Happy New Year

The image to the left is a rendering of the Roman god Janus, the root of the first month of the year:   January.  I love this rendering because it is so very evocative of what we experience as we reside on the cusp between 2010 and 2011 (and where we reside every year at this time--betwixt and between). 

There we are, with Janus, looking back over the past year, the past of our life, the past of humanity filled with thankfulness and regret, gratitude and remorse.  We can create a laundry list a mile long of all the things we should have done as we review the landscape that is the past.  (As one of my favorite professors was wont to say and aptly noted, "Don't should on me.")

And there we are, with Janus, gazing into the days that will become our lives filled with hope and a little trepidation, optimism and a little uncertainty about what these days and weeks and months and years that move toward us will hold.

Every year at this time (and, perhaps, quite often throughout the year) we stand vigil with Janus reviewing what has been and anticipating what will be. 

One danger of this way of seeing and being in the world, of course, is that we miss what is transpiring right now, in the moment.  Yes, we are wise to learn from the past and prudent to plan for the future.  However, if we continually function fixated on what has been or transfixed on what might be, we miss out on what God has given us in the immediate moment. 

I think one of the remarkable characteristics of Jesus was his ability to be--and to be with people--in the moment.  Linear time and the movement of it, as it plays out in the gospels, does not drive Jesus.  Rather, Jesus controls his engagement with time and is fully present to and with so many people in so many moments. 

Thus, Christianity borrowed from the Greeks a vital distinction regarding time.  Chronos described time in a linear way and was generally a quantitative descriptor of time.  Meanwhile, kairos referred to the right or opportune moment--the supreme moment--that was not bound by linear time.  Rather kairos possessed a qualitative sense to it that transcended the inevitable flow of time. 

We speak about the kairotic nature of God at this point in the year, for we believe that in Jesus the fullness of God was pleased to dwell.  Literally, Jesus in time and, yet, Jesus beyond time, transcending time because time has its beginning and end--the fulfillment of time is found-- in Jesus the Christ.  The supreme moment that is timeless and for all time.

On the other hand, a danger of standing vigil with Janus year after year is the sense that (with Qoheleth the writer of Ecclesiastes) there is nothing new under the sun.  We are resigned to little more than the rhythms of life and the cycle of the seasons.  When  we groove on this rhythm or are entranced with the changes of the seasons, we may not be cognizant of any problem.  However, when we find ourselves at that point where it is the same old same old, we recognize the banality of this rhythm and the monotony of the cycle.

Into this scenario, the kairos of Christ possesses meaning.  We are not simply spinning on this globe, madly driven to see life as a bad episode of Groundhog's Day.  Rather, God in the incarnation, enters time and space, to disrupt the rhythm and cycle.  While the seasons continue to change, and we will invariably mark time as we journey through life, we do so acknowledging that the character of time has changed.  It is imbued with the presence of God.

We may not always recognize the reality of the Holy in our midst nor the presence of Christ in each moment.  Yet, the promise of God in Christ remains with us now and forever, And, lo, I am with you always until the ends of the earth. 
Ultimately, what this means is that we do not ring in the new year or each new day or the newest moment of life just with Janus.  Every year, every day, every moment is lived in the presence of the God-who-dwells-with-us, the kairotic one:  Emmanuel.

Happy New Year!

Mark

Weekly Reflection--December 23

The world is charged with the grandeur of God./ 
It will flame out, like shining from shook foil;/
 It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil/ Crushed.  Why do men then now not reck his rod?/ 
And all is seared with trade; bleared, smeared with toil;/
And wears man's smudge and shares man's smell:  the soil/
is bare now, nor can foot feel, being shod.

And for all this, nature is never spent;/ 
There lives the dearest freshness deep down things;/
And though the last lights off the black West went/ Oh, morning, at the brown brink eastward springs--/
Because the Holy Ghost over the bent /
World broods with warm breast and with ah!  bright wings.
-Gerard Manley Hopkins
Hopkins' eloquence continues to surprise.  Nevertheless, it does not immediately come to mind as a Christmas poem. Indeed, the images are rich and fecund and decidedly creation-focused. 

However, as I reflected on the poem, I thought, "Why not?"  Why can't this be a Christmas poem? Is not the creation--and the world being charged with the grandeur of God--at the heart of what transpires in God's incarnational initiative?

For Emmanuel--God with us--to work, there needs to be a move from the spiritual and the esoteric to the earthly, mundane, that which is bleared, smeared with toil and wears man's smudge and shares man's smell.  Ultimately, Emmanuel confronts matters of the flesh.  And matters of the flesh are lived out, no less, in God's creation.

Indeed, the nativity story is creational:  A child is born to us.  Birth.  It is one of the most intimate, vulnerable, delicate, hopeful, and profoundly archetypal experiences.  Humans as co-creators with the Creator.

And the bright wings in this story may not be those of the Holy Ghost brooding with warm breast, but the angels pronouncing God's desire to dwell with us surely illumined the night sky with winged brightness and celestial beauty. 

And with the presence of Emmanuel, we can no longer look at the world as simply a serendipitous  amalgam of air, water, stone, fire, wood, soil, and flesh. 

No. 

The first creation, with the divine imprint permeating the whole wondrous and wacky world, yields to a second creation, and now it is not only the earth that resides in the presence of the Holy walking in its midst, but now time and space are also blessed, hallowed.  And Love has trod, has trod, has trod.

So, we come again to hear the story, to sing the hymns, to wait in the darkness and perceive, however dimly, the light emerging in our midst. 
Coming to us.  Coming for us.  Coming in the flesh.  Coming in the guise of the ordinary, the mundane, the beautiful body that is our selves, and in the finite flesh that ultimately fades and betrays us.

Hence, we know too well the importance of the moment and the beauty of the world which surrounds us, for we see it and know that it slowly slips away.  Which, perhaps, is all the more important that this second creation emerges in our midst.  For the Holy One hid-in-flesh also hides us within himself.  Indeed, our lives are hid with Christ--once for all--in the archetype of that morning at the brown brink eastward springs which is the other part of Emmanuel's story and, thus, our own. 

Confronted with the divine incarnational initiative, what else can we say, but
 The world is charged with the grandeur of God.

Blessings to you and yours on this Feast of the Incarnation,

Mark

Weekly Reflection--December 16

It is what it is. 

You've heard the statement, yes?  Perhaps, you have said it yourself?  This matter-of-fact declaration is the catchall for the often grudging acceptance of life as we know it and  generally the final word to a conversation:  It is what it is.  How do you respond to that?

However, the phrase was one of the kernels (or the paraphrase of that kernel) that stuck with me after a clergy quiet morning a couple weeks ago and has been the grist for conversation ever since.  A group of clergy gathered to discuss the "Messiah" with Rabbi Joshua Hammerman from Temple Beth-el.  It was a very rich morning, as we discussed the various and numerous understandings of "Messiah" within scripture and the Jewish and Christian traditions.

Messiah from the Jewish Mashiach is the Hebrew for "Anointed One".  It's Greek relative is Christos or what we all know as Christ.  Far from Jesus' last name, Christ--or Messiah--possesses a great deal of varied meanings.

Of course, for Christians, we think of Jesus.  He is God's anointed.  The one who saves us.  And the writers of the Gospels and New Testament letters go to great lengths to connect the historical Jesus with the one whom the prophets and sages of old had hoped for and long anticipated.

Meanwhile, a Jewish reading of the "Messiah" texts within the Hebrew Scripture and the Talmudic  and Mishnaic writings makes clear that there never was uniform acceptance for what this "anointed one" would be and do.

Just a few options are:

1.  The Messiah would return the house of David and Israel to worldly power.

2.  The Messiah would bring lasting peace upon the earth.

3.  The Messiah would not necessarily be an individual but might be the community of God.

4.  The Messiah would be found among the outcast and beggars.

5.  The Messiah is waiting among us with those who need healing

Apart from the last two options, you can see why many people in Jesus' day questioned whether he was the Messiah, the Christ.  The Davidic rule and peace on the earth have yet to be realized.

During our discussion through the morning hours, I was struck by one comment from Rabbi Hammerman regarding the vision of the Messianic age where the lion and lamb would lie down together.  I had always seen this as an image of the peaceable kingdom (of which Debra referenced in her sermon two weeks ago), the reign of God where there is no violence or destruction or death.

However, Rabbi Hammerman offered a reading of this vision that was very interesting.  "Why," he said, "would you want a world where a lion no longer possesses its lion-ness?"  Do we really want to live in world where things are no longer what they are?  We can no longer say, "It is what it is," because "it" has been changed?  And how do we know that "it" has been changed for the better?

These may seem like esoteric and abstract questions, and I can't say that there is a nice and neat way to tie everything up so that it makes sense.  Yet, I appreciated the alternate vision and the intellectual push to see and think in another way, a way beyond what I was so casual and unreflective about.

I think that this characteristic is a part of our Advent waiting and longing and hoping and the mood of expectation that permeates this season and, truthfully, the whole of our life.  God is a God of surprises.  Jesus was a Christ that broke the mold of what was expected.  So, when we are comfortable and certain about our understanding of who God is and what God is up to in the world, we should, perhaps, pause and think again.  Yes, there is a great deal that we know and trust about God's love and mercy revealed in the life of Jesus whom we call Christ. 

Yet, when it comes to God, it is not what it is, at least not all the time.  The rules and laws of nature still hold sway, but the locks and parameters that define our mind and our heart are permeable.  Or better yet, they are permeated by God's love and mercy so that we might not be solely resigned to one way of being.  Rather, caught in the wonder of this promised presence, we might engage the world with a bit more levity, a little more humor, and lot more wonder.

Peace,
Mark

InterFaith Council Prayer Vigil

I write the day after attending the Prayer Vigil to stand in support of our local Muslim community, and I am still reflecting on a number of images that I found deeply moving.

There was the opening by Rev. Cari Jackson of First Congregational Church (the host site of the event) speaking about the beautiful and wonderful face of God expressed by the fabulously diverse group of people gathered.

There was the haunting chant of Rizwan Khan citing from the Quran:  "do good to parents, kinfolk, orphans, those in need, neighbors who are near, neighbors who are strangers, the companion by your side, the way-farer you meet (4:36 surat an-Nisa)." and then meeting Rizwan as a neighbor afterward and hearing his gratitude for such an event.

There were the powerful speeches by representatives William Tong, Gary Holder-Winfield, and Patricia Miller who understand bias towards others and expressed the need to stand together quite eloquently.

There was the final prayer of silence led by Kate Heichler who invited everyone to place a hand on the shoulder of the person next to him or her and physically connect and express solidarity while we prayed in our own ways from our various traditions.

There was the wonderful energy as people mingled afterward and reconnected with friends or connected for the very first time with those who were total strangers and now possess a name and new found relationship.

There was the e-mail buzz that followed as well.  Many more connections made that were not made before.  Programs with Jews, Christians, Muslims, Sikhs, and Buddhists strengthened and energized in a substantive and palpable way.

This event will not bring about world peace.  It will not end the tension that continues to exist in certain quarters over certain traditions, driven primarily by the extremists within the tradition.  It will not quell the fears that continue to well up within people and prevent them from distinguishing potential neighbor from enemy and engaging in the world with hope and courage.

What the event did, however, was take a small step toward greater understanding.  It reached out in hope to embody the vision God intends for us and to use that as our model and not the divisive and fear-mongering hyperbole and stereotype that keeps us cornered and cordoned off.  It represents the power of the good to stand amidst the difficulties and, standing together, take those first small steps toward a richer and fuller life for everyone.

In so many ways, our history is filled with this type of action.  The little things, the small steps, the inklings of possibility and hope that move us, however tentatively, down the road to the right thing, the good thing, a fuller understanding of God's face in our midst.  And to that, all I can say is, "AMEN."

Blessings. 

Mark

Pictures from Day 11

Pictures from the Maleme exhibit that show the youth working on the gravesite. . .Pictures from Maleme

Greece: Day 11

We arrived at the beautiful Thalassa hotel on the outskirts of Chania yesterday.  What a wonderful way to end this spectacular trip!  The rooms look out on the Aegean Sea, and the beach is a beautiful place to relax before we begin the long trek back to Stamford.

We visited Maleme today.  This is the site of the Nazi Germans landing to capture Crete and control the island.  The attacks began on May 20,  of 1941, but the Cretans and Allied forces put up stiff resistance.  Eight thousand German soldiers died and over 200 airplances were downed.  Nevertheless, the Germans were able to take the island within 10 days, and they burned a number of villages to take revenge on the stiff resistance to the invasion.

We passed the cemetery to the Allied forces in Chania yesterday.  Today we visited the German cemetery at Maleme.  On May 20, every year there is a commemoration of this event.  Interestingly, the Greek government has allowed the German government to own the land for the cemetery, and the Germans keep up the cemetery.  This is an interesting response to such a violent and horrific part of human history.  Far from justifying any violence from and the invasion by the Germans, the cemetery stands as a symbol to honor the lives that were lost—even of the “other” or the enemy—and it also exists as a way to move beyond grievances and violence to healing and repairing relationships between countries. 

One of the programs that Maleme is involved in is called Volksbund.  Young people from around the world work together to keep up memorial sites in various countries, learn about what war meant to those in the country and others, and develop relationships with other young people from other countries.  The hope of the program is to work for peace by teaching the horrors of war and nurturing relationships across national and ethnic lines.  It was powerful to see pictures of the program and see teenagers tending the grounds and the graves of this site.

Christos, the history faculty member who planned this trip, talked with the kids about the German youths who died (many 19, 20 or 21 years old) at Maleme and likened their death to the myth of Oedipus.  He tied the reflection together by noting, “If these young men were born knowing what they would do and for whom they would die, they too would probably rip out their eyes as well.”

This visit was a poignant end to the trip to Greece.  There is so much history here, and, inevitably, that history—thousands and thousands of years of history—is filled with beauty and wonder and human creativity and ingenuity, and it also possesses the violence and destruction that humans are still so capable of meting out.  Programs that focus on working for peace and developing relationships of understanding across different peoples and cultures is so important.  I would hope that this trip, in its own way and the breadth and depth of the experiences, has impressed upon the students a greater perspective of the world, the irony of history, the complexities of human societies and living well, and the importance of attending to and participating in the life of society.

We leave tomorrow morning at 4AM from our hotel, fly to Athens and then onto New York.  We will miss this wonderful country, but look forward to returning home and life in Stamford.

Pics from Day 10

The White Mountains on the way to Chania

   

Orthodox Monastery outside of Chania

 

The Archaeological Museum in Chania                              Church of St. Francis in Chania

Greece: Day 10

As we travel to our final destination city, Chania, I admire the Aegean coastline with the mountains off to our left.  We are at that point where we know the end is near and reflections are inevitable concerning what has transpired and what are some of the many lessons learned.  I feel extremely fortunate to have made this journey and to travel with such knowledgeable guides.  The wealth of information that we received is overwhelming, but I hope that continued reflection will keep some of it alive.  It surely will find its way into theological reflection, teaching, and general global—economic, religious, social, and cultural—thinking.  The opportunity to take time and see the various historical sites, to hear the stories behind this culture and its role in shaping the world that we know today, and the chance to soak up the natural beauty is a blessing. 

During one of our early visits in Olympia (or was it Delphi? the Acropolis museum?), our guide, Sophia, made the simple, yet profound, remark concerning the mythologies of Greece that they express the tension within us as humans and as societies.  The beauty we can create along with the destruction we can mete out; the ingenuity that builds spectacular structures that continue thousands of years after they are built and the hubris that can bring such  structures to ruin; the hospitality and egalitarian cultures that express such grace-filled aspects of our being and the fear that drives people to squash such kindness and develop rigid hierarchies that rule but do not add to life; and the inevitable searching and striving of humans to know and to discover and to be more than they are and the Achilles heel that is that same searching and striving beyond the important boundaries of who we are. 

The truth is that we continue to wrestle with these tensions (and the others that exist within our individual or collective psyches), and we are wise, it seems to me, to continue to place ourselves in the midst of these experiences and discussions that force us to consider the “other” and the other side (or sides) of what we experience.  We will not create a utopia where everyone agrees (nor do we really want that, I suspect).  If we can develop places where we respect the voice of the other, and we welcome the discussions on easy and difficult issues that we face, seeing this as our contribution to the story—dare I say myth—that has been echoing down the millennia, perhaps we will be a little better in the long run.  King has certainly embraced this notion and challenged those on the trip to think beyond themselves, while also finding their place within the larger conversation. 

I like to think that the Church, at its best, is a similar institution.  Rooted in the belief that all possess the imprint of the divine—the Imago Dei—we can’t help but enter the conversation with the other from a place of respect and honor that reality within ourselves at the same time.  The disagreements and difficult conversations and engagements continue, however we hopefully are living a bit more of the presence of God when we participate with grace, flexibility, mercy, and courage. The gift, ultimately, is not arriving at an absolute truth.  As the Greeks would know and could tell you, it’s the journey.

Pictures from Day 9

Venetian Fort Traditional way to hold the violin GreeceMonastery at Prevali

Greece: Day 9

Okay, I am afraid of heights!  Or, more precisely, I am afraid of coach buses taking hairpin turns on single lane roadways with 600 foot cliffs on one side of the bus!  The ride today was stunning. . . and frightening.  Thankfully, Costas, our driver, is an expert, and were able to enjoy one of the most beautiful parts of Crete, even if we were jumping out of our skin from time to time. 

We traveled from Rethymnon to the south coast of Crete to Fragokastello (a Venetian fortress on the Libyan Sea).  The trip south was beautiful as we passed through the White Mountains.  They are not like the Whites in New Hampshire!  The limestone on the peaks gives the mountains a white look, and they are mostly barren with scrub trees dotting the face of the mountains.  The geography—mountains throughout Greece, the barrenness of the Mani, the fecund valleys of the Peloponnese, the rich valleys of Crete, and the water, always the water!—creates a feeling of wonder and awe at the natural beauty, a sense of freedom and openness (much like Montana in my mind) due to the vistas and the limitless horizon when looking out upon the sea, and the senses come alive because of the various plants that awaken you to living in this wonderful place.  As I run, I smell the rosemary, sage, fig trees, and other herbs and bushes that grow naturally and allow you to enter into the reality of this place with another sense. 

We stopped at the caves of Matala yesterday and took a swim in the Libyan sea.  It was very refreshing and a chance for the kids to relax a bit after a very full week.  Today we also took some time to swim in the beautiful section of the Libyan Sea at Plakias.  It was stunning:  crystal clear, emerald water, sand beaches and all surrounded by mountains.  Each day of the trip has been filled from morning to late evening, and I have been very impressed with the students with whom we travel.  They are engaged, curious, move easily among themselves, and possess good senses of humor.  They have been a delight to travel with.

We visited the monastery at Prevali to close out the day.  It is above Plakias on the way back to Rethymnon.  It has a small and icon-filled chapel that is rich with the imagery of the Greek Orthodox tradition.  It was started at the beginning of the Turkish period (late 17^th century) and played critical roles during the resistance to the Turks and, during the 1940’s, to the Nazis.  The Turks destroyed the monastery a couple times because of their support of the resistance to the Turks.  The monastery developed a tunnel from its hilltop location down to the sea and used it to move resistant fighters and Allied fighters during W.W. II to the Libyan Sea and onto safe locations in Egypt.  It is interesting to think of the political role that this monastery was involved in, and to consider how the spiritual is not divorced from the physical and political.  The question has always been asked, “What is the appropriate relationship and balance?”  When it comes to fighting fascism, the response seems rather easy (though there are too many examples of churches supporting Hitler and Mussolini).  Religious traditions have never possessed a quick and easy answer to the spiritual/political question.  Indeed, Jesus, one of the most spiritual individuals was executed precisely because of his politics).  Therefore, we cannot deny that our reflections on the Holy and a belief in Christ does not allow for total inaction in this world.  Indeed, such activity may call us more fully and meaningfully into an engagement with the world.  Prevali stands as a prime example.

Today we travel from Heraklion to the south of Crete and then back to the north and the town of Rethymnon.

The visit yesterday was to the Palace of Knossso, not the “castle”, and we followed up with a time at the Historical Museum in Heraklion this morning learning about the first and second Byzantine periods on Crete, the Arab influence that was sandwiched between the Byzantine periods, and the Venetian period that lasted through the mid 17th century.

We saw a great deal of the beautiful icons, tapestries, altar pieces, and vestments of the Greek Orthodox tradition from the Byzantne periods. It is clear that the Orthodox tradition permeates so much of Greek life.   In talking to Christos, he mentioned that during the 60's and 70's there was a drop in attendance at Orthodox services, but there seems to be a resurgence in commitment to the church in Greece.  He also noted that it does not have so much of a fundamentalist element within the piety, but the tradition (and particularly the focus on Christ) is what dominates.

We stopped on our way to Matalla at Gortis, which is the site of an community dating back to the 3rd or 4th century BCE. It is known for the law of Gortis which is chiseled upon a wall behind the theater of the old town. The law is one of the oldest expressions we have of rules governing common life (e.g. the rights of intermarriage between a slave and free person, what is just compensation for particular grievances, etc.). The society was divided into four parts: citizens with full rights, citizens with rights except being a Cretan, slaves who were free but enlisted to care for crops surrounding the town, and slaves who were owned.

In Gortis, the remains of the basilica of Titus are to be found. Titus was charged by Paul to evangelize Crete. He was from a wealthy family and was killed by the Romans for his work on Crete. The basilica is built upon his grave, though it was not built until the 6th century.

Throughout our trip, we have talked with various people about the economy in Greece. While we have been in Greece, there have been a few strikes (interestingly, the U.S. soccer victory over Algeria was done without announcers as they striked for a few days. No loss: it would have been Greek to us all anyway). We have never felt any threat, and the strikes in Greece are quite orderly. In fact, the fire started at a bank—and killed a few bank workers--a few months ago during a general protest was considered a devastating event and unheard of in modern strikes.

A consistent refrain during conversations about the economy is a direct or indirect reference to immigrants (Albanians, Africans, Pakistanis, etc.) as a major part of the problem. Yes, there was graft in the government. Yes, there was overreaching by many with regard to credit. Yes, there need to be more expectations of workers. Yes . . . but “things are not like they once were, and the immigrants. . .” was a quote we heard more than once. The answer to immigration in Greece or elsewhere is one that does not possess a silver bullet, and I see it as multi-faceted. What is interesting (and scary) is the nationalism approaching xenophobia when things are tough.  It will be interesting to see what is done here.

Finally, a wonderful aspect of the trip has been following the World Cup soccer tournament while we are here.  We were in a hotel yesterday filled with Germans and Brits, and the game between the two countries was enjoyable to watch as a soccer fan as well as to be a spectator of the spectators.  There is a very strong worldly element in Crete with many people from many countries vacationing.

From the Historical Museum in Heraklion (Byzantine art and iconogragphy).  .  .

From Gortis and the basilica of Titus

Pictures from Day 6 and 7

At the grave of Nikos Kazantzakis  

 

St Francis at the Kazantzakis Museum

Standing by the bull's horns at the Minoan temple/castle site (where priests of the Minoans would have worked)

 

From the rest of the Minoan site.  . .

Greece: Day 6

We are leaving Athens and heading to Crete this afternoon, so I got one last run in this morning.  I was able to take in Hadrian’s Arch, the Acropolis, and the Aeropagus one more time.  I spoke with Christos about the meaning of the Aeropagus.  The word means the place “pagus” of Ares “the god of war”, and it was where 9 judges sat to rule on various disputes in the ancient world.  In time, the judges were replaced by a jury of the people, and Aereopagus became a place where people gathered to discuss various issues.

Enter the apostle Paul in the early part of the first century. It is on the Aeropagus that he speaks with Athenians about the gospel of Jesus the Christ and is able to convert a few. The Acropolis dwarfs the Aeropagus, and it is easy to see how Paul makes his argument about the various gods to whom the people offer sacrfice (Zeus’ temple and a temple to Athena, Poseidon, and others rest atop the Acropolis). The history at this time is critical to the effectiveness of Paul’s argument.


The Roman and Greek gods worshipped in antiquity are tied to the health of the state, and, as you know, the Roman empire is in slow decline. Therefore, there is a desire on the part of some people to find the right deity to save oneself and the nation. Furthermore, those talking to Paul on the Aeropagus are probably wealthy and educated Athenians. The fact that some of them convert is clearly important for the furthering of this fledgling tradition. And it is precisely because of the rich religious ferment of Greece that a tradition like Christianity could get a foothold.

Add to all of this that so much of the Christian tradition copies or furthers so many of the myths that went before, it is easy to see how people could accept it and convert. In fact, our visit to the Archaelogical Museum this morning bore this out. A small statue of the fertility goddess with a child (clearly the prototype for what would become the Madonna and child icons) is fascinating as it comes 1000 years before Jesus.


For some, this reality is too much to bear. It rationalizes and explains away the belief system and attraction of early Christianity.  However, far from explaining Christianity away, it gives an important context, while also holding out the meaning and import and critique of the existing systems that Christianity provided to early believers.  It helps us to be self-critical as well as to believe. We should never assume that what we have the whole truth and nothing but the truth. If history is any indicator, we have a window into the reality of the divine that still can and will surprise us, particularly when we are the most smug in our belief that we have answered all there is to answer.

The history of Greece is a wonderful example of this tension between wonder and awe to do great things and the hardness of heart or hubris that ends up destroying that which is beautiful and wonderful and such an inspiration. Humility is critical to the whole process and project.

We are on the high speed "boat" that will get us to Crete in 6 hours. The Aegean is beautiful and the many islands varied and interesting. It is amazing to think of the many ships that populated these waters and furthered the development of civilization millennia ago.


Go U.S. in tonight's soccer game!

Greece Day 5

Today we participated in an exciting visit to the Acropolis and the Parthenon.  What a fantastic structure and an amazing feat of human ingenuity, skill, and unimaginable brute human effort.

We visited the new New Acropolis Museum after touring the site.  This is an amazing building and exhibit.  As you enter from the outside, you realize that the museum itself is built upon the excavation of an older part of the city (which continues to be an active dig).  The floor in the museum is clear, so that you can see the former tower, houses and travelways of the old city.  The piece de resistance of the museum was the top floor with a clear view of the Parthenon.  The entire top floor is the frieze that is supposed to surround the top of the Parthenon.  Some of it is present in the museum, other parts are lost to history, and a major portion of the frieze exists in the British Museum (thanks to Lord Elgin).

I suspect many of you are aware of the legal battle going on between Greece and England for the return of what Elgin took to Greece.  As Christos, our King guide, noted, "The English use the argument that the frieze portions are in London for safe keeping, and the New Acropolis Museum exhibit (with recreations of the portions held by the British Museum holding the place until the elements might be returned) is the answer to that claim.  The safe-keeping in Greece is ready and waiting."

Among the sad realities of some of the frieze portions is the damage done to the pieces by the Christian community that took over after paganism died out.  Some of the beautiful sculptures are worn down to nothing.  It is understandable that the early Christian worshipers in the Parthenon would have transformed the space into their own style.  Unfortunately, they destroyed some wonderful art work.  It is interesting, as well, that not all of the portions were damaged.  What criteria was used to preserve or deface certain pieces?  What makes a site holy?  Or profane?  Interesting.

We moved onto the Athens subway which you would not think is a major historical site, but in Greece, it sure is.  As they built the subway, they unearthed parts of the former city and in many of the subways, they have exhibits of what was found:  grave stones, oil lamps, jars, etc.   Along the wall of the subway stop we visited, they had a time line of the various layers of earth that were removed, what time each layer represents, and what they found there.  I would think commuting would be given a different flavor with such exhibits.

Finally, we visited the Benakis home and Emmanuel Benakis' extensive collection donated by his son Antonis.  It was unbelievable.  It makes the Frick look like a popsicle stand.  There is art from every era. A wonderful collection of icons and Greek paintings,  work from El Greco, and extensive Greek heritage pieces (clothing, jewelry, rooms, sculpture, paintings, and a major selection of items that honor the Greek independence begun in 1821.

One interesting note was that Benakis worked in Egypt and had a number of paintings done by Egyptians that were placed with the dead as a way to remember them.  Some scholars believe this may have been an influence to the early icon writing of the Greek Orthodox tradition.  Again, many influences, connections, and outcomes.

 Olympic Stadium of 1896

Hadrian's Arch

The rock adjacent the Acroplis from which Paul preached the Athenians

Benakis Museum artwork

Greece: Day 4

We traveled to Delphi to see the ruins of what is known as the oracle and what also was a holy site where people gathered to give offerings of thanks or seek support for someone or something from the gods.  The site also was a place of culture and games (much like Olympia).

The drive to Delphi is spectacular.  You rise up from the sea to a perch with a view out over 3 million olive trees (yes, 3 million!) and down the drainage of two mountains coming together (a reminder of Montana).

What was striking about this site is the fact (as well with so much of the various sites in Greece) that it was such a vibrant place of religion, commerce, art and athleticism that, at a certain point, was literally buried, lost, and--most importantly--forgotten.  You realize the wealth of human ingenuity, artisanship, and beauty can be so easily buried by the violence, greed, and destruction of humanity.  I asked the kids if they could imagine the same thing happening to New York City.  I received incredulous stares, but the question is one that is vital to keep in front of us when considering what is it that we understand to be vital to living well together and for our posterity.

On the way to Delphi, we admired the mountain peak, Parnassus.  It is a great site to consider if you like to ski.  Yes, there is a beautiful mountain village that places you near the site of one of Greece's few ski areas.

Parnassus is also important because it is the very peak that the ark of Deucalion comes to rest in an ancient flood that covers the earth and Deucalion and his wife are the only survivors.  Sound familiar?  The sharing of ancient myths among the various traditions is extremely interesting and that which you cannot escape when amidst the history and mythological ferment of Greece.

Views from Delphi. . .

                      i

Pictures from Olympi

These were taken at the site of the Olympic games of 776 BCE and the museum.  Pretty amazing.

By the Palestra (wrestling room)

Former building for certain events

The remains of the Christian Church that has its back to all the pagan activities found on the grounds

The remains of the pillars of the temple of Zeus.  The pillar standing is what the height of the fallen pillars

The "stad" (190meters or so) that was the race ground for the Olympic "stadium" 

The group in front of the temple to Hera

In the museum . . .

    

                                                                                                 Statue of Hermes  (sorry about the lighting)