[Propertalk] 4 Easter a

Sat May 14 23:35:54 EDT 2011

I'm much later than I have been for a while, and am still working on 
revisions, but here's what I have so far.

Good rest and happy feasting tomorrow!

Bob

THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF ST. ALBAN, ALBANY    		         THE FOURTH 
SUNDAY OF EASTER - A
ACTS 2:42-47				      			        15th MAY, 2011
1 PETER 2:19-25						              	                 PSALM 23
JOHN 10:1-10

	“I long to create something
	that can’t be used to keep us passive:
	I want to write
	a script about pumping, how every pipe
	is joined
	to every other.” 1

	These words talk about deep feelings, about our longing to make a 
difference in the world. Not only do these lines from one of Adrienne 
Rich’s poems make us look to ourselves and our abilities, though. They 
also suggest that there’s someone outside of ourselves who can bring out 
the true potential within us. We have to look for and listen to that 
person, then. More than that, though, the whole poem actually describes 
the process of pumping water and draining sewage – very basic 
necessities. This person outside of ourselves, therefore, is interested 
in things that are very practical, AND down-to-earth, and hopes that 
we’ll be just as aware. Finally, the poem describes the connectedness we 
all have with one another. Just as sheep in a pen are different, so are 
we, but what we do and how we go about it has an effect on everyone 
else.

	So, who are we in whom our Friend outside has such a personal interest?

	What defines us? Are we defined by what we do? Are we defined by voices 
we hear?

	Or are we defined by how we appear?

	Jesus talked of Himself when He described the way in which He cared for 
all of God’s sheep, no matter which fold they were in. He talked about 
Himself being the one whose voice the sheep knew and trusted – but then 
He offered Himself as a sacrifice of love. What kind of a shepherd is 
that? How can we, the sheep of God, feel any degree of trust when the 
Shepherd gives Himself away for us?

	It’s a confusing world in which we live. These days it’s not easy to 
tell who DOES have the recognisable voice. We have to decide – to whom 
do we listen these days? The person who posts on Facebook ®? The editor 
of “The Democrat Herald”? The General Manager of a TV Network? For many 
in the world the last person to whom people listen is a religious 
figure.

	How about the producer of Broadway shows, though? Might we trust her or 
him?

Cameron Mackintosh, who brought to life such musicals as “Les 
Misérables”, “Phantom of the Opera”, “Miss Saigon” and “Cats”, has a new 
one running right now. Talking about it, he said, “I looked into the pig 
and I saw the eyes of God.”

	Pigs get such a bad rap. But I find they’re among the sweetest animals 
I know – especially roasted! Just kidding!

	Why DO we use them to refer to anyone whom we despise – like Charlie 
Brown’s and Lucy van Pelt’s friend, who seems to be surrounded, 
perpetually, with a dust-storm. In that “character’s first appearance on 
July 13, 1954, in a strip directly parodying the first chapter of “Lord 
of the Flies”, he declares, ‘I haven't got a name . . . People just call 
me things . . . Real insulting things.’” 2

	Charlie Brown was the only one to take him seriously, saying once, 
“Don’t think of it as dust. Just think of it as the dirt and dust of 
far-off lands blowing over here and settling on ‘Pig-Pen!’ It staggers 
the imagination! He may be carrying the soil that was trod upon by 
Solomon or Nebuchadnezzar or Genghis Khan!”

	Why do we pick on animals and people and brush them off as if they have 
no possible consequence for us, even for the whole of the human race? 
What makes us think that someone – whomever we think we may choose – 
what makes us think that we can tell whom to discard from life?

	When Jane Eyre begins to leave Thornfield Hall after it’s revealed that 
Rochester is already married, albeit to someone who’s seriously mentally 
ill; when Rochester talks to Jane, trying to convince her to stay, she 
replies:

	“And become nothing to you? Am I a machine without feelings? Do you 
think that because I am poor, obscure, plain and little that I am 
soulless and heartless? I have as much soul as you and full as much 
heart, …” 3

	But back to Cameron Mackintosh. “‘Look into her eyes,’ (meaning the 
pig’s eyes,) says the man the New York Times described as the world’s 
most successful and powerful theatrical producer, ‘and tell me that’s 
not like looking into the eyes of God.’” 4

	Back in 1947 life was really tough. Rationing was the norm for both 
staples and luxuries. Europe was struggling to deal with the devastating 
aftermath of the Second World War. People didn’t have much to cheer 
about. Then, on the 20th November, The Princess Elizabeth and Philip, 
The Duke of Edinburgh, were married. Mackintosh’s new musical is based 
on a movie, which, in turn, was based on a play, on the attempts of 
people throughout Britain to celebrate the royal occasion despite the 
economic austerity. “Set in a Yorkshire town in 1947, it centres on a 
plot to kidnap a pig raised illegally by businessmen who wanted to 
slaughter her for a party to celebrate (the) wedding.”

	The link between the new musical and today’s economic climate wasn’t 
lost on people who were all agog over the celebration of the marriage of 
Catherine and William, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. Their 
celebrations, and the accompanying fol-de-rol and trinket sales, may 
well have been geared to speak to the hardships we all face currently.

	Ask the people of Britain who they are and they may well find that 
they’ve been influenced by the events of the last three weeks that part 
of their identity will have been defined by the recent exchange of vows 
of Catherine and William. Their feelings and opinions about themselves 
may have been raised up several notches because of what was shared as 
national pageantry, just as was the identity of the British population 
in 1947 when William’s grandparent’s wed.

	Which takes us back to the question about looking into the pig and 
seeing the eye of God. And it adds to the question of whose the Voice 
for which we’re invited to listen.

	Pigs, sheep, the media, Broadway, society – there are so many voices 
which seem to lay claim on our affection and devotion. There are so many 
voices which seem not only enticing but sensible. How DO we decide which 
is the Shepherd’s?  It’s all very well to have the Gospel verses recount 
Jesus’ comment about His sheep recognising His voice, but we know it’s 
not that simple.

	Take two examples.

	This past week I saw the movie “Sons of Perdition”. It’s about teenaged 
boys and what I consider the incredible dysfunctionality of families 
associated with the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day 
Saints, the cult group based on the land near the Utah-Arizona border. 
In that group “men have plural wives, donate their property to the 
church and swear obedience to their prophet.”  5  Since 2003, the 
prophet has been Warren Jeffs. He claims absolute authority has been 
given him by God, and he exercises this absolutely. In that part of the 
world, his is the voice that MUST be followed.

	The second voice I heard was that of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who spoke 
in Tacoma on Friday night. He made no claims for himself. He spoke in 
clear terms about God as Creator. He talked about God sharing 
responsibility for life here with us. He talked about God’s pain 
whenever there was abuse and terror, and about God’s joy when people 
accepted responsibility for one another and gave of themselves 
compassionately without question.

	Two voices both heard this past week. Both talked of God. Both talked 
of having our physical and spiritual interests at heart, each seemingly 
at opposite ends of the spectrum from one another, however.

	If these seem extreme examples, I’m sure you can think of others whom 
you’ve heard. How DO we discover whose is the voice to which we listen?

	We all have minds and experiences to help us make our decisions, but 
let me suggest the example of the first verse of the first reading as 
one way which would seem to be able to help us filter through all the 
challenges and claims on our loyalty. What worked for the early Church 
should work for us – immersing ourselves in what the apostles taught, 
and how they acted both in and outside of their worship meetings; 
devoting ourselves to receiving Christ in Communion and at other tables; 
and allowing prayer to infuse and inform our lives completely.

	Making this the central pivot of our lives WON’T make trouble 
disappear. Nor will it necessarily resolve any confusion about God’s 
Voice. For that we need to keep open ears. There IS one standard which 
may help us, though. No matter who we are and where we go, if anyone is 
treated as “a machine without feelings; if anyone is made to feel that 
because he or she may appear – I emphasise that – APPEAR economically or 
physically poor, or obscure, or plain, or little – if anyone is defined 
and treated as soulless and heartless; then the Voice of Jesus has NOT 
been heard.

	It’s when we see people being treated with love and dignity as 
individuals and equals that we know that Jesus’ Voice is present. THAT 
is what should define us as Jesus’ sheep.

NOTES:

1 	“Essential resources”- lines 17-22 by Adrienne Rich, from “The fact 
of a Doorframe”, pages 202-3. W.W. Norton revised 1994. New York. Quoted 
in Verse and Voice 5.11.11 Sojourners 
http://blog.sojo.net/2011/05/11/voice-of-the-day-2011-05-11/

2	“Pig-Pen”, created by Charles M. Schulz. 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pig-Pen

3	Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë. The Movie, directed by Cary Fukunaga, 
starring Mia Wasikowska as Jane Eyre and Michael Fassbender as 
Rochester.  2011.

4	 “Night Waves” with Philip Dodd. Interview with Cameron Mackintosh, 
producer. 13th April, 2011.   http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0106v04 
“Betty Blue Eyes” –http://www.bettyblueeyesthemusical.com/  and Stuart 
Jeffries   guardian.co.uk,  Tuesday 12 April 2011 15.45 BST

5	See  http://www.sonsofperditionthemovie.com/ 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=px1n4h5aYwo  and 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_Jeffs

Robert P Morrison
Interim Vicar
The Episcopal Church of St Alban
PO Box 1556
Albany OR  97321   541-921-1076 (cell)