AI and the Sermon Revisited

About two years ago I wrote a piece on the use of Artificial Intelligence in sermons by preachers.  It was published in the Huron Church News, our diocesan publication, under the title, AI and the Preacher: A stranger in the strange land.  It can be found at https://diohuron.org/news/ai-and-the-preacher-a-stranger-in-the-strange-land.

A few days ago, I was contacted by Matthew Puddister, the editor of the Anglican Journal, the national publication of the Anglican Church of Canada.  He is researching an article on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to write sermons and wanted to interview me for the article.  As a result, I reread the piece that I wrote and reflected on my thoughts and feelings about this issue. 

Two years is a long time in the world of the internet and particularly the world of AI.  At the time of writing the article, I had just started to experiment with AI, using ChatGPT, so it was a brave new world which I was just beginning to explore.  The bottom line for me in my piece was that AI was opening many possibilities for preachers which had great potential to be used and misused.  It provides a too easy way for a busy or even a lazy preacher to turn to for a sermon.  As I noted in the article, “Perhaps if Jesus was to be tempted by Satan today, this would be one of the temptations.” 

Well, what is the situation now two years later – an eternity in AI terms?  It is worming its way into many if not most aspects of our lives.  It is beginning to be used for many occupations and used for many of the tasks which It can do much more efficiently and effectively than humans.  The impact on education is far reaching and an immense challenge to educators.  It is leading to a new industrial revolution at speeds even the most imaginative science fiction writer would have had difficulty imagining. 

With all that, what is happening in the area of preaching and sermon preparation?  Well, I have no doubt it has taken up the place as an integral part of the toolbox of many preachers.  It is something which is too good to be ignored by many preachers.  With that said, how and to what extent should it be used in this sacred endeavor?  Reflecting on this after the incentive of the interview with Matthew Puddister, I am confirmed in my belief that it needs to be used in an ethical manner as would any resource which a preacher might use.  Resources such as biblical commentaries, concordances, dictionaries of biblical terms, which are now available on-line have been and are common resources in sermon preparation.  Publications of sermons by famous or infamous theologians have been available before the development of the printing press.  AI is just another tool which can be used.  However, it needs to be used with caution as AI is apparently known for creating facts and sources.  When such source material is used, it needs to be cited as the source as part of the sermon material. 

Are there any circumstances in which a preacher should use AI to write a sermon?  I won’t say never – rather perhaps hardly ever in my opinion.  There may be circumstances where a preacher has been overwhelmed by other duties – of which a parish priest or minister has many – and there has been literally no time to prepare a sermon.  If AI is used to write the sermon, this should be acknowledged by the preacher.  One downside to this is if this happens too frequently, the preacher runs the risk  of the congregation preferring the AI sermon to the sermons of the preacher (only partially joking). 

The temptation is that AI is so easy to use that it can become the fall-back position and an easy out if the preacher is not feeling particularly creative or inspired and thinks, well, what is the harm as I need to have something inspiring to say to the people in the pews (if the church still uses pews).  However, the sermon needs to be considered a sacred privilege and opportunity to proclaim the word.  The preacher has the responsibility to share his or her understanding of what the scripture is saying with those who hear it.  Using AI may short circuit this and not allow the Word of Holy Scripture to inspire the preacher and to be proclaimed.  The sermon is a sacred opportunity to do just that.  It is too easy for it to be something which is assembled and manufactured. 

In effect, as with many things, we have a spectrum of possibilities.  At one end of that spectrum, we have the, no AI ever position.  Matthew Puddister, in our conversation, mentioned the pledge that is being offered to preachers, The Saint Dunstan Pledge, in which the signatory pledges not to use AI in any way in sermon prep.  I had not heard of this and was able to find the details of it very easily with an AI Google search (score one for AI).  Here is the St. Dunstan Pledge according to AI:

"At no point in the brainstorming, planning, drafting, or writing of my sermons will I use ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot, Gemini, or any other generative AI of any type available to me. I will use my own words. I will quote words written or spoken by other people, not produced by generative AI.”

The other extreme would be to use AI without limitation and without citation.  I believe that in the good Anglican tradition most of us will come down somewhere along that spectrum probably tending to be somewhere in the less  well defined middle.  We can always meet to discuss it as Anglicans are well known for doing.    

It is my hope and prayer that preachers and all Anglicans can seek to be open to the Holy Spirit and be inspired when attempting to discern where the Holy Spirit is leading us today and in the challenging days ahead.  The article is planned to be available in the November edition of the Anglican Journal.  I look forward with anticipation to reading it. 

If Trump Really Is My Neighbour, What Should I do?

Last Sunday, the Gospel reading was the parable of the Good Samaritan.  I am sure that you know the parable of Jesus where it is the despised Samaritan is the one who saves the traveller who is mugged on his journey ‘from Jerusalem to Jerico and fell among robbers who beat him and left him to die’ – to use the lyrics of the Medical Mission song, ‘Who is My Neighbour’. 

 

This opportunity for Jesus to tell the parable occurred when a lawyer tries to entrap him by asking him the question.  Jesus is confronted by the person who is a trained expert in the law of Moses. The "Lawyer" as the scripture calls him, isn't interested in learning about eternal life from Jesus at all. He hoped to use the law to set Jesus up. He figures this carpenter - from Nazareth no less - will make a fool of himself and possibly even incriminate himself by attempting to answer such a weighty question as... "What do I have to do to go to heaven?"

 

Jesus turns the lawyer’s technique back on him.  He responds to the question with a question.  Jesus lays a trap for him just as the lawyer attempted to do to Jesus.  Jesus plays to his pride and ego.  The lawyer responds, as it is an opportunity to show his knowledge of the law but not his wisdom. His answer in part quotes Deut. 6:5 along with Lev. 19:18 "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself."  Jesus’ answer could have ended the encounter, “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.”  However, the lawyer being true to who he is, does not let it go – he cannot.  I believe that he does just what Jesus expects him to do.  He tries again to entrap Jesus - to show him up - to show those around him that he knows the law better than Jesus does.

 

This arrogance allows Jesus to draw him into Jesus’ world, away from legalism – legalistic interpretation of religion, that Jesus tries to show so many times and in so many ways, is not the way to understand God’s law.  In choosing the hero of the Good Samaritan parable, Jesus is setting a trap for all of us.  The Samaritans were neighbours and relations of the Jews.  They were sort of the black sheep of the family.  They were like someone who claims to be a cousin and is an embarrassment to the family. In Jewish eyes, Samaritans were half-breeds, ethnic traitors, and all-round black sheep of the Jews.

 

A Samaritan was not someone that they would expect to behave like an observant Jew who is called to treat others with charity.  Therefore, the lawyer cannot escape from the conclusion that Jesus forces him into. 

He cannot use his legal maneuvering to give an acceptable answer - acceptable in the eyes of his legalism.  It is the outcast that has acted as the neighbour.  It is the outcast that has fulfilled the law.  And here we come back to our response to the passage.  The plain sense of the text does not let us avoid Jesus’ message.  Jesus does not tell us that we must love our neighbour if that person is loveable and is someone we want to have as a neighbour.  We are to love the neighbour regardless of who he is.  He is the one who we would not normally associate with – whoever that is.   

 

So, today we Christians in Canada are faced with a rather awkward situation regarding our neighbour to the south.  There is no way that we can consider the leader of our closest neighbour, Donald J. Trump, to be a good neighbour.  So, can we ignore the lesson in the Good Samaritan Parable, and, as the commandment requires us, love our neighbour as ourselves?    Not loving my neighbour as myself because my neighbours are not particularly loveable is not fulfilling what Jesus requires of us.  We are to love the neighbour – I won’t say because he is unlovable but whether or not he is loveable. 

 

But, come on!  How can a Canadian love Donald Trump?  It really doesn’t seem possible.  But that is what we Canadian Christians and all Christians are required to do.  What then does it mean to love Donald J. Trump as a neighbour.  Well. I think it means that we don’t allow him to bully us.  We are not doing anything loving, to allow a bully, to bully us or others.  It is not good for either the bully or the bullied.  To allow the bully to continue to bully is to enable him or her to continue to damage his immortal soul.  We hear that friends don’t let friends drive drunk.  In that vein, friends don’t let friends bully friends or anyone else.    

 

So. Let us do all in our power to stand up to Trump as an act of love.  As they say, love is stronger than hate. 

 

 

Journey Into old Age (part 5)

 

Last time, I offered the fourth part of the workshop based on the work of Helen Luke in her study of the journey into old age which draws on a number of classic stories.  Luke’s writing on this subject is found in her book – Old Age; Journey Into Simplicity.  Here is the fifth and final part of that material.

 

      I.          The Story: Odysseus is now informed that he must make sacrifices to Poseidon - the god he had offended in earlier years.  The three-fold sacrifice of ram, bull and breeding boar is his alone to find and fulfil.  This seemingly impossible task is made all the more impossible by the fact he must only use a rope to accomplish it.  This was in truth no surprise to our hero as it had all been foretold so long ago by the blind seer Teiresias.  For this fate had been truly forged in Odysseus’ pride filled ambition. 

The three sacrifices are made.  The god is appeased, enmity is ended and honour is thus restored.  Thus, the chasm between man and god - between ego and psyche is mended.  Odysseus place in the cosmos is thus set aright.   Odysseus then returned to where his journey had begun.  However, as has been said it was not the home he left because you can’t go to the home.  He has now fulfilled the life of the hero.  Domestic and divine were there united as the gods had after all ordained. 

The journey of growing old must be marked by sacrifices of those qualities that were forged in our pride and ambition of youth.  We must now as we grow into Old Age see with humility the follies and frailties of youth.  We must by these sacrifices appease the gods which we have dishonoured in the youthful follies.

 Exercise: Identify a god that you have offended in your youth e.g. this could be a value such as truth, honesty, charity etc.  Imagine what a sacrifice would be to appease that god. 

This concludes our journey into Old Age guided by Helen Luke.  I wish you blessings on your journey. 

 

 

Journey Into old Age (part 4)

 Last time, I offered the third part of the workshop based on the work of Helen Luke in her study of the journey into old age which draws on a number of classic stories.  Luke’s writing on this subject is found in her book – Old Age; Journey Into Simplicity.  Here is the final fourth part of that material.

 

III The Story: Odysseus awakes with realization of the path he must take.  He now knows the journey that he must take – a journey that is now not by water as is his want, but by land.  It is a journey he must undergo with a familiar token of his past voyages - an oar, which is now his only companion. Our hero then began this unfamiliar final journey until he came to a crossroads.   At this place he encounters a stranger who repeated words that had been prophesied so long ago.  The stranger did inquire after his well-formed oar, naming it as it was first so long ago – a winnowing fan.

 

Odysseus now is given the clarity vision to see the folly of his former years.  With eyes now clear and sight now freed he looked to what lay ahead and not behind.  His heart’s yearning was to go home.  However, he knew and the stranger’s words confirmed that would only lead folly to follow folly.  He must now face his fate so that he would not condemn his son to follow him in folly renewed.  

 

The stranger continues to tell Odysseus of the effect that oar - now winnowing fan will have on those that see it.  With the taste of that apple, they will be awakened to the possibilities they were not previously conscious of.  And so, a journey now beckons and begins.  Odysseus now plants the oar at the centre of the crossroad.  There it will grow as if alive - for so it is.  Its root will seek the depths of Hades – the Unconscious - and its new-formed branches – now sprouting leaves will reach the heavens.  This axis mundi will bear the fruit of Odysseus’ life work.  And there a carne was laid to mark this monument.    

 

 

Here the symbol of his former life – the oar which cut the water and propelled him through the hero’s journey of his youth – has now taken on a new symbolic meaning – a winnowing fan.  The winnowing fan that separates the wheat from the chaff will enable us to see clearly and differentiate the wheat, which provides the bread of heaven to nourish our souls from the chaff, which feeds our egos with empty calories.

 

The journey of growing old is one of increasing humility - where we see clearly the folly of youth - the striving and the conquests that youth is inevitably err to.  Will we give in to the temptation to hold onto the dream of recapturing our fading youth or will we seek the new way in which our oars will become winnowing fans. Again we face a challenge – to plant the oar of our last journey in a new land that will grow as we continue to explore the new land of our growing old.

 

Exercise: Identify an aspect of your youth - a symbol which propelled you through your journey in life. How can that symbol be transformed into a new symbol for your journey into Old Age? 

 

I will complete our journey with the final part of the material next time.  Blessings on your journey.

Journey Into old Age (part 3)

Last time, I offered the second part of the workshop based on the work of Helen Luke in her study of the journey into old age which draws on a number of classic stories.  Luke’s writing on this subject is found in her book – Old Age; Journey Into Simplicity.  Here is the third part of that material.

 II The story: Odysseus now recalls the words of Teiresias spoken so long ago.  With those words he recalled the folly and fate that youth had brought.  He recalled the prideful blindness his seeing eyes could not reveal.  In those words, consciousness came and with it the knowledge of the consequences they now bring.

 One of the marks of Growing Old is to begin the journey in humility.  To be truly humble is to see clearly as has been noted elsewhere.  We see our lives for what they are, the folly that we have embraced, the mistakes we have made, out of blindness and willfulness, the hurt we have caused others, and the hurt we perceive others have caused us. 

Exercise: How has humility, i.e. seeing your life clearly enabled you to appreciate this as a temptation? What does it mean for you to be humble?  Describe how you see yourself with clarity that you didn’t see at the age of 20, 30, 40, or 50. Identify a temptation that you experience at this point in your life that would feed your ego rather than enabling you to grow old.   

 I will continue with the next part of the material next time.  Blessings on your journey.

 

Journey Into Old Age (Part 2)

Last time, I offered the first part of the workshop based on the work of Helen Luke in her study of the journey into old age which draws on a number of classic stories.  Luke’s writing on this subject is found in her book – Old Age; Journey Into Simplicity.  Here is the second part of that material. 

Section 2 

In this section we will examine Helen Luke’s imagined epilogue to Homer’s Odyssey.  The epilogue was introduced by Homer in the middle of the story but never fulfilled.   Let us explore the final journey of Odysseus, which is his journey into Old Age.  I have summarized Helen Luke’s story and provided commentary on the different sections.   

I. The story: The peace and order ordained by Zeus has now been established for our hero Odysseus.  His reunion with Penelope long delayed is now enjoyed.  The hero watches his son gain manhood as Odysseus had these many years before.

Within Odysseus, rested but no longer at peace, restlessness stirs.  He yearns once more for the sea voyages of his years gone by where he once more would be the hero of years long gone.  Our hero falls into a sleep, which reveals to him a different journey now unleashed by forces stirring within him. 

The seer long absent to his waking life is now present once more.  Teiresias will reveal that fate, which has always been there waiting to be revealed.  The destiny revealed is no longer one of youth waiting to be lived out.  Rather it is one of completion to be fulfilled.

Teiresias reveals the journey that Odysseus now must make.  It is a journey unlike the others Odysseus embraced with joy and anticipation in his youth.  This journey will be by land not by sea.  It is his final journey he must now embark upon in his maturity.  It is a hero’s journey to be sure but not one for loot or conquest or glory.  Rather it is one of sacrifice and repentance.  

Teiresias, the wise old man, had appeared to Odysseus and revealed the journey that awaits him if he chooses.   This journey in his maturity will be unlike the one that he made as the hero in his youthful pride and exuberance.  It will be a journey by land and not the familiar sea, which he embraced, in earlier days.  

This different journey reveals the challenge of old age – particularly in our culture of eternal youth in which youth is prized and old age is devalued and ignored. The journey so tempting to our Ego will be one, “tempting us towards repetition of our life’s triumph, tempting us toward wreckage and the inferno, the other coaxing us towards the true journey of the soul that has lived long and well, and must turn away from mere continuation of accustomed efforts to new significant, perhaps painful, soul-journeys.” (Old Age viii)

Exercise: Imagine what it would mean for you to ‘Grow Old’ rather than succumbing into the aging process.  How will this journey be different from the journey of your youth?

 I will continue with the next part of the material next time  Blessings on you journey.

Journey Into Old Age

With all the hype about the latest phenomenon at the movie box office – the retelling of the story of the Odyssey – I went back to look again at a workshop that I had developed which involved the story of Odysseus.  The workshop is based on the work of Helen Luke in her study of the journey into old age which draws on a number of classic stories.  Luke’s writing on this subject is found in her book – Old Age; Journey Into Simplicity.  I would like to share the workshop material with you.  The material is too lengthy for this venue, so, over the next three week I will share one of the three sections of the material which deals with Odyseus’ journey into old age. 

Introduction

 

I shall say no more except that I already told you many years ago of the alternative journey you are now called to take – a journey which does indeed lie on the slopes of that mountain but holds no fame or glory for you; only loneliness and sadness.  The choice is yours.  Will you deceive yourself as Dante’s Ulysses did in a sin far worse than the deceit of the Trojan horse? (Old Age 12)

 

These words of the poet Teiresias, the blind poet, imagined by Helen Luke, to Odysseus resting from his toils and trials of youth, sum up the choice which all of us must make when we face the journey into old age.  Are we truly to continue ‘grow old’; to continue to grow in psychic maturity or will we simply succumb to the aging process – sinking perhaps not gently into that perceived not so sweet night fighting that inevitable journey every step of the way.

 

Helen Luke examines this journey as presented in some of the great heroes of literature who made that journey of growth rather than relentlessly sinking into old age.  In Old Age, Journey into Simplicity, Helen Luke examines the hero’s journey into Old Age presented in essays on classical works; The Odyssey by Homer, The Tempest and King Lear by Shakespeare, and Little Gidding by T.S. Elliot.  I will draw on two of these works for this workshop; The Odyssey and Little Gidding.

 

Section 1

 

Let us begin our exploration of old age as a state that we are approaching or have reached by first looking at Eliot’s thoughts on the subject.  Helen Luke identifies three ‘gifts reserved for age’ which Eliot has revealed (92):

 

First, changes which take place in our bodies, as our bodies age into maturity.  These can be sudden changes due to a loss of physical health.  Our bodies may begin to betray us.  We can no longer do as much or do things as well as we once could.  However, often it is a gradual lessening of energy in its different forms, which comes to us through the senses.  Our sight becomes dimmer and we need glasses for reading.  Our hearing becomes less acute, and we may need hearing aids to comprehend what people are saying to us.  Our taste, smell and even touch become dull as do those other things that give us pleasure.  What lies ahead is the prospect of an ever-diminishing horizon of the physical world. The ego depends on imaginings of future achievements.  We of necessity turn to the present moment for our satisfaction.  As Luke notes, the Self lives in and for the present.

 

Second, the helpless rage at the folly of people and the laughter at things in which there is no humour.  We see the folly of those in political power whose only concern is reelection and the things which will ensure that.  We see the arrogance and greed of business leaders and politicians who are enthralled to the acquisition of money and power.  We see idealism turn into intolerance.  Growing Old gives us the opportunity to find the place beyond rage, which is true compassion, and joy in all creation. 

 

Third, there is the gift of memories.  As we grow old, we are able to see the past with true humility and see what were once triumphs of the ego at the expense of others.  As Luke says, “the hypocrisy of the ego always at bottom (is) concerned with its own merit and comfort, and most dangerously of all, its own spiritual merit. 

 

Exercise: select one of these gifts which resonates with you most at this time.  Do you see this as a gift or as something less positive?  Has your understanding and perception of this gift changed in your life? 

 

I will continue with this theme next week. 

 

 

If at First You Don’t succeed – Perhaps You Shouldn’t Try Harder

The commandments of Jesus seem to be more than Christians could ask or imagine - not in a good way but, rather, they seem impossible.  Here is a summary of what is it that we must be and do?  Very simply:

• Love our enemies
• Bless them that curse you
• Pray for those who are spiteful to you
• Turn the other cheek if someone strikes you cheek
• Someone steals from you – give them something more to take
• Give to everyone who asks you

Here is a quote by G. K Chesterton that wonderful English writer, which is very applicable to this, “Christianity has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and not tried.”

However, rather than becoming overwhelmed by the thought of trying to follow these commandments, we can turn, instead the beatitudes which can be considered alternative or, as Richard Rhor puts it, paradoxical commandments:

The Beatitudes are paradoxical “commandments.” They don’t tell Christians what to do; they tell them what they will be like if they are living in the kingdom: They will be poor in spirit, pure in heart, merciful and gentle peacemakers; they will thirst for what is right and be persecuted because of it, and they will mourn.

Lutheran priest and author Nadia Bolz-Weber offers her own version of beatitudes for people who may not feel blessed today.  what if the Beatitudes aren’t about a list of conditions we should try to meet to be blessed? What if they are not virtues, we should aspire to?... Maybe the Sermon on the Mount is all about Jesus’s lavish blessing of the people around him on that hillside … who that world—like ours—didn’t seem to have much time for: people in pain, people who work for peace instead of profit, people who exercise mercy instead of vengeance:

Blessed are the poor in spirit. You are of heaven and Jesus blesses you.

Blessed are they for whom death is not an abstraction.

Blessed are they who have buried their loved ones, for whom tears could fill an ocean.

Blessed are they who have loved enough to know what loss feels like.

Blessed are the mothers of the miscarried.

Blessed are they who don’t have the luxury of taking things for granted anymore.

Blessed are they who can’t fall apart because they have to keep it together for everyone else.

Blessed are the motherless, the alone, the ones from whom so much has been taken….

Blessed are those who no one else notices. The kids who sit alone at middle-school lunch tables. The laundry guys at the hospital. The sex workers and the night-shift street sweepers.

Blessed are the losers and the babies and the parts of ourselves that are so small, the parts of ourselves that don’t want to make eye contact with a world that loves only the winners.

Blessed are the forgotten.

Blessed are the closeted.

Blessed are the unemployed, the unimpressive, the underrepresented….

With that thought, I wish you blessings this day and every day.

 

Responding to Disaster part 2

Last week I introduced a summary of an address from a few years ago.  It was given by Rev. Dr. Lizette Larson-Miller, Professor of Liturgy at Huron University College.  Larson -Miller was the keynote speaker at the 2018 National Anglican and Lutheran Worship Conference.  As the “leader of the free world” has more than two years remaining in his term in the country directly south of us, a term which is defined by disasters, I believe that it is worthwhile offering this today.   Here is the conclusion of the summary of the address. 

At times, what is needed after disaster is a time of healing. However, Larson-Miller warned, “there’s a huge difference between Christian healing and ‘curing.’” While curing addresses symptoms, she said, healing is “always about wholeness”—mental, emotional, physical and spiritual.

Larson-Miller cautioned against blurring the lines between pastoral counselling and therapy. “Therapy, of course works towards diagnoses and treatment to solve [a] problem; prayer is not, first and foremost, problem solving…Therapeutic counselling is a separate field. Training in pastoral care does not automatically include expertise in psychiatry or psychology,” she said.

As Christians, she said, “What we have to give…is our presence, our time, our listening with the ear of our heart, the naming of the sorrow or the violence, praying to God for those who hurt, sacramental ministry and referral to other experts when that is needed.”

During a time of worship before the plenary session, conference attendees prayed through lighting candles and other activities. “Not all prayer is verbal,” Larson-Miller said.

One of the reasons theology can often be sidelined when responding to a tragedy is a reticence to talk about sin, said Larson-Miller.

Larson-Miller challenged conference attendees to identify and name the sins that lead to disaster. “The ancient tradition of the church of Christianity…is to talk about the solidarity of the suffering of Christ with the suffering of those who have been sinned against…who have been caught up into disaster.”

As an example, she led an ELCA prayer that names racism as a sin with tragic consequences.

“You can see, actually, the theological movement,” she said of the prayer, which begins by calling on God to forgive sins of racism and ends with asking God to “Empower us to speak boldly for justice and truth and help us to deal with one another without hatred or bitterness.”

Responses should still vary by context, Larson-Miller said. “Public rites of penance may be what’s called for. Sometimes…patience is called for. Sometimes claiming personal responsibility is what’s called for. Sometimes naming complacency in sin is called for.”

She also challenged churches to name “not just the evil we’ve done directly, but what’s been done in our name.” Like sin, evil has “fallen out of polite conversation,” Larson-Miller said, “But it is in the centre of many disasters to which we respond.” As an example of this complacency, Larson-Miller played a video showing the dire working conditions in mines where cobalt is extracted for use in smartphones.

Larson-Miller also reflected on a recent trip to visit the Swampy Cree in northwestern Manitoba. In a community plagued by suicide, poverty and violence, Larson-Miller was struck by how Indigenous Anglicans responded to these disasters. “I think one of the things that I learned, I’m still processing, is the hope that in all of this, it is God who gives us the ultimate victory over death, over suffering, over tragedies.”

A gospel jamboree, which Larson-Miller described as “not unlike an extended wake,” featuring songs, silence and testimony, is one response used by the Swampy Cree, which is intended to help heal the community. Another is a “Walk to Remember,” a “stational liturgy of mourning” in which sites of violence or suffering are visited. At each place, Scripture and prayers are read and Holy water is used. “Each place is restored, and in each place, evil is banished,” said Larson-Miller.

“Walking and praying and extolling God. It seems like a perfect response—a perfect Christian response—to disaster.”

At the root of all responses, Larson-Miller said, is “our hope in Christ.” All Christian liturgy must point to hope in God, “trust and faith, embedded in the love of God.

“This is not the same as resolving everything into a neat package…we often have trouble leaving things open. But the worship of God is always an acknowledgment of God as God; God with us, in whom we rest.”

May God be with us and walk beside us not only in times of disaster but also every day. 

 

Responding to Disaster part 1

After another deep dive into my files, I discovered this summary I wrote of an address from a few years ago.  It was given by Rev. Dr. Lizette Larson-Miller, Professor of Liturgy at Huron University College.  Larson -Miller was the keynote speaker at 2018 National Anglican and Lutheran Worship Conference.  As the “leader of the free world” has more than two years remaining in his term in the country directly south of us, a term which is defined by disasters, I believe that it is worthwhile offering this today.   I am dividing this into two parts because of its length.  I will share the second part next week. 

After a disaster, Christians fall back on their faith, which Larson-Miller said is the key to offering a response that aims not simply to comfort but to confront those fundamental questions about why disasters happen and how to deal with them. “Rather than beginning with a collection of created rituals,” she said, “we need to start with asking ourselves…what do we know of God?”

During the session, Larson-Miller offered several examples of prayers and litanies that demonstrated a theological depth, including a prayer for a hurricane from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) collection of prayers and a version of the Great Litany from the online Anglican Church of Canada resources (Book of Alternative Services).

“When creating worship rituals, it’s important to know who will be gathering,” said Larson-Miller.  “Not everybody prays with words, especially words printed on a page,” she said. “If you’ve got many languages, they’re not going to be able to read them. If you’ve got kids under the age of five, they’re not going to be able to read them. If you have people who can’t see well, they can’t read them. Not all prayer is verbal.”

In these instances, she suggested, the repetition of a litany may be a helpful tool.

Similarly, Larson-Miller asked attendees to consider the ways in which people outside an immediate church community can be incorporated into the church’s spaces and rituals.

“How is liminal space created so that those who do not ‘go to church’ can enter, to a certain degree?” she asked.  Larson-Miller cited as an example a church in a suburb of Los Angeles, Calif., that has the largest Armenian population outside of Armenia. Inside the church, an area with Armenian icons has been set up in the narthex. “The Armenians will come to the narthex and light candles and pray, but don’t always go all the way in,” said Larson-Miller. In addition to this, the church was gifted a statue of Jesus carrying the cross, which they have installed outside.

The church’s Armenian neighbours, Larson-Miller said, “come with a bucket of water, and they wash Jesus’ face…That image of the suffering Christ is, for them, where the kind of liturgical response to disasters begins. Often it never goes inside the church. It stays there, with the washing of Jesus’ face.”

In addition to considering who is gathering, it is important to consider the purpose of the gathering, she also said. “Is it to lament and to grieve together? Is it to comfort in solidarity? Is it to name what has happened and to who?”

 The purpose may also be to “repent and commit to transformation,” Larson-Miller added, noting that liturgy can lead to a political response. “Another way to ask this question: what is the purpose of the ritual liturgy? Where are we going with this—what is the desired ethical response?”

This is a good place to stop for this edition.  There is much here that is food for deep consideration and pondering. 

 

All this and More - So You Want to be a Parish Priest

I was going through some old files a while ago and came across a document; Ministry Description, Priest/Rector.  This was a job description of what is expected for a parish priest in the Anglican Church which was provided for me when I became a full-time parish priest some years ago. 

There is a very old joke about clergy only having to work an hour once a week i.e. Sundays.  This job description buried that canard.  Here is a summary which, I hope, will give you a general idea of all the things expected of someone who assumes the role of parish priest.  There are ten areas of responsibilities giving a summary of each one.

1.    Pastoral Ministry – pastoral care/visitation of the sick; marriage, baptism and confirmation preparation, pastoral counselling.

2.    Worship – preparation for worship services including sermons, hymn selection, children’s focus, maintain prayer lists, bulletin preparation; lead worship in long term care facilities.

3.    Parish Education – provide for families preparing for baptism, confirmation, funerals; provide seasonal education programs e.g. Lenten and Advent; lead bible study.

4.    Parish Administration – participate in preparation of parish budgets; manage parish office, lead council meetings; chair vestry meetings.

5.    Encourage Lay Leadership – identify, train, equip and commission lay leaders within the parish.

6.    Spiritual Guidance – provide spiritual counselling to individuals and groups,

7.    Ministry Beyond the Parish – involvement in Diocesan meeting and groups; attend Synod (annual Diocesan meeting).

8.    Community Involvement – attend community clergy meetings; lead/participate in ecumenical community services; serve as Legion Chaplain.

9.    Continuing Education – attend clergy conferences; participate in Diocesan clergy days; undertake continuing education.

10.   Spiritual Development – annual retreats; meet with Spiritual Director; maintain regular prayer life; regular study of scripture.

The call to priesthood is sometimes summarized under the categories of priest, pastor and prophet.  However, as you can see for this it involves a lot more than fits into those three categories.  The challenge, as I see it, is that the parish priest is called to be all things for his/her parish.  This is particularly true in small and medium sized parishes where there is only one priest.  It would be an executional person who could do all these things well, or perhaps, even adequately.   

If there are larger parishes which have a clergy team there can be clergy that have strengths in certain areas and other areas can be undertaken by other members of the team.  Most Anglican parishes are small to medium sized in Canada.  This puts the responsibility of all these areas on one person. 

Even Jesus had a group of twelve and more to undertake his ministry.  Perhaps there needs to be a recognition and acknowledgement that one person cannot do all these things well.  As a result, some areas are going to suffer.

The next time you are tempted to criticize your priest/minister, bear in mind he or she is only human and can’t perform miracles.  Praying for them is always a good idea as is seeing where you can assist in the life of a parish/congregation. 

Songs from the Tower

Recently, I have been singing and playing many of the Leonard Cohen songs that are in my repertoire.  This has brought home to me how many of the lines/phrases are truly wonderful and memorable.  Unlike many lyrics by other composers, many of Leonard’s are poetry which stand on their own, and which resonate with me, as I know it does with so many other people.  I thought I would share some of my favourite lyrics with you.

I have just been starting to learn to play Tower of Song.  There are a couple of the lyrics which are on my list:

Well, my friends are gone and my hair is grey
I ache in the places where I used to play
And I'm crazy for love but I'm not coming on
I'm just paying my rent every day in the Tower of Song

This may not be the best known of Leonard’s lyrics, but it came to mind recently as I was contemplating my stage of life.  Many friends are no longer in my life and my hair is gray – what’s left of it, and I certainly ache in places that I no longer play.  I’m not sure I’m crazy for love thank God and perhaps my rent is overdue in the Tower of Song – where I have spent countless hours of the life.

Another verse for this Tower may surprize those who don’t think a lot of Leonard’s vocal abilities:

I was born like this, I had no choice
I was born with the gift of a golden voice
And twenty-seven angels from the Great Beyond
They tied me to this table right here in the Tower of Song

Yes, Leonard’s singing is an acquired taste – it does grow on you.  On the live performance on his last tour, this verse was met with thunderous approval.  For me his voice is exactly what it should be for his songs.  They go together – hand in glove – a cliché but I don’t know a better description.

Turning to something in a different vein, there is the song Passing Through, which opens with someone watching Jesus on a cross on Calvary:

I saw Jesus on the cross on a hill called Calvary
"Do you hate mankind for what they done to you?"
He said, "Talk of love not hate, things to do, it's getting late
I've so little time and I'm only passin' through."

Leonard was not, as far as I know, a Christian being Jewish and studying Buddhism for many years.  However, he was able to draw on Christianity as a source for his lyrics as he did for so many sources of inspiration.  For me, this sums up the message of Jesus Christ and the meaning of the cross.  We should talk of love and not hate.  It is what the world needs now – love sweet love, to borrow from a song by a different composer.  We are all only passing through and it is getting late.

The next song, Coming Back to You, says a great deal about the challenges of relationships which many people have experienced:

Maybe I'm still hurting
I can't turn the other cheek
But you know that I still love you
It's just that I can't speak
I looked for you in everyone
And they called me on that too
I lived alone but I was only
Coming back to you

The last song I want to reflect on today, has, undoubtedly the most poignant and wise line of all; Leonard’s song, Anthem:

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in

I suspect, without checking with AI, that this is probably the lyric from Leonard that is most quoted.  It says so much about the human condition and the struggle and challenges that people have in becoming more fully human.  These four lines sums it up perfectly.

I could go on delving into the depths of that deep well that Lenord has shared with the world.  I invite you to drink from that well as often as you are willing and able.

Thank you, Leonard, for all your songs from that Tower you inhabited so well.  As he predicted, we are hearing from him long after he has gone to take his place with Hank Wiliams in that Tower of Song. I will give Leonard the last word, as he deserves:

Now I bid you farewell, I don't know when I'll be back
They're moving us tomorrow to that tower down the track
But you'll be hearing from me baby, long after I'm gone
I'll be speaking to you sweetly from a window in the Tower of Song.

 

Out of the Mouths of Babes

This edition might have been a review of the movie Babe, which Lorna and I watched recently.  However, I have been thinking about what children – especially young ones - can give to the world.  This came to mind when I recalled what I have determined was a wise thing I said a long time ago when I was five or six years ago.  I was with my mother in the family car, and we stopped at a store where, I guess she had to pick up a few things – I’m not sure what.  As she left, she said to me, “I will only be a minute.”  I replied without thinking, “is that one of your minutes or one of my minutes?”  I don’t remember what she replied but it did sum up my perspective on what time meant for each of us.  I don’t remember but I think it was closer to one of my minutes than hers – at least that time.

Children – especially little one – see the world in ways that adults have forgotten.  They see aspects of their world with fresh eyes.  One way is that they have a strong sense of fairness.  They know instinctively when things are not fair – or at least don’t seem to be fair from their perspective.  They may not see the larger perspective, but they still have an innate sense that the world should be fair. 

Jesus knew that children can have a way of seeing the world which has been lost by people when they ‘grow up’.  First, they represent how we should reflect the values of the Kingdom of God, "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 18:3). 

He realized that children were among those who were often excluded.  People did not realize that we are mistaken when that happens, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." (Matthew 19:14, Mark 10:14, and Luke 18:16).  Rather than excluding them, they should be welcomed and received as we would receive Jesus,” "Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me." (Matthew 18:5). 

Finally, Jesus warns against the mistreatment of children.  It is our duty as individuals and society to protect them, "If anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea ( Matthew 18:6, Mark 9:42, Luke 17:2). 

As is often the case, Jesus reminds us that all are welcome in the Kingdom.  Those excluded by society – those on the margins, as well as children, can reflect more of the Kingdom than those of us who have received their reward in this world.  Remember that Jesus chose to be in this world first as a child – a helpless baby in fact.  That says it all.

Perhaps we should all attempt to reawake our inner child from time to time.  It could get us closer to God’s intention for us.

If You Got it – a Truck Brought It

We have successfully made our annual trek to our cottage in Prince Edward Island.  Travelling by car the 1800 km brought home the paradox of dealing with transport trucks on today's highways.  There were, at various stages of the journey, many trucks which somewhat reluctantly shared the road with us.  The paradox comes in that dealing with trucks while driving a smaller vehicle – that is most vehicles, is not generally a positive experience.  However, trucks and the cargo they carry are essential to the modern economy. 

Reflecting on our experience of sharing the roads with trucks, I mounted the way-back- machine and to my former life when I worked in truckin8 policy for the Ontario Ministry of Transportation.  A part of the job was to help educate the public on the value of trucking to our economy.  One of the slogans that was developed by the Ontario Trucking Association to help promote the importance of trucking was, ‘IF You Got it, a Truck Brought it.’  In effect, this statement summarized the reality that the things we use in today’s economy, at some point in its life, are moved by truck.  There may be some very minor variations to this but for the vast majority of things this is the truth.  This was true more than thirty years ago and it is even more so today.

The number of transport trucks that we encountered on our journey east gave a lie to the moribund picture of the Canadian economy which is apparently in ‘a technical recession’.  The number of trucks moving on hwy 401 and the TransCanada hwy was a sign of economic activity.  The goods that they carry could not practically get to their destination any other way.  Most manufacturers and other businesses no longer have rail connection as they once did.  That’s the positive.  However, looking at it from the side of motorists sharing the road with large trucks is not that positive.  Large trucks are not as mobile and maneuverable as cars and similar sized vehicles.   That means they take longer to accelerate and longer to stop – so it is wise to give them some space.  In addition, it can be annoying if a truck attempts to pass another truck which is going slightly slower, it may take a long time to do that manoeuvre while other vehicles are lining up behind the passing truck.  Trucks can also block road signs from the view of motorists – again annoying and requires planning if you are looking for a particular exit on a highway.  If you are really lucky -or rather unlucky – you might get caught in a situation where you are surrounded by large trucks with no way to escape – trucks in front of you; trucks behind you and, yes, trucks beside you in the passing lane. 

There are things that any motorist can do to adjust their driving to accommodate trucks.  The most important thing is to not let your emotions run you when you encounter a truck doing something to get in your way.  They are much larger and will win in any encounter with a car.  Of course, the government needs to do its part to ensure the trucking industry is operating properly within the laws, rules such as hours of service, and other regulations.  There was the recent account in the media about truck driver training schools scamming the system and not training students properly.  We all need to do our part in trying to ensure roads are as safe as possible.

So, the next time you are frustrated by the inconvenience or challenge of sharing the road with a truck, remember the part they play in our economy – if you got it a truck brought it.  Safe travels on your journey.

 

Tongues of Fire

 Yesterday was Pentecost Sunday in our church year.  This is the event when a great sound and light show came upon the early followers of Jesus Christ who had gathered from the known corners of the world.  The Holy Spirit invaded the gathering of those people in Jerusalem and there was a great wind, tongues of fire over their heads, and the local people were speaking in the languages of everyone who had gathered there

When I was trying to discern my call to be ordained, I was in some ways hoping for something as distinct from the Holy Spirit as all the action on the Day of Pentecost.  I was hoping to get a Road to Damascus experience – like the original one in which Paul was knocked off his horse when he received a voice from Jesus asking him why he was persecuting Jesus?  A voice that would have given me a clear message that the road to ordination I was embarking on was the correct one.  Well on reflection, and considering what happened to Paul, I decided that I would prefer a more subtle message after all. 

I received that some time later.  I was in the process of deciding to begin the path to ordination with the diocese and went for an interview with the Dean of Theology, at Huron College, John Chapman as part of that process. 

Well, I had a very positive interview with the Dean, and the indication seemed to be that I was beginning the journey that God intended for me. 

After the interview, I got in my car to drive home and turned on the radio.  A CBC program was on air in which three people were being interviewed about their becoming clergy later in life – second or third careers like me.  I took that as the work of the Holy Spirit - my road to Damascus or road to ordination experience.  Now this could be dismissed as a mere coincidence.  However, Carl Jung has called these experiences of meaningful coincidences, synchronicity.  It certainly was a meaningful coincidence for me I was certain that this was a sign for me as the work of the Holy Spirit and one that has helped sustain on my road to ordination and as a priest since.

So, can we conclude that the Holy Spirit does not always work in such dramatic ways as it did on the Day of Pentecost which we celebrate today?  Let’s look at some other accounts of the Holy Spirit in the bible.  Jesus promises his disciples in John 16:13 that the Spirit will be a guide and “the Spirit would guide them into all the truth.”  In Acts 8: 29, the Holy Spirit instructed Philip to go to the chariot of the Ethiopian eunuch, leading to the eunuch's conversion. The Holy Spirit is a teacher - Jesus referred to the Holy Spirit as the Advocate who will teach His followers all things and bring to their remembrance all that He had said to them.  The Holy Spirit also has the role of sanctifier.  Paul writes in 2 Thessalonians that God chose the believers to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. 

The Holy Spirit was there in the beginning when God created the world – a wind from God – the Holy Spirit swept over the face of the water before God said, “Let there be light.”   The Holy Spirit the creative power of God – the empowerer, guide, teacher, and sanctifier. 

As I discovered in my road to ordination experience, the Holy Spirit is not always as easy to discern as on that Day of Pentecost.  However, be assured that it is still at work in us and in the world.  We must play our part in working with God by identifying how the Holy Spirit is at work and responding to that knowledge.  It can be in the still small voice we hear; it can be in our dreams if we pay attention to them; it can be in meaningful coincidences; it can be in the inspiration that gives you the answer that you have been struggling to find for a long time.  It can be in the inspiration we receive from an unexpected encounter in reading the bible as you come to gather in bible study or on our own.  It can be when we come together in the name of Jesus Christ to worship and partake in the body and blood of our Saviour.  Be assured that it is there at work in and for each of us. 

May we be blessed to recognize the Holy Spirit guiding us on our journeys. 

Count Yourself In

Tomorrow, May 12^th, is Census Day in Canada and like other households in Canada we received a census form in the mail a while ago.  It wasn’t a form to fill out, rather it was information about filling out the census form on-line – a first I believe for the census.  The census is done every five years and if memory serves me, we received the census form in the mail which we completed. 

We completed the on-line form which took about 40 minutes.  I’m not sure if we were fortunate enough to receive the long form which goes to about a quarter of households but it included questions on a range of subjects such as income, employment status, education, sexual orientation, homelessness, religion, amount paid for utilities and property taxes, marital status, and other areas that I may have forgotten being a retiree and born in 1949. 

Listening to an interview with a rep from StatsCan this morning on CBC radio, he noted that the completion rate was 98% for past censuses, which makes Canada the envy of other countries.  There are a few people who object to the census as an invasion of privacy.  However, these have been relatively few in past years.  I have a suspicion that this may be larger in these times when conspiracy fears are growing and separation movements with them in Alberta and Quebec.

Having worked with StatsCan data in a past life and worked with staff at StatsCan, I am able to affirm how important the data that is collected in the census and other surveys conducted by StatsCan.  The staff that I worked with were dedicated and hard-working and wanted to produce the best results for the people who utilized the data.  Census information is a valuable resource for academics and planners in many fields and is an invaluable resource for the country.  I would encourage everyone who has not yet filled out their census form to do so.  If you aren’t willing or able to do it on-line, it can be done the old-fashioned way. 

Censuses are not something new and have been around for a very long time.  Indeed, there is mention of censuses in the bible.  The book of numbers recounts a census taken by the Israelites in the exodus from slavery in Egypt.  God commands Moses to take a census of the Israelite community in the wilderness of Sinai. "Take a census of the whole congregation of Israel by their clans and families, listing every man by name, one by one."  This information was valuable in planning by Moses and other leaders for battles with tribes they encountered before and after entry into the Promised Land.  

King David also undertook a census of his kingdom.  It was a census of the troops available to him.  However, as was often the case with David, his actions often did not please God as, unlike in the Exodus, God had not commanded the census to be undertaken.  God saw this as an act of pride by David. 

Finally, we have the census that most Christians are aware of, being part of the Christmas story.  This was the first census to take place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.  This census is significant as it fulfilled the prophecy of the Messiah's birth in Bethlehem according to the Gospel of Luke.  This has been problematic for the accuracy of the birth narrative, as there is no historic record of a census at that time.  But that is an issue for another time.

There was a saying when I was involved in planning and utilizing data, you can’t make good decisions without good data.   That may not always be true, but it certainly helps.  Fortunately, the census data has been a good and valuable resource for Canada to use.  If you haven’t yet completed it, please do your part and complete the census and count yourself in as a household in Canada.