Be still!

 “Peace! Be still!” 

~ Jesus, Mark 4:39

Hans Küng passed away on April 6, 2021

Catholic theologian Hans Küng was buried April 16 in the southwestern German city of Tübingen following funeral services. Küng, a native of Switzerland, died on April 6 at the age of 93 (www.ncronline.org/).

The foregoing excerpt is from the National Catholic Reporter. The article also reads as follows.

The world-renowned theologian planned the final ceremonies himself, with the saying of prayers that he formulated and the performance of cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach and compositions by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy. Due to ongoing pandemic restrictions in Germany, only a limited number of people were present. The local television broadcaster SWR carried the ceremonies live.

In the funeral sermon, Fr. Wolfgang Gramer said Küng had fought for the freedom of God's children, including in his efforts to challenge what he viewed as the wrongly understood dogma of papal infallibility. The Vatican and the German bishops had withdrawn Küng's teaching license in 1979 partly because of the theologian's critique of the dogma (www.ncronline.org/).

I personally never had the opportunity to meet Hans Küng, but if you are interested in finding out more about him, it will not be too difficult to find a plethora of material written about him or by him. The world of Theology and Ecumenism lost a hero on April 6, 2021. I do not think I can share more about him than what others have said. I strongly recommend reading more about him if you have never done so. I certainly have found him very inspiring for many years.

The Catholic Weekly said the following:

Hans Küng certainly had talent. His doctoral dissertation on Karl Barth, arguably the greatest of 20th-century Protestant theologians, became a pioneering book in ecumenical theology.

 The Guardian published the following about Küng:

Despite the impression that this self-confident, clever and ever so slightly vain priest may have given, Küng was not one of nature’s rebels. His chosen approach would have been to work from within, but the Catholic church in his heyday was intolerant of such dissenting voices among its priests. If the choice was silence or uneasy internal exile, he was not going to bite his tongue.

When challenged about his maverick role in the history of modern Catholicism, he remained fond to the end of quoting one of his heroes, Pope Gregory the Great: “If scandal is taken as the truth, then it is better to allow scandal to arise than to abandon the truth.”

As I said before, it will not be too difficult to find a plethora of material written about Hans Küng, or written by him. A warning, however, be prepared to be informed. I really cannot say more than others who knew him well, so I will end here. Regardless, it is an honor to do this brief homage to him. Rest in Peace, Hans Küng. A final note: feel free to click on the links to the referenced articles below to read more.

 

 

 

References:

https://www.catholicweekly.com.au/george-weigel-hans-kung-and-the-perils-of-fame/

https://www.ncronline.org/news/people/funeral-hans-k-ng-celebrated-ecumenist-great-spiritual-teacher

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/apr/08/hans-kung-obituary

 

A reflection on the funeral

Personally, I have a difficult time accepting a government of unelected officials. Obviously, dictatorships fall into this category, but I will listen to a defense in favor depending. I can understand why England doesn't completely abolish the monarchy and that tradition, perhaps. It is constitutional and representational, after all, and this is symbolic. Please don't assume that I am making any comparisons with tyrannical dictatorships because I opened with this idea. These are just my thoughts, which I decided to write down.

I was watching the funeral for the Duke of Edinburgh, and immediately, in my mind, I object to some things simply seeing the procession into St. George's Chapel. One thing that is certain is that Anthony Fauci probably influenced...all participants wearing black masks, but this should not be a distraction...lol. All male Royals exhibit medals on their jackets. I know that many have served in the military, including Prince Philip. In my mind, however, I associate this with dictatorships. Dictatorships often will display leaders wearing a military uniform, and medals even if the person never served in the military. Why is this? Well, obviously, it's for psychological affects. Humans often respect a uniform and medals without questioning; consequently, subordination can be or come as an automatic response. Of course, some people will always question and not easily follow. Questioning all is a good thing in my mind. Anyhow, back to the funeral, which I may watch later on eventually.

I seem to have a problem with the idea that a monarch can have a lofty and expensive funeral, but a common man often cannot. I am not a communist, and I don't believe all should be equal, although I do believe in equal opportunity which doesn't necessarily mandate an equal outcome. In other words, free choices are good, but not the idea that someone makes the choice for me because I believe God has made us all unique individuals. All humans should be allowed respectful treatment at the time they pass on. Of course, a state funeral often has many other implications such as the exhibition of power and wealth, meaning we can do this because we are able, capable, and so on....

To conclude, I don't want to discourage anyone from watching the funeral for Prince Philip, I was an admirer of his. Moreover, it is a church service. After all, I am still a nonpracticing Anglican, last time I checked. So far, I have made this post about me, and how I feel about someone else being honored, and in my mind I am being disrespectful. So, I will stop here. The point I wanted to make was really to question all, evaluate, and decide what is right and what isn't. Rest in Peace Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

Photo source: https://twitter.com/JustinWelby/status/1383397355936882693?s=01

Article about the Upper Room

The traditional location of the Last Supper—the Crusader era “Upper Room,” known also as the Cenacle—has one thing going for it: height. The only location-specific information we can pull from the various Last Supper accounts is that Jesus and his apostles secured a large furnished space, the upper room of an unnamed (and presumably wealthy) householder in Jerusalem (Mark 14:12-16). The Cenacle stands tall indeed, nesting above David’s tomb on the heights of Mount Zion. But who knew that Mount Zion’s Christian claim to fame has a competitor—in a basement (www.biblicalarchaeology.org)?

The foregoing excerpt is from an article by Jonathan Klawans titled: The Other Upper Room. It is published on the BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY SOCIETY website. Read the full article at the link below. 

The Upper Room Article

 

 

 

 

 

Reference:

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/the-other-upper-room/?mqsc=E4128850&dk=ZE1130ZF0&utm_source=WhatCountsEmail&utm_medium=BHDWeek%20in%20Review%20Newsletter&utm_campaign=3-27-2021_Week_in_Review_Upper_Room_Bible

 

Isaiah 50

Isaiah 50

New Revised Standard Version

50 Thus says the Lord:
Where is your mother’s bill of divorce
    with which I put her away?
Or which of my creditors is it
    to whom I have sold you?
No, because of your sins you were sold,
    and for your transgressions your mother was put away.
2 Why was no one there when I came?
    Why did no one answer when I called?
Is my hand shortened, that it cannot redeem?
    Or have I no power to deliver?
By my rebuke I dry up the sea,
    I make the rivers a desert;
their fish stink for lack of water,
    and die of thirst.[a]
3 I clothe the heavens with blackness,
    and make sackcloth their covering.

The Servant’s Humiliation and Vindication

4 The Lord God has given me
    the tongue of a teacher,[b]
that I may know how to sustain
    the weary with a word.
Morning by morning he wakens—
    wakens my ear
    to listen as those who are taught.
5 The Lord God has opened my ear,
    and I was not rebellious,
    I did not turn backward.
6 I gave my back to those who struck me,
    and my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard;
I did not hide my face
    from insult and spitting.

7 The Lord God helps me;
    therefore I have not been disgraced;
therefore I have set my face like flint,
    and I know that I shall not be put to shame;
8     he who vindicates me is near.
Who will contend with me?
    Let us stand up together.
Who are my adversaries?
    Let them confront me.
9 It is the Lord God who helps me;
    who will declare me guilty?
All of them will wear out like a garment;
    the moth will eat them up.

10 Who among you fears the Lord
    and obeys the voice of his servant,
who walks in darkness
    and has no light,
yet trusts in the name of the Lord
    and relies upon his God?
11 But all of you are kindlers of fire,
    lighters of firebrands.[c]
Walk in the flame of your fire,
    and among the brands that you have kindled!
This is what you shall have from my hand:
    you shall lie down in torment.

Footnotes

• Isaiah 50:2 Or die on the thirsty ground

• Isaiah 50:4 Cn: Heb of those who are taught

• Isaiah 50:11 Syr: Heb you gird yourselves with firebrands

Source:

www.biblegateway.com 

BAS Has A New Editor

The Biblical Archaeology Society is pleased to announce that Dr. Glenn J. Corbett, a Near Eastern archaeologist and long-time associate and contributing editor to the Society, will serve as the new Editor of Biblical Archaeology Review magazine beginning March 2021 (www.biblicalarchaeology.org).

The foregoing announcement from BAS is an excerpt from a recent article. If you follow them, as I do, read the full article at the following link. Blessings!

BAS Names New Editor - Biblical Archaeology Society

 

Reference:

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/first-person-glenn-j-corbett/bas-names-new-editor/?mqsc=E4126672&dk=ZE112BZF0&utm_source=WhatCountsEmail&utm_medium=BHDWeek%20in%20Review%20Newsletter&utm_campaign=2-7-2020_Week_In_Review_Welcome_Glenn

Can we pray for the dead?

I am sure many read the title to this post and immediately had a response to the question being asked. One’s individual response was most likely relevant to our denominational upbringing, or current beliefs. Some Christian groups or denominations have issues with the idea of praying for those who have passed on, and some do not. In this post, I am not going to discuss the theological foundation for any arguments whether in favor or opposing. However, I will share my own belief and argument, which has changed somewhat over time. I will ask the main the question I have asked myself with relevance to the subject.

Here is the question I ask. Is God affected or governed by time? My response is that I think God is outside of the time continuum and unaffected by time. So, yes, I believe one can pray for those who have passed on. If we do decide to pray, we may be praying for them, even if years later, during the time when they were still alive on Earth, and God can still answer the prayers during that time and our time. Past, present, or future most likely have all already taken place in the mind of God. The foregoing idea just may be my own slightly radical theological view but take it or leave it. I will share some New Testament texts that may or may not be relevant.

Jesus prayed after four days for a close friend who passed away and was buried, and his friend woke up (resurrected). Read the Gospel according to John 11: 1 to 44 to get the whole story. The Gospel of Matthew 27: 50-53 makes some interesting reading, as well. Allow me to share it?

50 Then Jesus cried again with a loud voice and breathed his last.[a] 51 At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, and the rocks were split. 52 The tombs also were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised. 53 After his resurrection they came out of the tombs and entered the holy city and appeared to many (NRSV, Bible).

The foregoing verses may seem to not be related to praying for the dead, but they do seem make the point that death is seemingly not a major obstacle for God, if one believes of course. Now, doubt and disbelief are an entirely different subject not discussed in this post, but not ignored in others. I just wanted to make a quick post to make us think on this subject. Blessings

 

 

 

Reference:

NRSV, Bible.