Into Holy Week

Update on the next BWJ space: 

meet three characters from the Holy Week narratives, hear their stories, and reflect on the events of the days before Jesus was crucified. 

hear again or for the first time the cool jazz guitars of Daniel Lee and friends, local musicians.

begin your journey into Holy Week, remembering the sacrifice Jesus made, bringing about a new creation, a radical reign, renewing our relationship with God. 

4.00 - 5.30 Sunday 5 April

The Pines 2

Belair National Park

Bring drinks, nibbles, chair/rug and friends. 

advent stories in the carpark

Well, last night was cold and a little windy, and the threat of rain ever-present, but for those who brought their chairs and picnics to the Blackwood UC car park were warmed by the smooth jazz, inspired by stories of hope and courage, and enjoyed conversation and creativity. 

We heard the story of Edith Cavell, an English nurse in Belgium at the time of the German invasion during WWI. Edith helped soldiers to escape German capture. She was arrested by German soldiers, imprisoned, court martialled and executed. Her hope in Christ inspired her imitation of Christ, and she stated as she went to face her death, that patriotism was not enough: 'I must have no hatred or bitterness toward anyone.' 

Dietrich Bonhoeffer also found himself on the wrong side of the German army, though this time he was a German church leader opposing the Nazi regime, and pleading the church to do the same. He chose to stay in Germany rather than leave, to suffer alongside his fellow German Christians in order to have integrity in the rebuilding after the war. Bonhoeffer did not get that chance, killed by the Nazis in the final days of the war. His courage, positivity, and trust in the closeness of God comforted and inspired his fellow prisoners during his 18 months of imprisonment. 

Martin Luther King's story is well known. His call to non-violent protest for the civil rights of African Americans during the 1960s put him in opposition to fellow African Americans, his demand for civil rights put him in opposition to much of the rest of America. But his knowledge of the love of God gave him hope for peace in his nation, gave him courage to fight for the outcome he believed would come, risking his life. He too lost his life in pursuit of peace. 

Mother Teresa is also very well known for her choice to live amongst the poorest of India and suffer with them. Though she has been well praised for her work, and inspired many to join her in India, or to act with compassion and love and care in other places of need, she has also faced much criticism. She too found her hope and the courage to go on in God. 

The final story we heard was of an unnamed Christian publisher in Burma, who is being persecuted by the junta. Their wish is for all religions to be eradicated from Burma, bar Buddhism, and many Christian churches, schools and orphanages have been forced underground. It is a costly act of discipleship for the Christians in this land. But as this publisher says, people are yearning for the word of God, and having found his hope in Christ, he feels he can do no other than to work for Christ, live for Christ. 

These stories demonstrate that deep hope and trust in God, in Jesus Christ, insists on being lived out. May we all have the courage to act on the hope we find in God this Christmas, and every day. 

The stories were sourced from Gordon Brown's book Courage: Eight Portraits, Becky Benanate in Legends: Women who changed the world, the vatican site, wikipedia, voice of the martyrs, and the  site of the Anglican church in Melbourne. 

Was Jesus a jazz musician?

this was the first session I went to on my last day of greenbelt, a huge christian arts and social justice festival in the uk - more posts at sarah tells stories. 

Philip Roderick is involved with a group called contemplative fire, who had led some worship sessions that I had missed and it was too late by now to do anything about that. However, coordinating a jazz church space as I do, I thought I would hear someone else's reflections on Jesus and jazz. 

Really there was nothing new in what Philip said, using language for Jesus and jazz such as flow, zone, grace and swing. there is a dance between structure and freedom in jazz, as there was in the life of Jesus, in what he was teaching the disciples. As he, as we, allow the Spirit to speak/flow through structures, the both/and-ness of things is beautiful. 

All of creation has a melody - we just need to hear. As we interact with others, Philip suggests that it is helpful to find the melody of others and thus be able to walk in time with them. 

improvisation is hugely underestimated according to Philip, though as I rewrite this from my journal, I forget the context of that thought ... later in the session, he spoke about bricolage, french for taking what we have and using just that, and he led us in an improvisation singing vive la bricolage. it was lovely. as community we strive to breathe together, think together, pray together in improvisation. again, the image of community mirrors that of a jazz band, with its delicate balance of personalities, each individual and each group learning the best of the past and adding our own personal vision. One has to understand one's own role in the group well enough to improvise. 

Philip spoke of three elements of a jazz musician: respect for tradition (learning not merely repeating); respect for other players, allowing each person's gifts to blossom; openness to learning something new from an old piece and from each other. Are these elements in all people, living in community? 

Relating jazz to the kingdom, Philip suggests that in neither is their failure - only feedback. Jazz operates on the knife-edge of failure, incorporating mistakes and bum notes. 

And on contemplative prayer, he says that this requires the same attentiveness, atunement and alertness that jazz calls for in order for music to play the performer, in order for us to be played through - hearing echoes of Spirit??