George Hermanson

A Spirituality for Our Time with Jay McDaniel

A Spirituality for Our Time with Jay McDaniel
On June 17 to June 19 the Madawaska Institute for Culture and Religion will be hosting Dr. Jay McDaniel.  A Spirituality for our Time
He will examine the questions of prayer, ecology, interfaith, and aesthetic so we can form a spiritually that will ground us in our faith journey.  
*Through Buddhism and Christian traditions we will deepen our faith. 
*Through poetry and jazz we will celebrate the harmonies of the universe. 
*Through conversations we will add intensity to our experience.
*Taking seriously the complexities of our time we will form a theology that will sustain us and our actions.  We will work on creating two kinds of harmony: harmony among people and harmony with the earth.        
*We will work on a bridge between cultures that is socially just, ecologically sustainable, and spiritually satisfying.
 Dr. Jay McDaniel brings with him a grounding in Buddhism and Process Theology. He will also bring his current experience of working with Process Centers in China.  He teaches  at Hendrix College as Professor of Religion and Director, Steel Center for the Study of Religion and Philosophy.  His current work includes the development of an organization called “Ecological Civilization International.”
 
He says "My aim as a teacher at Hendrix is to help students understand how people live and think in different parts of the world when they are shaped by religious points of view.  It is also to help students develop "philosophies" and "theologies" of their own in dialogue with the many religions and also with people who are not interested in religion.  I think of myself as a "constructive theologian" and encourage my students to recognize that they, too, can be creative thinkers in their own right.  Understanding others and creatively responding to what one learns: these are the guiding ideals of my teaching."
For more go to http://www.jesusjazzbuddhism.org/
The cost will be $225.  It will be located in Burnstown Ont.  To register contact George Hermanson at george@hermanson.ca  Pre register by May 15, deposit of $25 and the event will be $200.

The Shepherd

                The Shepherd as Outcast
 John 10: 22-30            The Reverend Dr. George Hermanson           Easter four, April 21,2013

In works of literature we always have an introduction to the characters, and as we read or watch we get to know them better.  This is the case of todays texts - have two main characters - the lamb and the shepherd. First we are introduced to is the lamb.  Psalm 23 is told from the viewpoint of the sheep, not the shepherd.

However, the image of us being sheep can be problematic.  It can be used to put down those who follow without a thought.  It is kind of mindlessness that some critics of religion place on believers.  I think most of us are uncomfortable with being thought of as unthinking, sheep like followers. Helpless like sheep.  We are not really happy with this sense, for after all do we not have strength and power to deal with the issues of life?

To understand the characters we have to move back in time to see how sheep and shepherds were understood.   The lamb was the symbol in the Passover of the liberating acts of God, from slavery to freedom, from no people to a people.  It was the risk and venerability of the lamb that the poet was getting at - in the 23th Psalm - it was from the view point of the lamb who now has no fear, for the rod and staff comfort.  The shepherd of shepherds cares for me, as the hymn puts it.  Now I can face my enemies - external and internal - and overcome in love.  It is a realistic understanding that there are wolves who seek the end of the lamb.  There is danger out there in the world. The obvious image is the role of the shepherd is keep the wolves at bay - to protect.  Comfort.

Yet while we have the image of the shepherd as a protector within the culture of the time,  
shepherds were the outcasts of society - like the fishers they were unclean by vocation.  The were threatening and not turstworthy.  Competing images.  Comfort and threat.  Unthinking following and being cared for from a place it was not expected.

The writers of the bible play with images because in the tradition there is the whole kingly image of the shepherd.  But it is a strange image for a king - the boy shepherd David becomes the king. A reversal of all conventional images of power and prestige. So the image the power of God as that of the shepherd again would be a puzzle - protection that comes from being from persuasion not coercion.

Competing images.  Comfort and threat.  Unthinking following and being cared for. The good shepherd, the shepherd who guides you through the valley of the shadow of death, evokes a sense of calm and strength.  And the lamb was an image of sacrifice, so here is the shepherd who is both lamb and shepherd. 
 

Here the good shepherd is the sign of divinity.  The lamb of sacrifice being the force of love that overcomes the threat of Imperial Powers.   It turns all images of kingship and power upside down. From the outsider comes redemption.  From the edges of experience comes resurrection life.  It reinforces the biblical theme that God upsets the notions of respectability.  It reinforces the images that the God of love welcomes all who society would call the least.

In the shepherd and the lamb the different parts of experience are brought together.   Shepherding in this sense creates us as persons and as communities.  The shepherd illuminates the lure of God that unites in beautiful, symmetrical harmony things we often see as unrelated.   Our varied, complex pluralistic world, with many different perspective are in the shepherding care of God formed into a complex unity.

It is the lamb of God who experiences our suffering with us and is not overcome.  It is the shepherd who walks with us, feels with us, who gives us the strength to be the lamb and shepherd for others. 

This is a story of empathy.  It is the dual function of God who is both lamb and shepherd.  It is a powerful image of the God who protects us  and suffers with us. The protection takes place in suffering and we are not stuck there, we are not defined by it, for with support and love we can live with it and through it.  With the help of others we can overcome suffering.  Together,  we can build a new kingdom of love on earth.

The images speak of an inner reality that binds us together.  Empathy is the spiritual ability to feel our way into another’s place, to feel our way into another’s person.  It is the ability to indwell in the other, and this is the ability to connect.   We come to know our selves through our interactions with others.

It is not what we say, look like or believe that is crucial.  What is crucial for the common good is how our faith leads to action.  It is to be surprised by love.

We need love.  We need the unconditional love of persuasive love to get on with the getting on.  What we need to do is to recognize it breaking out in the unexpected places.

We know those people, named and not named who can be counted upon to speak justice and compassion to the forces that seek to destroy.  We know those who use persuasion to bring hope to chaos.  They are the Nelson Mandals, the Martin Luther Kings and those whose name never hit the front page.  We have all had a shepherd who revealed to us the persuasive love of God for all of creation.  Know what.   We too can be that shepherd.  Know what. We have been that shepherd who brings healing comfort to those in pain, who feel in our very being the fears of the world and are not undone.  We have been those who have kept the wolves of life away. We are called to this vocation.

Can we Trust God?

Can We Trust God?
Second Sunday of Easter  -  Dominion Chalmers United Church Ottawa
Acts 4:32-35
 John 20:19-31
The Rev. Dr. George Hermanson
This Sunday is called Low Sunday.   There are fewer people and less energy. This is because of all the energy that went into Holy Week and Easter services.  The numbers return to the faithful who are here week after week or some variation of what is regular attendance.

We are like those who gathered in the upper room asking what is next?  They were there waiting for things to settle down.   They were in hiding and asking now what?  Then they have an experience of Jesus and he says “peace be with you.”   Then he reminds them they are now going to be sent out to live the way of compassion. They were sent back into the world full of danger and joy.  They were asked to return to the world that had crucified Jesus.  They had to leave a safe space.
Into the story come Thomas.  It seems he had missed the other experiences his friends had.  They have told him of their experience and he responds  “show me”.  He wants what they had.
Thomas’ simple statement; “Show me” echoes down the ages and compels us to examine the basis of our faith, just as he examined his. We hear it in the phrase, "show me the money." He has been criticized as the doubter, the one whose faith was not sufficient to the task of believing in the resurrection.

However, to call Thomas a doubter is to miss the point of the story.

I find in Thomas a person of modern sensibilities and one who can serve as a model for our own questions of faith.  It is more a question of trust.  What is it that we can trust?  Without trust it is hard to act.  He wanted more than their words. He did not trust their witness.

We live in a world based on trust. Often we don’t think about that.  Living  in community demands cooperation, and that means mutual trust. This is essentially a religious question. For it is a question of moral leadership.

Thomas is our connecting point. For we are like him. We stand with Thomas. We are the community of John's time, a minority in our hostile culture. We are the church that is reforming and struggling with how it will be the church."Show me the money," is the expression when we express skepticism about the truth of someone's statement. Where we really do not have trust in the witness. Before we commit ourselves to something, we want to know whether it will work thus worth the energy or commitment.
William James writes about first hand and second hand faith.  While important, second hand faith does not give us the energy for action.  It is first hand faith that builds trust and energy for the flourishing of life.

We share the same issues with Thomas. He wanted first hand faith.  Like him, we don't want second hand faith. It is not good enough for the flourishing of life. Nor did he want blind faith, for that is too easily misused. Blind faith does not encourage  us to probe the surface reality we experience. Blind faith allows to cruise through life without really living its joy and danger. Blind faith appeals to our prejudices or ideology or the way things are without questioning.

Thomas wanted the experience of deeper vision or sight.  We see this in the play on the words seeing, touch, thrust.  He wanted to access the inner workings of reality. Like Thomas we, too, want a real experience of God. Like Thomas, we want to access that experience of God, the experience we need to change our perception about what is real.

The three easy-to-miss words mark the fact that this story will not end in a feeble spasm. Instead, the momentum Thomas will bring the burgeoning Christian movement will be far-reaching. Think of the tradition of Thomas founding churches in India.

"After eight days," the text notes, Christ appeared to Thomas. References from the Old Testament encourage us to consider the divine blessing and commissioning that occur on the eighth day. The eighth day is the fulfillment of priestly ordination, the day for dedication of the firstborn, a day to mark in circumcision the covenant relationship, a day of gratitude and offering. Could it be that Thomas will be marked on this eighth day and commissioned for service?
When Thomas has his closed-door encounter with the raised Christ, unbelief isn't the issue. Perception is. He applied critical faith.

Critical faith is based on trust in God. It is first hand faith.  It is to have faith that God is working toward beauty and the good, and will not turn aside from this task. God is dependable. Critical faith knows we can deepen our faith by asking critical questions of our tradition and inherited belief statements. Critical faith knows that all life is lived in faith. We know this by the language we use. We speak of optics or the lenses; templates; models; patterns; metaphors; and myths. These images remind us truth is always seen through images and thus must be tested.

We do that in living by practice, by living in new ways, thinking new thoughts, imaging new reality.  This is critical faith. We can test the truth of God by the walk of faith. We can test the truth of our faith by how we live.

If we truly believe that Jesus preached an inclusive kingdom where God loved all of creation then that will concretely change the way we live. The experience of Risen Lord brings a new, second creation to those whose animating spirit has been blocked, thwarted, or disillusioned. We are in wonder so we live with wonder.

God is here, in present reality and when we let that guide us, God will become even more present in our living. God is related to all that now is, touches all living in this moment. God is not only related to all the past and present, God opens the future. Resurrection is the statement that God is faithful to us and God has chosen us.

To begin here is to see a Mystery of love so deep and compelling that we cannot escape it, even when we deny it. This mystery of Grace that affirms us and trusts our free human will. God is faithful and has chosen us. It is to know we are acceptable.

This is the ground of moral leadership, for we are called to be witnesses to God's grace so that when others look at us they can take courage. If we live that vision, we become a beacon to others.  Now what? is intentionally  living the faith of an inclusive community