There’s muscle in what we yearn for…

English: People Mourn over the Ruins of Jerusa...
Image via Wikipedia


Jesus said:

 

Tubwayhun lawile d’hinnon netbayun.

Wake up you who weep for your frustrated desire; 

you shall see the face of fulfillment in a new form.

(KJV version: Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted..)

Again, it is plain to see how a translation from Aramaic (through the Syrian tradition) favours a much more active stance than that which has been traditionally received through traditional translations in the West.

“…they that mourn…” evokes pictures of helplessness, hopelessness, grief and loss. One often feels the paralysis and numbness of such a state, and the comforting, strengthening embrace has a healing role to play. The problem, however, is passivity – you can’t do much about your situation except be open to receiving what is on offer if you are perceptive enough to see it.

I appreciate the “wake up” call, which can be as equally gentle and invitational as brash and confronting. “Mourning” is recast as “frustrated desire” which, incidentally, has no value, positive or negative, attached to it. Desire can be either, and it is often frustrated. If we are awake and alert to the fullness of the gift of life, and able to determine the ultimate shape of its fulfillment, our hope is restored.

If my frustrated desire emanates from a selfish passion (the so-called 7 deadlies!), fulfillment may come in the form of acknowledging what is life-giving and what is life destroying. My yearning for a big feed of doughnuts may present itself as a vision of growing obesity and then represent itself as engagement in and promotion of healthier eating.

If my frustrated desire emanates from compassion for the poor, it will translate into action that seeks ways to alleviate poverty through available avenues – leading to renewed engagement and fresh perspective..

Translations from both the Greek and the Aramaic scripts have much to offer – the Greek in terms of receptivity and the Aramaic in terms of action. I like to see them in dialogue and people aware that they have a choice of stance according to what is needful to the continuation of journey.

One is not condemned to remain stuck!

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Wake up to spirit and cosmos!

English: Pleiades Star Cluster
Image via Wikipedia

Jesus said:

 Tubwayhun l’meskenaee b’rukh d’dilhounhie malkutha d’ashmaya.

“Wake up, you who devote yourselves to the link of Spirit; the design of the universe is rendered through you.”

Let it be said from the outset that I am no Aramaic scholar. I’ve dabbled in Hebrew and have a passing working knowledge (with aid of lexicon and grammar) of  koine Greek, the language of the Septuagint and New Testament. My language skills are little more than those of any hack that tries to make sense of meaning.

The Beatitudes of Jesus in Matthew 5:1-11, even in the KJV English of my youth, have had a magnetic pull on me, as they have for millions of others. Over the years I’ve used word plays in my sermonising, at one stage calling them the “Be” attitudes. Later, noting the passive “makarios” of the koine Greek, I suggested that Jesus was simply drawing the attention of strivers to those who already live in a state of “bliss”, who fly under the radar of the frantic. The latter however seemed, unfinished, incomplete. It seemed to conflict with the overall thrust of Jesus’ message that calls for radical transformation both within the individual and outwards to society.

More recent exposure to Aramaic, the household language of Jesus, brings me to contemplate English renditions that seem to speak the language of the soul.  They make sense; they “click”. Where I struggled with the variant meanings and commentaries from the koine Greek, the variant translations from Aramaic converge to a common point where spirit meets Spirit.

The well-known KJV version of the above is  Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Commentaries are often burdened with the weight of the debate around Luke’s omission of the words “in spirit” – fodder for the ongoing dispute between “heavenly minded” devout and social activist devout.
“Kingdom of heaven” is similarly variously seen – but Matthew is always at pains to talk about its “at hand” nature, rather than relegating it as some future Shangri-la.

A translation from Aramaic seems to deal with all these concerns and has an invitingly contemporary ring to it as we attend to the challenge of moving from an anthropocentric to cosmic world-view. Could it be that true poverty of spirit comes about from recognising that, far from striving to be “masters of the universe” (in whatever sphere that may find expression) we are summoned to devote our energies, wit and passion to being in harmony with all that is manifest instead?

Makes sense to me – and it is indeed a “wake up call!”

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Wakeup calls in an ancient tongue

English: The face of a black windup alarm clock
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“Makarios” is the koine Greek word often translated as “blessed” in the famous Beatitudes from the Sermon of the Mount, a collection of the core message of Jesus. It is unfortunate that a passive, almost listless unpacking of the mysterious word “blessed” renders the equally inactive meanings of “happy” or “fortunate” – hence “happy are you who are poor, mourn, are persecuted…” Such translations lead to a kind of status quo mentality with little incentive to transform self or society.

One positive outcome of Mel Gibson’s Passion of the Christ was a fresh awareness of Aramaic, the language of Jesus and his contemporaries. Aramaic was the language of home and hearth in rural Galilee, koine Greek the universal Hellenistic language of the commercial world of the ancient Mediterranean, hence we have both.

The word translated “blessed” is much more active in Aramaic. It is translated variously as “Wake up! Get up!” Passive acceptance becomes a call to action. It seems much more in line with the message and modus operandi of the Jesus of the Gospels.

Abuna Elias Chacour, a constructive voice for peace in the Middle East,  is an active authority on the Aramaic tongue. An essay on his perspective can be seen here.

My next few posts are going to explore each of the Beatitudes from the perspective of a translation from the Aramaic.

Alain de Botton’s pastoral atheism – Eureka Street

Alain de Botton’s pastoral atheism – Eureka Street.

I’ve not read Alain de Botton’s Religion for Atheists, but I find this review fascinating, as I have observed this “pull” for meaningful ritual amongst many of my “post faith” friends.

Some are able to articulate along the lines suggested in the review – that community, rites of passage and symbolising meaning are sufficient reasons within themselves to engage in what might otherwise be viewed as religious practices.

Some progressive Christians (including myself) would recognise a “God factor” in this pull – the creative Spirit that is beyond institutionalised dogma and at large in and through the cosmos. De Botton is scorned by the more strident representatives of the “new atheism” – but to me there is the possibility that he’s strayed across to the no-man’s land where the missiles fly in from both polarities but where dialogue can take place. His TED talk on Atheism 2.0 invites response, for amongst some of the typical straw men, there are points of common meaning that can be teased out and explored to mutual benefit.

I would love to see a dialogue open between the likes of Alain de Botton and, say, recent vistor to Perth, Diarmuid O’Murchu

Markathon!

First page of the Gospel of Mark, by Sargis Pi...
Image via Wikipedia

“Let’s do a public community reading of Mark’s gospel!”

“Oh yeah!” I thought. “Who’s going to come?”

So 40 people aged from 7 to 90 gathered on a hot Sunday evening for our first public community reading of Mark’s gospel. It took 90 minutes, three narrators, and about 12 voices to read various characters. (For some reason I was allocated the voices of the unclean spirits and Judas!)

By the time the women fled the open tomb (we used Mark’s short ending), several observations could be made:

  • the event had a strong effect on all gathered , from youngest to oldest – some commented that they had come to appreciate Mark’s gospel in a new light
  • although Mark is an action gospel, Jesus still had plenty to say – lots of “red letter” words.
  • Mark’s gospel has a continuity of narrative that is easily missed through a habitual selective focus on its many vignettes.
  • Immersion in a total public reading of the gospel leads to a sense of participation in the flow of the narrative.

Some will wonder whether this non-analytical approach short changed us. No worries –  internationally renowned New Testament scholar, Professor William (Bill) Loader will be conducting a series on Mark’s gospel over the weeks between now and Easter. We combine with the Wembley Downs Uniting Church who will be hosting the series.  The topics are:

26 February – “Good News” according to Mark – what does salvation and faith and eternal life look like in Mark – in comparison with others?

4 March – Mark on Scripture – looking at the controversy stories and how they reflect different approaches to Scripture.

11 March –  An evening with Herod the Great: Sex and Power in the world of Jesus and Mark (a lot of fun as well as informative)

18 March – Mark on Miracles – looking at the problems and possibilities posed by miracle stories for Mark and other NT writers.

25 March – Mark on being human and being God – looking at the conflicting models of humanness, Jesus and God between Jesus and the disciples.

Should be fun!

 

 

 

Angel wrestling – which hold is best?

How to wrestle an angel – Eureka Street.

I love both these poems – especially the second one. In my humble opinion, theology is better expressed through poetry than propositional debate. It takes us to that place in human experience that is beyond, but not dismissive of rational thought. We should read more poetry. Maybe even write our own!

 

An Open Letter to the People of Australia

Sometimes, when one is greeted by a plethora of email messages in the morning, a particular message stands out and one feels that a kairos moment has just brushed by. This morning was such an occasion and I share it with you:

Good morning,

Please find attached a joint statement to the people of Australia on constitutional recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples from the Australian Reconciliation Network.

An Open Letter to the People of Australia

On the fourth anniversary of the National Apology to the Stolen Generations, the Australian Reconciliation Network encourages all Australians to consider carefully the recommendations made by the Expert Panel on Constitutional Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.

We believe that recognising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the Constitution is another positive step forward for our nation. The Panel has produced an excellent report that shows viable options exist to achieve this goal.

Many Australians would be surprised to learn that our Constitution currently allows Governments to discriminate against any group on the basis of race. We believe this is out of touch with modern Australia and does not reflect who we are as a nation today.

Historically it has been the Australian people who have lead the way towards reconciliation— overwhelmingly voting YES in the 1967 Referendum to count Aboriginal people in the census, walking across bridges in crowds of hundreds of thousands in a show of reconciliation, and turning out in droves to watch as Kevin Rudd made the formal Apology— unifying moments in our history that should not be forgotten.

Recognising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the Constitution continues the unfinished business of the recommendations made by the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation in 2000.

Extensive community consultations and polling that informed the Panel’s report suggest that changes are worthy and capable of support for a referendum.

We have before us a tremendous opportunity to define our nation’s story and take another step towards a reconciled nation. We share a vision for an Australia which recognises and is proud of our unique Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander heritage, and celebrates the diversity which makes our nation great.

We therefore encourage all Australians to consider carefully the Panel’s proposals to amend the Constitution.

Signed:

Dr Tom Calma and Ms Melinda Cilento, Reconciliation Australia Co-Chairs
Kristy Masella and Kerrie Murphy, NSW Reconciliation Council Co-Chairs
Aunty Heather Castledine and Peter Jackson, Reconciliation Queensland Inc Co-Chairs
Renai Dean and Keith Gove, Reconciliation Victoria Co-Chairs
Jim Morrison and Keith Bodman, Reconciliation WA Co-Chairs
Prof Peter Buckskin PSM FACE and Hon. Robyn Layton QC, Reconciliation South Australia Co-Chairs

 

Thank you.

Shannan Dodson
Communications Officer
Reconciliation Australia

If Dickens were alive today – Eureka Street

I know there are still Charles Dickens fans out there. The blogosphere, Facebook and Twitter have been quietly partying on the 200th anniversary of his birth. The local newspaper contemporised some of his more memorable characters – Miss Haversham, Fagin, the Artful Dodger. And now this thoughtful reflection that ponders a space/time transplant of this great literary figure…

If Dickens were alive today – Eureka Street.