[Oe List ...] Easter Reflections

John Epps via OE oe at lists.wedgeblade.net
Mon Apr 17 14:50:07 PDT 2017


*Easter Reflection #2:*


I’ve never heard anything like it.


The ordinary mode of beginning the Sunday worship service at Montview
Presbyterian Church is the sound of chimes after which the congregation is
invited to quietly make the transition from getting there to being there.
This Sunday, being Easter, the sanctuary was overflowing with people
enthusiastically greeting each other with churchy cordiality and requests
from the front to move closer together in the pews to accommodate more
people. I was sitting quietly waiting for the chimes, hoping to be able to
hear them over the din, and looking forward to a few moments of silence to
absorb the beauty of the surroundings.


Suddenly from the choir loft came a deafening crash of cymbals followed by
a brass and organ fanfare that filled the gothic architecture with
ear-splitting wonder that lasted a full 5 minutes. After the final grand
chord, the congregation was speechless. The impact was powerful and
profound, setting the tone for something grand about to happen. For me, if
nothing else occurred during the service, the Easter wonder had happened.


The piece was Grand Choeur Dialogue by Eugene Gigout; you can find it at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rufxt80iVA0


But that was only the first musical treat. The brass and organ and choir
continued their gift of awe-producing sounds during the hymns, anthem, and
offertory anthem. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZtIRp3Vglw was the
anthem.


By the time we left, I was done in, having experienced something of a
resurrection.


Since then, I’ve been wrestling with the thought that such grandeur was not
at all like the lifestyle portrayed in the New Testament. Though it clearly
portrays the significance of the Easter event for Christians, the music and
setting seemed more appropriate to royalty than to us. Recent Public TV
shows featuring Henry VIII picture a setting in which this type of music
would have been right at home. Maybe the point is that awe happens in the
midst of the ordinary as surprises sometime break through that are not of
our doing. If, as I have contended elsewhere, surprises are where we are
confronted by Mystery, that certainly happened at the Denver Montview
Presbyterian Church (a former Galaxy church once co-pastored by Ken Barley)
on Easter Sunday, 2017.

On Mon, Apr 17, 2017 at 1:26 PM, Thomas Morrison via OE <
oe at lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote:

> Hi everyone,
>
> Adding to the discussion . . .
>
> We in the USA generally define reality as having four dimensions:  length,
> width, height and time.
> It is a choice we have made, and is nicely measureable with our existing
> instruments and chosen senses.
>
> Mathematically we could have five, six, whatever number of dimensions we
> would want to explore.
> As far as our senses go, there are others beyond the usual USA list.
> I bump into this as a psychiatric therapist from time to time.
> Again, I choose to pay attention to the experiences or not, depending on
> how important it is to the client (or me--grin).
>
> Tom Morrison
>
>
> On Sun, Apr 16, 2017 at 10:52 AM, Jack Gilles via OE <
> oe at lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote:
>
>> Susan,
>>
>> Happy Easter to you as well! I was wondering how you would describe the
>> dimension you speak of? I happen to agree with you, but I use the term
>> Void, which is the eternal, existing along side the time/space experience.
>> The Other World in the midst of this world.
>>
>> Grace & Peace,
>>
>> Jack
>>
>> On Apr 16, 2017, at 12:14, Susan Fertig via OE <oe at lists.wedgeblade.net>
>> wrote:
>>
>> Isn’t your hip out of socket yet, James? All that wrestling with the
>> Archangel…
>> Surrender and rejoice, friend. The Resurrection is real, not a metaphor.
>> Neither is it a 3-tiered universe; just another dimension altogether.
>>
>> *Susan*
>>
>> Susan Fertig-Dykes
>> (personal email account)
>>
>> *And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in
>> drought .  Isaiah 58:11*
>>
>>
>> Protect against email address harvesting:
>> Use "BCC" when sending to multiple addresses;
>> delete senders’ E-Mail addresses when forwarding.
>>
>> NOTE: I won’t be offended if you ask me to remove you from my emails.
>>
>>
>> *From:* OE [mailto:oe-bounces at lists.wedgeblade.net
>> <oe-bounces at lists.wedgeblade.net>] *On Behalf Of *James Wiegel via OE
>> *Sent:* Sunday, April 16, 2017 12:24 PM
>> *To:* Mary Kurian DSouza <marykdsouza at gmail.com>; Order Ecumenical
>> Community <oe at lists.wedgeblade.net>
>> *Subject:* Re: [Oe List ...] Easter Reflections
>>
>> Thank you for the reflections and the reminiscences.  I must admit I am
>> wrestling some this week and still at Easter morn.  We get netflix dvds
>> sent to us and last night, as we paused from getting ready for the potluck
>> we are hosting, we watched the dvd we got in the mail.  Martin Scorceses
>> SILENCE, about Jesuit priests on mission in Japan in the 1600's.  Lots of
>> persecutions, apostasy as well.
>>
>> All this for the metaphor of death and rebirth?  Hmmmm.  I read over the
>> christ lecture transcribed in Bending History as well as the bits of the
>> gospels.  Deepened the wrestling.  All complicated by a 10 year old
>> grandson who has decided to be baptized today.  Have to stop here and go
>> hide easter eggs . . .
>>
>>
>>
>> Jim Wiegel
>> 401 North Beverly Way, Tolleson, Arizona 85353
>> Tel. 011-623-936-8671 or 011-623-363-3277
>> jfwiegel at yahoo.com <marilyn.oyler at gmail.com>
>> www.partnersinparticipation.com
>>
>>
>> "We are no longer living in an era of change.  We are living in a change
>> of era."  Francis
>>
>> Upcoming public course opportunities click here
>> http://partnersinparticipation.com/?page_id=10
>> For online registration go to http://www.top-training.net
>>
>>
>> The AZ ToP® Community of Practice meets the 1st Friday, 1-4 pm, starting
>> again on Sept 5th at ACYR, 648 N. 5th Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85003
>> <https://www.google.com/maps/place/648+N+5th+Ave/@33.456329,-112.080545,16z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x872b123a5312512d:0x93c9f71171108956?hl=>
>> AICP Planners: 14.5 CM for all ToP® courses
>>
>>
>> On Apr 15, 2017, at 19:52, Mary Kurian DSouza via OE <
>> oe at lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote:
>>
>> Nancy
>> What a lovely window of remembrance to look through
>>
>> Thank you for sharing.
>> Mary
>>
>> Sent from my iPhone
>>
>>
>> On 16-Apr-2017, at 6:36 AM, Nancy Trask via OE <oe at lists.wedgeblade.net>
>> wrote:
>>
>> I vividly remember Easter mornings in the OKC RH with Bill & Marianna
>> Bailey.  First of all, Bill Bailey's resonating wake-up accompanied by the
>> gong.  Barb Garrison & I played the Hallelujah Chorus on the baby grand.
>> Breakfast included a huge slab of salmon.  Oh my goodness -- If life had
>> caused you to need some patching up, the best prescription would be 4 years
>> in the OKC RH with Bill & Marianna.  Thank you for those experiences,
>> Marianna!
>> All the best,
>> Nancy Trask
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: Marianna Bailey via OE <oe at lists.wedgeblade.net>
>> To: Frank Knutson <f.knutson at earthlink.net>, Order Ecumenical Community <
>> oe at lists.wedgeblade.net>
>> Sent: Sat, 15 Apr 2017 19:37:37 -0400 (EDT)
>> Subject: Re: [Oe List ...] Easter Reflections
>> I have been reminiscing...
>> Does anyone remember Easter Sunday in the Religious House? A very special
>> day for the "wake up" ritual.
>> Marianna
>>
>> Sent from my iPhone
>>
>>
>> On Apr 15, 2017, at 4:00 PM, Frank Knutson via OE <
>> oe at lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote:
>>
>> Thank’s John, for the reminder.
>>
>> *“And once the storm is over you won’t remember how you made it through,
>> how you managed to survive. You won’t even be sure, in fact, whether the
>> storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the
>> storm you won’t be the same person who walked in. That’s what this storm’s
>> all about”*
>> *~Haruki Murakami*
>> <VIKING copy.jpeg>❤ Frank
>>
>> On Apr 15, 2017, at 10:19 AM, John Epps via OE <oe at lists.wedgeblade.net>
>> wrote:
>> Coming to terms with the meaning
>> of the Easter story for us is difficult since times and world-views have
>> changed. We find it difficult even to grasp what it meant for those who
>> first
>> told it, much less for us. Yet we are compelled to try by Paul’s
>> admonition,
>> “If Christ is not raised, then our faith is in vain.”  (I Cor. 15:14)
>> One factor in the story must be
>> recognized: this is a tale of a bodily resurrection, not a “spiritual”
>> one. The
>> risen one takes pains to force people to touch his wounds and so dispel
>> the
>> notion of an ectoplasmic appearance. Whatever the implications, they are
>> physical, this worldly. The second factor is that stories of dying and
>> rising
>> gods (or superheroes) were widespread throughout the Ancient Near East and
>> ancient Greece.
>> So what unique implications can
>> we draw from the story that are important today? Another way to ask it is
>> “Where today do we experience death and resurrection?”
>> Both occur at the individual, natural,
>> and corporate levels. A word about each: Lately I have “died” when the
>> classes
>> I have taught for 15 years were cancelled; I was “raised” when the
>> University
>> called on me for 3 new classes. The slow and painful death of a dear aunt
>> was
>> followed by a celebration honoring her life that brought back the wonder
>> of her
>> artistry and love. These may seem trivial examples but dramatize the
>> dynamics
>> in the story: Death/Resurrection happens to us all.
>> In nature, “Resurrection” has
>> long been a metaphor for the return of plant life in the Spring, at least
>> in
>> the Northern hemisphere. And certainly, the emergence of leaves on barren
>> trees, of green in brown fields, and flowers from “dead” plants seem quite
>> miraculous.
>> At the corporate level, the death
>> and dying dynamic seems much more obvious that does resurrection. Many of
>> our
>> hopes and dreams died with the November election. The horrors and
>> complexity of
>> the Middle East conflicts and the appearance of global warming both
>> represent a
>> death to life as we have known it. What resurrection will look like
>> remains to
>> be seen.
>> Numerous efforts taken for
>> environmental protection certainly mark an awakening to the need for
>> change,
>> but are faint heralds of a resurrected life. Numerous conferences aimed at
>> achieving some sort of resolution of Middle East conflicts so far remain
>> fruitless. As the story goes, it’s God who does the raising, not us. And
>> when
>> it occurs, it’s far beyond our expectations.  As I have said elsewhere,
>> “Humankind has unimaginable
>> capacities to screw things up; yet Mystery generates unaccountable
>> wonders out
>> of our messes.” (*Theology of Surprise*,
>> p. 39) Our current situation brings to
>> mind a sermon that we heard in the Philippines during the last days of
>> Marcos.
>> It was entitled “It feels like Friday, but Sunday is A-Coming!”
>> Whether we’re enmeshed in the
>> death or the resurrection part of the dynamic, both are operative. That’s
>> what
>> Easter celebrates.
>>
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