Clarion: Journal of Spirituality and Justice

CRT (Critical Race Theory) - A Clarifying Primer - Steve Bynum

CRT (Critical Race Theory) has become a hot-button topic in America with the noise around it inversely proportional to the understanding of it. The volatility around "CRT in schools" is a flashpoint in the media and in school board meetings. Steve Bynum offers a brief primer on CRT for those interested in less heat and more light on the topic.

Steve has worked for nearly 30 years in news, multimedia production, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) transformation, public speaking, civic engagement, interfaith dialogue, and cultural diplomacy. He is Senior Producer with WBEZ's "Reset," WBEZ Top-5 midday talk show. Former Lead Producer of "Worldview", WBEZ's 25-year daily radio talk show dedicated to global news/affairs.

RJ World eConference 2022 Living Justice - Wayne Northey

Wayne Northey: The second RJ World eConference took place, April 23-30, 2022.

Here was my keynote address:

 

CLICK HERE for links to other presentations.

David M. Odorisio (ed.), "Merton and Hinduism: The Yoga of the Heart" review by Ron Dart

David M. Odorisio (ed.),  Merton and Hinduism: The Yoga of the Heart, Fons Vitae, 2021.

Thomas Merton, like the proverbial fox, rambled across much terrain and in such roaming saw and revealed much in a variety of challenging areas. Merton was not the only Roman Catholic in the 20^th century to see and articulate the need for deeper interfaith contemplative dialogue, but he was certainly one of the most evocative, accessible and articulate in doing so. Fons Vitae, to their courageous and hard-won credit, deserve many a kudo for bringing together in a splendid collection of tomes, Merton’s fox-like landscape traversed. But, Merton was also very much like the hedgehog, deeper burrowing and much wisdom gleaned from such burrowing. The latest and final text on Merton and his contemplative interfaith dialogue, Merton and Hinduism: The Yoga of the Heart, edited by David M. Odorisio, is a beauty and bounty not to miss. 

The portal of Merton and Hinduism is opened by David Odorisio’s lengthy and incisive “Introduction,” the path and direction of the book made plain and clear for the curious and interested reader. Part I “Hinduism and Christianity in Context: Historical and Comparative Perspectives” threads together six superb essays that reflect on Merton, Hinduism, Yoga and Hesychasm (3 of the essays are on Hesychasm). Part I provides a general overview of the larger topic of Christianity and Hinduism, Merton more in the shadows and offstage. Part II, “Merton and Hinduism: Dialogue and Deep Learning in the Cave of the Heart” has thirteen essays that drill and bore into Merton’s varied engagement with forms of Hinduism from an variety of varied angles, including his friendship with different scholars and practitioners of Hinduism. Part III, “Merton on Hinduism: The Yoga of the Heart”, for the most part, includes many articles by Merton on Hinduism (10 to be sure). Part IV, “Appendix: Reading Thomas Merton Reading Hinduism and Yoga: A Bibliography of Sources” is a fit and fine ending for those keen to delve deeper and further into Merton’s burrowing and probes. There are six black-white photographs in Merton and Hinduism that add to the, mostly, textual book.

David M. Odorisio has walked the extra mile not only to synthesize material that many know about by Merton on Hinduism but he has also unearthed much that has not been written by Merton on Hinduism and articles about Merton on Hinduism—this makes Merton and Hinduism a motherlode and gold mine of sorts that will set new standards for further studies on Merton on Hinduism, Indian religion and the East.  Many of the essays in Merton and Hinduism have been published before but the bringing together of such articles into a polished and needful tome makes this a must read text for Merton keeners. I was fortunate, when younger, to correspond with Bede Griffiths and I was somewhat disappointed there was not an article that dealt with Merton and Griffiths in a fuller and more comprehensive way and manner, Griffiths a more mature and deeper thinker, in thought, word and deed than Merton on Hinduism. An article on Merton, Griffiths and Hinduism could have revealed much about both Merton’s fox like approach and, at times, his lack of hedgehog depth. There is, also, a fine photograph of Coomaraswamy and Tagore in Merton and Hinduism (p. 201) and although Dekar’s article on Merton and Gandhi covers much needed terrain, Merton, in many ways, had more affinities with Tagore than Gandhi. In short, an essay on Merton and Tagore just as an article on Merton and Griffiths would have enriched and fleshed out this timely and, in some ways, timeless volume on Merton’s explorations into the Indian and Hindu soul.   

I suppose a small yet insignificant quibble I have about this expansive book is the lack of an Index, and Index making it possible to navigate more nimbly topics, themes and people that interest the curious reader. But, this is but a fret and misstep in an otherwise superb book. 

There is no doubt that Fons Vitae and David M. Odorisio have excelled, yet once again, in articulating Merton’s fox like traversing of the terrain of Hinduism. As mentioned above, Merton did do his hedgehog like burrowing, but when Merton is compared with those like Griffiths, his leanings are decidedly more fox like than hedgehog. And yet, Merton and Hinduism: The Yoga of the Heart brilliantly illuminates the compelling reality that Merton also had distinctive hedgehog tendencies, ever burrowing in many needful and necessary places---truly an “A+” gift of a tome. This will be a standard source book for future studies on Merton and Hinduism.

Ron Dart  

Symposium II: "If there is any excellence - a conversation on Arete" - with David Goa, Vladika Lazar & Eden Jersak

“Clothed and in his right mind” — Kenneth Tanner

Folks have in recent centuries struggled with the supernatural moments in the gospels, but seeing the things I have seen it puzzles me that some still stumble over manifestations of the demonic in the stories the gospels tell.

One could try to blame this recent disbelief on relative affluence and ease but having been a pastor for seventeen years in one of the stablest suburbs in America I can testify first-hand that darkness doesn't discriminate. There is as much spiritual mayhem here as anywhere, as much bewildering evil now as then.

One of the reasons the gospels have the kind of power they do for so many is that they do not shrink from reality. They tell it like it is. They are not in denial about the corners into which we humans have painted ourselves.

And this story of a demon-addled man by a rural lakeshore, and of the trauma his affliction has imposed on his family and the community, makes as much sense in their time as it does in ours.

The demons don't want to be sent back to "the Abyss,” whatever the hell that is, and one wonders what "the Abyss” must be like because they had rather inhabit a herd of pigs than go back there. The pigs, for all their piggish existence, are yet part of the creation God made good

One recalls that our oceans have a depth called "the Abyss,” which is pitch black, where strange luminous creatures eat each other. And it was Stephen Hawking who described the entrance to a black hole, the "event horizon,” as a place where one might hang a sign with the words of Dante: "Abandon all hope ye who enter here." It seems "the Abyss" is something rather worse still.

The Oxford shootings felt like entering a place like that, and you and I have had other moments of confronting real darkness.

Once when I was sitting in a room on the phone with a young woman tormented by an eating disorder, who had been committed for last resort care, it felt like a deep chill invaded the room, a resistance to the light I was trying to speak into her heart and mind.

l'Il admit it frightened me but I kept speaking words of life and eventually whatever felt it owned this young woman dissipated, and in the weeks and months to come she eventually found liberty and wholeness.

The legions' words are the first ones we read in the account (Luke 8:26-39) but they are spoken in desperate *reply* to Jesus's command that they depart from the man they control.

I imagine Jesus spoke the command in the "still small voice," the one Elijah heard in the cave on Sinai, the whisper that wasn't in the wind, earthquake, or fire-quiet, authentic words of a love that does not boast and yet cannot be resisted by darkness.

And after the stampede and the cliff and the drownings and the rumors of the pig herders and the townsfolk's curiosity and the running to see what trouble Jesus had made for them, there was simply the man made well: sitting at the feet of his rabbi, “clothed and in his right mind."

And for a just one brilliant moment everyone was silenced by the holiness of it all.

"clothed and in his right mind."

I know when I read those words that this story is true and that it's the truest story one can tell, not just of this man's life but of humanity. And this is why we who sit at his feet are no longer afraid. Nothing is going to stop love from clothing us all in himself and giving us all the mind of God.

Symposium I: Morality vs. Moralism - Lazar Puhalo with David Goa & Bradley Jersak

The Impact of Christ on Female/Male Relationships - Wayne Northey

This study still has pertinence today. There are two versions, which titles below explain. The second was presented on the University of British Columbia campus to a secular/Christian audience.

An excerpt from the first:

Introduction

A few years ago, a man phoned me and asked if I had some time for a talk. I replied that I was getting my kids ready for bed, but afterwards would be happy to chat with him.

He phoned an hour or so later, and we had our talk. He had read and kept, as it turned out, a letter to the editor of The Vancouver Sun I had written a few years before concerning a prison riot at Matsqui Institution. He had appreciated some of the points I had made concerning the evil of the prison itself, and now was writing his memoirs. He was planning to quote some of my insights into the nature of prison in light of his own son’s experience as a prisoner. On a whim, he looked up the only ‘Northey W’ listed in the phone book, and asked if I was one and the same.

We had a subsequent lively conversation until in passing, he discovered that I had a Christian commitment. “Not one who really takes the Bible seriously though?,” he asked incredulously, then immediately cooled, and soon therefore terminated the conversation, upon my affirmative response.

I presume neither I nor my letter found its way into his memoirs after all.

Canadian singer/songwriter Bruce Cockburn says that he often qualifies his affirmation of his Christian faith by saying: “But I’m not one of them.” He is obviously smarting under the identification of Christianity with things unsavoury said or done in the name of God and Christ.

To continue reading CLICK HERE

Communion and Co-Suffering Love - Eden Jersak

Communion Sunday May 29, 2022

This has been another tough week!

For those who are burden-bearers, you may have found yourselves overwhelmed with the grief in our news cycles. For those of you who don’t identify as burden bearers, it was a tough week to watch and listen to news.

Jesus’ work on the Cross was about “Co-suffering Love.” And I believe we are being invited to co-suffering Love at the communion table this morning.

Sympathy and compassion are more than feeling bad and sad for someone else. You are actually suffering alongside another in solidarity. Em”pathy”, “sym”pathy”, “com”passion”, each of those endings means “suffering.” “Em,” “Sym,” and “Com” all mean “with”. This implies that we bear one another’s burdens, together in our “withness.”

This is a central reason Jesus died on the Cross. Jesus assumed human nature and the human condition, including death on the cross AS the ultimate expression of Co-Suffering LOVE. He has experienced our limitations and testings, and knows how we suffer!

¹⁴ Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. ¹⁵ For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. ¹⁶ Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:14-16)

There is a beautiful mystery in Communion, because in receiving communion we are participating in Jesus’ Co-Suffering love, not just for ourselves, but "for the life of the world." Co-Suffering LOVE has the power to heal and transform. I don’t know how that mystery of love works but I do believe that Jesus understood what he was inviting us into.

As we receive the body and blood of Christ at the table, we are being invited to Co-Suffer with the world around us. As we do this in remembrance of Jesus, we are bringing the families who have lost their children this week with us. As we eat the bread we are co-suffering with the families in Ukraine that have been torn apart, those who have died, and those who are fleeing for their lives. We co-suffer with our indigenous siblings as their grief continues and they continue to wait for true justice. As we drink the wine, we co-suffer in solidarity with families and friends who have lost loved ones for no other reason than someone hating the colour of their skin. We mourn with the millions of people who have lost loved ones through this pandemic. 

It is in our “withness” that we will join in Jesus’ co-suffering love. So we don’t need to be afraid of the darkness! With Jesus, we won’t need to be afraid of the sadness. We will not be afraid to quietly sit with Jesus beside those who cry, and join in their sorrow. Because . . . Co-suffering is an essential manifestation of how we follow Jesus.

This is what Jesus did for us and this is what our communion together is about. 

At the Last Supper, Jesus fed his disciples and in essence invited them to join in with him in co-suffering LOVE. And as we drink from his Cup, Jesus invites us to that same Co-suffering Love.

Lord Jesus Christ, thank you for your co-suffering LOVE. Help us to feel your “withness” with us, and show us how to co-suffer in LOVE with others. Amen.

Eat and drink in remembrance of HIM.

The Godson by Lev Tolstoy (1886)

The Godson (1886)

'Ye have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth, but I say unto you, Resist not him that is evil.'  Matthew. v. 38, 39.

'Vengeance is mine; I will repay.'  Romans. xii. 19.

A SON WAS BORN to a poor peasant. He was glad and went to his neighbour to ask him to stand godfather to the boy. The neighbour refused -- he did not like standing godfather to a poor man's child. The peasant asked another neighbour, but he too refused, and after that the poor father went to every house in the village, but found no one willing to be godfather to his son. So he set off to another village, and on the way he met a man who stopped and said:

'Good-day, my good man; where are you off to?'

'God has given me a child,' said the peasant, 'to rejoice my eyes in youth, to comfort my old age, and to pray for my soul after death. But I am poor, and no one in our village will stand godfather to him, so I am now on my way to seek a godfather for him elsewhere.'

'Let me be godfather,' said the stranger.

The peasant was glad, and thanked him, but added: 'And whom shall I ask to be godmother?'

'Go to the town,' replied the stranger, 'and, in the square, you will see a stone house with shop-windows in the front. At the entrance you will find the tradesman to whom it belongs. Ask him to let his daughter stand godmother to your child.'

The peasant hesitated.

'How can I ask a rich tradesman?' said he. 'He will despise me, and will not let his daughter come.'

'Don't trouble about that. Go and ask. Get everything ready by to-morrow morning, and I will come to the christening.'

The poor peasant returned home, and then drove to the town to find the tradesman. He had hardly taken his horse into the yard, when the tradesman himself came out.

'What do you want?' said he.

'Why, sir,' said the peasant, 'you see God has given me a son to rejoice my eyes in youth, to comfort my old age, and to pray for my soul after death. Be so kind as to let your daughter stand godmother to him.

'And when is the christening?' said the tradesman.

'To-morrow morning.'

'Very well. Go in peace. She shall be with you at Mass to-morrow morning.'

The next day the godmother came, and the godfather also, and the infant was baptized. Immediately after the christening the godfather went away. They did not know who he was, and never saw him again.