H2O (RSV)

As noted upstream, the usual round of weddings, graduations,
assemblies, nonviolence rallies, Meetups.com,
and Class Daze have curtailed time available for culture vultures
here on Buzzards Bay. However, I still DO intend to interest
you in the remarkable film by Deepa Mehta, WATER,
now widely available on DVD.

It is a marvelous and evocative film describing the plight of widows
in Gandhi's window in the late 1930's. The story line revolves around
the situation of a child widow (9 y.o.) who is forced into a
sort of commune for these females cast out of the society,
culture, and the economy. Her simple story of struggle and courage
is set against the backdrop of Gandhi's revolution against British
colonialism.

The sets, lighting, scenery, cinematography, and especially the casting and
direction are of the order of magnitude one came to expect from the classic
Indian films of Satyajit Ray (the Apu Trilogy) and many others.


Produced in 2005 after innumerable legal battles,
death threats, and even riots, the film is a stunning
commentary on the treatment of the poor, not unlike the situation
of the Dalit poor in South Asia today. [Cf., the thorough
article in Wikipedia: <>].

Americans dare not treat this subject matter lightly (although "Water"'s
CG-13 rating means that it can be shown widely to most age groups pre-teens up).
The truth is that our society, though outwardly affluent and drowning in its own
consumerism, has its many Dalits (male and female), forgotten and outcast.

The solution--in the eyes of many Americans--is to lock Them away in prisons,
filter them out at the Borders, and build a physical wall to contain our wealth and
property. The film "Water" is an occasion for us to consider where such
thinking will take us.


More on the film can be found at:

--> http://water.mahiram.com/

--> http://www.cbc.ca/arts/film/water.html

--> http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0240200/


Yr. Obdt. Svt.,


dave buehler

De Trinitate

The usual round of weddings, graduations, assemblies,
and Class Day have sharply reduced the time available
for our culture vulture. However, I do want to
recommend once again the remarkable film by Deepak Mehta, WATER,
now widely available on DVD.

Produced in 2005 after innumerable legal battles,
death threats, and even riots, the film is a stunning
commentary on the treatment of outcasts and widows

And, since the Christian way of confronting polytheism
is found in the Feast of the Holy Trinity, here is this
week's LEXEGETE pericope study, by Rev. Richard Koenig:



++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++



Lexegete ™ | Year C



++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


THE HOLY TRINITY

First Sunday after Pentecost

June 3, 2007

Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31
Psalm 8 (Ps. 8:1)
Romans 5:1-5
John 16:12-15


1. Text: John 16:12-15

Jn. 16:12 "I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.

Jn. 16:13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.

Jn. 16:14 He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

Jn. 16:15 All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.





1. Context: John 16:12-15


The Gospel for this Sunday consists of a portion of the great Johannine Last Discourse of Jesus to his disciples before his death. The Discourse itself runs from 13:31 to 17:26. Both the Last Supper and the Discourse are sections in what Father Raymond Brown terms John's Book of Glory which comprises chapters 13 through 21. The other sections of the Book of Glory are the Passion Narrative (chapters 18 and 19) and portions entitled The Risen Jesus (chapter 20) and Epilogue (chapter 21).


Fr. Brown gives our text the title, "The Paraclete as Guide of the Disciples." In the perplexing manner of the Johannine discourse, our text echoes some of the things that Jesus has said earlier in 13:31-14:31. Brown believes that the duplication is the result of an editorial combination of several Last Discourses that were circulated in different Johannine communities. If this is so, we may deal with our text discreetly in relative independence to that which precedes and follows. At the same time, we would do well to heed Brown's concluding remark in his introduction to the Discourse: "None of this [the manner of composition and apparent incoherence] should prevent the reader from recognizing that the Last Discourse is one of the greatest compositions in religious literature. The one who speaks here speaks as no man has spoken." (p. 582)



2. ANALYSIS: John 16: 12-15


In the first section of the Gospel of John, Jesus has been speaking for the most part either to hostile audiences or to individuals and groups that have difficulty comprehending his message. In the Book of Glory (chapters 13-21) he turns to speak to his own, this is, his beloved friends, the disciples whom he had chosen and who would be his witnesses after his departure.


That Jesus would depart was a subject that filled the disciples' hearts with fear. Jesus addresses the fear by assuring his followers that what looms as an unbearable loss will paradoxically turn out to be the generator of rich promise. The essence of the promise is the coming of the Spirit, the Paraclete, who will more than compensate for the removal of Jesus from the company of the disciples.


In taking to themselves Jesus' recorded words, readers of the Gospel and those who hear the Gospel preached from it receive the same comfort as did the disciples. The Last Discourse is composed not only as a word to the Twelve but to Christians throughout the following ages.


The special import of our text for this day, however, is the way it leads us into the fundamental dogma of the Church on the Trinity of God. Observing the context in which the text appears, a word of Jesus to his own, will help to avoid making the Trinity an arcane exercise in theological speculation. The text's implicit Trinitarian theology is an invitation into the life and being of the God whom the Spirit has made known in Jesus Christ.

v. 12: The idea that there are different levels of maturity in the Christian life occurs many times in the NT. See, for example, Ephesians 4:14 and Hebrews 5:13, 14. Spiritual immaturity, characterized by a lack of understanding and steadiness in faith, is to give way to a deeper grasp of God's revelation and a more consistent Christian life.



After the Resurrection, the disciples would understand the ministry of Jesus more profoundly.


v. 13: The inability of the disciples to understand the reason for Jesus' death requires the gift Jesus promises, that is, the Spirit. The Spirit will clarify what was contained in Jesus' proclamation. Thus, the Spirit will convert what Jesus revealed into the disciples' own.


v. 14: In the process the Spirit will glorify Jesus, for then the disciples will see Jesus for what he was as one who was sent from the Father. But in so doing the Spirit will glorify the Father whose saving intention Jesus fulfills. The point is amplified in verse 15.

Our text is striking for the frequency with which the idea of speaking occurs. "I have yet many more things to 'say' to you" (v. 12). [The Spirit] "will not 'speak' on his own authority, but whatever 'he hears' he will 'speak' and 'declare' to you..." (v. 13). [The Spirit] "will take what is mine and 'declare' it to you" (v. 14). "Therefore I 'said' that he will take what is mine and 'declare' it to you" (v. 15).

The God of the Bible is the God who speaks [Deus loquens]. In contrast to many familiar notions on the way humans communicate with the divine (mysticism), the God of the Bible takes the initiative, reveals himself, and continues to reveal himself by means of the Word.


The means of communication is no accident. God is discourse, says Robert Jenson, in conscious reference to the dogma of the Trinity. God's self-disclosure in the Son (the Word!) through the Holy Spirit bespeaks his innermost nature. Our text testifies to the conversation God carries on with us and within himself. The dogma of the Trinity gathers up the insights Christians derived from their encounter as believers in the one God with Christ. Trinitarian faith is faith in [Deus loquens], the God who speaks.



3. STRATEGY: John 16: 12-15

The situation in the life of the disciples on the occasion of our text was the imminent departure of their Lord and the consequent loss of his voice and presence. Sadness filled their hearts. The situation in which many of our hearers today live is one in which the voice of God is also thought to be silent. It may not be spoken about, but the experience of the absence or silence of God is at the edge of consciousness.

The text tells us that however firmly it might be declared that God's voice has been stilled, God speaks. God has uttered his Word in Christ (John 1, Hebrews 1) and communicates that to us through the Spirit. This is his promise. The God who IS Father, Son, and Holy Spirit speaks in order to share himself with us.

The sermon might be a comfort and a challenge. It is a comfort to be assured that he who loves us in Christ is not silent. The question for us is how we listen. The question is whether we are listening. The question is what we are listening for.

The preacher might want to try a second tack and develop the wonder of speech. "Speak to me," we say to establish communication, even with inanimate objects like dice. "Do you hear what I am saying?" we ask in order to make sure we are getting through.

Speech is the wonderful, mysterious means given to us to share our inner life with one another. The God of the Bible is the God who speaks. That is shown us in our text. God speaks to us in Christ through the Spirit. His word of judgment and grace comes to us in order to allow us to share in his life.

Love is not muzzled or silent. "In the Name of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit" not only establishes the ground on which we gather but holds before us the promise of what is to happen: God will speak to us again in his Word by the Spirit.





4. REFERENCES: John 16: 12-15


Brown, Raymond E. THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO JOHN,
XIII - XXI. The Anchor Bible, vol. 29A,
Garden City, NY: Doubleday and Co., 1970.


Jenson, Robert E. "The Being of God," in
CHRISTIAN DOGMATICS. Vol. 1, Carl E. Braaten
and Robert W. Jenson, eds., Philadelphia:
Fortress Press, 1984, pp. 163-181.






Exegete: Richard E. Koenig

Rev. Koenig is a Pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran
Church in America (Ret.), a longtime contributor
to the Christian Century, an author and editor,
and leader in Lutheran ecumenical dialogue.

He and his wife, Elaine Koenig, live in Cromwell, CT.






5. MUSIC SUGGESTIONS: John 16:12-15

Some hymns recommended for the Festival of the Holy Trinity
and/or this pericope include the following:


ALL GLORY BE TO GOD ON HIGH (LBW 166; HB 421)
ANCIENT OF DAYS, WHO SITTEST THRONED IN GLORY (HB 363)
CREATOR SPIRIT, HEAV'NLY DOVE (LBW 284; HB 500)
FATHER MOST HOLY, MERCIFUL AND TENDER (LBW 169)
HOLY GOD, WE PRAISE THY NAME (HB 366; LBW 535)
HOLY HOLY HOLY (HB 362; LBW 165)
I BIND UNTO MYSELF THIS DAY (HB 370; LBW 188)
O GOD, WE PRAISE THEE, AND CONFESS (HB 364)
SING PRAISE TO OUR CREATOR (HB 295)
THE GOD OF ABRAHAM PRAISE (HB 401; LBW 544)












LEXEGETE © 2007

Tischrede Software

Dartmouth, MA 02747

Against Syncretism

Against Syncretism

I have never thought that a syncretic (or syncretistic) faith could be viable, not even in a world which styles itself as "postmodern." The reason for this seems obvious to me: no theology-- like no philosophy--can operate in the kosmos without having a distinctly different voice for itself. Every infant contains within herself the making of a unique message or voice in the world, so why should every faith not have this same dimension of uniqueness? It could also be argued (and often has) that ancient traditions cannot, by their very nature, be merged or connected with later ones. I am not absolutely certain about the latter, since I have seen the Church--both evangelical and catholic—gladly merge ancient and modern in worship and music, though often reluctant to do so over issues of Faith and Order. Suffice it to say that “the old becomes new,” by and by (Rev. 21:5).

That said, I do not mean that we ought to isolate ourselves from the world or its ever flowing stream of differing faiths. Indeed, I believe that we need one another so much that our own distinct faith cannot be heard a world where dialogical conversation falls silent. In light of the exegetical remarks above by Dr. Worthing, it nevertheless appears to me that we can live in this new Age without having to move into the New Age and similar movements, insofar as these manifest Syncretism. In other words, as one of my theology professors was fond of saying, differences DO make a difference. Three good recent examples of the kind of fruitful “exploring” we might consider are the following:

a) ODE magazine, which originated in the Netrherlands, is one of the most au courant sources I know for discussion of emerging ideas in world culture. A recent issue includes a free CD of the Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh, whom I first discovered while still in college in 1965. He has since written numerous books on meditation and Buddhist philosophy and has many helpful insights about living in this world of war and violence.

b) Matthew Fox, a former priest who was silenced by the Pope many years ago, has finally seen (through a glass darkly, one suspects) of the Protestant Principle (seper reformanda) in his engaging little paperback, A NEW REFOPRMATION ( Rochester, VT: 2006). Following the tradition of his earlier books on Prayer and Work in the world, this one addresses the application of a “Creation Spirituality” in the Nova Ecclesia emerging today. To his credit, Fox appends his own 95 Theses for today and the result is calculated to rouse depleted or drowsy Christians once and for all.

c) “And On Earth, Peace” – The new Interfaith Mass by the group Chasnticleer—
see my review at:



There is much here that may appeal to Lutheran, Episcopalian and Roman Catholic hearts and minds and voices—along with at least some that will provoke debate or disagreement. But isn’t that the whole point!? Semper Reformanda!

davebuehler | yourobdtsvt.blogspot.com

Let us be Brief (Rev'd)

There is the "doomsday clock" of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists....there is the South African proverb that says it's "2 minutes to Twelve"....and then there is Al Gore, and "28 Days Later", and Chicken Little and all the Rest.

So let us be brief.

All of us claim to want a world bereft of poverty, pollution,tyranny, and greed...at least I think we all do, except perhaps for a small cohort of the certifiably insane. We can get a more Demo-cratic, Eco-cratic (though not Theo-cratic) world in one of two ways:

The first is to try to use Violence, Force, Shock, and Awe to impose it on the world. The futility of Force used this way was obvious to Simone Weil in 1939 when she wrote her essay on the Iliad. It was clear to me at the tender age of 22 when I put my Selective Service System I.D. in an envelope and mailed it back to Gen. Lewis Hershey. The futility of such an approach is obvious to most of the world by now.

And now for a more excellent way....one championed by Paul Hawken, among others, for at least thirty years.

That this was evident from the publication of his book THE NEXT ECONOMY was abundantly clear to anyone who read it. In the June 2007 issue of ORION...



Hawken set out what he perceives to be the beginning of a global movement to tame the brutal Forces which wreak most destruction across the globe.

Based on decades of talking ecology with tens of thousands of Global Thinkers, Leaders, Movers, and even Shakers, Hawken now argues that the world is positioned not only for a new era of democracy, but also a worldwide movement away from greed and pollution.


God help us if he is wrong.

God will help us, too, if is right.


Your Obdt. Svt.,


davebuehler

Let us be Brief.....

There is the "doomsday clock" of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists....there is the South African proverb that says it's "2 minutes to Twelve"....and then there is Al Gore, and "28 Days Later", and Chicken Little and all the Rest.

So let us be brief.

All of us claim to want a world bereft of poverty, pollution,tyranny, and greed...at least I think we all do, except perhaps for a small percentage of the certifiably insane. You can get a more Democratic, Ecocratic (but not Theocratic) world only one of two ways. The first is to try to use violence, force, sock, and Awe to impose it on the world. The futility of Force used this way was obvious to Simone when she wrote her famous essay on the Iliad, many decades ago in the previous century. It was clear to me at theage of 22 when I put my Selective Service System ID in an envelope and mailed it back to General Hershey. And the futility of such an approach is obvious to most of the world by now.

And now for a still more excellent way....one which has been championed by Paul Hawken, among others, for at least thirty years.

That this was evident from the publication of his book THE NEXT ECONOMY was abundantly clear to anyone who read it. Now, in the current issue of ORION (orionmagazine.com), he fully lays out what he perceives the beginnings of a global movement to reform those Forces which have unleashed destruction et cetera across the globe.

Based on decades of talking ecology with tens of thousands of Global Thinkers, Leaders, Movers, and even Shakers, Hawken now argues that the world is positioned not only for a new age of democracy, but also a worldwide movement away from greed and pollution.

God will help us if he is wrong. God will help us, too, if is right.


Yr. Obdt. Svt.,


davebuehler

Nota Bene: Lexegetes

Here is the current word for Lexegetes:


LEXEGETE ™ / Year C

SIXTH SUNDAY OF EASTER | May 13, 2007
Acts 16:9-15
Psalm 67 (Ps. 67:4)
Revelation 21:10, 22—22:5
John 14:23-29 or John 5:1-9

Matthias, Apostle | May 14, 2007
Isaiah 66:1-2 Psalm 56 (Ps. 56:12)
Luke 6:12-16 Acts 1:15-26

ASCENSION OF OUR LORD | May 17, 2007
Acts 1:1-11 Psalm 47 (Ps. 47:5) or Psalm 93 (Ps. 93:2)
Ephesians 1:15-23 Luke 24:44-53




1a. TEXT: John 14:23-29

Jn. 14:23 Jesus answered him, "Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.

Jn. 14:24 Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; and the word that you hear is not mine, but is from the Father who sent me.

Jn. 14:25 "I have said these things to you while I am still with you.

Jn. 14:26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you.

Jn. 14:27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.

Jn. 14:28 You heard me say to you, `I am going away, and I am coming to you.' If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I.

Jn. 14:29 And now I have told you this before it occurs, so that when it does occur, you may believe.


1b. TEXT: John 5:1-9

Jn. 5:1 After this there was a festival of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

Jn. 5:2 Now in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate there is a pool, called in Hebrew Beth-zatha, which has five porticoes.

Jn. 5:3 In these lay many invalids-- blind, lame, and paralyzed.

Jn. 5:4 [see “Johannine Comma,” below]

Jn. 5:5 One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years.

Jn. 5:6 When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been there a long time, he said to him, "Do you want to be made well?"

Jn. 5:7 The sick man answered him, "Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; and while I am making my way, someone else steps down ahead of me."

Jn. 5:8 Jesus said to him, "Stand up, take your mat and walk."

Jn. 5:9 At once the man was made well, and he took up his mat and began to walk. Now that day was a sabbath.


1c. CONTEXT: John 14:23-29


THE LAST DISCOURSE : Division One (Unit 3)


These verses are preceded by the question of Judas (not Iscariot) put to

Jesus within the context of The Last Supper. In 14: 22 we read: "Lord, how

is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world ?"

Judas represents all who fail to realize the difference between "seeing" and

"recognizing" Christ. The Johannine community is aware that faith can

be thought of merely in terms of believing the testimony of others, who are

trusted as witnesses. We can "believe" in the sense of trusting that others

have "seen" though we have not. We can put confidence in "words" in the

hope that one day we ourselves will experience the risen Christ.




Jesus answers that he is about to show himself to the disciples and not to

the world, as he gives a deeper mmeaning to "word." Keeping the word of

Christ does not consist of accepting a new Torah with new commandments,

or a body of doctrines or ideas. Christ's word is not his, but God's, and

God's Word is Christ, himself. Jesus is engaged in the process of

teaching the disciples that even though he is leaving, God will send them a


Counselor.



The Holy Spirit, whom Jesus says God will send in the Name of Love,

will teach us to recognize all that Christ is. All that he said is brought to

mind as we recognize him. Through the gift of the Spirit we are taught

"from within," by living and reflecting upon the experience of

that living.

2. ANALYSIS: John 14: 23-29


THE LAST DISCOURSE: Division One (Unit Three)


"Keep my word" [ton logon mou tereisei]. The

expression is used in vv. 23, 24, 8: 51 and 15:20;the

theme of keeping God's word appears in 1 John 2: 5. In

14: 15 and 21 we find the expression "keep my [the]

commandments." The meaning of the verb is in the sense of

"fulfilling." Jesus' commandments are not simply moral

precepts: they involve a whole way of life, in loving

union with him.


The plural and singular of the "word" appear in 24

without apparent distinction of meaning; and so the

variation between singular and plural in the use of both

"word" and "commandment" stems from the Old Testament,

where the Ten Commandments are referred to as the "words

of God." (Exod. 20: 1; Deut. 5: 5, 22) "And we will come

and abide...[monein]. Here the community refers to their

experience of the indwelling of God, as promised by Jesus.


As has happened frequently, Jesus does not answer Judas'

question directly. However, when properly understood,

what he says is an answer. He takes the opportunity to

explain once again what it really means to see him, and

therefore implicitly explains why the world cannot see

him. Now he points out that his presence after the

resurrection will also mean God's presence. In those who

love Jesus, and keep his word, they will abide.


Three features are common to the presence of God, Jesus,

and the Holy Spirit in these verses: 1. the necessary

conditions of loving Jesus and keeping his word; 2. the

statement that God (and Jesus) will come to abide within

the community; 3. and a reference to the indwelling of

the Spirit.

Although Jesus' words do not exclude a parousia or

revelation in glory such as Judas expected, he is

implicitly saying that the Spirit's indwelling fulfills

some of the end time expectations. In Zech. 8: 3 we read:

"For look, I come to dwell in the midst of you."

Israel had expected this to take place in the

Temple, the house of God; but in Johannine thought this

became the hour when people would worship God neither on

Mount Gerizim nor in the Jerusalem Temple, but in Spirit

and Truth (4: 21-24). It should be noted that v. 26 is

the only place in this Gospel where the fullest Greek form

of "Holy Spirit," [to pneuma to hagiou], is employed.

This is therefore, the only passage that makes the

identification of the Paraclete with the Holy Spirit

explicit.


The verb form of "to leave," in the parting "Peace"

of v. 27, can have the sense of bequeathing, although it

is not a technical juridical term. There is a play here,

on the traditional Hebrew salutation, "Shalom." Jesus

gives it new meaning, as he fills it full with the gift of

salvation. "The peace of the Lord be with you," thus

becomes a traditional Christian salutation.






3. STRATEGY: John 14: 23-29



THE LAST DISCOURSE: Division One (Unit Three)



In preaching from this text, again the challenge is to

be found precisely in [anamnesis]: bringing the

Christ-peace to more than remembrance, to a present

reality in our community of faith. The peace of Christ is

not the courteous greeting exchanged in countless churches

on Sunday mornings. His gift of peace comes in the form

of salvation. It is Shalom in its root meaning of whole,

perfect and undivided, [shalem]. The peace Christ gives

is his "whole self," in whom lies the undivided One God,

and in whom we come alive in perfect union. In this peace

we can live at the very heart of the final struggle of

life and death, into which we all must enter as we die and

rise with Christ. He goes through death, returning to take us with him

into Life. In this peace we find the cause of our joy.

The True Image has come forth form God into human life,

the Son alive as an actual person: God and flesh at one.

In our spiritual rebirth, this Incarnation is opened up

to become God and flesh and men/women made whole. As our

response of love completes the union we are in Christ, we

rejoice. We are hid in the One returning to God! We

experience that it has already begun to happen, and so we believe.


In Rom. 6: 4, Paul writes: Through baptism we were

buried together with him in his death, so that as Christ

was raised from among the dead through the glory of God,

so we also might walk in the newness of Life.


4. REFERENCES: John 14: 23-29

Brown, Raymond E. THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO JOHN, XIII -
XXI. Garden City, NY: Doubleday and Co., 1970, pp. 638-51.

SYNOPSIS OF THE FOUR GOSPELS. Kurt Aland, ed.,
Württembergische Bibelanstalt, Stuttgart/West Germany: United States Bible Societies, 1975, p. 291.

Whitson, Robley Edward. THE CENTER SCRIPTURES. Bristol, IN: The United Institute, Wyndham Hall Press, 1987.


5. Web Links

http://www.nd.edu/~jneyrey1/miracles.html
http://www.textweek.com/
http://www.theolog.org/
http://www.crossmarks.com/brian/john5x1.htm
http://www.purewords.org/kjb1611/html/john5_4.htm


Exegete: Rev. Dr. Carol M. Worthing, ELCA (Retired), Edina, MN











________________________________________________





© 2007 Tischrede Software

Dartmouth, MA 02747



________________________________________________





posted by davebuehler @ 8:20 AM 327 Comments
About Me

David A. Bühler, Ph.D.

David Buehler, Ph.D. has been teaching Ethics and Philosophy at Providence College in Rhode Island since 1993. His courses have included: Bioethics, Philosophy of Death & Dying, Introduction to Ethics, Philosophy of the Human Person, General Ethics, Ethical Issues in Leadership, and--since 1996--The Philosophy of Violence. The last cited one is a full survey course on social, historical, and moral dimensions of Global Violence in the 21st Century. Special attention is given to War, Killing, Atrocity, Torture, Genocide, and Multi-Media Violence. Readings for Fall 2006 included ON EVIL (A. Morton), WAR & THE ILIAD (S. Weil), SAVAGE SPAWN (J. Kellerman), and James P. Sterba's TRIUMPH OF PRACTICE OVER THEORY IN ETHICS (Oxford U. Press, 2005). A full reading list is available by contacting David by email--> davebuehler@post.harvard.edu

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Happy Cinco de Mayo!

We will celebrate Cinco de Mayo quite festively, I suspect, starting with a morning of furioso Spring Cleaning. There was software by that name [(c) Aladdin] which I found to be almost totally useless--like much of the garbage in cyberspace or just online.

We cannot be present for the Fiesta(!) which our son and his wife are hosting for a friend of theirs from Latin America--sort of a birthday, Christmas, fourth o'July all in one! But we'll be there in Spirit, though we'll have to miss the Derby again this year in order to attend the Grand Finale Concert of the NBSO
(New Bedford Symphony) tonight, which ought to be extraordinary.

If it's not, we'll give them what for....
the Night includes Beethoven's Leonore Overture (which tickles the writer since I just heard the great Medievalist Leonore Stump, lecture at Harvard this week), the Mendelssohn Concerto for Violin, and Bartok's zany little Concerto for Orchestra.

Sounds like fun! Big, Happy May Five to you, too!

Gracias, Yr Obdt Svt

davebuehler

Timing

Timing (apologies to al Ghazali)


Today's NY Times tells the interesting tale of how some New Yorkers--attempting to bring about some cultural rapprochement between Christians, Jews, and Muslims--had started up a" Kahlil Gibran academy" in Brooklyn. [I myself have read Gibran since the early 1960's but I confess I have always found him both pompous and profound.]

It seems that the Powers that Be in Giuliani-Land are just not as friendly as they often purport...and the whole project may need to be scrubbed on grounds of Bad Timing. The question that arises is WHEN, if ever, will it be the Kairos Moment for intercultural Convivencia, let alone harmony and understanding????

We have it on good report that Sunday the Times will also publish a review by Eric Ornsby of the new Princeton edition of "The Dream of the Poem," Hebrew Poetry From Muslim and Christian Spain. So I guess there is some hope.

As for the timing, keep in mind that these poems are from 950 AD to the onset of the Inquisition in 1492. Perhaps in seven or eight centuries, if everyone pays attention from Brooklyn to Jerusalem, convivencia will be given a try.

In meantime, I expect to do a lot searching, reading, and research at:

< http://www.ghazali.org/ >.



Yr. Obdt. Svt.,

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