There’s No Fool Like and Old Fool

I have been fascinated by the concept of the fool and the Fool for most of my life.  I was born on April 1, 1949 – April Fool’s Day.  I have this blog, which I use for posting these missives, called, Another Fool for Christ.  This is based on the bible passage from 1 Cor 4:10, “We are fools for the sake of Christ.”  One interesting factoid regarding the day of my birth is that Newfoundland was supposed to enter confederation on that very day.  However, Joey Smallwood, who would be the first premier of the new province and the latest Father of Confederation, decided to change the day to March 31, 1949, to prevent the province from becoming a perpetual April Fool’s joke.  So, as a result the province of Newfoundland is one day older than I, and being the very mature age of 73, I qualify for both aspects of the expression, there’s no fool like an old fool being old and I hope, a Fool.

Now, you might be asking yourself, why am I writing this today rather than on or close to my birthday as it would be a good subject for an April Fool’s News and Views?  Well, perhaps I am doing it today because it is a foolish thing to do and not wait until next April thereby giving credence to my qualification as an old fool.  However, I have decided to delve into this foolishness because I have just finished reading a book given to me by a friend on the subject of the capital F Fool, To Play the Fool, by Laurie R. King.  The book is a murder mystery but it explores the concept of the Fool archetype.  Coincidentally, I have also finished rereading The Care of the Soul by Thomas Moore which also delves a bit into the concept of the Fool.

The Fool appears in many guises throughout history from the Trickster in the Tarot which has the number zero and appears in spaces vacated by the other cards, to the fool in the king’s court who speaks the truth to the king or ruler and reminds them that they are fallible humans.  Here are some quotes from To Play the Fool which give a taste of this complex, counter intuitive character:

The Fool seeks to save his community by appearing to threaten it.  The essential ministry of a Fool is to undermine beliefs, to seek doubts, to shock people into seeing truth.

The Holy Fool speaks a language of symbols and of Divinity… They (children) believe in the possibility of magic, the reality of Saints, and would not be surprised at the existence of miracles.  The Fool is their representative, their mediator, their friend.

Foolishness is a hazardous business, and not only to one’s mind and spirit. After all, one of the Fools main activities is to make a fool out of others, to throw doubt on cherished wisdoms and accept behaviours: in other word, to shock.

Christianity is, by its nature, more akin to folly than it is to the Pope’s massive corporation.  The central dictate of the Christian doctrine is humility, imitation of Christ’s ultimate self-humbling.

As you see from these quotes, the concept of the Fool is not an easy one to grasp and hold onto.  It is like trying to contain water in a sieve or getting a reflection of yourself in a pool of rippling water – it keeps changing.  However, it is one I believe is important to keep in our awareness (consciousness) and reflect on when we react to things which annoy us, or push our buttons.  Let me close with a quote from Care of the Soul:

The path of soul is also the path of the fool, the one without pretense of self-knowledge or individuation or certainly perfection…You will have the spiritual radiance of the holy fool who has dared to live life as it presents itself and to unfold personality with its heavy yet creative dose of imperfection.

May you be blessed to embrace your inner Fool on your journey.

 

I acknowledge that we are on Turtle Island, the original homelands of the many Indigenous Nations who have lived since time immemorial in Canada or as many First and other Indigenous Nations
All of the lands in Canada are the subject of up to one hundred Treaties signed by the Crown in the right of Canada with these Nations.

  

Where’s a Good Church

On Saturday, Lorna and I met with my son Steve and daughter-in-law Deb for a picnic in Sackville NB. This is halfway between our cottage and their home.  It turned out to be a very nice day all around, weather wise as well as company wise.  It was great to get together.  We had the picnic at the Visitor Information Centre in Sackville – a picnic table in the shade.  After lunch Lorna and I went for a walk on the trail in the connected Waterfowl Park and managed to find the covered bridge.  All in all, a very pleasant day. 

While I was in the Visitor Information Centre, I picked up a couple of pamphlets for churches in Sackville.  One was for the Salem Baptist Church and one for Sackville United Church - see below.  

There is quite a contrast between the two pamphlets and, although I have not visited either church, both churches likely have some differences in their worship and activities.  As the saying goes, you only have one chance to make a first impression, so here is my first impression of each of the churches based on the pamphlets.  First, let me say that both churches are making an effort to engage people by having the pamphlets available at the Welcome Centre. 

The Baptist Church is apparently all about family.  Worship is only one, possibly minor, part of what this congregation is about.  They let you know in great detail all that they are involved with and all they have to offer every member of the family.  It would appear that family is the traditional two parents (a father and a mother) with two children and an additional member, possibly a grandfather or uncle.  There are programs and activities that every member of the family can participate in.  However, I did find it surprizing that although there is a “Ladies Fellowship” there is no equivalent for the men (Gentlemen).  It is a bit surprizing that worship does not seem to be front and center in what they have to offer.  They do let us know that the preaching will be practical. 

The United Church, on the other hand, has very little information about the church and what it has to offer people.  Rather than programs and information on worship, it provides some adjectives to describe themselves; warm, vibrant, inclusive progressive, affirming, community, faith.  It does let you know that they have something on Sunday morning – which I am sure is worship even though it is not stated. 

If I did not come with any presuppositions about what a United Church or a Baptist church might be about, what would my reaction be?  Of course, that would not have been the case twenty or even ten years ago, but today more and more people are completely unaware of church and what these two denominations probably entail.  If I had a traditional family with children at home, I would probably try out the Baptist Church and would probably be interested in all the activities and programs.  The worship service might also be lively and uplifting and I would likely be warmly welcomed and not have to become familiar with how to maneuver through the service.   

The United Church would not give me much information to entice me into seeing what the congregation was about.  The adjectives might catch my attention and. If I was curious, I might check it out.  But I think that what the people are looking for today is probably community.  I don’t know from the pamphlet what the United Church would offer as a community that I could join and based on the adjectives; they probably are a welcoming community which I would feel a part of.  However, there is no way to tell from the information provided. 

I invite you to reflect on which of these churches you would be likely to explore and why that would be.  If you are a member of a church congregation now reflect on how your experience of that church matches with what is offered in these pamphlets.

Mephistopheles Today

I recently saw the movie Elvis which is the wonderful depiction of the life of Elvis Presley as envisioned by Baz Luhrmann.  There are many things which are commendable about this movie including the performances by Tom Hanks as Col. Tom Parker and Austin Butler as Elvis (no second name required in the title or the cultural). A few days after seeing the movie it came to me that what is portrayed is the legend of Dr. Faustus.

The story of Dr. Faustus originated in 15^th century Germany, purportedly based on an historical person,  Johann Georg Faust .  The story has been the basis for many versions over the centuries, in art, literature and plays.  In modern times, versions of the story have been told such notables as Goethe, Thomas Mann, and Christopher Marlow.  Intentionally or not, the story influenced the movie, Elvis.

The story of Faust, in outline, tells of the misadventures of a successful German scholar who is dissatisfied with achievements even thought he is distinguished in many areas of academic life including medicine, law and religion.   He determines that he wants to succeed in the practice of the black arts i.e., magic.  Faustus calls upon the Lord of Darkness and in doing so summons up Mephistopheles, one of the Devil’s servants.  He bargains with Mephistopheles and strikes a bargain that if Mephistopheles will serve him, the Devil will claim his soul after a set number of years - twenty-four in some versions.  Faustus has all that he desires for the time allocated, even summoning up the figure of Helen of Troy and generally causing mischief and mayhem.  As the end of the allotted time draws near Faustus believes that he is irreparably lost and his soul is claimed by the Devil.  It is interesting that in Goethe’s version he is forgiven through the intercessions of one of his victims. 

Turning to the movie, Elvis, there are some details that do not fit the legend.  Elvis was not a successful person when the tempter arrives in his life.  However, the story is told through the eyes of Colonel Parker who is portrayed as an evil genius who guarantees Elvis the success and fame that he desires and which he delivers.  Elvis has opportunities to redeem his life (and soul) but Mephistopheles aka Col. Parker manages to ensure that Elvis is successful beyond his dreams at the ultimate cost of his soul.  Col. Parker ensures that the Devil claims his due gaining everything that he seeks i.e., the means to engage in the endless ‘games’ of chance that are the foundation of the Las Vegas enterprise.  Elvis spends his final days, captive in the hell on earth of the venue of the eternal Las Vegas Concerts, being denied his dream of seeing and engaging the larger musical world.   

The legend and the movie present the archetypal story of the person who sells his soul to the Devil for the material things of this world.  This was one of the temptations of Jesus in his time in the wilderness when Satan offered Jesus all the kingdoms of the world if Jesus would bow down and worship him.  What does it profit someone to gain the world but lose his soul?

The world seems to abound in many incarnations of Mephistopheles in many manifestations today.  Perhaps no more than in previous times, but that we are only more aware of it.  Is there a Mephistopheles in your life who is offering you the world only demanding your soul - something that many people do not believe they possess?  As Bob Dylan said, “you gotta serve somebody.  It may be the devil or it may be the Lord but you’re gonna have to serve somebody.”

If you face your Mephistopheles on our journey, may you be blessed to choose life.

Holy Listening and Holy Speaking

One of the challenges that we face when we are engaging others is to listen and speak in ways that enable the participant to truly engage each person.  Basically, you should not confuse the two activities.  Listen when the other person is speaking and speak when others are listening.  Here are a few guidelines or principles I encountered recently which can help in both activities. 

• Silence creates the space for listening to God. It provides time to explore our relationship to Source. The practice of being in this silence nurtures our capacity to listen to others. 

• Reflection gives us access to listening for our inner voice. The practice of taking a few breaths before responding to a situation, question, or comment gives time for your true wisdom to reveal itself. It’s a slowing down, waiting, practicing patience. 

• Presence is the awareness of listening to another, of connecting at the heart level. The practice of taking a mundane, ordinary activity and giving it your full attention, for example, washing your hands or brushing your teeth, trains your concentration and your ability to be in the present moment with another.  

It is important to keep the ego in check if you want true communication to take place.  Often, rather than listening to what someone else is saying, we concentrate on what to say to score points or to impress others or to win the argument. 

When the conversation involves more than two people it becomes even more of a challenge.  We want to ensure that we have an opportunity to say the very important thing that will raise us up and put us in a prominent position.  Here are some rules which can encourage people to speak from the heart in these situations. 

Begin by inviting each participant to set four intentions:  

1. Speak from the heart (truthfully, including your feelings).  
2. Listen from the heart (without judgment, with an open mind).  
3. Speak spontaneously (without preplanning your response).  
4. Speak leanly (use only the necessary words; for many, this is the hardest discipline of all).  

Holy listening and holy speaking occur when we are fully present with others. If we are able to be fully present to others, we are truly in communion with them

May you be blessed to engage in holy listening and holy speaking

 

I acknowledge that we are on Turtle Island, the original homelands of the many Indigenous Nations who have lived since time immemorial in Canada or as many First and other Indigenous Nations
All of the lands in Canada are the subject of up to one hundred Treaties signed by the Crown in the right of Canada with these Nations.

Pride and Acceptance

Initially, I was going to entitle this edition, ‘Pride and Prejudice’, however, I thought that might lead down a rabbit hole I’m not prepared to deal with.  On reflection, I believe that ‘Pride and Acceptance’ is more on point. 

On Saturday, Lorna and I attended the Pride Parade in Charlottetown.  We had planned to join the contingent with St. Paul’s Anglican Church as we did the last time the parade was held.  However, due to unforeseen circumstances, they were not able to be in the Parade this year.  However, we joined in with others and had a great time celebrating diversity and acceptance in Canadian society today.

Despite the exceptionally hot weather (for P.E.I.), there was a celebratory and positive attitude throughout.  That attitude was mirrored in the people that lined the route with people waving and responding to calls of “Happy Pride”.  And that truly was the feeling all along the route.  I had some concern that there might be people present who had a different attitude to the communities represented in the Parade.  However, there was no evidence of that, to which I give a loud Hallelujah.

When I reflect on the current situation with gender rights and acceptance, I am truly amazed at how far this journey has come in Canada and many other parts of the Western world in a relatively short time.  Lorna and I just finished rewatching the series Mad Men here at the cottage.  For those who aren’t familiar with the series, it is set in the United States in the Fifties and Sixties in the world of advertising.  In many ways, it is an accurate reflection of attitudes in those times in the U.S. and Canada to homosexuality and women and race, The only non-white people were eventually hired in the business as secretaries; women were beginning to have a presence in the business in small ways being faced with sexism and prejudice; gays and lesbians were certainly well ensconced in the closet and if they were outed, they suffered the consequences.

Those advances have been wonderful to live through in my lifetime and the acceptance in a place such as P.E.I. which is in some ways still fairly socially conservatives, is very gratifying.  The local weekly newspaper was filled with notices from politicians and businesses wishing people a Happy Pride Week.  However, there are troubling signs of a backlash with the rise of right-wing populism in Canada following the events in the United States with the overturning of reproductive rights and the potential threat to same-sex marriage and even contraceptive rights. 

Martin Luther King noted that “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”  I believe fervently that the gains reflected in the Pride Parade on Saturday are evidence of that moral universe bending towards justice and I will continue to do what I can to support and walk on that journey.  May you be blessed on your journey.

Of Life-in-Death and Death-in-Life

What happens, after life on this world has run its course, is something that I would predict almost everyone has a belief or at least an opinion about.  Is there life after death and if so, what form it takes is a part of all the Abrahamic religions and many others – although my knowledge of other religions is not sufficient to make a statement about beliefs in the multitude of religions that people profess.

Even within religions, if I can take Christianity as a model, there are many beliefs in how life after death will manifest.  Probably the most comprehensive exploration of this in the popular culture of the time was the Divine Comedy by Dante who began that journey in a dark wood in middle age and was guided through the three parts of the afterlife; hell, purgatory and heaven or paradise. 

That being said, I want to explore another aspect of death – what might be called a death in life.  The question I want to explore is, ‘is it necessary for something to die if something new is to be born?’  This question has arisen from a couple of sources that I have been engaged with this week.  First, the New Testament passage for this coming Sunday is from Paul’s letter to the Romans in which Paul opens with this question, “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?”  The implication of this in Christian faith is clear.  In baptism, people die to their old life and are born into a new life as Christians.  To do this we must die to be born anew.  This is symbolized traditionally by immersing the person in water where they symbolically drown, and raising the reborn person from the water to new life as a Christian.

This is all well and good (and a blessing) for Christians, but does this understanding of dying to an old life and being reborn anew occur in other places?  Well, this is certainly true when we turn to exploring our dreams.  The motif of someone dying in a dream is not an uncommon occurrence.  It can be very disconcerting to dream of someone dying – particularly if it is someone you know in waking life.  As with most aspects of dreams this should not be taken literally – at least most of the time.  It is unlikely that the person you know in waking life is going to die or has died.  This can happen; however, it is often more meaningful to understand the dream as being a statement that something in the dreamer’s life has died or needs to die.  This old attitude or way of living has died to make room for something new to be born. 

I am currently rereading Care of the Soul, by Thomas Moore.  As the subtitle states, it is a guide for cultivating depth and sacredness in everyday life.  In the book, Moore explores, among other things, a number of myths in exploring how to care for the soul.  In the myth of Narcissus, Moore notes, “We are led to a mystery that is embedded in all initiations and in every rite of passage; the end of a previous form of existence is felt as a real death.”  This is true in the case of the death of a loved one.  The loved one has died but it is also a death of the relationship and all that the relationship was to you.

Personally, in our lives, there may be parts of our life personally or parts of institutions that need to die to enable something new to be born.  Often, we will spend a great deal of energy fighting the death of something in your life or some aspect of an organization or institution that is preventing new life from being born.  We need to ask ourselves, what needs to die in us so that we can live more fully God intends us to live?

May you be blessed on your journey to enable new life to be born in you.  

 

Don’t Let a Good Catastrophe Go to Waste

Being at our cottage in Prince Edward Island, I now have a larger appreciation for how COVID is being handled in different parts of the country.  In some ways it is almost like it no longer exists – or at least it is no longer a serious problem.  It is just one of those chronic health challengers we have to live – and hopefully not die from, like the flu.

 Both back at home in Ontario and here in cottage country, there is what can only be described as a relaxed view of COVID.  Most restrictions have been lifted or at least loosened.  We have no restrictions for travelling through provinces and no quarantine requirements or testing upon arrival in P.E.I.  which has assuredly made life much easier.  There are recommendations that we wear masks in stores and public places which is observed more in the breach than in the observance.  It is very easy to go with the flow and forget about wearing one.

The application of restrictions can lead to a somewhat illogical result.  The Anglican Church here allows us to meet without masks and to sing all the verses of hymns.  However, wine is not to be received by the congregation as it would normally, and only the priest partakes of the wine.  Go figure.

 I believe that we should not let the experience of the COVID pandemic fade into the mists of our memories and not try to use that experience as we move forward both in our religious life as well as our daily life.  This was addressed recently in one of the Daily offerings from the Society of St. John the Evangelist:  

Renewal

We are in the midst of a re-creation moment. As our world continues to reverberate from this once-in-a-generation pandemic, we are confronted with the opportunity to live differently, to not let a good catastrophe go to waste, but to heed the things that the Spirit has prompted in us: outward forms of love and stewardship, and inward forms of healing and renewal.  -Br. Todd Blackham

Many in Anglican Church and other mainline religions today in the West, despair that the church is dying and there won’t be much of the church left in twenty years, if present trends continue.  The Anglican Church in my home town of Parkhill, St, James, closed at the end of June as the latest of many church closings in our Diocese.  It certainly won’t be the last.  I won’t say it begs the question, but it certainly raises the question, what will replace it?  Canadian and all of the Western world is becoming persistently more secular with the church apparently having a much less significant part in the lives of people - particularly the younger generations. 

I really don’t know the answer to that question.  However, what I do know is that something or somethings will arise to replace organized religion.  In my understanding, this will happen because it will be the work of the Holy Spirit.  That part of the Trinity in Christianity faith and dogma often does not receive as much attention as the other two parts God the Father, and God the Son.  This is, at least in part, because it is unpredictable and not under the direct control of church authorities.  This was address in one of the Daily Meditations of Richard Rohr: 

The work of the Holy Spirit, seismic and subtle, never seems to land us in a place of perfect stasis and equilibrium for long.  Rather, it teaches us to be flexible, malleable to the ongoing creation of God such that when we are confronted with an invitation to adapt, we can respond with freedom rather than resistance.

Is there some new freedom that the Holy Spirit is inviting you into these days?

‘God dwells wherever man lets him in.’  Buber, The Way of Man, 33

So, in light of this, how do we not let a good catastrophe that COVID has given us go to waste?  It is not going to be easy for many of us who have set ideas of how we should be and what we should do.  We need to have open hearts and minds and spirits to what the future holds and where the Holy Spirit (or just ‘spirt’ for the secular folks) is leading us.  We need to use our discernment in determining if something is the work of the Holy Spirit or is the work of other forces.  However, we need to be open to what lies ahead.

 May you be blessed to engage the Holy Spirit on your journey.