The Sins of Our Nation

These are struggles common to us all and illustrate the need for honest identification with the sins of our nation when we stand before God asking for His mercy.  Nehemiah and the families with him assembled themselves before the Lord with fasting, in sackcloth and with dust on their heads.  Though they were just a remnant, they completely identified with their nation and its history.  "Then those of Israelite lineage separated themselves from all the foreigners; and they stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers."  (Nehemiah 9:2)  When we ask for God's mercy on others, we should never say, "How could they do such a thing?"  We know exactly how they could do it, for the potential for worst evil lies within each one of us, apart from God's saving grace and the life of Christ within us.  "I find then the principle of evil is present in me, the one who wishes to do good," Paul said in Romans 7:21.

Source: John Dawson  -  What Every Christian Should Know About Reconciliation, p. 21

Gary Kinnaman (Phoenix)

• Our John 17 Movement has sprouted in NYC, where we held an advent worship event last fall, and in Houston, where the cardinal, bishops, priests and Protestant pastors have been gathering for fellowship and prayer.
• On June 10, at the invitation of the Vatican, seven prominent evangelical pastors from Phoenix and many others from Portland, Salem, LA, Denver, NYC and Richmond spent two hours with Pope Francis. We worshipped, prayed, and asked him prepared questions. He’s invited us back for similar meetings.
• Some years ago I launched a fellowship of the pastors of the largest churches in Phoenix. We/they have been meeting regularly now for ore than 10 years. Bill Hybels met with them two years ago and told them he had never seen that level of friendship and collaboration among influential pastor in any city in North America. This week they are gathering for their eighty annual summit. Several of these pastors were with us in Rome and have invited Joe Tosini to the retreat to talk about our extraordinary movement.

Source: Gary Kinnaman  -  Presented during Movement Day NYC, representing the John 17 movement and Greater Phoenix and Arizona Catholic/Evangelical Bridges, as posted on the John 17 FB page on 1 November 2016.

Does Forgiveness Excuse Abuse?

To make matters worse, some people claim that when a victim forgives an abuser, he is implying that he - the victim- is at least partly to blame.  Nothing, of course, could be further from the truth.  Forgiveness is necessary simply because both victim and victimizer - who in most cases know one another (or are even related) - are prisoners of a shared darkness in whcih both will remain bound until someone opens the door.  Forgiveness is the only way out, and even if an abuser chooses to remain in the darkness, that should not hold the victim back.

Source: Johann Christoph Arnold  -  Why Forgive?, pp.136-137

Don't Be Too Late

“You spoke at our church last weekend,” she responded. “You were teaching on Matthew 5:23-24, reminding us that Jesus commands us not to put off reconciliation. You said we should go today because tomorrow might be too late But I didn’t listen,” she went on. “And now it’s too late."

Source: Ken Sande  -  "Reconcile before it's too late", Relational Wisdom 360 blog post, 2017 Jan 8, https://rw360.org/2017/01/08/reconcile-before-its-too-late/

Foolish & Stupid

(23) Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid controversies, because you know they only produce arguments and divisions. (24) And the Lord’s servant must not enjoy getting into arguments but must be kind to everyone, able to teach the truth, and not resentful.

Source: The Apostle Paul  -  2 Timothy 2:23-24

Clergy & Lay Both

Speaking on BBC Radio Ulster recently, Prof John Brewer of Queen’s University Belfast claimed that the churches have evacuated the public sphere and are not living up to their peace-making responsibilities.

In the wake of events on and following the Twelfth of July, there have been various constructive suggestions about how churches might take on this role from people such as Prof Brewer, Dr Gladys Ganiel of the Irish School of Ecumenics, Methodist President Rev Heather Morris, David Smyth of Evangelical Alliance, Fr Tim Bartlett from the diocese of Down and Connor and Rev Steve Stockman of Fitzroy Presbyterian, to mention a few.

In addition to what they have been saying, I would like to offer these suggestions, keeping in mind that for the churches to lead the way in reconciliation, it will take leadership from clergy and public figures, as well as ‘small steps’ by people at the grassroots.

Source: Fr. Martin Magill  -  As quoted by Gladys Ganiel in "Fr Martin Magill’s Small Steps Towards Reconciliation", an article on her blog Building a Church Without Walls, 2 August 2013, http://www.gladysganiel.com/irish-catholic-church/fr-martin-magills-small-steps-towards-reconciliation/

Fr. Frank Ruff

Father Frank [Ruff] said good relationships between denominations are a matter of the heart as well as the head.
“It is not enough to have formal agreements and scholarly statements,” he cautioned. “You have to bring the attitude of respect and cooperation with each other.”

Source: Fr. Frank Ruff  -  As quoted by Frank Lesko in "After the Fire", Posted 3 Jan 2017 on Glenmary Home Missioners, http://www.glenmary.org/after-the-fire/

I see ...

I see a Catholic monk from the hills of Kentucky standing alongside a Baptist evangelist from the streets of Los Angeles and together offering up a sacrifice of praise.

Source: Emmanuel Katongole & Chris Rice  -  Reconciling All Things, p. 275

Duane's Story

It’s hard to believe it has been three decades since that memorable church service.  At the time I was a young youth minister and I remember the steady stream of phone calls flooding our church office.  Caller after caller asked the same question:  “Is it true that Henri Nouwen is speaking at the Presbyterian Church in Santa Ana?”  “Yes, at 7:00 this coming Sunday evening,” our church receptionist Maggie kept responding.

What was striking about the surge of phone calls was that they weren’t coming from our church members or Presbyterians in Southern California.  They were coming from Catholics.  The callers’ first response to hearing that Father Nouwen was in fact speaking on Sunday evening was a quick, “Great!”  But nearly all callers followed with the same second question: “Why is Henri Nouwen speaking at a Presbyterian church and not a Catholic church?   He IS a Catholic priest after all!”  Maggie graciously answered, “You’ll have to ask Father Nouwen that question.”

On the Sunday Henri Nouwen was scheduled to speak, our pastor explained in the morning worship services that seating would be limited for our special evening service as we expected a large crowd.  Henri Nouwen had just returned from his extended time in Latin America and our church was one of the first churches in the United States where he would be speaking and sharing his experience.  On the church patio that Sunday morning were a lot of perplexed Presbyterians wondering who this Catholic priest was and why was he speaking at our church. 

I was not perplexed.  Our Associate Pastor Bob had introduced me to Nouwen’s work and Bob was instrumental in bringing Nouwen to our Presbyterian church.  I was excited and in awe that I would meet Father Nouwen, having read many of his books. I was deeply moved and influenced by his book Wounded Healer.  The book profoundly influenced my thinking about being a servant leader.  Decades later two quotes still resonate within me: 

For one man needs another to live, and the deeper he is willing to enter into the painful condition which he and others know, the more likely it is that he can be a leader, leading his people out of the desert into the promise land. For we are redeemed once and for all. The Christian leader is called to help others affirm this great news, and to make visible in daily events the fact that behind the dirty curtain of our painful symptoms there is something great to be seen: the face of Him in whose image we are shaped.

I arrived early to the Sunday evening service and was glad that I did.  Lots of people arrived early in order to ensure a seat. I took a seat with friends and they commented that there were a lot of “new” faces at the service.  My friends remarked that they suspected the majority of the new faces were Catholics.  We were delighted to see such a variety of people in church.
 
As I observed the people with the “new” faces I noticed two things: 1) Their faces looked unhappy; and 2) Most of them sat with their arms across their chests as if they were holding onto something internally.   I happened to know lots of happy Catholics and none of them sit with their arms across their chests.  It was clear to me that any unhappiness experienced that evening centered on the fact that they were displeased that Henri Nouwen had chosen to speak in a Presbyterian church rather than a Catholic church.  He WAS a Catholic priest after all.

But I also observed the faces of Presbyterians seated throughout the sanctuary.  They didn’t seem comfortable in their familiar pews.  They had the look of perplexity, uncertainty, and diffidence, as if their faces involuntarily blurted out “What is going on here?  I’m not sure I’m comfortable with this.”

The church was packed that Sunday evening.  People who arrived late had to stand in the back.  Into this odd mix of people and emotions our Pastor welcomed all, introduced Henri Nouwen, and offered a prayer.  Father Nouwen then rose and in his gentle, humble, and gracious manner shared of what God had shown him in Latin America, what God had impressed upon him, and as a result, his increased sensitivity to the work of the Holy Spirit in his and others’ lives. 

As Henri Nouwen spoke the atmosphere in the church changed.  Metaphorically speaking, an awakening dawn interrupted the evening service.  Into the darkness of discomfort and distrust beamed a transforming light.  Into the cool air blew a warm breeze of faith.  Onto the unhappy and perplexed faces of those gathered that night emerged smiles like sunrises spanning across the sanctuary.  By the end of the service there were no arms across chests, but rather arms extended and hands clasped, Catholic to Protestant, brother to sister.  We concluded the evening by singing, “We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord,” and for many of us gathered that evening, it was our first experience of what that Oneness could look like and feel like.  It was powerfully inviting, energizing, and unforgettable. 

The memory of that service is vivid three decades later.  The decades have taught me that God’s power is real and accessible.  Therefore it is NOT hard for me to believe that the Spirit of God can remove barriers, heal wounds, upend history, transform hearts and communities.  That night, and many others since, have convinced me that the work of Wittenberg 2017 and its call to prayer, repentance, reconciliation, and unity is a worthy pursuit and holds the promise of being a transformative experience.  It prompts me to recall another quote of Henri Nouwen from Wounded Healer, when he wrote:  It is exactly in common searches and shared risks that new ideas are born, that new visions reveal themselves and that new roads become visible.

Source: Wittenberg 2017  -  "Duane's Story", from the Wittenberg 2017 (US) website
http://www.wittenberg2017.us/duanes-story.html

From Conflict to Communion

“The meeting in Lund stems from a process of dialogue spanning several decades,” said the Rev. Michael Bjerkhagen, official chaplain to the king of Sweden. “A milestone in this process was the document, ‘From Conflict to Communion,’ signed in 2013. In this document Lutherans and Catholics express sorrow and regret at the pain that they have caused each other, but also gratitude for the theological insights that both parties have contributed.”

Source: Catholic News Service  -  "Sorrow and joy: Marking the Reformation with honesty about the past", 28 October 2016, https://cnstopstories.com/2016/10/28/sorrow-and-joy-marking-the-reformation-with-honesty-about-the-past/

2017

With respect to 2017, [Catholics and Lutherans] should renew their effort with gratitude for what has already been accomplished, with patience and perseverance since the road may be longer than expected, with eagerness that does not allow for being satisfied with the present situation, with love for one another even in times of disagreement and conflict, with faith in the Holy Spirit, with hope that the Spirit will fulfill Jesus' prayer to the Father, and with earnest prayer that this may happen.

Source: Lutheran - Roman Catholic Commission on Unity  -  Conflict to Communion:  Report of the Lutheran - Roman Catholic Commission on Unity, p. 88

Eastern Orthodox Response to The End Of Protestantism

Given that I am Orthodox, I can't follow Leithart's vision for the future of the Church. But the notion that the unity of Christians is unacceptably utopian and that Christian division is something to be celebrated is foolish. Christians believe in more than contingent historical circumstances cementing division. Christians believe in the immanent providence of God, animated by the Holy Spirit, who overcomes the sin of man in order to create a new humanity in Christ: and Scripture absolutely reviles disunity. That there is disunity doesn't entail that we should be reconciled to it, any more than pervasive sexual immorality entails that we should reconcile ourselves to it because of the sinful tendencies of fallen man.

Source: Kabane  -  Youtube comment from "Kabane", an Eastern Orthodox believer, in response to Dr. Peter Leithart's preview of his new book, The End of Protestantism
https://youtu.be/jUYFftPlfyI

Revealing The Wound

The extension of Pope Francis’ trip to Sweden by one day to accommodate a papal Mass for the nations’ Catholics does not detract from the ecumenical power of the trip, but actually highlights the need for Christian unity, said the general secretary of the Lutheran World Federation.

Initially, Pope Francis had planned to make a day trip to Sweden Oct. 31 to take part in two ecumenical events launching a year of commemorations of the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. But at the urging of local Catholics, the pope decided to spend the night and celebrate Mass Nov. 1 before returning to Rome.

The Rev. Martin Junge, general secretary of the LWF, told reporters at the Vatican Oct. 26 that the Lutherans fully understand the desire of Catholics in Sweden to have Mass with the pope and the pastoral responsibility of the pope to fulfill that request.

“Of course,” he said, “it is also going to reveal that we are not yet united; it is going to reveal a wound that remains there” since the divisions between Catholics and Lutherans mean that in general Eucharist sharing still is not possible.

While Rev. Junge and other Lutheran leaders have accepted an invitation to attend the Mass, the fact that they will not receive Communion “is going to be a strong encouragement to continue working toward unity,” he said.

Source: Catholic News Service  -  "Ecumenical papal trip will also show pain of division, Lutheran says", 27 Oct 2016, https://cnstopstories.com/2016/10/27/ecumenical-papal-trip-also-will-show-pain-of-division-lutheran-says/

Olivier-Maurice Clément

Olivier-Maurice Clément (1921-2009) was one of the foremost Orthodox theologians of the 20th century. He actively promoted the reunification of Christians (he was friends with Pope John Paul II), dialogue between Christians and people of other beliefs, and the engagement of Christian thinkers with modern thought and society. As a history professor, he taught at the Louis-le-Grand lyceum in Paris for a long time. As a professor of the St. Sergius Orthodox Theological Institute (Institut Saint-Serge) he became one of the most highly regarded witnesses to Orthodox Christianity, as well as one of the most prolific. He was a founder of the Orthodox Fellowship in Western Europe, and was the author of thirty books on the life, thought and history of the Orthodox Church, and their meeting with other Christians, the non-Christian religions and modernity. He was responsible for the theological journal, Contacts, and became a Doctor honoris causa at the Institute for theology in Bucharest and at the Catholic University in Louvain.

Source: New City Press  -  Author page for Olivier Clément
https://www.newcitypress.com/authors/clement-olivier.html

George Miley on OM's Ships

Both during my years in India and those with the ships Logos and Doulos, I found myself in a different church most Sundays, often as the speaker.  As a team, we felt a strong sense of unity with and submission to the churches we visited.  There were times with the ships when we had a clear idea of the kind of program we wanted to arrange in a particular port city, but local church leaders asked us to adjust it.  We always honored their requests.  As long as we were in that city, we were part of the body of Christ there.  We would never intentionally do our own thing.

While in a port city, we ministered with our brothers and sisters from the churches there.  Local believers translated for us in the conferences and evangelistic events.  They greeted the visitors to the ship.  They served with us in the kitchen, engine room, and other non-public areas.  They were part of our prayer meetings and group devotional times.  We experienced God together, moving in and through us.

Sometimes hundreds of them came to the quayside just before the ship's departure to say goodbye.  It was not unusual for the tugs to be slowly pulling the ship away from the quay while people on the shore and on the ship waved to each other and wept softly.  We had been joined together in the work of the kingdom for only two to three weeks, and yet an incredibly powerful bond had been established between us.  Doing ministry together tends to do that.  We knew indeed that we were one family, one body.

Source: George Miley  -  "Loving the Church, Blessing the Nations", Ch. 13 "Apostolic Organizational Structures", pp. 143-144

German Lutherans

[Pope Francis] encouraged Catholics and evangelicals to work “to overcome the existing obstacles” by persevering with “insistent prayer” and “every [other] effort,” including “intensifying the theological dialogue and reinforcing collaboration between us.”
...
He recognized that progress has been made “in the spirit of reconciliation,” adding that the churches are working together “to seek the way forward to an even greater Eucharist fellowship.”

[Bishop Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, the chairperson of the Council of the Evangelical Church (Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland, abbreviated E.K.D.) in Germany] said the issue has been raised in the various dialogues with the Vatican. Cardinal Marx confirmed this effort at a press conference in Rome with the German evangelical leaders that followed the meeting with the pope. He said both sides are working together “to figure out if we can reach a common line.”

Source: Bishop Heinrich Bedford-Strohm  -  Bishop Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, the chairperson of the Council of the Evangelical Church (Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland, abbreviated E.K.D.) in Germany, as quoted by Gerard O'Connell in "German Evangelical Church issues historic invite to Pope Francis", America : The Jesuit Review, 6 Feb 2017
http://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2017/02/06/german-evangelical-church-issues-historic-invite-pope-francis

What brought Methodist, Anglican, and Catholic leaders together in Malaysia?

It all began with the case of the missing pastor.
On the morning of 13 February, Raymond Koh was exiting a highway in the leafy suburb of Kelana Jaya just outside of the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur.
A widely circulated CCTV clip appears to show what happened next. A convoy of black SUVs and motorcycles is seen swooping down on his car and boxing it in by the side of the road.
Then, several men jump out and run to Mr Koh. There is a flurry of activity, and the convoy moves off - along with his car. It is allegedly the last time anyone sees him.
...
The heads of Malaysia's Methodist, Anglican and Roman Catholic churches attended a prayer service for Mr Koh last week.

Source: BBC  -  "A missing pastor and the disappearances chilling Malaysia", Tessa Wong, BBC News, 12 April 2017, http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-39252139

Russell Moore

Conservative Christians, and especially Southern Baptists, must be careful to remember the ways in which our cultural anthropology perverted our soteriology and ecclesiology. It is to our shame that we ignored our own doctrines to advance something as clearly demonic as racial pride. And it is a shame that sometimes it took theological liberals to remind us of what we claimed to believe in an inerrant Bible, what we claimed to be doing in a Great Commission.

Source: Russell Moore  -  "How Martin Luther King Jr. Overcame ‘Christian’ White Supremacy", TGC - The Gospel Coalition, 2 Feb 2015, https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/how-martin-luther-king-jr.-overcame-christian-white-supremacy

Hanna's Story

My name is Hanna Zack Miley.  My father’s name is Markus Zack.  My mother, Amalie Zack, was his second wife. For the last 73 years of my life, I have not seen my father.  I could not embrace him.  The only material object that I could touch, and physically connect with him was the gravestone of his first wife located in the Jewish cemetery in Gemünd.  On June 23, 2013, that changed. 
 
When I first laid my fingers on the smooth granite that my father certainly touched decades earlier, it was early in my journey towards forgiveness and reconciliation. Rightly would my father and mother have also had gravestones in the Gemünd cemetery.  But they had no gravestones at all. They were Jews in Nazi Germany.  
 
In the winter of 1938, our little family of three moved from Gemünd to Cologne. I am not sure if we left under duress or voluntarily, looking for anonymity in a big city.
 
In Cologne my parents saved my life by placing me on the Kindertransport, number 8,814 of 10,000 Jewish children allowed to leave Germany.  In 1942, they too left Cologne on a train – but not one bound for Great Britain, where mine had taken me. They went to the Jewish ghetto in Lodz, Poland.  Unknown to its inhabitants, this ghetto was only a stage in their eventual extermination. Markus and Amalie Zack were gassed to death in nearby Chelmo. There was no gravestone.  There was no grave.  Their bodies were unloaded into a pit, only to later be dug up and burned.  Their ashes scattered in the forest fulfilled the chilling promise that, “The Jews will make good fertilizer.”

Now it is June 23, 2013. I am on the stage of the Kurpark Hall in Gemünd.  Four hundred Germans in the hall are celebrating the opening ceremony for the 800th anniversary of the founding of their home town.  I am anticipating something special, because they have asked me to stand with my husband George as F. A. Heinen, a local journalist, walks towards us holding in his hands a wrapped, rectangular object.
 
On this Sunday afternoon, I have already been recognized as the patron of this meaningful celebration.  I have already seen the only known photograph of my father projected on to a large screen – the camera capturing a moment of dignity before the Jews were ejected from Gemünd.  I have already heard a German high school student read his name aloud, in honor rather than in horror.  I have imagined tracing his name carved into his Stolpersteine, a brass paving stone that will be laid in front of his house, our house, on the main street of Gemünd, so that any passerby who stoops or kneels can read, “Died, May 3 1942, Chelmno.” 
 
George and I stand on the stage, the wrapping paper is whisked away from the mysterious object and F. A. Heinen, a big burly man, cannot hold back his beaming smile as he hands me a framed document.  What is it?  Heinen is the author of numerous books detailing the history of the region under National Socialism, and in his research sifting through the district’s archives, he discovered a document, a rental agreement for one of the many pieces of land my father owned in the area.
 
My father’s signature jumps towards me as I look down at the copy of the document.
 
A signature uniquely represents the person.  I already possess a poem my mother quoted when her pen touched the page in the autograph book belonging to Ruth, a fellow Jewish survivor from Gemünd.  Eight years ago Ruth tore out the page and gave me the poem with my mother’s actual signature. Now it has been joined by this flowing script displaying my father’s identity.  His hand is strong, the lines firm and confident.  I am lost in wonder as I consider the late-in-life gift of a second material connection to my father.
 
I think about the courage of the local group, composed of students, teachers, business people, retired citizens, government officials and the Roman Catholic and Lutheran churches.  They have researched and planned for months to honor the former Jewish citizens of Gemünd by placing their story at the center of the 800th anniversary. I think about the pain they must have experienced digging down into the evil of their own story, and I marvel at God’s mercy, that He would visit Gemünd with such healing mercy.  Just moments before, I had read in German my carefully prepared speech to the citizens of the home town which expelled me as a seven year old girl.  Holding my father’s document, the words I had spoken now take on deeper significance:
 
I am here representing the silenced Jews.  For many years, there was a veil of silence, but in the last few years there has been a willingness to learn the truth about the past.  I believe that the celebration today and the laying of the eleven Stolpersteine are public acknowledgements of the wrongs done by our ancestors.  When such acts of repentance take place, they open the way for God’s healing, forgiveness and redemption.  The darkness and evils of the past can be washed away, and we as citizens can stand upright, free from our burdens of the past.
 
As I consider the approaching anniversary of the Reformation and the commemoration through Wittenberg 2017 I believe there are valuable connections between the laying of the Stolpersteine and healing the wounds of  division that have persisted throughout church history as well as other historical “spaltung” (division).  Below are a few principles for reconciliation to consider.

The descendants of those bearing the guilt of past wrongs must take the initiative and lead in acts of repentance.
We who are the descendants of those who have been sinned against are uniquely placed to  pray for the hearts of those who have wronged us. The love  of God melts hard hearts.  We must ask God for the miraculous gift of forgiveness.
A significant part of the story is personal relationships. The Lord led us to individuals from Gemünd's past and present and gifted us with deep, healing friendships.
Through 13 years of intercession there were many discouragements and failures but we slowly learned God's way of doing things.  Now we stand awed by God's mercy.

Source: Wittenberg 2017  -  "Hannas Story", from the Wittenberg 2017 (US) website
http://www.wittenberg2017.us/hannas-story.html