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Front page news in today’s Olean Times Herald is an article about how a particular church in the Olean, New York area will be having classes for interested persons to explain what is true and what is false in the wildy popular movie and book, “The Da Vinci Code”. The article brought a smile to my face and a bit of cynicism. What’s the fuss about the movie and book? In one of my recent posts, I included an interview with Brian McClaren that appeared on SojoMail. I liked what McClaren wrote because he seemed to think that the reason there was so much attraction to The Da Vinci Code was because status quo Christianity is so stale and so unlike the Gospel of Jesus.

The Da Vinci Code challenges conventional interpretations of scripture. My son saw the movie this week and he enjoyed it. He said he found some of the ideas plausible. I want to see the movie. Maybe I’ll read the book. What I’d really like to know is how come all these apologists for status quo Christianity are so upset about this book. How come these folks don’t challenge books like Left Behind Series which treats the rapture as if it were the truth? John Wilson Darby was one of the first evangelists to speak at length of the rapture. The concept of the rapture was not talked about much until the post-reformational Christian church. I’ve seen and heard some well meaning Christians scare folks with their rapture stories.

My post last week highlighting the theology of John Duns Scotus runs counter to those who attempt to frighten us with their Christian fundamentalist eschatolgies. People that attempt to use God to frighten and control other people are spiritually sick in my estimation. It seems to me that many are more concerned with dogma and doctrine than they are with the message of Jesus. You may disagree with what I’m writing here. It is your freedom to believe what you will. St. Paul sums up the essence of Christianity in the 13th Chapter of Corinthians.

If I speak in human and angelic tongues but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal. And if I have the gift of prophecy and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge; if I have all faith so as to move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away everything I own, and if I hand my body over so that I may boast but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, (love) is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. If there are prophecies, they will be brought to nothing; if tongues, they will cease; if knowledge, it will be brought to nothing. For we know partially and we prophesy partially,but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I used to talk as a child, think as a child, reason as a child; when I became a man, I put aside childish things. At present we see indistinctly, as in a mirror, but then face to face. At present I know partially; then I shall know fully, as I am fully known. So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love. Peace.

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da vinci code, fundamentalism, jesus, corinthians 13, duns scotus

I recently purchased Neil Young’s latest album, “Living with War”. I’ve listened to album perhaps a dozen times and I find the lyrics captivating. I don’t know how well this album has sold but it raises interesting questions and the voice of the counter culture that seeks a truth that isn’t being told on major news outlets here in the USA. Restless Consumer is one of the ballads on the album. The recurring mantra of that song is “don’t need no more lies.” This really resonates with me. Politicians of all stripes seem beset with an inability to tell the truth. John 14:6, Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth and the life.” Don’t expect any of our politicians especially our president to speak the truth anytime soon. They only speak truth by accident. I can’t watch any of them or read any of their work without being revolted. I’m with Neil, “don’t need no more lies, don’t need no more lies.” Peace.

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living with war, neil young, peace, restless consumer, politics

I haven’t written much about software. That’s the fuel of the Information Age. If it weren’t for software even the most rudimentary the world wide web and our information culture wouldn’t exist. Since 1999 I’ve been using Linux. In fact it’s the software platform from which I do most of my work. Since my first use of Red Hat 6.0 in 1999 I’ve used Suse, Red Hat, Fedora, Mandrake, Knoppix, Debian, Mepis, and Ubuntu. I like the idea of free software and people helping people. Free software often reminds me of early Christianity and the culture of people selling what they had and putting the needs of the community above their own. That’s counter cultural in my country. As a small business owner I appreciate the ability to sell goods and services and make some money. In all my work I seek to serve others.

In the past several months I’ve been using Ubuntu Linux as my own Linux desktop operating system. I’m not a Microsoft hater, but there is something to be said for a stable operating system that isn’t especially prone to viruses and spyware. To be sure there are some applications that only exist on the Microsoft Windows platform, but I’ve found suitable work arounds using Open Office and Firefox on a Linux platform. Ubuntu is billed as “Linux for Human Beings.”

The Ubuntu Philosopy can be be summarized:

Ubuntu is a community driven project to create an operating system and a full set of applications using free and open source software. At the core of the Ubuntu Philosophy of Software Freedom are these core philosophical ideals:

• Every computer user should have the freedom to run, copy, distribute, study, share, change and improve their software for any purpose, without paying licensing fees.
• Every computer user should be able to use their software in the language of their choice
• Every computer user should be given every opportunity to use software, even if they work under a disability.

“Ubuntu” is an ancient African word, meaning “humanity to others”. Ubuntu also means “I am what I am because of who we all are”. The Ubuntu Linux distribution brings the spirit of Ubuntu to the software world. For more information visit Ubuntu’s website.

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linux, open source, ubuntu, open office, red hat, fedora, suse

Mount Irenaeus, Franciscan Mountain Retreat is announcing their summer evenings of Re-Creation. The theme this year is “God’s Word is Light and Love for Us.” The format for these evenings is Eucharist at 4:45 pm., a dish-to-pass supper, followed by a 90 minute program that’s focus is Holy Peace Chapel. This summer’s dates, presenters and topics are:

June 28th-“In the Beginning was the Word”, Dan Riley,OFM
July 5th-“Love is..”, Lou McCormick, OFM
July 12th-“Our Name is Love”, Carol Kenyon, OSF
July 19th-“From Word to Mission”, Bonnie and Larry Orsini
July 26th-“Franciscan Lectio Divina”,Harry Monaco, OFM
August 2nd-“Living God’s Word: the Franciscan influence on Thomas Merton’s eremeticism”, Tim Shaffer

These evenings are special in every sense of the word. If you’re in Western New York this summer you might enjoy a side trip to Mt. Irenaeus for a day or better yet for an “Evening of Re-Creation.” Peace.

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franciscan mountain retreat irenaeus eucharist

Tonight found me on the campus of St. Bonaventure University. As I parked my car near the Reilly Center I looked south toward a clearing on one of those low foothills south of the campus. A large open space that on other hills might only be a meadow is called by local residents and students Merton’s Heart. Thomas Merton taught at St. Bonaventure College in 1940. It was from St. Bonaventure that Merton left to join the Trappists in 1941 soon after Pearl Harbor. Whenever I’m on campus and look south I see “Merton’s Heart” and I’m reminded of one of my favorite authors and perhaps one of the best Christian authors of the twentieth century. I own several of Merton’s books and some other commentaries on his writings. He more than any other author I’ve read gives real insight into the life of the contemplative. Merton’s writings bring the fruit of contemplative prayer to his readers and invite us all to a contemplative life. St. Francis of Assisi made the world his cloister and in like manner Thomas Merton brings the wisdom and solitude of the cloister to the modern world. Peace.

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merton, cloister, st. bonaventure, contemplative, christian, trappist

Cyprian Consiglio will be performing in concert at the St. Bonaventure University Chapel on the campus of St. Bonaventure University, St. Bonaventure, New York at 7:00 pm. Sunday June 11, 2006.
I have a couple of Cyprian’s CDs and have had the pleasure of hearing him in concert before. He is a monk of the Camaldolese Congregation.

Before entering monastic life, Cyprian toured and performed extensively, both solo and with various groups. He lived in a Christian ashram in South India studying Indian music and Asian philosophy and spirituality. He received his master’s in theology from St. John Seminary in Camarillo, California.

Cyprian is known for his soulful voice and use of many musical styles to express sacred themes. Cyprian specializes in concerts for people of all ages. He performs solo, with just guitar accompaniment, and with percussionist John Pennington, who specializes in hand drumming and world music.

One of my favorites performed by Cyprian is “There is a light that has overcome the Darkness.” Peace.

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music, st. bonaventure, university, cyprian consiglio, guitar, monk

Mevlâna Jalâluddîn Rumi translated by Coleman Barks

Not Christian or Jew or Muslim, not Hindu
Buddhist, sufi, or zen. Not any religion

or cultural system. I am not from the East
or the West, not out of the ocean or up

from the ground, not natural or ethereal, not
composed of elements at all. I do not exist,

am not an entity in this world or the next,
did not descend from Adam or Eve or any

origin story. My place is placeless, a trace
of the traceless. Neither body or soul.

I belong to the beloved, have seen the two
worlds as one and that one call to and know,

first, last, outer, inner, only that
breath breathing human being.

This came from a post at the Network of Spiritual Progressives

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tikkun, peace, spiritual, progressive, interfaith

Paula’s recent posts at MoreLight have gotten me to thinking again of a lovely article about the Incarnation in Franciscan Spirituality written by Seamus Mulholland. Seamus is a Roman Catholic Friar who lectures at Canterbury in England. It’s a great article and I highly recommend it. Here are some of my favorite passages,

“The Incarnation is the model for creation: there is a creation only because of the Incarnation. In this schema, the universe is for Christ and not Christ for the universe.”

“Sin has been given too much prominence in contemporary soteriology: God redeems from sin because he loves us?: no, says the Scotist, God loves us and then redeems us. Redemption is an act of love first and foremost, not an act of saving us from sin, and the first act of redemption is the Incarnation.”

Read more…

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incarnation, seamus mulholland, franciscan, spirituality, duns scotus, sin, redemption

I love the writings of the Desert Fathers and Mothers. Paula has one of their insightful tidbits. I need to remember what they wrote everyday because I easily slip into self-centeredness and away from the life I am called to. Peace.

More Light: Love, again

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desert fathers, love, peace, mercy

I received the following meditation in my email today and was encouraged by the sender to forward it.

Meditations for God’s Peaceful People by Karen Horst Cobb

There is a perfect cycle to growing peas. Vegetable scraps are thrown over the fence and gobbled up by hungry goats and chickens. The treats result in dung, filled with potential. A shovel full well placed in the garden nourishes tender sugar snap peas and results in more scraps to throw over the fence ……. The perfection of the cycle is worthy of worship!

There is a similar cycle to growing peace. Words and actions of peace are distributed across fences. Our efforts always yield results which hold great potential. If lies, violence and war remain in society untouched by the caretakers they become increasingly more offensive, toxic, and repulsive. But, with will and wisdom even the most vile can be used to grow peace and understanding.

Today there is a lot of dung and the field is fertile for peace plantings. We must place love over the fences and the seeds of our will must fall to the ground and die daily in fertile soil. Let the Sun of God and showers of his blessings build strong plants producing fruit. The cycle continues…

Prayer:

Oh Lord, let my will die in fertile soil and my love reach over fences. May I never grow weary of planting peace – Amen

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peace, meditation