GLOBAL AND ECUMENICAL IN SCOPE
CANADIAN IN PERSPECTIVE
HOLY WEEK AND EASTER EDITION
Wayne A. Holst, Editor
My E-Mail Address: wholst@telus.net
CANADIAN IN PERSPECTIVE
HOLY WEEK AND EASTER EDITION
Wayne A. Holst, Editor
My E-Mail Address: wholst@telus.net
This email is sent only to a voluntary subscriber list.
If you no longer wish to receive these weekly columns,
write to me personally - waholst@telus.net
*****
Dear Friends:
Here is my Holy Week/Easter edition of Colleagues List which I hope you will enjoy. I provide a reflection on my thoughts about this holiest of Christian seasons, and hope you will reflect on it as well.
Thanks for reading Colleagues List!
Wayne
*****
SPECIAL ITEM
*****
Dear Friends:
Here is my Holy Week/Easter edition of Colleagues List which I hope you will enjoy. I provide a reflection on my thoughts about this holiest of Christian seasons, and hope you will reflect on it as well.
Thanks for reading Colleagues List!
Wayne
*****
SPECIAL ITEM
A HOLY WEEK AND EASTER REFLECTION
Over the past years I find myself reviewing my life through various stages of development. At 75, I suppose that is to be expected.
It's natural, during Holy Week and Easter, to revisit significant times during my evolution as a Christian. I hope that you might find my discoveries of interest and that it might prompt you to so the same.
Early Life
Everything was so fresh and new! I see that in the faces of my grandchildren today, and it takes me back to the 40's and 50's!
I was privileged to be raised in a Christian community and family where ritual and liturgical life were valued and it was formative for me to work through the six weeks of Lent, then Holy Week, then Easter, with the themes of darkness and light; sin and forgiveness; creation and redemption. All of this was taken seriously. No doubt, I did not recognize how I was being formed into a penitent that was very much aware of his short-comings. A lot of younger parents and pastors today would cringe at the negative influence imposed on me by nonetheless caring and lovingly significant people in my life back then. As a "faithful" Christian all of that seemed natural. I really didn't think about it. I did, essentially, what I was told.
Mid-Life
My pastoral and university teaching ministries fit rather neatly into about fifty years of 25 and 25 each. When you have to think about your influence on others - including a marriage partner and children in your care - you develop a different perspective from thinking mainly about yourself and your own development as a person.
I believe I learned a lot as a husband, father, pastor and teacher. I learned most as a result of the mistakes I made. Indeed, there were a lot of mistakes! It was in recognizing that, that I began to look to other sources of guidance and inspiration and to help me grow beyond the belief that I was a profoundly unworthy sinner. My exposure to the university world of the social sciences did a lot to make me aware that life was a lot bigger, and my spiritual awareness had been much too limited to handle what was on my plate.
I owe a debt of gratitude to many friends and mentors who were not particularly religious but who cared for me as a person.
Later Life
Which brings me to the present - the mature years - when I once again pick up on the Holy Week and Easter theme. I don't think I grew spiritually all that much during those years when I was serving as a model parent, pastor and teacher for others. I was too busy doing a job.
Now, I have more time to reflect on the various themes of Holy Week and Easter. My relating, reading, music and other spiritual exercises help me with this. The themes of darkness and light; sin and forgiveness; creation and redemption, continue to inform my spiritual quest. I may not use the same terminology that I once used to describe this. I keep mining my experiences and perceptions to help me discover new images and sources of inspiration from the world and people around me.
Gratitude for the Gospel
I was recently described as an "evangelical Christian" by a person who was helping my partner and I tend to end-of-life arrangements (not a morbid but a wise activity). It made me think, and then to conclude, that this was not a bad self-description (in spite of the baggage from past and present associated with the term).
"Grounded in the gospel" and "committed to the proclamation of the good news" are indeed ways by which I would like to be described.
At this important time in the church year - Holy Week and Easter - I am happy to revisit the key times and places from which the Good News burst upon humanity. I want to reflect on what that means to me now and to celebrate with the communion of saints - past and present.
Thanks for helping me to express these thoughts.
Wayne
*****
COLLEAGUE CONTRIBUTIONS
Mark Whittall,
Ottawa, ON.
Sermons and Blog,
March 30th, 2018
"Truth vs. Power"
https://tinyurl.com/y7wyk8ro
--
Ron Rolheiser,
San Antonio, TX
Personal Web Site
March 26th, 2018
"Putting God on Trial"
https://tinyurl.com/y8ch8uhr
--
Jim Taylor,
Okanagan, BC
Personal Web Log,
March 28th, 2018
"Rituals"
https://tinyurl.com/y85nqafx
--
Philip Yancey,
Colorado
Web Mail
March 30th, 2018
"Sounds of Silence in Japan"
https://tinyurl.com/y9u6jq4p
*****
NET NOTES
MALALA RETURNS TO PAKISTAN
Human Rights Heroine Back Home
BBC News,
March 29th, 2018
https://tinyurl.com/y7oajgzp
--
THE MYSTIQUE OF MARY MAGDALENE - MOVIE
British Film Depicts Mary in Newly Researched Ways
La Croix International
March 29th, 2018
https://tinyurl.com/y9ls855b
"Rediscovering the Role of Mary Magdalene"
La Croix International
March 28th, 2018
https://tinyurl.com/ycuxavr9
--
ISRAEL TO RESTRICT ENTRY
OF GAZA CHRISTIANS
Easter Visits Will be Strictly Monitored
Religion News Service,
March 29th, 2019
https://tinyurl.com/yd37qcn3
"17 Dead, More than a Thousand Hurt in Gaza Clashes"
Jerusalem Post,
March 30th, 2018
--
JOAN BAEZ - THE PRESIDENT
SANG 'AMAZING GRACE'
Beautiful Musical Reflection
on Obama's Visit to Charleston
The Atlantic Online
March 27th, 2018
https://tinyurl.com/y9yfmqom
--
N.T. WRIGHT ON SAINT PAUL'S
CURRENT POPULARITY
Movie and Book Suggest
Contemporary Relevance
Religion News Service,
March 29th, 2018
https://tinyurl.com/y7vkerxk
--
PREHISTORIC HUMAN FOOTPRINTS
FOUND ON CANADA'S WEST COAST
They Reflect Asian Origin
The Guardian, UK
March 28th, 2018
https://tinyurl.com/y8fdcy24
--
POPE WILL NOT APOLOGIZE FOR
ABUSE IN INDIGENOUS SCHOOLS
Native Leaders are Disappointed.
The Guardian, UK
March 28th, 2018
https://tinyurl.com/yaxfyppb
--
ASIAN CHRISTIANS CAN SAVE
CHRISTIANITY FROM CHRISTENDOM
UCA News,
March 28th, 2018
https://tinyurl.com/ychlj8rf
--
SOUTHERN BAPTIST LEADER RETIRES
DUE TO 'INAPPROPRIATE RELATIONSHIP'
Another Unfortunate Example of a Failed Trust
Religion News Service
March 27th, 2018
https://tinyurl.com/y892u95o
--
IN TRUMPLAND, LITTLE SEEMS TO HURT
Bad News Does Not Impact His Image
Globe and Mail
March 29th, 2018
“What a three days it had been. What a trifecta.
The “ridiculous budget situation,” the gun protests and Stormy. For bad news, kind of hard to top, you would think. Or, maybe not. Instead of a subsequent free-fall in Trump’s popularity, how about a lift?
Numerous polls to start this week showed his job approval numbers nudging up above 40 per cent, close on the approval rating for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
A CNN survey had Mr. Trump up to 43 per cent, a poll in The
Economist at 41. Politico, which had him at 42, did a sounding
board on the Stormy effect. It found that while voters tended
to believe her, the scandal wasn’t hurting Mr. Trump’s standing. Not much does. The world is upside-down.
The worse he does, the better he does.”
– Lawrence Martin
*****
WISDOM OF THE WEEK
From Sojourners and the Bruderhof
A CNN survey had Mr. Trump up to 43 per cent, a poll in The
Economist at 41. Politico, which had him at 42, did a sounding
board on the Stormy effect. It found that while voters tended
to believe her, the scandal wasn’t hurting Mr. Trump’s standing. Not much does. The world is upside-down.
The worse he does, the better he does.”
– Lawrence Martin
*****
WISDOM OF THE WEEK
From Sojourners and the Bruderhof
Because Good Friday is not about us trying to "get right with God." It is about us entering the difference between God and humanity and just touching it for a moment. Touching the shimmering sadness of humanity's insistence that we can be our own gods, that we can be pure and all-powerful.
- Nadia Bolz-Weber
--
I am rooted, but I flow.
- Virginia Woolf
--
We need to do a better job of putting ourselves
higher on our own "to-do" list.
- Michelle Obama
--
We don’t accomplish anything in this world alone ...
and whatever happens is the result of the whole tapestry
of one’s life and all the weavings of individual threads
from one to another that creates something.
- Sandra Day O’Connor
--
The image Jesus left with the world, the cross, the most
common image in the Christian religion, is proof that God
cares about our suffering and pain. He died of it. Today
the image is coated with gold and worn around the necks
of beautiful girls, a symbol of how far we can stray from
the reality of history. But it stands, unique among all
religions of the world. Many of them have gods.
But only one has a God who cared enough to become
a man and to die.
- Philip Yancey
--
One must learn to make the transition from “let this cup
pass from me” to “nevertheless, not my will, but thy will
be done.” And God grant that as you face life with all of
its decision – as you face the bitter cup which you will
inevitably face from day to day – God grant that you will
learn this one thing and that is to make the transition from
“this cup” to “nevertheless”.…This, you see, is the thing
that determines whether you go through life devoted to
an eternal cause or whether you go through life depending
on your own finite answers, which really turn out to be no
answers. This is the thing that determines whether you
can rise out of your egocentric predicament to devotion
to a higher cause.
This is what Jesus was able to do and this is the lesson
that he presents to us today.
- Martin Luther King Jr.
--
If we are honest, we have to say that we cannot reach
the goal. We cannot become what we ought to become,
true men and women. Many let the matter rest there;
they confess it, but take no action. They make themselves
satisfied with half because they cannot have the whole.
God demands all, not just half. And this “all” we are not
capable of giving. What is impossible for us is what God
wants – all love to him and to our fellow humans. If this is
true, it would seem that we can have no good conscience,
no trusting relationship with God, no inner peace, and no
freedom of the soul. But God has in his mercy shown us
different way. “You cannot come up to me, so I will come
down to you.” And God descends to us human beings.
This act of becoming one of us begins at Christmas and
ends on Good Friday.
- Emil Brunner
The heart is stretched through suffering, and enlarged.
But O the agony of this enlarging of the heart, that one
may be prepared to enter into the anguish of others!…
The cross as dogma is painless speculation; the cross
as lived suffering is anguish and glory. Yet God, out of
the pattern of his own heart, has planted the cross along
the road of holy obedience. And he enacts in the hearts
of those he loves the miracle of willingness to welcome
suffering and to know it for what it is – the final seal of
his gracious love.
- Thomas R. Kelly
*****
MOMENT IN TIME
Globe and Mail,
March 28th, 2018
THE BIG BANG THEORY IS COINED
March 28, 1949: Unlike most of the world, much of the
scientific community in the early 20th century subscribed
to the static infinite or steady state theories, which hold
that the universe has neither a beginning nor an end.
But in 1927, Belgian priest and astronomer George
Lemaître proposed that the universe came into being
at some point – what he called the “hypothesis of the
primeval atom” – and is expanding. The idea was
initially rejected, but later accepted by Albert Einstein,
who had developed the static infinite theory to
accommodate certain elements of his general theory of
relativity.
Two decades later, astronomer Fred Hoyle, a
proponent of the steady state theory, referred to
Lemaître’s idea – perhaps derisively – as the
“Big Bang” theory on a BBC radio show. He later
said many scientists liked the idea because “it is
deep within the psyche of most scientists to in the
first page of Genesis.” In fact, Pope Pius XII later
said Lemaître’s theory confirmed Catholic teachings
about creation, but both Lemaître and the Pope’s
own scientific adviser told the pontiff not to conflate
the scientific theory with the story in the Bible.
The Pope agreed, of course, obviously aware that
St. Augustine had also cautioned his fellow Christians,
15 centuries earlier, reading the allegories of the
Bible as scientific facts.
– Massimo Commanducci
(end)
*****
For Those Interested -
ST. DAVID'S ACTS MONDAY NIGHT WINTER STUDY
A Ten Week Series January 22nd - March 26th, 2018
Monday Evenings, TM Room 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Monday Evenings, TM Room 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
NOT IN GOD'S NAME - Confronting Religious Violence
Author: Rabbi Jonathan Sacks
Registration/Hospitality and Book: $60.00.
Book only: $20.00
Registration/Hospitality and Book: $60.00.
Book only: $20.00
42 copies of the book have been secured and all
have been sold. 35 persons have registered for the
course. Others are reading it alone or in another
small study group.
This series is already going well with strong,
enthusiastic attendances.
Read my background information on this study
http://cep.anglican.ca/not-in-gods-name/
This study introduces our 50th book!
This series has been completed.
This study introduces our 50th book!
This series has been completed.
--
During the 2016-2017 two session-term there were
class registrations of 70 and total books sold: 78
2017 was our best year ever, since we began in 1998!
class registrations of 70 and total books sold: 78
2017 was our best year ever, since we began in 1998!
ST. DAVID'S ACTS THURSDAY MORNING BIBLE STUDY
Ten Sessions January 18th - March 29th, 2018
Thursday morning sessions 10-11 AM
This term we are studying:
THE GOSPEL OF MARY MAGDALENE
(in the Four Gospels and in several non-canonical texts)
Check out a good BBC video on Mary Magdalene
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-jx8I49D3k&sns=em
Gathering at 9:30 AM in the St. David's TM Room.
(in the Four Gospels and in several non-canonical texts)
Check out a good BBC video on Mary Magdalene
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-jx8I49D3k&sns=em
Gathering at 9:30 AM in the St. David's TM Room.
No charge
15 persons make up our study group.
15 persons make up our study group.
The series has been completed.
Study resource -
Study resource -
"The DK Complete Bible Handbook"
Edited by John Bowker
Edited by John Bowker
ST. DAVID'S SPIRITUAL TRAVELERS EVENT, 2017
South Africa was our destination! We planned a nineteen-
day tour that combined a focus on spirituality, social
justice, culture, and nature, and it ran October 21st
thru November 8th.
A beautiful brochure with trip cost, itinerary, and
many helpful travel hints was published.
http://tinyurl.com/hucsaf7
Twenty-five persons registered and paid in full to
take the trip. This was our tour group.
All together, thirty-two persons made deposits
but some had to withdraw for health or other
reasons.
We have activated a South Africa Spiritual Travelers
discussion list group to and used it to build community
amongst the participants, and to share news and
resources.
We reported our experiences to St. David's congregation
as a travel group reflection during the worship service Sunday, January 14th, 2018. For information click Rostad Tours:
day tour that combined a focus on spirituality, social
justice, culture, and nature, and it ran October 21st
thru November 8th.
A beautiful brochure with trip cost, itinerary, and
many helpful travel hints was published.
http://tinyurl.com/hucsaf7
Twenty-five persons registered and paid in full to
take the trip. This was our tour group.
All together, thirty-two persons made deposits
but some had to withdraw for health or other
reasons.
We have activated a South Africa Spiritual Travelers
discussion list group to and used it to build community
amongst the participants, and to share news and
resources.
We reported our experiences to St. David's congregation
as a travel group reflection during the worship service Sunday, January 14th, 2018. For information click Rostad Tours:
http://tinyurl.com/hucsaf7
This marks the end of our South African travel project.
We are about to start asking people "Where do we travel next?"
***
Lenten Notice:
ANNUAL ST. DAVID'S LENTEN RETREAT
AT MT. ST. FRANCIS, COCHRANE
Sunday, March 4th, 2018. 11:30 AM - 4:00PM
Theme: "Encountering a Sacred Intimacy With God"
Spiritual Director: Susan Campbell
This event drew 22 registrants and was much appreciated.
We will continue this worthwhile event next Lent.
https://tinyurl.com/ybyvgegu
*****
This marks the end of our South African travel project.
We are about to start asking people "Where do we travel next?"
***
Lenten Notice:
ANNUAL ST. DAVID'S LENTEN RETREAT
AT MT. ST. FRANCIS, COCHRANE
Sunday, March 4th, 2018. 11:30 AM - 4:00PM
Theme: "Encountering a Sacred Intimacy With God"
Spiritual Director: Susan Campbell
This event drew 22 registrants and was much appreciated.
We will continue this worthwhile event next Lent.
https://tinyurl.com/ybyvgegu
*****
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