Fourth Sunday in Lent

Text: John 3:14-21

Look:

Listen:

Today, I wanted to share with you some art pieces from an exhibit titled, “The Art of Gaman: Arts and Crafts from the Japanese Internment Camps, 1942-1946.” These are art pieces that were collected from all over the country from the Internment period. It started when one woman found an art piece done by her mother. It turned out to be extraordinary, and so she put out the call to see if there existed more works. She collected a wide range of pieces and all the artists used materials that they had on hand to construct the works.

It spoke to me of verse 21, “what is true come(s) to light.” Though they were taken away from all they knew and suffered serious hardship, their personal truth could not be squelched. Gaman means, “to bear the seemingly unbearable with dignity and patience.” In Lent, we look to Jesus who exhibited this spirit amidst horrific suffering. And we examine how we can invite God into the places we cannot bear- how do we voice this experience to God?

1.Artist Unidentified, Interned at Heart Mountain, Wyoming, Camp Scene, Wood, paint, Collection of the Japanese American Museum of San José, From "Art of Gaman" by Delphine Hirasuna, ©2005, Ten Speed. Terry Heffernan photo.

2. Mother of George Matsushita, Interned at Amache, Colorado, Senninbari vest, Silk cloth, thread, ink, buttons, paint, Japanese American Archival Collection Library, California State University, Sacramento, From "The Art of Gaman" by Delphine Hirasuna, ©2005, Ten Speed Press. Terry Heffernan photo. http://eyelevel.si.edu/2010/05/gaman-and-the-story-of-the-vest-with-a-thousand-knots.html

3. Himeko Fukuhara, Kazuko Matsumoto (Interned at Amache, Colorado, and Gila River, Arizona). Bird pins. Scrap wood, paint, metal. Collection of the National Japanese American Historical Society. FromThe Art of Gaman by Delphine Hirasuna, ©2005, Ten Speed Press. Terry Heffernan photo. http://eyelevel.si.edu/2010/03/gaman-and-the-story-of-the-bird-pins.html

Third Sunday in Lent

Text: John 2:13-22

Look:

"The present form of the world passes away,

and there remains only the joy of having used this world

to establish God's rule here.

All pomp, all triumphs, all selfish capitalism, all the false successes of life will pass

with the world's form.

All of that passes away

What does not pass away is love.

When one has turned money, property, work in one's calling

into service of others,

then the joy of sharing

and the feeling that all are one's family

does not pass away.

In the evening of life you will be judged on love."

- Jan 1979

Romero, Oscar. The Violence of Love. San Francisco: Harper & Row Publishers, 1988.

Listen:

Mercedes Sosa, "I Only Ask of God"

Solo le pido a Dios

que el dolor no me sea indiferente

Que la reseca muerte no me encuentre

vacia y sola sin haber hecho lo suficiente.

Solo le pido a Dios

que lo injusto no me sea indiferente

Que no me abofeteen la otra mejilla

despues que una garra me arano esta suerte

Solo le pido a Dios

que la guerra no me sea indiferente.

esun monstruo grande y pisa fuerte

toda la pobre inocenci de la gente

Solo le pido a Dios

que la guerra no me sea indiferente.

Si un traidor puede mas que unos cuantos

que esos cuantos no lo olviden facilmente

Solo le pido a Dios

que el futuro no me sea indiferente

Desahuciado esta el que tiene que marchar

para vivir una cultura diferente

Solo le pido a Dios

que la guerra no me sea indiferente

Es un monstruo grande y pisa fuerte

la pobre inocencia de la gente.

I only ask God

that I may not be indifferent towards pain,

that a dry death may not find me

empty and alone without having done enough.

I only ask God

that I may not be indifferent to injustice,

that my other cheek won't be slapped

after a claw has torn my fate.

I only ask God

that I may not be indifferent to war.

it is a giant monster that steps hard

on the poor innocence of the people!

I only ask God

that I may not be indifferent towards war.

If a traitor can do more than a few

may those few not easily forget it.

I only ask God

that I may not be indifferent to the future.

Tired is the one who must travel on

to live a different culture.

I only ask God

that I may not be indifferent towards war.

It is a giant monster that steps hard

on the poor innocence of the people

Can be found on: Mercedes Sosa, 30 Anos. Audio CD: Polygram Records 2005.

Second Sunday in Lent

Text: Mark 8:31-38

Look:

To me, this passage speaks to finding out “who you really are,” and furthermore, who you really are when you are aligned with Christ. In LGBTQ interpretation the crux of this passage lies in verse 36, “For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life?” If the “whole world” is wanting our true identities to be sealed and locked away, we lose our true selves and who God is calling us to be. Tragically, so many have died to suicide or bullying because of blind hatred and homophobia. Often times, the church has been the largest voice condemning LGBTQ persons, forcing many to remain in dark closets of depression and despair. This Lent, may we examine as a church the ways in which we can do the restorative work of making the church a place where all can be who God created them to be, openly and honestly.

Listen:

I share two videos from the “It Gets Better" series, a video project started after a chain of LGBTQ teen suicides in 2010. The first video is by out-gay Bishop in the Episcopal church, Rev. Gene Robinson. He says, “God wants you to live in the light of God's love and that light will take away all this darkness." And the second video is a “True Colors,” originally performed by Phil Collins, but performed here by the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles and friends from Immanuel Presbyterian Church. It spoke to me strongly of the need for Christian community as a source for both healing and strength.