In Support of All Saints Day (and a few quick thoughts on Reformation Day and Halloween)

Throughout my life the end of October and the beginning of November has been a disputed space. With three special days - Halloween, Reformation Day and All Saints Day - crammed into two days there is a lot going on.

Growing up in the 1970's and 1980's Halloween was viewed skeptically in my evangelical Christian community. In that era, with its paranoid mania about all things satanic, I remember halloween parties often being re-cast as "harvest" parties. While trick-or-treating was viewed as demonically fraught, hay-rides were a harvest celebration. In the next decade, as a young adult, the church I worked for decided to throw a costume "harvest party" with the rule that you had to come dressed as your favorite Bible character. In more recent years Halloween has often been a celebration of our neighborhood and the children that live in it. In fact my daughters sat around our table this past Sunday night retelling the stories of by-gone years of trick-or-treating and parties. Halloween, like a trick-or-treat sack, has been a mixed bag for me throughout my life.

Woven into the end of October is also a thread of history. My formative years were spent in a Dutch Reformed context. This reality meant that each year the well-meaning amateur religious historians in my life were quick to remind anyone in ear shot that October 31 is not Halloween, but rather Reformation Day. For those who did not share my upbringing, it was on October 31 that Martin Luther nailed his 95 Thesis to the door of the Wittenberg All Saints Church in 1517. This action touched off the Protestant Reformation. Luther was rightly protesting against the Catholic Church and its practices at the time. However, Reformation Day has a mixed legacy in my mind as well. Despite being made to watch overly dramatic black and white movies of Luther's life in school, I support the Reformation solas (meaning alone) - scriptura (scripture), fide (faith), gratia (grace), Christo (Christ), Deo gloria (Glory to God). However, there is a sola that Luther unintentionally triggered that reaches into our contemporary world as much, or possibly more than, the other five - sola schisma or splitting alone. Perhaps this would be more aptly put semper schisma - always splitting - to go with semper reformanda (always reforming).

In the first 1500 years of the church history there was one schism. In 1054, in what is called "the Great Schism," the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox branches of the church split. In the 500 years since Luther sparked the Reformation, Christianity has continued to divide into somewhere around 30-45,000 denominations world wide. (1) Born in division, one of the legacies of the protestant branch of the church is a seemingly never ending division - sola schisma. I wonder how much this constant division over "truth," and how we understand that truth, plays into the rampant divisiveness we see in all areas of life in our current historical moment. So Reformation Day is a bit of a jumble for me too.

Which leads me to the third of the special days packed into October 31 and November 1, All Saints Day. In my tradition this third day is the least of the three, but it is the reason the other two observances exist at all. Luther posted his protest paper on the Eve of All Saints day knowing that worshippers would be showing up en-masse to celebrate All Saints Day the next morning. Halloween's long and complicated history can be simplified into the fact that it is the Eve of All Saints Day (or All Hollows Day in older vernacular). Put simply All Saints Day is the remembrance and celebration of all the believers that have gone before us. It is a day to remember that we are part of "the true Christian church of all times and all places." (2)

We protestants have no real practice or sense of Saints. In my context we sing "For all the Saints who from their labors rest..." but it is balanced out with warnings that our church does not pray to saints but only to Jesus. Our historic aversion to artistic expression as part of religious practice also doesn't help either. However, my understanding of saints began to change a number of years ago when I read James Alison's thoughts on Mary. (3) In essence Alison says that the gift of Mary is that if she, a created being, was used to bring God's new creation into the world, so can we. However, where the the shift really hit home was as I walked across England this past summer.

In each town that we traversed along Wainwright's Coast-to-Coast trail in Northern England there was a church. Our group, and myself in particular, began going into these old places of worship. In nearly every case, to get into the buildings one had to walk through a cemetery. In many locations those that had gone before were buried in the floor of the church. The stain glass windows, the monuments on the wall, the statues and art, even the ancient age of the buildings all pointed to those that had gone before. Those that gathered to worship in these places were surrounded with all the saints that had worshipped in that place before them. This stands in contrast to many of the worship spaces in protestant America which are removed from the graveyards and have no art depicting those who have believed before us.

James K.A. Smith writing on the work of Charles Taylor states “…in our secular age, believing doesn’t come easily.  Faith is fraught; confession is haunted by an inescapable sense of its contestability.  We don’t believe instead of doubting; we believe while doubting.  We are all Thomas now.” (4)  This sense that faith is hard to find and often comes with questions in our world is what makes the saints come alive for me. If I need to borrow some faith from someone else when mine is weak, or I am in doubt, looking to the Saints can be a source of comfort, inspiration and encouragement. Often we think about our communities of faith carrying us, but what if we expand our community of faith beyond just those living souls we share Sunday's with to include all of those that have gone before? What if we can look to those that have come before as examples of what it means to have faith, struggle, endure, overcome, etc.?

This All Saints day I find myself thinking about those that have gone before. Some bear the official title of "Saint" others do not. Some are enshrined in art and stained glass and others live on in stories and memories. All of these saints have something to teach me. They all have something to offer me in times of certainty and in doubt. We need those that have gone before to guide us and to loan us their faith when ours is weak.

So happy All Saints day! Who are the saints - the believers in Jesus - that have gone before you that you are remembering today? Who are you celebrating? Who are you grateful for? Who are you borrowing faith from?

Joel K

(1) https://evolution-outreach.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1007/s12052-010-0221-5   &   https://www.livescience.com/christianity-denominations.html

(2) This is a foot note to the footnote added to the Christian Reformed Church version of the Apostles' Creed. https://www.crcna.org/welcome/beliefs/creeds/apostles-creed

(3) 'Living the Magnificat' - in Broken Hearts and New Creations: Imitations of a Great Reversal. James Alison (2010) London: Continuum Books.

(4) How (Not) To be Secular: Reading Charles Taylor.  James K.A. Smith (2014) Grand Rapids: Eerdmans. pg. 4.

An (e)strange(d) Tuesday

Tuesday June 14, 2022 was a typical ministry day for me, but one I will never forget.

The day started by being on a Zoom call with the Resonate Global Mission (Christian Reformed Church) Community of Practice for Urban Ministry. This wonderful group of people serve in urban contexts across the US and Canada and do amazing work. Over the last number of years the members have become like a family. One participant on this call described the group as the oxygen that allows her to do her work. It is beautiful community that bears each others burdens, learns from one another, and collectively seeks the shalom of the cities where we live, work, learn and play.

After that Zoom call it was time for our weekly staff meeting. My co-worker Jessica (Resonate Mission Network Developer) and I meet each week to discuss the business of the Anchorage Urban Training Collaborative and Reclaim (an emerging congregation in the Christian Reformed Church). We discussed Reclaim's upcoming service. The service is what we call "A Work of the People Service."(1) In those services members bring a song, thought, verse, etc. to share in a potluck type format that reflects the practice Paul teaches in I Corinthians 14:26-33. These beautiful services help our community to live into our desire to be the body of Christ to each other and practice the priesthood of all believers.

After staff meeting I drove downtown to the Office of Children's services where I volunteer as a chaplain. In this role I encourage and support the State social workers that strive to protect children that are in unsafe or abusive homes. This week that looked like talking with managers about future trainings on stress management and offering onsite meditation and mindfulness sessions. It also included sitting with staff and hearing their stories and encouraging them.

After leaving my chaplain responsibilities behind, I drove over to the chapel where members of Reclaim were preparing for a memorial service for one of our members who died unexpectedly. When I arrived people were caring for the family. Others were moving furniture and setting up the room for the service. Texts and calls were being made to others to gather all that was needed for the memorial. The scene was a beautiful picture of the body of Christ caring for each other.

June 14, 2022 was a pretty typical Tuesday. Nothing strange. However there was something estranged about it.

More than 3000 miles away the Synod of the Christian Reformed Church was gathered on the campus of Calvin University in Grand Rapids, MI. The primary matter being discussed was a report on Human Sexuality that views adultery as any unchastity including adultery, premarital sex, extra-marital sex, polyamory, pornography and homosexual sex. That report was accepted and a day later made a matter of confession. Put another way, members, in particular clergy, must now agree to this understanding of adultery as a statement of their faith. I agree with nearly all of the this statement, but the confessional status poses real issues for me.

Let me put this in context. I was born just over 49 years ago, and baptized in Holland Heights Christian Reformed Church. I've been a member of the CRC my entire life. I've been a pastor, youth pastor, elder and Resonate Network Developer in the denomination. I was ordained as a Commissioned Pastor in 2008. I was raised in a Pastor's home. My dad served CRC churches as a staff pastor for 34 years. The Christian Reformed Church is DEEP in my DNA. 

Also deep in my DNA are the words of Jesus. When asked what the most important commandment was Jesus responded “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets” (Matt. 22:37-40 NIV).

The ruling of Synod fails, in my opinion, to love LGBTQ+ people as we love ourselves. The ruling makes ones sexuality a primary identity in matters of faith, not our identity as beloved children of God. The ruling rejects the LGBTQ+ people I know and love - including my daughter and her wife, a beloved theologian I've learned much from, colleagues, and friends.

In some way or other the my workday Tuesday was done under the banner of the Christian Reformed Church. I am a pastor of that denomination after all. In light of that, I wonder if the reality of the work on the ground, in the real world - on Zoom calls, in State office buildings, chapels being prepared for funerals, and worship services was considered when this line in the sand was drawn by Synod. I further wonder about how many of the delegates that voted yes to this confessional change are in relationship with LGBTQ+ people. Where they able to name the persons this decision effects? 

On Tuesday June 14, 2022 my church of nearly 50 years made a decision to exclude me as an affirming pastor, or so it seems. On that day nothing strange happened. It was just a normal ministry day. But now we - my denomination and I - are estranged.

Joel Kiekintveld

Footnote:

1 - The word liturgy means, a work of the people.

A Prayer for Racial Healing

Back in August I was invited to offer a prayer for racial healing at a celebration for Chief McCoy, Anchorage's first black Chief of Police.  I thought I would share it here.

A Prayer for Racial Healing

Dear God,
The Bible shows us that the story of humanity starts in a Garden, and ends in a City.

The Garden – Genesis 1 & 2

At the beginning of the story…

In the garden, you, oh God, create all things and all things are called good 

                                                                    – in fact, you called your creation very good.

In the garden you created humans and called them good.

From that garden account we know that all humans were 
breathed into existence by your holy breath, 
filled with your spirit, 
and made in your image.

The City – Revelation 7, 21 & 22

At the end of the story…
We get a picture of what is to come…a holy city.

In that city we see gathered - people from every nation, tribe, people and language.

In that city there is no more mourning and you, God, wipe every tear from every eye.

That city is so safe - for all the people - that the gates never close.

That city is so bountiful that the needs of everyone are met.

Our City

But today we stand, 
not in the Garden of Eden
or in that perfect holy city of God, but in our city – Anchorage.

We stand in a city filled with people made in the image of God.

A city populated with people God loves and created as good.

But this city is not that perfect holy city of God...

Our city rests on land taken from the Dena’ina Athabaskan people, 

who you made in your image and called good.

Ours is a city, in a country, that, at its founding, saw black people as less than human,
despite being made in your image and called good.

Throughout this city’s history – this state’s history – this country’s history - 
    too often people have been told they were less than because of the color of their skin;
    too often they were made to cry, with no one to wipe away the tears from their eyes;
    too often opportunities were withheld based on color;  
which meant the bounty of this country, this state, this city was not shared so that all of the people’s needs were met.

Many seem to believe this racist past is in the past, but it present is in our present as well.

Just a year ago the streets were filled with people asking 
    this city, 
    this state, 
    this nation, 
    and the world,  
    to consider that Black Lives Matter.

During this pandemic year there were those in our nation quick to blame our Asian brothers and sisters for the virus – 
though they too were created by you and called good.

And now a debate rages in this nation about how, or even if, a discussion of race will take place in our schools, our government, and other organizations.

We do not live in the perfect city of God,

We live in the fallen middle,

We live in upheaval,

 
between the created goodness of the garden and the restored goodness of the city of God.

The Goldern Rule

But you sent Jesus to us, in this in-between space. 
He walked the earth as we do.
He showed us how to live together in these turbulent times.

When someone asked him to summarize how we live in the middle of the story that starts in garden and ends in the holy city he replied:

“'Love the Lord your God with all your heart 
and with all your soul 
and with all your mind 
and with all your strength.’
And ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’" (Mark 12:30b-31a)

But we humans have not loved each other as we love ourselves.

So often we love ourselves, 
and those that look like us, 
FIRST and above all else.

We have chosen to dwell on and magnify what divides us, 
rather than being united by the fact that we are all God’s children, and made in God’s image.

Confession

So dear God we ask for your forgiveness for the ways we have failed to love our fellow humans 
who bear your image,
who were created by you,  
and are loved by you.

 
We ask that you forgive us for not treating EVERY person as we would like to be treated.

We repent for our personal sins - 

for all the ways we have each failed to love as you thought us.

We ask for forgiveness for participating in the systems of sin that have treated some as less than human.

We ask that you change our hearts, 
so that we might love one another as much as we love ourselves

We ask that you open our eyes,
so that we might see everyone as you see them – as your children.

We ask that you breathe your spirit into us once again
so that we might be moved to do justice, 
and love mercy, 
and walk humbly with our God.

We ask that you will give us the strength & ability to tear down the evil the systems of oppression, separation and racism,
so that you might once again look on your creation, and its people, and say it is very good!

God we ask that you might make Anchorage a city where your children from every nation, tribe, people & language are welcomed, embraced & included.

God, teach us what it means to love one another.

And finally 
    Our Holy Father, who is in heaven, 

    We ask you to bring your kingdom here to Anchorage, as it is in heaven.

    We ask that your will be done in this place.

    We request that the daily needs of all of the people of this city be met.

    Forgive us God for not loving you and our neighbor as we should. 
    

    Help us to resist the temptation to love ourselves more than we love you or others.
    

    And we ask that you deliver this city from all forms of evil. 

We pray this all
    In the name of the Father who is for us,
    The Son who is with us, 
    And the Holy Spirit that unites us in the never-ending dance of love.      

AMEN.

Let the Donkey Speak

In the Old Testament of the Bible, in the book of Numbers chapter 22, there is an interesting story about a donkey. In the story a donkey speaks. That might bring to mind the Eddie Murphy voiced donkey character from the Shrek movies, or Mr. Ed the talking horse, but the ancient story is way more interesting.

In Numbers 22 we read about the King of Moab, a guy named Balak son of Zippor. King Balak has been watching the Israelites coming up out of Egypt and is afraid that this mass migration of people “Is going to lick up everything around us, as an ox licks up the grass of the field.” The situation is not unlike current fears of mass migration at the Southern US border. In response King Balak calls on a guy called Balaam son of Beor to put a curse on the Israelites. Balaam's reputation got him the job. He is known as someone who, when he blessed someone they were blessed, and when he cursed them, they were cursed.

After the request is made to curse the Israelites God tells Balaam he can't curse them because they are already blessed. So, Balaam sends the King's messengers away. This cycle repeats, but the second time God tells Balaam to go with the men.

The next day Balaam heads out riding a donkey, but an angel (seen only by the donkey) blocks the road and the donkey veers off into a field. Balaam is mad and beats the donkey to get it back on the road. At a narrow place in the road the angel blocks the donkey’s path again, and the animal crushes Balaam's foot against a wall trying to get away. Another beating takes place. The angel blocks the road a third time at a very narrow spot where the donkey could not turn. This time the beast simply laid down. Another donkey beating takes place. And then it happened, the donkey spoke.

"What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?,” the donkey blurts out.

Balaam responds, “You have made a fool of me! If only I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now.”

To which the donkey reasons, "Am I not your own donkey, which you have always ridden, to this day? Have I been in the habit of doing this to you?”

Balaam agrees and answers, "No." (Number 22:28-30 - NIV)

After the discussion with the donkey Balaam's eyes are opened and he can see the angel blocking the road.

This coming Sunday another ancient donkey will take center stage. Each year on the Sunday before Easter the Christian church remembers Palm Sunday with the story of Jesus entering the city on a donkey. Unlike Balaam's donkey this one doesn't utter a word, but speaks volumes.

We don't know who owned the donkey we remember on Palm Sunday. Jesus gave instructions for his disciples to borrow this young donkey colt for the trip into the city of Jerusalem. The donkey is a bold choice, and a colt aspect adds to the drama. Typically, when conquering heroes returned from a successful battle they would ride into the city on a horse, captives in tow, soldiers marching along, to celebrate their victory. The act was part victors’ parade (think ticker-tape parade) and part reviewing the troops with a dash of humiliating one’s enemies thrown in as well. The Romans had this practice. Kings in Israel were known to do this. Just over one hundred years before Jesus, the Maccabees rode into Jerusalem in a similar way celebrating a victory that made Israel a free state once again (I Mc 13:51). Finally, only years before Mark records his gospel, in 66CE, Menahem processed into Jerusalem to celebrate the struggle to overthrow the Romans. In each of these cases the goal was to celebrate a victory and show strength. If one is making a show of strength and force in the ancient world a horse is a fine choice.

However, nothing much has changed in our world. We are still looking for powerful symbols and military victory to guide and inspire us. Brian Zahnd notes that whenever he travels "There is Always Some Dude on a Horse." He sates,

"In my travels I’ve seen this same statue in every capital city — the horse, the dude, the sword, the pigeon droppings. Of course, they’re not really the same statue, but if you’re a foreigner and don’t know who the hero is they all look the same...I’ve seen horse-riding dudes in capitals from Lisbon to London, from Rome to Paris, from St. Petersburg to Washington D.C. Of course, the dude with a tricorn hat on a horse in D.C. is George Washington. It makes a difference if the dude is your dude. Most Americans upon beholding this marble dude will feel the kind of patriotic stirring in their bosom that the citizens of other lands feel for their equestrian statuary." (1)

A horse (with a dude on it) says a great deal.  A horse projects leadership, power, victory, triumphing over one’s enemy, strength and likely a whole lot more. But Jesus shows up on a donkey, not a horse.

In the story of Balaam we know what the donkey is thinking because the beast speaks. The story of Jesus on Palm Sunday (Mark 11:1-11; John 12:12-19; Matthew 21:1-11; Luke 19:28-44) prompts the reader to wonder what nearly everyone in the story is thinking. What is going through Jesus' mind as the praises surround him? What do the disciples think is happening? Does the crowd think a new political or military leader is on the rise? We only get hints in the texts to answer our wonderings.

Some have even wondered about what the donkey was thinking. G.K. Chesterton and Mary Oliver have written poems about the donkey. (2) Others have speculated on donkey thoughts and feelings, but we don't really know because this Palm Sunday donkey is mute, unlike Balaam's lowly steed. However, the donkey's lack of a statement doesn't mean that it's not speaking.

The dude on a horse imagery is far from the colt of a donkey Jesus sits on as he rides into Jerusalem. In fact, rather than riding high above the crowd on a steed, this young donkey may have struggled to carry Jesus and undoubtedly failed to lift him above the people. The diminutive size of the animal has led some to imagine Jesus' feet dragging on the ground as he "rode" into the city.

We often refer to Jesus' Palm Sunday processional as the Triumphal Entry, but name another leader the conquered on a donkey? While horses are noble, speaking to leadership, power and victory, donkeys are common lowly animals associated with service, suffering, humility, and weakness. This processional, though it looks similar to the Romans, King David, the Maccabees, and others, is different, starting with this dinky donkey.

The prophet Zechariah saw this ass entrance coming. In that prophets book he wrote,

        "Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion!

            Shout, Daughter Jerusalem!

        See, your king comes to you,

            righteous and victorious,

        lowly and riding on a donkey,

            on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

    

        I will take away the chariots from Ephraim

            and the warhorses from Jerusalem,

            and the battle bow will be broken.

        He will proclaim peace to the nations.

            His rule will extend from sea to sea

            and from the River to the ends of the earth." 

            (Zech. 9:9-10 - NIV)

 

The prophet sees that the king who is coming will be riding on a donkey (v.9) and that this will replace the warhorses, chariots, and weapons of the previous kings (v.10). The donkey riding king is different. The Donkey riding King is not interested in military force that dominates and conquers, but rather comes in a lowly way to serve. Rather than riding high above the people on a horse, Jesus comes low to the ground among the people. The prophecy of Zechariah could be retranslated this way, "See your king is not some dude on a horse like every other leader, he comes among you to show another way."

 

Many of us have inherited a Christianity that rides a horse. The gospel has come wrapped in militarism, colonialism, nationalism, and a winner-take-all mentality that seeks to conquer ("Onward Christian Soldiers" anyone?)  We should not be surprised or embarrassed by this, these are the things - militarism, colonialism, nationalism, and a winner-take-all mentality - most likely on minds of those yelling "Save Us! Hosanna!" as Jesus entered the city. However, we would be wise to listen to what the donkey is wordlessly saying to us. We would do well to attune ourselves to the message of the donkey this Palm Sunday - the message of the arrival of a very different King who is a suffering servant.

 

This Palm Sunday we might not hear the voice of a donkey as Balaam did, but we should let the donkey under Jesus speak.

 

 

Joel K

Footnotes:

(1) https://brianzahnd.com/2020/06/theres-always-some-dude-on-a-horse

(2) https://jonathangrieser.com/2019/04/14/the-poet-thinks-about-the-donkey-by-mary-oliver-poetry-for-palm-sunday/   &    https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/47918/the-donkey 

Ched Meyers' Binding the Strong Man: A Political Reading of Mark's Story of Jesus was helpful in crafting this post.

Why have I never heard this name before?: Dr. Eugene Callender and the CRCNA.

I am nearly 48 years old. Every one of those 48 years I have been part of the Christian Reformed Church in North America. My father was a pastor in the CRCNA for many years. I am an ordained pastor in this small Calvinist denomination. Growing up I learned the names of prominent CRCNA members. Names like Berkhof, DeVos, Ehlers, Plantinga, Smedes, Van Til, Wolterstorff, and Zondervan. But I learned a name today that I had never heard, Dr. Eugene Callender.

On a Zoom call today with other members of the CRCNA involved in Urban Ministry I learned the name Eugene Callender. The host of the call shared he had just read the autobiography of Dr. Callender - Nobody is a Nobody: The Story of a Harlem Ministry Hard at Work to Change America. He went on to say that Callender was a civil-rights leader, urban ministry innovator, and held important positions in both New York City and as an advisor in Washington D.C. The list of accolades was impressive and it sent my mind spinning. As soon as the call was over I looked him up.

The biography attached to Dr. Callender's book on Amazon reveals an impressive career. It starts, "For over sixty years, Reverend Dr. Eugene S. Callender’s career covered a broad spectrum of social, political, and devotional activism" before listing these achievements:

- Neighborhood missionary for the Christian Reformed Church

- 1950: creates "a ministry for drug addicts, alcoholics, welfare recipients, ex-convicts, battered women, and brutalized children. He also began the first community-based clinic to detoxify heroin addicts. Among those treated were famous jazz musicians Jackie McClean and Ike Quebec."

- Chaplain at Rikers Island the New York City jail.

- 1957, "Dr. Callender brought Dr. Martin Luther King to Harlem for the first time and created a public event from a flatbed truck in front of the Hotel Theresa on 125th Street."

- 1960, "became senior pastor at the Presbyterian Church of the Master" and started "the original Street Academy Program, an educational enterprise that provided opportunities for high school dropouts to succeed in a nontraditional environment. In the end, fourteen Street Academies were formed in Harlem with significant funding by major corporations in New York City. Two thousand students would graduate from Harlem Prep, some of whom are in prominent positions in America today."

- 1962, "helped out a young Alex Haley...took him to Reader’s Digest, the publication for which Haley eventually wrote the article that would become Roots." He also, "assisted Haley in finding a publisher for his book, The Autobiography of Malcolm X."

- Creates "the first and largest anti-poverty program in America, HARYOU-ACT, eventually becoming the executive director of the Urban League and later serving as the deputy administrator of housing under Mayor John Lindsay."

- "Served as president of the Urban Coalition, an organization founded to deal with inner-city relations following the widespread rioting in America in 1967 and 1968. As president of the coalition, Dr. Callender helped launch Positively Black, the first major black television show on NBC, as well as the Ashanti Clothing Enterprise, New Breed Clothing Company, and Essence Magazine."

- "Served on presidential commissions under Presidents Johnson, Nixon, Carter, Bush Sr., and Clinton." Elsewhere, it is noted that "he officiated at the funeral service for Billie Holiday" and "publicly debated Malcolm X."

That is just a taste, the list goes on.
All of this has me wondering why had I never heard of Dr. Callender until today? I've been in the CRCNA my entire life and do not remember anyone mentioning Dr. Callender even once. What makes it even more interesting is that I have practiced and studied Urban Ministry and the name never came up. My parents (both long time CRCNA members) ministered in West New York, New Jersey in the early 1970's, and they didn't pass his name on. I've been a pastor in the denomination for 13 years and never was this leader highlighted in any meeting I was a part of. Why? I think the answer is two-fold.

First, he was not Dutch. Not being Dutch is a bit of a sin in CRCNA circles. Growing up my Uncle jokingly wore a t-shirt that read, "If you're not Dutch, you're not much. While it may have been in jest, what makes a joke work is an underlying truth. Not only was Dr. Callender not Dutch, he was African-American. Dr. Eugene Callender was the first African-American pastor in the CRCNA, but unlike Jackie Robinson, there is no day set aside to celebrate his breaking of that color barrier.

Second, Dr. Callender was doing urban ministry and the CRCNA is a denomination that was founded in rural agrarian settings and continues to be shaped by that heritage. I suspect that innovative urban ministry work being done in the inner city of New York City in the 1950's was simply of little interest to the vast majority of CRCNA members at the time. I would also venture that not much has changed.

Dr. Callender was only in the CRCNA a few years. The denomination website lists his positions as a Minister of the Word this way:

- Manhattan, New York, NY (1955-1959)
- Home Miss., Negro Evangelizati, (1952-1955)

Elsewhere it is noted, "He was recruited in the late 1940s by The Back to God Hour to plant a church in Harlem. The first black graduate of Westminster Theological Seminary, he started out in a storefront, but no one came for services. So he started holding outdoor worship services, going from street to street. Eventually he attracted worshippers and opened a five-story worship center."

It appears from records that Dr. Callender was ordained in 1952 and withdrew from the CRCNA in 1958/59. It might be this leaving the denomination that caused his legacy to be less known. However, others have left - most notably Bill Hybels - and remained a name associated with the CRCNA and claimed by members.

I am encouraged and excited to have learned a bit of the life of Dr. Eugene Callender and will be eagerly checking the mailbox for his autobiography to arrive. A life like his needs to remembered and retold.

Joel K


References:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1463634811/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www2.crcna.org/person/270544

https://www.crcna.org/news-and-events/news/first-black-crc-pastor-dies

https://www.crcna.org/news-and-events/news/black-ministry-crc-has-far-reach

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugene_Callender#:~:text=For%20most%20of%20his%20life,City%20Housing%20and%20Development%20Administration.

https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/memorial-service-honor-eugene-callender-article-1.1511406

https://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/08/nyregion/rev-eugene-callender-who-saw-potential-of-disadvantaged-school-dropouts-dies-at-87.html

Were the Wise Men Saved?: Epiphany Part 2

Today is the first Sunday after epiphany, the day the Christian church remembers the arrival of visitors from the East at the home of Joseph, Mary and the Baby.  Epiphany happened around 2 years after Jesus birth, but you might know the Wise men from a nativity scene you have in your home or see elsewhere over Christmas.  

 

Our nativity scene is back in a box and tucked in our shed.  The reality is that the figures representing the Magi spend most of their time in boxes where no starlight can get in (thank you Terry ScottTaylor).  When the Wise Men do come out of their box, they get shoved into the wrong scene all together - near the manger, in line with the shepherds, waiting for a visit with a newborn wrapped in cloths.  This has always bugged me - our misplacement of the Magi - but it is another placement I have been pondering this year.

 

I grew up in an Evangelical world that saw everything in terms of in and out.  For example, music was either Christian (or even sacred) or secular.  This was also true for people.  People were viewed as either Christian or non-Christian, saved or un-saved, in or out.  Which makes me wonder about the Wise Men.

 

For a few years I taught High School Bible classes.  In my class there were weekly writing assignments that were aimed at making students think about Jesus.  The essays were all titled "Jesus is/was _________?"  One of the most challenging for the teens was "Jesus is/was a Christian?"  I got a lot of papers that amounted to "of course Jesus was a Christian" despite the term itself not showing up till after his death and resurrection.  In a similar way I have been pondering this epiphany season if the Wise Men were Christians.

 

We know only a little about the Magi, though we think that we know a lot.  We think there were three (no Biblical evidence, but there were three gifts).  We sing about them being from the Orient but that is not very likely.  We say they were kings, which is not right at all.  (Can we get rid of that song now?) The Bible tells us they see a star; they follow it; they want to worship the new king; they worship him; they bring gifts to "The King of the Jews;" and they thwart the plans of the reigning King of Jews, Herod, by going home another way which triggers a mass murder of infant and toddler boys.  That is about all the details we have. 

 

My evangelical training causes me to notice something.  These foreigners (who would not have been allowed into the temple) show up, worship, give gifts and leave.  First, I admire their dedication to the game.  After two years on the road they do what they came to do.  Second, there is no record of the Magi praying a prayer, or professing faith in Jesus, or even necessarily having a clue who Jesus really is.  This leads me back to the question, were the Magi saved?  Are the Wise Men, who are wrongfully included in the Nativity scene, excluded from heaven?  Are these visitors from the East in or out?

 

The professions of faith of the participants in the nativity are pretty well chronicled.  Mary sings a song in response to learning of being favored by God and that she is carrying the Messiah.  Joseph changes his plans from a quiet divorce to acceptance of marriage (that came with a heap of disgrace) in response to a dream and displays his faith in doing so.  The shepherds are the first evangelists of the coming of the promised one of God by spreading the word of the child's birth to anyone that would listen.  It goes without saying that the angels know what is going on and are celebrating the birth.  But with this band of outsiders, who take the longest trip to a baby shower ever, it is a bit hard to tell what exactly they believed.  No record of a profession of faith by the Wise Men is found in the Biblical text.

 

There seems to be an assumption that the Wise Men are saved.  I think this stems from the fact that they are in the story and everyone’s nativity scene.  However, clearly not everyone in the Bible is automatically in just by the virtue of being on the page.  Another assumption is that the Wise Men are saved based on the word "worship" which appears in the account three times.  The word is the same each time in the original language - proskuneo - which means to kiss; to fawn; to crouch; to prostrate oneself in homage; to do reverence; to adore.  It is essentially the act of bowing before a king - which is what they came to do - so this makes sense. The word is used twice in reference to the wisemen: first, when they announce their intention and second, when they perform that action.  Herod also uses the word when trying to trick the Magi into providing information.  This word, in my opinion, does nothing to help clear up the question at hand.  The Wise Men could have worshipped Jesus as a king without knowing he was the Messiah - the Son of God.

 

The question I am asking is impossible to answer.  It is clear to me that the Wise Men do not belong in a nativity, but as for them being in out of heaven that is a mystery.  I wonder too if it's the wrong question.  In the Gospels Jesus is often frustrated with those that think they know who is in and who is out as it relates to the Kingdom.  A number of Jesus' exchanges with the religious leaders of the time are around this idea of who is "saved."  Maybe it is not up to us to decide if the Wise Men are in or out, or if anyone else is in/out for that matter.

 

What is interesting to me about the Wise Men is that they are on a journey.  They are willing to follow a star for two years, not knowing entirely what it meant or even where they were going.  These Magi alter their trajectory in life to give away part of what they have.  These visitors from the East travel to a strange place and become outsiders asking the old king about this new king - something that could have gotten them killed.  Finally, after two years of slow travel they alter their direction again at the direction of a dream.  

I don't know if the Wise Men are in or out, but I do know they are a great example of the spiritual journey.  They are willing to give up their time, their wealth, their status and their plans to follow their spiritual impulse.  From the example of the Magi we can know what devotion to a Spiritual journey looks like.  Perhaps we should consider their orientation and not their location.  Rather than consider if they fall in or out, maybe we should value the direction they chose.  They are willing to give up a lot to head in the direction of Jesus, not knowing at all where it will lead them.  Am I willing to take that journey?  Are you?

 

Joel K

The Bloodbath at the End: Power Then and Now - Epiphany Part 1

The Bloodbath at the End: Power Then and Now

Epiphany Part 1

Today is epiphany, the day that the Christian church remembers the arrival of the Magi from the East that came bearing gifts to the one born "The King of the Jews." (Matthew 2)

The reigning King of the Jews - Rome's puppet king Herod - had quite the reputation in the then known world.  He built a mountain (758 meters / 2,487 feet high) in the desert to celebrate a military victory and named the place after himself.  The mountain had built into it a palace that had four towers, each seven-stories high at the top, a theater that could seat 600 people, and a pool so large boats could be floated in it.  He builds a port at Caesarea, a gym in Tripoli, the city of Augustus Sabasti, a temple in Leiodecia and Rhodes, fortresses in Cyprus, Macarus, Alexandria, and funds the Olympics - all to impress Rome.  All of this was paid for by heavy taxation, likely 80-90% of ones income total.  Herod lives a lavish lifestyle, spends money like water to impress others in power, and all of it is paid for by others.

Herod's grip on power included murdering anyone that opposed him including two of his sons, his brother-in-law (drowned in the pool), his mother-in-law and his wife's grandfather who was a high priest.  Augustus Caesar once commented "it is better to be Herod's pig than his son."  His ego was so large that he placed an order that when he died for the people of Jericho to be brought into a stadium and killed so that it could be guaranteed mourning.  He builds a new temple in Jerusalem (the one in Jesus' time) and places an eagle - the symbol of Rome - over the entrance, just to stick it to the people.  To rub salt in the wound he built a building next door to house Roman soldiers and made sure it was just a little taller.

It is to this King Herod - The King of the Jews - that a group of foreigners arrive looking to worship the new King of the Jews.  Herod is clearly not happy.  He tries to get the visiting worshippers to provide him information to knock off this new threat.  They don't because a dream tells them to take the long way home.

One definition of epiphany is "a moment of sudden revelation or insight."  The story of epiphany ends up being the one in the scriptural record that reveals just who Herod is.  After not being able to learn the location of the one "born King of the Jews" Herod orders all the boys born in the pervious two years to be killed.  Herod is willing to kill children to make sure he can keep his grip on power.

***

On this celebration of epiphany - January 6, 2021 - another king who builds towers with his name on them tried to keep his grip on power.  Another King, concerned with impressing others in power, fought to keep his position.  On this day another insecure leader was doing whatever it took to make sure his loss was mourned.  Today a new Herod encouraged opposition to his successor.  Today many of us were glued to the news of the riotous insurrection taking place at the Capitol Building in Washington D.C. in support of a king retaining his power.

Like the epiphany story in the New Testament revealed the true Herod to those reading the Bible, today is a day of revelation.  The rioting incited by Trump and his supporters is an epiphany revealing the results of four years of seeking to gain, control, and maintain power at any cost.

***

The good news in the original epiphany story and the epiphany taking place today is that Jesus, the Prince of Peace, is the one with the true power.  Jesus' power, however, comes from giving away all of his status, all of his control, all of what he possessed, all of the things he was the master of, in order to die.  Jesus allows himself to become the object of an angry job so that he could become a living epiphany that reveals our desires to be over and against the other - a matter of keeping our own power.  And not only does Jesus die as a victim of a mob, he comes back forgiving even those that killed him.  True power, a Jesus-like power, is not about holding on to power, but letting it go.

***

Phillipians 2:1-11

Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

6 Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
7 rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!

9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

Joel K