Church

So, this morning I didn't quite make it over to Baptist Church of the Covenant, where I'm a member. Church starts at 9:00 and the choir has to be there by 8:30, and I had only just finished making my coffee at that point.... not the best excuse, but there you have it. Then I thought I might walk over to Dawson Memorial -- it's five minutes from my place. But they are more fancy shmancy than Covenant, and I didn't feel like walking over there in heels. Besides, it's cold today - 32 degrees. Again, not great excuses. So instead I'm taking in the Duke Chapel service online.

The preacher this morning is Archbishop Elias Chacour, a Palestinian Christian who lives in Northern Israel. According to the introduction, he's been called the "Desmond Tutu" of the Middle East.

Attending via webcast is not the same as being in church, communing with other believers, but it can be a worshipful experience nonetheless, and the preaching at Duke is always of high calibre. The choir this morning is an incredible experience as well.

In case you're wondering, yes, I'm blogging while listening to the service. They are singing the first hymn right now, and processing in. The sound is great, but the picture is a bit jumpy, because I don't have the best connection.

From the Prayers of the People:

"Holy Spirit, for the times we have known what your gospel requires of us, but have been too tired or too lazy or too distracted to do it, Lord have Mercy."

From the Old Testament: "None but your own issue shall be your heir" [God to Abram, from Genesis] - but Hagar's son WAS Abram's issue. He just wasn't Sarah's issue. Interesting.

From the New Testament reading: "Their end is destruction, their God is the belly..." [The belly, as in our physical and wordly appetites? I've never heard this Philippians passage quite this way.]

Now they are singing "Dona Nobis Pacem" -- always beautiful. More processing with the cross and candles and what-not. Ooh, and the Bible. I really like liturgical churches. The girl reading the Gospel message is standing in the middle of the church with the Bible, Cross and the candles. Today's gospel lesson is a reading of the Beatitudes.

"Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the Children of God" -- "You are the light of the world" [this passage makes me think of the Marianne Williams quote about "Our greatest fear" - about letting God's light shine through us, rather than hiding it...]

From the sermon:
"Today we are here with millions of other Christians to celebrate the breaking news that has changed our lives, our vision, our hope and our relations with each other. Not long ago a man from back home, a countryman of mine, was crucified, died and buried. And on the third day he was risen. This is the breaking news I am called to remind you of: why you are here, and why do you invite a Palestinian a Christian from Israel to remind you of this fact."

"The sermon on the mount is not a statement to sit quiet and happy and wait for God to act .. but a calling to us to get up to move to get out and do something"

"Really and truly, we are calling for justice. Do not contemplate the beauty of Peace. Peace needs no contemplator. Peace needs people to get up and storm the world."

"I am your forgotten and ignored brother. I am a Palestinian. I have no bombs. The only power I have in my hand is this man Jesus Christ. I was not born a Christian, I was converted to Christianity."

"For us Palestinians, 1000 years is like one day before the Lord. So 2000 years is like the day before yesterday ... when he was using the lives of my ancestors to bring the good news ... some of them were Jewish, some of them were Greek, some of them were Romans, some of them were Arabs ... there were no Americans."

"There should no privilege between Jew and Palestinian; both are children of God."

"Whatever we do should bring us to be plugged into God, and to be able to adopt this prayer of the Lord: Father in heaven, you are blessed...."

"Cross over from our Galilee to your own Galilee here ... where someone is waiting for you to listen, someone is waiting for you to hear, someone is waiting for you to share the story of good news."

"It is impossible that any one of us over there survive alone. Either we go hand-in-hand, or God forbid we shall be hanging next to each other."

"Your solidarity is vital. You can make a difference, a big difference."

"I encourage you ... continue supporting your friends the Jews. They need your friendship now more than ever. But please don't equate your friendship with the Jews with an enmity of the Palestinians."

They are about to start Communion, and are saying the Apostles' Creed right now, so it's the thought with which I'll leave you. Have a blessed day.

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
the Creator of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord:

Who was conceived of the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.

He descended into hell.

The third day He arose again from the dead.

He ascended into heaven
and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty,
whence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and life everlasting.

Amen.