to mean "love everybody," Jesus was referring to his disciples, which today includes all those who profess his name -- fellow members of the Christian body. It was to be a mark of believers that they love one another. In fact, if we can't manage even that, how can we possibly extend love to the world at large?
Questions: How do you define what Jesus means here by "love"? Why is love the best evidence that we are followers of Jesus?
For Further Discussion
1. Discuss Deena Winter's situation, described in the "Applying the News Story" section above. What counsel would you give her? How do you respond to her final comment about her family and America?
2. Respond to Jason Boone's comment (from the "In the News" section above) that "There's a perspective and a grounding that can only happen through the church."
3. Comment on this, from TWW consultant James Gruetzner: "This past weekend I was having a discussion with a hunting partner on politics. To say we disagreed would be an understatement: Not only did we each think the other's candidate was a horrible choice, but we each thought the other's first choice in the primaries was abysmal (neither of our primary candidates got the nomination). 
            "Yet, we were able to discuss and argue both civilly and passionately, without degrading, demeaning, or threatening the other. No, it wasn't because we were both armed, nor because we were both Christian (he is a radical atheist). I think it was more that we were each interested in finding out the why and the whence of our disagreements, but for different reasons. On my side, Krauthammer's Fundamental Law ('Conservatives think liberals are stupid. Liberals think conservatives are evil.') applied somewhat. On his side, he did not believe in any absolutes of right or wrong, and was quite accepting of different views. It didn't hurt that we each had fairly thick skins and weren't seeking to claim victimhood via 'triggering' or 'microaggressions.'
            "Anyway, we remain on friendly terms with each other despite vast disagreement, and are even planning a rabbit-hunting outing with our wives once the freeze sets in good and hard. Not because we are 'reconciled' in our differences, but because we are able to disagree and enjoy each other's company whenever the difference can be set aside."
4 . TWW team member Joanna Loucky-Ramsey comments, "Communion and even prayer can reveal divisions among us. I confess to feeling somewhat ambivalent and even tepid about certain calls to prayer for America and this election from some corners of Christendom, since those calls were coming from people or organizations who have demonized certain candidates while idolizing others, using apocalyptic language predicting doom if the vote doesn't go the way they think it should.
            "If we can pray with real soul liberty according to the way our consciences guide us, I'm happy to pray even with those with whom I have the strongest disagreements politically. But if those calling us to prayer or to the Lord's table subtly suggest or openly pressure participants to adopt their particular party line, I find it much harder to overcome the divide that exists within the church as well as in our nation."
            How would you structure a prayer service so as not to feed the "divide"?
5. Discuss your church's public prayers in light of this comment from a TWW team member: "We can be quite myopic and small-minded in prayer, which often degenerates to requests for personal material blessings without much thought for the rest of the world or for deeper spiritual/character needs. I appreciate that every week in my church, we pray for both individuals and concerns much larger than ourselves."
6. Comment on this: One TWW commentator recollects that, during the divisiveness of the Vietnam War, there was a conservative seminary professor who would always seek to attend a communion service at a prominent left-leaning congregation when he visited that area of the country. He stated he did that to show how salvation through Jesus was more important than the political questions -- although they were of life, death and liberty -- that divided them.
Responding to the News
The election is over. Let us now pray for our elected leaders, whether they are those we voted for or not, that God may work through them for the common good.
Read Steven Curtis Chapman's Facebook post and watch the accompanying video.
Discuss with your fellow church members what your congregation can do in an ongoing way to promote civil discourse.
Prayer (England, 20th Century, altered)
Teach us, God of every nation, to see every question of national policy in the light of our faith, that we may check in ourselves and others every passion that makes for war, all ungenerous judgment, all prompting of self-assurance, all presumptuous claims. Remove our suspicions and misunderstandings, that we may honor one another in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Be with our new leaders and those continuing in office that together they will work for the good of all. In Jesus' name. Amen.
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Thursday, November 3, 2016

Pope Visits Sweden to Commemorate the 500th Anniversary of the Protestant Reformation

In the News
On Monday, the 499th anniversary of German monk Martin Luther's posting of 95 theses on the door of the Catholic cathedral in Wittenberg, Pope Francis co-hosted an ecumenical prayer service in Sweden with leaders of the Lutheran Church. The service launches a year of celebration leading up to the quincentenary of the Protestant Reformation.
The visit by Pope Francis was particularly remarkable, since Luther's resistance to papal authority, the sale of indulgences to purchase pardon for sins, and protest against excesses and abuses within the church led to his excommunication as a heretic, the church split known as the Protestant Reformation, and decades of brutal religious wars in Europe.
While Swedish society is primarily secular, the state church is Lutheran. Since the 1500s, Catholics in Sweden suffered persecution, discrimination and even death.
In the past, Pope Francis has painted Luther as "an intelligent man" who rightly called for reform of a corrupt, worldly church that "was not a role model [but stained by] ... greed and lust for power."
At the celebration this week, the pope stated that "the Reformation helped give greater centrality to sacred Scripture in the church's life."
"We must look with love and honesty at our past, recognizing error and seeking forgiveness," he said, calling on Catholics and Lutherans to "mend" history.
While Catholic-Lutheran relations have been particularly marked by periods of tension and hostility in the past, Christians of all persuasions face the challenge of how to relate to those with whom they disagree.
One of the principal issues dividing Lutherans and Roman Catholics was resolved in 1999, when the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and the Catholic Church's Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (PCPCU) co-signed a Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification, which states in part:
In faith we together hold the conviction that justification is the work of the triune God. The Father sent his Son into the world to save sinners. The foundation and presupposition of justification is the incarnation, death and resurrection of Christ. Justification thus means that Christ himself is our righteousness, in which we share through the Holy Spirit in accord with the will of the Father. Together we confess: By grace alone, in faith in Christ's saving work and not because of any merit on our part, we are accepted by God and receive the Holy Spirit, who renews our hearts while equipping and calling us to good works.
Relations between Roman Catholics and Lutherans took further large strides this year with the adoption of "Declaration on the Way" by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), which outlines 32 "Statements of Agreement" between Lutherans and Catholics regarding church, ministry and the Eucharist.
Auxiliary Bishop Denis J. Madden of Baltimore, the Catholic co-chairman of the joint task force of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs and the ELCA that developed the declaration, said he hoped the bishops would endorse it as well.
"Though we have not yet arrived, we have claimed that we are, in fact, on the way to unity," ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth A. Eaton said after the assembly voted overwhelmingly to approve the document. "After 500 years of division and 50 years of dialogue, ... this 'Declaration on the Way' helps us to realize more fully our unity in Christ with our Catholic partners, but it also serves to embolden our commitment to unity with all Christians."
Lutherans and Roman Catholics are still divided on other issues, such as the nature of the Universal Church, the authority of the pope, the role of women in church leadership, and the nature of the Eucharist (Communion).
Rev. Martin Junge, general secretary of the LWF, told reporters that "people feel lack of unity the heaviest around the [Lord's] table." For centuries, Christians have been barred from partaking of the Eucharist in Catholic churches (though TWW team member Heidi Mann says she's received it, simply by going forward; in her experience, priests don't stop and ask what a visitor's denomination is). But by official position, it is Catholic barring of Lutherans; Lutherans (in the LWF anyway -- not Missouri Synod and a few other conservative branches of Lutheranism) practice "open Communion."
In a joint statement issued in Lund, Sweden, this week, the Roman Catholic Church and the LWF acknowledged that this has been a source of pain especially for family members "who share their whole lives, but cannot share God's redeeming presence at the Eucharistic table. We long for this wound in the body of Christ to be healed" by bringing members of both churches together at the Lord's table, "no longer strangers."
Pope Francis said that while theological differences still exist, the two churches can join forces to serve the poor and refugees, and to fight persecution of Christians. A hallmark of this pope's legacy is his effort to build bridges to other parts of the Christian family, such as the Russian Orthodox Church, as well as to people of other faiths, such as Islam and Judaism.
Rev. Jens-Martin Kruse of the Lutheran Church in Rome described the pope's approach as "walking ecumenism." In the act of "walking together," Kruse said, "we find that we have ... more in communion than we thought before."
Teresa Jodar, a resident of Stockholm who attended the celebration earlier this week, agreed. "I am a Catholic," she said. "The Reformation ... was a sad separation. But we are celebrating taking a step closer. It is wonderful that we can work together instead of thinking about all of the differences that separate us."
More on this story can be found at these links:
The Big Questions
1. What has been your experience (if any) interacting with Christians from other denominations? What benefits or negative consequences could occur for people who seek interdenominational or interfaith relationships?
2. How have relations between the Roman Catholic Church and Protestant churches changed in your lifetime? Do you see the overtures for better relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the Lutheran Church (and other Protestant groups) as a positive or a negative development? How did you arrive at your viewpoint?
3. What factors would you say most influence your own attitudes about ecumenical dialogue and relations? Rank in order of significance: a) Personal experience (positive or negative) with people in a different branch of the family tree of Christ. b) Views of church leaders. c) Local church or denominational culture. d) Personal and/or corporate Bible study. e) Other (specify).
4. How open are you to ecumenical dialogue, joint worship and/or cooperative service and mission projects? To what extent are you open to interfaith dialogue, and if not, why not? Worship experiences? Cooperation in service projects? Under what conditions do you think such ventures would be possible and potentially positive? When might they be impossible or potentially negative, and why might that be the case?
5. Can the church be true to its identity and faith and work with people or groups that don't share the same identity or faith? If not, why not? If so, how do we balance a commitment to biblical truth (as we understand it) with a call to unity in the church?
Confronting the News With Scripture and HopeHere are some Bible verses to guide your discussion:
Psalm 133:1How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity! (For context, read 133:1-3.)
This psalm exalts the virtue and pleasure that belong to people who are joined together by God's grace. In the context verses, this common life is compared to two liquids: oil and dew.
When Aaron was consecrated as a priest (Leviticus 8:12) he was anointed with a fragrant oil made of four spices, myrrh, cinnamon, cane and cassia, mixed with olive oil (Exodus 30:23-25, 30). The image is of very different substances, which, when combined, produced a rich, distinctive perfume unique to the priestly class. When God brings people together in unity from radically different backgrounds, anyone in the vicinity will notice that these people are different.
The unity of the people of God is like the fleeting morning dew, which may seem inconsequential, but which is essential to bring life to an arid land. While unity is a blessing to the people of God themselves, it is capable of blessing everyone who comes in contact with them as well.
Questions: Is it possible to be united as a church while members have significant disagreements? In church relations, how much agreement must be present between the parties for unity to exist? Are there any relationship qualities short of unity that are still godly ways to work with others for the kingdom of God?
How have you experienced the goodness and pleasure of living together in unity among God's people, in spite of differences? When have you seen a united church bring blessing and life to people beyond the walls of the church itself?
John 17:20-23[Jesus prayed,] "I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me." (For context, read 17:11, 20-26)
We often experience conflict and division in the family of God, and unity seems elusive. Perhaps that is why, in the hours before he went to the cross, Jesus made it a top priority to pray for his followers to be one.
Questions: How does the unity of Jesus' followers reflect his glory and the glory of God the Father? What creates that oneness binding his followers together? What does disunity in the church communicate to the world? What can we do to foster unity in the church, when we have real, substantive differences and disagreements?
Acts 2:1, 4, 6, 11-12When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. ... All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability. ... And ... each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. ... "speaking about God’s deeds of power." All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, "What does this mean?" (For context, read 2:1-12.)
After Jesus ascended into heaven, the disciples stayed together in Jerusalem, waiting for the gift of the Holy Spirit, which Jesus had promised to give them. They spent much time in prayer, and so they were still together on the day of Pentecost when they were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak about God's mighty acts of deliverance.
Questions: What is the significance of the fact that they spoke in many languages, rather than just in one? If they had all spoken in their own native tongue of Aramean, what do you think would have happened to their faith community? What does this event on the Day of Pentecost tell us about how God can use our differences to bless the entire church?
1 Corinthians 12:12-13, 20-21
For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body -- Jews or Greeks, slaves or free -- and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. … As it is, there are many members, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you," nor again the head to the feet, "I have no need of you." (For context, read 12:4-7, 12-13, 20-27.)
While this passage deals specifically with the matter of spiritual gifts as God distributes them to individuals within the church for the common good, the principles of body life can also apply to how the church grows and manifests itself in various times and places. So it might be said that the church universal is undivided, and yet is expressed in various ways by different groups of people who are all members of the body of Christ.
Questions: Why are there so many different churches and denominations? What is good about the variety? What problems sometimes occur because of our differences?
Look at your body. Is there any organ or limb that you would part with easily? Look at the body of Christ. What do other churches or denominations add to the body that you value? What does your church or denomination add to the body that others need?
Ephesians 4:2-6… bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all. (For context, read 4:1-16.)
Paul writes to his beloved congregation in Ephesus that they are called to a life of humility, gentleness, patience, forbearance and love, in order to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. This kind of life doesn't just happen; it takes deliberation, intentionality and every effort we can muster.
We can only live this way by helping one another. Later in the chapter, Paul says God gave people various gifts "to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ." (4:12-13). Believers are to exercise their gifts in such a way that others are built up, until we all grow up into the character of Christ.
On the seal of the United States of America are the words in Latin, E pluribus unum, which means "Out of many, one." Originally, the meaning was that out of many colonies or states came one nation. Later, the phrase was broadened to suggest what is regrettably too often an ideal rather than a reality: that out of many races, religions, ethnicities and languages came one people united by a common identity and vision.
Paul lists seven factors that unify those who follow Jesus: one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism and one God and Father of all. Jesus said (in a different context) that no one can serve two masters (Matthew 6:24).
Questions: Recall a time when it was very difficult to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. What hindered unity in that instance? What do you think would happen if the people of God tried to organize around multiple bodies, spirits, hopes, lords, beliefs, baptisms or gods? How does God make "out of many, one"?
For Further Discussion
The 2012 document of the International Lutheran -- Roman Catholic Commission on Unity titled "From Conflict to Communion" states:
1) Catholics and Lutherans should always begin from the perspective of unity and not from the point of view of division in order to strengthen what is held in common even though the differences are more easily seen and experienced.
2) Lutherans and Catholics must let themselves continuously be transformed by the encounter with each other and by mutual witness of faith."
How might these principles apply to relationships your church or denomination has with others who do not belong to your particular "tribe" of faith?
Responding to the News
1. Consider visiting a service at another church, not of your present denomination, with the goal to better understand what is common and what is different. If you have already done this, consider visiting a house of worship outside the Christian faith with the same goal.
2. Brainstorm ways you and your church and denomination can collaborate with people from other churches and denominations in prayer, study and service. For example, you might covenant with a parish of a different denomination to pray for each other at each Sunday liturgy. You might gather with people of other denominations to study the Bible; to engage in a shared service project; or to learn about one another's important documents, key theological concepts, or important events in their history.  
3. Listen to or sing one of the following songs about the unity of the church as a prayer or statement of faith:
Prayer
O God, in the relationship of the persons of the Trinity we glimpse the kind of oneness to which you call us as believers. Teach us to treat one another with the same kind of love and respect that flow among Father, Son and Holy Spirit. May the unity you create among us reveal your oneness to people of every tongue and nation, to the glory of your name. Amen.
Copyright 2016 Communication R

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