Friday, July 23, 2010
Previous Blogs
If you'd like to read blog entries from previous years visit: www.mytb.org/Amy-in-Egypt.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Home 2010:17
I arrived home shortly after 11 this morning. Hans had to return to work, so I’ve been trying to keep myself busy to stay awake today. Part of keeping busy meant running some errands like picking up drying cleaning I’d dropped off a month ago.
When I walked into the dry cleaner, the woman who always helps called out my name. “Hi Amy, how are you?” We did our business. It was nice to be remembered after a month away. It’s one of the ways that I know that I’m home.
Here’s the thing, yesterday before I left Cairo I went to the local dry cleaner where I occasionally take clothing that needs a real cleaning (and not just hand washing). I paid for my laundry and then said goodbye. “I’ll see you next summer, in sh’Allah.”
Next June, in sh’Allah, I’ll walk into the dry cleaner to drop off a few things. I’ll receive a warm smile from the beautiful woman who works behind the counter and without missing a beat she’ll take out a slip and write, “Ms. Emy” without asking my name. I know this will happen because for the last three years when I return after my 11 month absence, this is what happens. It’s one of the ways that I know I’m home when I arrive in Cairo as well.
This is one of the small ways, day in and day out, that I experience the fullness of God’s blessing in my life. I hope you know these blessings too.
When I walked into the dry cleaner, the woman who always helps called out my name. “Hi Amy, how are you?” We did our business. It was nice to be remembered after a month away. It’s one of the ways that I know that I’m home.
Here’s the thing, yesterday before I left Cairo I went to the local dry cleaner where I occasionally take clothing that needs a real cleaning (and not just hand washing). I paid for my laundry and then said goodbye. “I’ll see you next summer, in sh’Allah.”
Next June, in sh’Allah, I’ll walk into the dry cleaner to drop off a few things. I’ll receive a warm smile from the beautiful woman who works behind the counter and without missing a beat she’ll take out a slip and write, “Ms. Emy” without asking my name. I know this will happen because for the last three years when I return after my 11 month absence, this is what happens. It’s one of the ways that I know I’m home when I arrive in Cairo as well.
This is one of the small ways, day in and day out, that I experience the fullness of God’s blessing in my life. I hope you know these blessings too.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Welcome to Luxor! 2010:16
Friday evening Jen and I flew to Luxor for a short visit before our return home (Hans flew home on Saturday). It was a hectic evening as it was also the evening of the final party of the summer course. As usual we sat down for dinner at 8 and when the turkey (yes turkey!) was finished the festivities began. The plan was for me to say goodbye and for the teachers to make a presentation to Abuna Esshak before our departure but it all became a bit rushed. So I made a very hasty goodbye to my students and then we were off to the airport. I think our driver from the seminary could sense the tension in the car and so to lighten the mood he changed the radio station. For 10 minutes we drove along the freeways of Egypt with an disco-mix of Christmas music (including Felize Navidad) blaring on the car radio and our driver yelling and making gestures out his window at the trucks and cars that raced past us. All you could do was laugh.
We made it though the airport easily and our plane left as scheduled at 11:50 pm. We were scheduled to arrived in Luxor at 12:50 am and we had arranged through a friend for a driver to pick us up at the airport and take us to our hotel. We were to look for a man with a sign. We got our bags and proceeded outside. No man. No sign. We waited. I called. He was on his way. (There had been some confusion about our arrival - mish mushkilla - no problem!)
The Luxor airport isn’t very busy so most everyone cleared out in 20 minutes our so. Jen and I waited – the only women anywhere. We tried to figure out where to sit. A well-lit area next to the driveway looked like a good spot and so we proceeded. To say that we were conspicuous and attracted the attention of everyone in the vicinity is perhaps an understatement. Now to be clear, we were not in danger, no one would have dared approach us. But we were the focus of much attention and conversation. At one point, Jen asked, “How will our driver know how to find us or where to look for us?” My response, “Trust me Jen, everyone at the Luxor airport knows how to find us!”
He came and we made our way to the hotel arriving around 2:30 am. It was a short night as we had made arrangements to leave for the West Bank of Luxor at 7:30, but the adventure had begun!
More stories and pictures to come.
P.S. We're back in Cairo. We'll make a quick return trip to the Egyptian Museum today before heading home tonight.
We made it though the airport easily and our plane left as scheduled at 11:50 pm. We were scheduled to arrived in Luxor at 12:50 am and we had arranged through a friend for a driver to pick us up at the airport and take us to our hotel. We were to look for a man with a sign. We got our bags and proceeded outside. No man. No sign. We waited. I called. He was on his way. (There had been some confusion about our arrival - mish mushkilla - no problem!)
The Luxor airport isn’t very busy so most everyone cleared out in 20 minutes our so. Jen and I waited – the only women anywhere. We tried to figure out where to sit. A well-lit area next to the driveway looked like a good spot and so we proceeded. To say that we were conspicuous and attracted the attention of everyone in the vicinity is perhaps an understatement. Now to be clear, we were not in danger, no one would have dared approach us. But we were the focus of much attention and conversation. At one point, Jen asked, “How will our driver know how to find us or where to look for us?” My response, “Trust me Jen, everyone at the Luxor airport knows how to find us!”
He came and we made our way to the hotel arriving around 2:30 am. It was a short night as we had made arrangements to leave for the West Bank of Luxor at 7:30, but the adventure had begun!
More stories and pictures to come.
P.S. We're back in Cairo. We'll make a quick return trip to the Egyptian Museum today before heading home tonight.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Made Visible 2010:15
I sat in a circle Wednesday night at the side of a Coptic Catholic bishop in a circle of Roman Catholics from Italy and Coptic Catholics from Egypt and witnessed the movement of the Holy Spirit. The Italians sang, “O Sole Mio” and “Regina Coeli.” The Copts sang their own spiritual hymns. I sat there amazed to be sitting in this circle, amazed to see the body of Christ in such fullness.
At one point I was asked to speak. I’m old hat to the Egyptians by now (I love that they are showing the way for the Italians in this regard), but to the Italians I am an oddity. I spoke briefly. I was introduced at 9:26 and the World Cup Semi finals began at 9:30 (I’m not stupid. I learned long ago that you don’t separate men from their sports!) so I said very simply: “I will not be the one to keep you from football. I’m honored and humbled to be a part of this gathering. I’m a Lutheran pastor from America. I’m happy to answer any questions you might have. I’m at a loss for words, but it’s clear to me that the Holy Spirit is present in this circle tonight and I believe that the body of Christ is being seen in it’s fullness.”
When all the words had been spoken and the cake had been rolled out and cut, I was approached by a handful of Italians who had dozens of questions. When do we worship? Where do I serve? What is the religious situation in America? Forgive me, but who pays your salary? What do you wear? How often do you celebrate the mass?
The conversation continued and I said again and again, “I think you would find that in many, many ways Lutherans and Catholics have very similar understandings.”
“But you are a women. And we don’t ordain women.”
“Yes. This is one difference. But in many, many ways we are very similar.
“And you are married?”
“Okay, this is another difference. But in many, many ways we are very similar.”
So I guess we DO still have significant differences to overcome, but still by the end of the evening we had exchanged names and contact information and agreed to be facebook friends! Hans and I have an invitation to Southern Italy to visit my new companions.
When the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost, it came like a rush of wind. More often in the book of Acts (as well as my own life) the Spirit comes in whispers and nudges. Tonight I witnessed the Spirit not in a rush or a whisper, but in songs, in questions, in conversation, in curiosity. This too is the Spirit work here in Egypt, and everywhere.
At one point I was asked to speak. I’m old hat to the Egyptians by now (I love that they are showing the way for the Italians in this regard), but to the Italians I am an oddity. I spoke briefly. I was introduced at 9:26 and the World Cup Semi finals began at 9:30 (I’m not stupid. I learned long ago that you don’t separate men from their sports!) so I said very simply: “I will not be the one to keep you from football. I’m honored and humbled to be a part of this gathering. I’m a Lutheran pastor from America. I’m happy to answer any questions you might have. I’m at a loss for words, but it’s clear to me that the Holy Spirit is present in this circle tonight and I believe that the body of Christ is being seen in it’s fullness.”
When all the words had been spoken and the cake had been rolled out and cut, I was approached by a handful of Italians who had dozens of questions. When do we worship? Where do I serve? What is the religious situation in America? Forgive me, but who pays your salary? What do you wear? How often do you celebrate the mass?
The conversation continued and I said again and again, “I think you would find that in many, many ways Lutherans and Catholics have very similar understandings.”
“But you are a women. And we don’t ordain women.”
“Yes. This is one difference. But in many, many ways we are very similar.
“And you are married?”
“Okay, this is another difference. But in many, many ways we are very similar.”
So I guess we DO still have significant differences to overcome, but still by the end of the evening we had exchanged names and contact information and agreed to be facebook friends! Hans and I have an invitation to Southern Italy to visit my new companions.
When the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost, it came like a rush of wind. More often in the book of Acts (as well as my own life) the Spirit comes in whispers and nudges. Tonight I witnessed the Spirit not in a rush or a whisper, but in songs, in questions, in conversation, in curiosity. This too is the Spirit work here in Egypt, and everywhere.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Girl Power 2010:14
I’ve always known there’s a reason why God made us with different gifts and abilities, but I’ve seen again why it matters.
Many of you know that Hans, my husband, and Jen, my sister, arrived last week. They’re presence has been great. It’s really fun to share Egypt with someone for the first time and to see it again through her eyes. Some of you know my sister, and if you don’t let me just say that we’re about as different as two people can be – at least by external measures.
I’m a girly girl – Jen is not. Some of you might remember a comment I posted on facebook a few months back about how there’s nothing like a new pair of black pumps to make you feel like a girl. My sister Jen would NEVER say those words, let alone think them. You get the drift.
So I’ve been trying to explain to my students that my sister is different from me. So the line I’ve come up with is, “She’s an athlete.” (Even Level 1 knows all of these words!) So last night they asked her, “Will you play volleyball with us?”
She doesn’t really like volleyball but who can turn up an invitation like that. So she said yes. I went down to watch (in my ever-present skirt!)
May I just say that Jen ROCKED! She served out the first game with something like 10 straight points. It was beautiful watching the opposing team increasingly frustrated and unable to return a single serve. Her team just got more and more proud every point. By the end of her fifth straight point everyone could say “Jen” as opposed to the more common pronunciation “Jeanne” (ala francaise).
What was even more beautiful were the four level one students who came and sat with Jen and I at breakfast this morning and began to ask her more questions about her athletic prowess. When I told them that in America she was a coach – a leader of a team – they’re eyes got big and they were impressed. Atef asked if he could be her assistant.
Walls are chipped away in all sorts of ways - sometimes in words spoken at a worship service, sometimes in games played on a court. In this way my sister and I share MUCH in common.
Many of you know that Hans, my husband, and Jen, my sister, arrived last week. They’re presence has been great. It’s really fun to share Egypt with someone for the first time and to see it again through her eyes. Some of you know my sister, and if you don’t let me just say that we’re about as different as two people can be – at least by external measures.
I’m a girly girl – Jen is not. Some of you might remember a comment I posted on facebook a few months back about how there’s nothing like a new pair of black pumps to make you feel like a girl. My sister Jen would NEVER say those words, let alone think them. You get the drift.
So I’ve been trying to explain to my students that my sister is different from me. So the line I’ve come up with is, “She’s an athlete.” (Even Level 1 knows all of these words!) So last night they asked her, “Will you play volleyball with us?”
She doesn’t really like volleyball but who can turn up an invitation like that. So she said yes. I went down to watch (in my ever-present skirt!)
May I just say that Jen ROCKED! She served out the first game with something like 10 straight points. It was beautiful watching the opposing team increasingly frustrated and unable to return a single serve. Her team just got more and more proud every point. By the end of her fifth straight point everyone could say “Jen” as opposed to the more common pronunciation “Jeanne” (ala francaise).
What was even more beautiful were the four level one students who came and sat with Jen and I at breakfast this morning and began to ask her more questions about her athletic prowess. When I told them that in America she was a coach – a leader of a team – they’re eyes got big and they were impressed. Atef asked if he could be her assistant.
Walls are chipped away in all sorts of ways - sometimes in words spoken at a worship service, sometimes in games played on a court. In this way my sister and I share MUCH in common.
Monday, July 5, 2010
Pharaoh's Revenge 2010:13
“Pharaoh’s revenge” is the name that foreigners give to gastro-intestinal troubles that hit travelers to Egypt from time to time. It hit me with full force yesterday, so instead of spending a free day with Hans and Jen as I had planned, I was motionless in my bed counting the minutes until the wonder drug “Antinol” would kick in. It’s the only time in my years in Egypt that I’ve ever been cold, which tells me that I was quite sick.
Today I’m still feeling a bit weak, but I managed to teach my morning classes and I’m enjoying the AC at Greco this afternoon while Hans and Jen read.
Hoping for an outing tomorrow. Can’t believe this is my last week of teaching. This summer course has gone so fast.
Today I’m still feeling a bit weak, but I managed to teach my morning classes and I’m enjoying the AC at Greco this afternoon while Hans and Jen read.
Hoping for an outing tomorrow. Can’t believe this is my last week of teaching. This summer course has gone so fast.
Friday, July 2, 2010
Suprised! 2010:12
This morning as I prepared to leave for worship at St. Andrews I experienced a wonderful surprise that is in it's own way an example of the kind of hospitality that I spoke about in my sermon (previous blog post).
Last night a group of seminarians and priests from southern Italy arrived at the seminary for 10 days of study of the Coptic Church. We won't have a lot of contact with them, but they are housed with us so of course we run into them in the seminary.
This morning I was dressed and ready to go to church. I had on a black shirt and a clerical collar. My Egyptian students have grown use to this sight - "my uniform" - they call it and don't bat an eye.
This morning as I left the dining room I realized that I would encounter the seminarians from Italy and I laughed to myself at the thought of how they would respond to "my uniform." Sure enough as they passed me in the hall the students eyes grew big as they saw me. There eyes were drawn to my collar and you could see the questions on their face, but no one said a word.
I'll admit to a certain smugness on my part. Glad to be standing there and challenging their notions of church, calling and ordination. I was laughing inside at their bewildered expressions.
My musings were interrupted by a gentleman who approached me with his hand extended and warmly greeted me. "Where are you from? What's your name?"
I'm Amy. I'm from America.
Anglican? Presbyterian? What?
I'm a Lutheran pastor in America. I'm on my way to preach and lead worship in Cairo.
I'm Luigi. I'm so happy to meet you. I'm here with the seminarians from southern Italy. Will you come and speak to us? We have a student who has excellent English who could translate for you. This would be such a good experience for our students.
And so tentative arrangements were made.
I was not seeking hospitality in the moment. My hands were not empty, my focus was on my own agenda not preparing the way for Christ. And yet, hospitality was extended. I know I shouldn't be, but it was a wonderful, unexpected surprise!
Last night a group of seminarians and priests from southern Italy arrived at the seminary for 10 days of study of the Coptic Church. We won't have a lot of contact with them, but they are housed with us so of course we run into them in the seminary.
This morning I was dressed and ready to go to church. I had on a black shirt and a clerical collar. My Egyptian students have grown use to this sight - "my uniform" - they call it and don't bat an eye.
This morning as I left the dining room I realized that I would encounter the seminarians from Italy and I laughed to myself at the thought of how they would respond to "my uniform." Sure enough as they passed me in the hall the students eyes grew big as they saw me. There eyes were drawn to my collar and you could see the questions on their face, but no one said a word.
I'll admit to a certain smugness on my part. Glad to be standing there and challenging their notions of church, calling and ordination. I was laughing inside at their bewildered expressions.
My musings were interrupted by a gentleman who approached me with his hand extended and warmly greeted me. "Where are you from? What's your name?"
I'm Amy. I'm from America.
Anglican? Presbyterian? What?
I'm a Lutheran pastor in America. I'm on my way to preach and lead worship in Cairo.
I'm Luigi. I'm so happy to meet you. I'm here with the seminarians from southern Italy. Will you come and speak to us? We have a student who has excellent English who could translate for you. This would be such a good experience for our students.
And so tentative arrangements were made.
I was not seeking hospitality in the moment. My hands were not empty, my focus was on my own agenda not preparing the way for Christ. And yet, hospitality was extended. I know I shouldn't be, but it was a wonderful, unexpected surprise!
Welcome Here! 2010:11
I preached for the final time this summer at St. Andrew's United Church in Cairo this morning with Hans and my sister, Jen, in attendance! This has been a wonderful opportunity that I've been so grateful for this summer. I share with you my final sermon. My reading of this text - Luke 10:1-11, 16-20 - has been profoundly shaped by the hospitality that I have experienced in Egypt.
I’ve discovered that my students at the seminary love the movie The Sound of Music. So sometimes at dinner we’ll play the music from the movie. They all seem to love the song Do, Re, Mi. In the movie, the young woman who is serving as a nanny to 7 children wants to teach them to sing. And so this song becomes her way of teaching.
Let’s start at the very beginning,
a very good place to start.
When you read you begin with A, B, C
When you sing you begin with Do, Re, Mi.
And so on, until at the end the children can sing in perfect harmony.
In today’s gospel Jesus is starting at the beginning as well. Last week we heard that he turned his face to Jerusalem and today he appoints 70 to go before him to prepare his way, to announce the coming of the kingdom to God and to begin bringing this kingdom to people here and now. This is the beginning of the end for Jesus and it seems right that for this important work Jesus will provide his missionaries with some necessary training and preparation. In Luke’s gospel the kingdom of God is to be known through good news preached to the poor, release of the captives, recovery of sight to the blind and freedom for the oppressed. If Jesus is going to release his missionaries to prepare his way and begin this kingdom work, I expect that the instruction he gives will relate to healing, exorcisms, unbinding, preaching. I don’t know about you but I’m ready for a how-to manual for the beginning of this missionary journey.
I’m reminded of the summer after my first year in seminary when I was required to work as a hospital chaplain. The first day of the summer my supervisor threw me alone onto the floor of the hospital and said, “okay, be a chaplain.” I didn’t have a clue what to do. What was I supposed to say? What was I supposed to do? Where was I supposed to go? There was no map, no instruction manual, nothing.
If Jesus really wanted to be useful he would have given his missionaries and us a nice how-to manual on how to do the mission that he sends us on.
Step 1 – Pray
Step 2 – Find hungry people, feed them.
Step 3 – Find sick and hurting people, listen to them, pray for them, if possible heal them
Step 4 – Listen for strange spirits, if found, cast out (use pigs if necessary)
And so on and so on . . .
As always, however, Jesus defies our expectations. We want a how-to manual for mission complete with step-by-step instructions. Instead Jesus opts for guidance in hospitality – seeking it, extending it, and receiving it.
"Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals and greet no one on the road" – Jesus invites us to embrace our lives and our ministry with empty hands and with a singular focus. It seems a foolish proposition until we realize that living our lives with empty hands puts us in a position to be on the lookout for the hospitality of others. If we have no water or no bottle to fill, no sandwich and no money to buy one, we are forced to live at the mercy of those who are compassionate enough see our need and to share what they have. Empty hands put us in the position of seeking the hospitality of others.
Again Jesus speaks: "Whatever house you enter, first say, “Peace to this house! And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you.” In addition to seeking hospitality from those we meet along the journey, Jesus invites us to extend hospitality in the form of sharing our peace with those we visit. Peace that is shared provides a fruitful ground for relationship and sharing. And rejected peace is simply an opportunity to move on to a more receptive place.
Finally: “Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide . . . Do not move about from house to house . . . Eat what is set before you . . .” We seek hospitality. We extend hospitality in the form of our peace and finally we are invited to receive hospitality . . . in whatever form it comes. This is the one that’s hard for me. I’m a picky eater. I need a decent pillow to get a good night’s rest. And yet Jesus’ words are abundantly clear – receive the hospitality that is extended to you whether it comes in the form of Egyptian ful or fine wine.
In all of this Luke tells us Jesus is present – whoever listens to you, listens to me, and whoever rejects you, rejects me and the one who sent me.
When I think mission I think proclaiming, telling, sharing. I think of an awful lot of talking and if I’m really on my game I'll think about some careful listening. But it’s clear from today’s gospel that the heart of mission for those who prepare the way for Jesus is quite simply hospitality – seeking it, extending it, receiving it.
It’s completely shocking . . . and it makes complete sense. In seeking, extending and receiving hospitality we open our lives to our neighbors in new ways that have the power to change not just ourselves, but the whole world. When we practice the kind of missional hospitality that Jesus describes in today’s gospel, the evil kingdoms that would destroy this world begin to be toppled. And the foundation of God’s kingdom on earth – a kingdom marked by justice, by mutual sharing, by healing and wholeness – is built one cup of tea at a time.
I experience hospitality the ways Jesus describes it again and again in my travels throughout Egypt. Never moreso than two years ago when Hans and I spent a week with the family of one of my students in Upper Egypt. Over the course of that week, we were loved and cared for in ways that I've only ever experienced with family and the closest of friends. At the end of the week, my new friend Hala said to me, "We will never forget you and your visit here. You have changed our lives by visiting us."
Read through the pages of Luke’s gospel and you will see Jesus seated at tables again and again and again. And around those tables Jesus offers forgiveness and mercy to the most unsuspecting folks. It makes perfect sense that Jesus would send his followers into the world to practice the kind of hospitality that he himself seeks, extends and receives.
This is the kind of hospitality we will experience today as we gather around this table. Here we meet Jesus and receive the forgiveness and mercy in bread and wine that he offers to us.
And this is the kind of hospitality that we will experience as we gather around the tables after worship. In our conversations and our sharing the Spirit is at work preparing the way for Christ. Over coffee and tea, the Spirit is building, reinforcing and strengthening the foundations of God’s kingdom on earth here and now.
Thanks be to God!
I’ve discovered that my students at the seminary love the movie The Sound of Music. So sometimes at dinner we’ll play the music from the movie. They all seem to love the song Do, Re, Mi. In the movie, the young woman who is serving as a nanny to 7 children wants to teach them to sing. And so this song becomes her way of teaching.
Let’s start at the very beginning,
a very good place to start.
When you read you begin with A, B, C
When you sing you begin with Do, Re, Mi.
And so on, until at the end the children can sing in perfect harmony.
In today’s gospel Jesus is starting at the beginning as well. Last week we heard that he turned his face to Jerusalem and today he appoints 70 to go before him to prepare his way, to announce the coming of the kingdom to God and to begin bringing this kingdom to people here and now. This is the beginning of the end for Jesus and it seems right that for this important work Jesus will provide his missionaries with some necessary training and preparation. In Luke’s gospel the kingdom of God is to be known through good news preached to the poor, release of the captives, recovery of sight to the blind and freedom for the oppressed. If Jesus is going to release his missionaries to prepare his way and begin this kingdom work, I expect that the instruction he gives will relate to healing, exorcisms, unbinding, preaching. I don’t know about you but I’m ready for a how-to manual for the beginning of this missionary journey.
I’m reminded of the summer after my first year in seminary when I was required to work as a hospital chaplain. The first day of the summer my supervisor threw me alone onto the floor of the hospital and said, “okay, be a chaplain.” I didn’t have a clue what to do. What was I supposed to say? What was I supposed to do? Where was I supposed to go? There was no map, no instruction manual, nothing.
If Jesus really wanted to be useful he would have given his missionaries and us a nice how-to manual on how to do the mission that he sends us on.
Step 1 – Pray
Step 2 – Find hungry people, feed them.
Step 3 – Find sick and hurting people, listen to them, pray for them, if possible heal them
Step 4 – Listen for strange spirits, if found, cast out (use pigs if necessary)
And so on and so on . . .
As always, however, Jesus defies our expectations. We want a how-to manual for mission complete with step-by-step instructions. Instead Jesus opts for guidance in hospitality – seeking it, extending it, and receiving it.
"Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals and greet no one on the road" – Jesus invites us to embrace our lives and our ministry with empty hands and with a singular focus. It seems a foolish proposition until we realize that living our lives with empty hands puts us in a position to be on the lookout for the hospitality of others. If we have no water or no bottle to fill, no sandwich and no money to buy one, we are forced to live at the mercy of those who are compassionate enough see our need and to share what they have. Empty hands put us in the position of seeking the hospitality of others.
Again Jesus speaks: "Whatever house you enter, first say, “Peace to this house! And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you.” In addition to seeking hospitality from those we meet along the journey, Jesus invites us to extend hospitality in the form of sharing our peace with those we visit. Peace that is shared provides a fruitful ground for relationship and sharing. And rejected peace is simply an opportunity to move on to a more receptive place.
Finally: “Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide . . . Do not move about from house to house . . . Eat what is set before you . . .” We seek hospitality. We extend hospitality in the form of our peace and finally we are invited to receive hospitality . . . in whatever form it comes. This is the one that’s hard for me. I’m a picky eater. I need a decent pillow to get a good night’s rest. And yet Jesus’ words are abundantly clear – receive the hospitality that is extended to you whether it comes in the form of Egyptian ful or fine wine.
In all of this Luke tells us Jesus is present – whoever listens to you, listens to me, and whoever rejects you, rejects me and the one who sent me.
When I think mission I think proclaiming, telling, sharing. I think of an awful lot of talking and if I’m really on my game I'll think about some careful listening. But it’s clear from today’s gospel that the heart of mission for those who prepare the way for Jesus is quite simply hospitality – seeking it, extending it, receiving it.
It’s completely shocking . . . and it makes complete sense. In seeking, extending and receiving hospitality we open our lives to our neighbors in new ways that have the power to change not just ourselves, but the whole world. When we practice the kind of missional hospitality that Jesus describes in today’s gospel, the evil kingdoms that would destroy this world begin to be toppled. And the foundation of God’s kingdom on earth – a kingdom marked by justice, by mutual sharing, by healing and wholeness – is built one cup of tea at a time.
I experience hospitality the ways Jesus describes it again and again in my travels throughout Egypt. Never moreso than two years ago when Hans and I spent a week with the family of one of my students in Upper Egypt. Over the course of that week, we were loved and cared for in ways that I've only ever experienced with family and the closest of friends. At the end of the week, my new friend Hala said to me, "We will never forget you and your visit here. You have changed our lives by visiting us."
Read through the pages of Luke’s gospel and you will see Jesus seated at tables again and again and again. And around those tables Jesus offers forgiveness and mercy to the most unsuspecting folks. It makes perfect sense that Jesus would send his followers into the world to practice the kind of hospitality that he himself seeks, extends and receives.
This is the kind of hospitality we will experience today as we gather around this table. Here we meet Jesus and receive the forgiveness and mercy in bread and wine that he offers to us.
And this is the kind of hospitality that we will experience as we gather around the tables after worship. In our conversations and our sharing the Spirit is at work preparing the way for Christ. Over coffee and tea, the Spirit is building, reinforcing and strengthening the foundations of God’s kingdom on earth here and now.
Thanks be to God!
Monday, June 28, 2010
Fresh Mangos and Fig Jam 2010:10
Nearly every morning at breakfast there is a tray of jam to spread in addition to the infamous ful (fava beans) that so many of you have heard about. Some mornings, when I just can’t face another plate of ful mixed with cheese, I opt for a container of fig jam to spread on my bread.
Fig jam and fresh mangos are two of my favorite Egyptian treats. I’m sure I could buy fig jam in America, but I never had it before coming here and I never think to look for it at home because I don’t usually have jam at home.
Monday afternoon in study hall Samer started asking me strange questions. Samer’s English is excellent so it was not a matter of not understanding his English syntax, I just didn’t understand his questions: “If Jesus were to come to your door what hour would he come?”
“Any hour.”
“Any hour?”
“Yes. Jesus could come at any hour.”
“What about a messenger of Jesus. When would a messenger of Jesus come?”
“Why is a messenger of Jesus going to come?”
A shrug. “I don’t know. Maybe he will come, maybe he won’t. But at what hour would he come?”
I was entirely confused by this point. I had no idea what Samer was asking. We left it with Samer’s words, “Be aware. You never know when a messenger of the Lord will come” and an understanding that it would be better if the messenger came before 10:30 if the messenger wanted me to answer a knock on the door.
Sure enough at 10:15 there was a knock on the door. When I opened it I found Samer holding a bag with a package of fresh, ripe mangos and a large jar of fig jam. “A gift from Jesus” he said and left.
If you come and visit I’ll share my fig jam, but I’m eating my mangos for lunch today!
I Must Preach 2010:9
Wael is a student who is new to seminary this year and new to English as well. Like Atef, he is in my Level 1 class. Wael’s English is difficult to understand – he struggles with basic grammar, his vocabulary is quite limited, and yet he wants so much to learn and to communicate. Sometimes when I am explaining something in class I’m certain that he has no idea what I’m saying. And yet at other times he surprises me with what comes out of his mouth.
On Saturday as a reward for their very hard work so far, I showed a short DVD to the students in Level I about prayer. After the video we had a discussion. It was difficult because while they have many ideas, they struggle to find the words and grammar in English to communicate. In the course of the conversation I noticed Wael take out a piece of paper at one point and scribble some words At the next lull in the conversation he spoke two relatively clear sentences about his ideas about prayer. It was amazing.
At the end of study hall on Monday Wael surprised me again. For the last week the more advanced students have been offering homilies in English in the daily mass. This is one of the things that I work with them on each year. They’ve done very well. Wael said to me, “Pastor Amy I want . . . no I NEED to preach in mass. Next week I preach?”
“Wael if you work on your English very hard in the year ahead maybe next year you will be ready to prepare a homily.”
“No. I must do.”
“Wael preaching is very, very difficult. You must know grammar and you must know vocabulary and you must know correct pronunciation and you must be able to put your ideas from Arabic into English that is clear. This is very very hard.”
“No. When Jesus go up, he send Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit send apostles to all nations and use all languages. I will preach. The Holy Spirit here.”
The conversation continued for some time. The truth is that Wael is not ready to prepare a homily in English just yet. He has a lot to learn. Through their hard work, his brothers in Level 4 have made it look easy and Wael and other students want to try as well. What Wael doesn’t know is that he preached a sermon for me today.
“I must preach. When Jesus go up, he send Holy Spirit. . . . I will preach. The Holy Spirit here.”
This is good news indeed spoken to me by a young man who doesn’t know the proper usage of the verb “to be” but who trusts with all his heart that the Holy Spirit has been sent to him to preach the good news of Jesus to his brothers and sisters in Christ. He has every confidence the Holy Spirit will use his broken English. Oh to have such confidence, such determination, and such faith!
Thanks be to God!
On Saturday as a reward for their very hard work so far, I showed a short DVD to the students in Level I about prayer. After the video we had a discussion. It was difficult because while they have many ideas, they struggle to find the words and grammar in English to communicate. In the course of the conversation I noticed Wael take out a piece of paper at one point and scribble some words At the next lull in the conversation he spoke two relatively clear sentences about his ideas about prayer. It was amazing.
At the end of study hall on Monday Wael surprised me again. For the last week the more advanced students have been offering homilies in English in the daily mass. This is one of the things that I work with them on each year. They’ve done very well. Wael said to me, “Pastor Amy I want . . . no I NEED to preach in mass. Next week I preach?”
“Wael if you work on your English very hard in the year ahead maybe next year you will be ready to prepare a homily.”
“No. I must do.”
“Wael preaching is very, very difficult. You must know grammar and you must know vocabulary and you must know correct pronunciation and you must be able to put your ideas from Arabic into English that is clear. This is very very hard.”
“No. When Jesus go up, he send Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit send apostles to all nations and use all languages. I will preach. The Holy Spirit here.”
The conversation continued for some time. The truth is that Wael is not ready to prepare a homily in English just yet. He has a lot to learn. Through their hard work, his brothers in Level 4 have made it look easy and Wael and other students want to try as well. What Wael doesn’t know is that he preached a sermon for me today.
“I must preach. When Jesus go up, he send Holy Spirit. . . . I will preach. The Holy Spirit here.”
This is good news indeed spoken to me by a young man who doesn’t know the proper usage of the verb “to be” but who trusts with all his heart that the Holy Spirit has been sent to him to preach the good news of Jesus to his brothers and sisters in Christ. He has every confidence the Holy Spirit will use his broken English. Oh to have such confidence, such determination, and such faith!
Thanks be to God!
Nilometer 2010:8
On Thursday, 24 June we took the students on a field trip to the Nilometer on the island of Roda. After several days of extreme heat, Thursday morning was a gorgeous morning with a break in the heat and a cool breeze, especially along the Nile.
Among all the sights you could visit in Egypt, this Nilometer would probably not make it onto anyone’s top 10 list, but I like it because it’s manageable. There’s one thing to see and appreciate, as opposed to many tourists sights in Egypt where there’s such richness it’s almost overwhelming. I also like it because in one place you bring together ancient Egypt’s science, technology and governing structures with more recent Egyptian art and architecture. And all of this happens in a place that I consider a cathedral to water – specifically the Nile the source of life and prosperity for Egyptians from the beginning of creation.
In the Coptic Mass that we pray each morning, the intercessions include this prayer which has become a favorite of mine. Those familiar with the psalms will hear echoes of Psalm 104. In this prayer you hear what the Nile has been and continues to be for the people of Egypt – the source of life, a sign of God’s abundance and blessing, and a resource to be shared “for the sake for the sake of the poor of your people.”
Bless, Lord, the waters of the Nile, plants and fruits of the earth for the sake of the poor of Your people: widows, orphans, strangers, guests and workers in every locale as well as those who beseech You and call out Your holy name. For the eyes of all hope in You and You give them their food in due season. Be gracious to us according to Your goodness, You who give food to each one. Fill our hearts with joy and peace. May there be enough of everything so that we may grow in every good work.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Break Time 2010:7
English classes are held Monday through Saturday from 9 – 1 every day. Each class period is 50 minutes long. There’s a 10-minute break between the first and second and third and four class periods and a 20 minute “tea” break between the second and third class.
At break time students break off into groups. Some sit on the steps talking and joking with each other, always a ping pong match is played – usually doubles. Some students go in search of ripe mangos from the tree in the courtyard and still others find a patch of grass for a few minutes of silence or quiet conversation. Often discussion from class spills out into the hallways and occasionally theological debates evolve. It seems like in the past week there’s a been a lot of conversation about Martin Luther (generally not initiated by me).
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
A Note to Readers
I've changed the settings so that you don't need to sign in to comment on my posts. You can simply comment and your thoughts will be posted to the blog for all to see. I ask you when possible to sign your comments with your name so that I know where they came from.
If you prefer a private response, please feel free to send me an e-mail directly.
I welcome your comments, thoughts, questions and responses.
If you prefer a private response, please feel free to send me an e-mail directly.
I welcome your comments, thoughts, questions and responses.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
We're Walking 2010:6
After dinner tonight the teachers took out a large group of students for ice cream and soda as a reward for their hard work last week. After we got everyone fed and watered, I began walking with two of my fellow teachers, the seminarians from Rome and three of the students. As I lead the way down the street, Aymen, one of the students said, "Pastor Amy, do you know where you are going?"
"Yes. Up ahead is the circle and then we turn left to return to the seminary."
"How do you know this?"
"Aymen, I have been traveling to Egypt for four years. I have walked these streets many times in the day and at night. I know where I am going."
I should have kept leading the way, but Albert insisted he would take us a new way. After 10 minutes of walking he was lost. Atef and I began leading the way and he insisted if we kept going straight we'd hit Road 87 and then take a right to go to seminary. I insisted we'd need to take a left. We made a bet on who would be correct.
Atef owes me soda!
"Yes. Up ahead is the circle and then we turn left to return to the seminary."
"How do you know this?"
"Aymen, I have been traveling to Egypt for four years. I have walked these streets many times in the day and at night. I know where I am going."
I should have kept leading the way, but Albert insisted he would take us a new way. After 10 minutes of walking he was lost. Atef and I began leading the way and he insisted if we kept going straight we'd hit Road 87 and then take a right to go to seminary. I insisted we'd need to take a left. We made a bet on who would be correct.
Atef owes me soda!
Narrow Roads 2010:5
I preached in Mass this morning. One of my students who was schedule to preach today had his appendix out last week so he's out of commission for a while. I took his place.
The text was the assigned gospel reading for the day - Matthew 7:7,12-14. Last night at dinner, Wael, a student in Level 1, came up to me at dinner and said, "Pastor Amy, What is this "pastor"?" I had explained this word in class last week, but Wael's English is quite limited so I'm not surprised he didn't catch on. So I tried to explain again.
"Abuna Esshak is a priest, yes?"
"Yes." He nodded.
"In America, a pastor equal to a priest. (pause) Do you understand?"
Eyes getting wide. "Pastor equal to Priest?"
"Yes."
"Ohhh. . . You . . . will lead the mass?"
"No. I will not lead the mass, but tomorrow I will preach in the mass."
"You will preach? Tomorrow?"
"Yes."
Then in very broken English, "I pray that the Holy Spirit will help me know your words."
This was my prayer for Wael this morning . . . and for you too. The words are simple - intended for young men with good minds and strong faith, but limited English.
I love that when Jesus speaks, he often makes pictures with his words. I think Jesus understood sometimes people have a hard time understanding ideas and thoughts, but if you show a picture it can help people to understand.
In our reading for today there are many pictures you could see. You could see someone knocking at a door and watch it open up. You could see a large gate or a small gate. Or you could see a wide road or a narrow road. In all of these pictures Jesus is trying to teach his followers about a life of faith. For this morning I would like you to think about two pictures only from the gospel – a wide road and a narrow road.
In your mind picture a wide road – any wide road that is crowded with cars and people and traffic. Maybe the Corniche el Nil, maybe a road in the center of Cairo, maybe a road in your city, but imagine any wide road that is crowded with cars and people and traffic.
In my mind there is one picture that I see. I am thinking about the first time I came to Egypt and was driven to the seminary from the airport on a very busy wide road. There were cars and trucks and buses and motorcycles and donkeys carrying carts of watermelon and people trying to cross 6 lanes of traffic where there should only have been 4 lanes. Everywhere I looked outside my window there were shops along side of the road and signs and things to see. All of this and it felt like we were going very very fast in this car. I had never seen anything like this before. I was both very excited to be experiencing so many new things and very afraid. I wondered would I make it the seminary without an accident. This was my very first sight of Egypt and I didn’t know – would every road in Egypt be like this road?
Sometimes our life of faith is like a very wide road. There are many things that call our name and seek our attention. There are many things we have to find our way around. There is work that keeps us very busy and very focused. Much of the time this work is good work – maybe we are studying English – this is very good, hard work. Maybe we are helping a friend or caring for someone who is sick.
But there is a danger to us if our life of faith is like a very wide road. We can become so busy working hard, or trying to keep up with the people around us that we face the danger of a crash. Something happens and we run into an obstacle. We hurt someone we love because we were trying to move to fast. We make ourselves sick because we are so focused on our work or caring for others that we forget to take care of ourselves. Or the worst thing of all – we become so busy with our work that we lose our faith in Jesus because we don’t give him the same attention that we give everything else.
Now I want you to picture in your mind a narrow road – any road that is small. Maybe there is room for only one car. Maybe there is not even room for a car, but only a space for one or two people to walk. Maybe it is a secret road – only those who take this road know it there.
Sometimes our life of faith is like this narrow road. It is a road that we only travel with the people who are closest to us. It is a road that we sometimes find ourselves on in worship or in reading the Bible or in prayer and meditation. It is the road where we seek ways to connect with Jesus. It is the road where we meet Jesus. And with Jesus by our side it is the road where we face our failures and sins and experience the grace of forgiveness.
Jesus wants our life of faith to be like this narrow road. This narrow road is the place where we find Jesus waiting to walk with us and waiting to help us through the difficulties of life. This narrow road is not always an easy road to travel. Like the wide road, there will be times where we find obstacles placed in our way. But on this narrow road Jesus meets us and gives us the great life, the full and abundant life that he wants us to have.
A great poet in America wrote about two roads that separate in the wilderness. He wrote:
Two roads [separated] in [the wilderness],
and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Jesus calls us to this narrow road. And he promises to meet us along the way.
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, One God. Amen
The text was the assigned gospel reading for the day - Matthew 7:7,12-14. Last night at dinner, Wael, a student in Level 1, came up to me at dinner and said, "Pastor Amy, What is this "pastor"?" I had explained this word in class last week, but Wael's English is quite limited so I'm not surprised he didn't catch on. So I tried to explain again.
"Abuna Esshak is a priest, yes?"
"Yes." He nodded.
"In America, a pastor equal to a priest. (pause) Do you understand?"
Eyes getting wide. "Pastor equal to Priest?"
"Yes."
"Ohhh. . . You . . . will lead the mass?"
"No. I will not lead the mass, but tomorrow I will preach in the mass."
"You will preach? Tomorrow?"
"Yes."
Then in very broken English, "I pray that the Holy Spirit will help me know your words."
This was my prayer for Wael this morning . . . and for you too. The words are simple - intended for young men with good minds and strong faith, but limited English.
I love that when Jesus speaks, he often makes pictures with his words. I think Jesus understood sometimes people have a hard time understanding ideas and thoughts, but if you show a picture it can help people to understand.
In our reading for today there are many pictures you could see. You could see someone knocking at a door and watch it open up. You could see a large gate or a small gate. Or you could see a wide road or a narrow road. In all of these pictures Jesus is trying to teach his followers about a life of faith. For this morning I would like you to think about two pictures only from the gospel – a wide road and a narrow road.
In your mind picture a wide road – any wide road that is crowded with cars and people and traffic. Maybe the Corniche el Nil, maybe a road in the center of Cairo, maybe a road in your city, but imagine any wide road that is crowded with cars and people and traffic.
In my mind there is one picture that I see. I am thinking about the first time I came to Egypt and was driven to the seminary from the airport on a very busy wide road. There were cars and trucks and buses and motorcycles and donkeys carrying carts of watermelon and people trying to cross 6 lanes of traffic where there should only have been 4 lanes. Everywhere I looked outside my window there were shops along side of the road and signs and things to see. All of this and it felt like we were going very very fast in this car. I had never seen anything like this before. I was both very excited to be experiencing so many new things and very afraid. I wondered would I make it the seminary without an accident. This was my very first sight of Egypt and I didn’t know – would every road in Egypt be like this road?
Sometimes our life of faith is like a very wide road. There are many things that call our name and seek our attention. There are many things we have to find our way around. There is work that keeps us very busy and very focused. Much of the time this work is good work – maybe we are studying English – this is very good, hard work. Maybe we are helping a friend or caring for someone who is sick.
But there is a danger to us if our life of faith is like a very wide road. We can become so busy working hard, or trying to keep up with the people around us that we face the danger of a crash. Something happens and we run into an obstacle. We hurt someone we love because we were trying to move to fast. We make ourselves sick because we are so focused on our work or caring for others that we forget to take care of ourselves. Or the worst thing of all – we become so busy with our work that we lose our faith in Jesus because we don’t give him the same attention that we give everything else.
Now I want you to picture in your mind a narrow road – any road that is small. Maybe there is room for only one car. Maybe there is not even room for a car, but only a space for one or two people to walk. Maybe it is a secret road – only those who take this road know it there.
Sometimes our life of faith is like this narrow road. It is a road that we only travel with the people who are closest to us. It is a road that we sometimes find ourselves on in worship or in reading the Bible or in prayer and meditation. It is the road where we seek ways to connect with Jesus. It is the road where we meet Jesus. And with Jesus by our side it is the road where we face our failures and sins and experience the grace of forgiveness.
Jesus wants our life of faith to be like this narrow road. This narrow road is the place where we find Jesus waiting to walk with us and waiting to help us through the difficulties of life. This narrow road is not always an easy road to travel. Like the wide road, there will be times where we find obstacles placed in our way. But on this narrow road Jesus meets us and gives us the great life, the full and abundant life that he wants us to have.
A great poet in America wrote about two roads that separate in the wilderness. He wrote:
Two roads [separated] in [the wilderness],
and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Jesus calls us to this narrow road. And he promises to meet us along the way.
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, One God. Amen
Monday, June 21, 2010
Atef 2010:4
Atef is 22 years old and comes from a village from outside of Minya – one of the cities along the Nile in Upper Egypt. Atef is among the hardest working and most eager to learn English students I’ve taught in my four years. He’s in Level 1, which means that his English skills are pretty minimal. But Atef wants to learn, he wants to understand and he’s not afraid to try even though what comes out of his mouth doesn’t always make sense. One night last week I sat with Atef and another student from Level 1 at dinner. Rather than making small talk, they spent most of the meal asking me to explain possessive pronouns and help them learn correct usage. When I came to class on Saturday, Atef said he’d been up until 1 am. I was preparing to scold him for staying up so late with his friends when he told me he had been in his room studying English vocabulary.
Atef’s gift for learning English is that he’s gregarious and his desire to connect and communicate with people is greater than his desire to be correct. So he’s never intimidated by a quizzical look from a teacher or discouraged by a sentence that is corrected. On Friday he was responsible for prayer at the meals. Rather than some of his classmates who will stumble to come up with brief prayers on the spot, Atef arrived at every meal with a prayer that he had written, reviewed with a teacher and practiced out loud. On Friday he will serve as a deacon in the daily mass. At dinner on Sunday night he asked me to help him practice his pronunciation.
I’m not sure I’ve ever worked as hard to learn anything in my life as Atef is working to learn English. He may never be the best English speaker in the seminary, but I doubt I’ll ever find a student more hard working or eager to learn.
Friday, June 18, 2010
One in Christ
Today I preached at St. Andrew’s in Central Cairo. Such a wonderful and strange experience. I traveled by Metro to the church this morning in my clerical collar. It didn’t seem as if anyone was staring, though I’m not sure it they would recognize a clerical collar. Certainly they’ve seen priests in their vestments before, but maybe they didn’t recognize what I was wearing as priestly clothing.
The worship service went fine. There were about 40 present. People from America, Great Britain, Australia, Canada, Singapore, Japan, Nigeria, Sudan and even Egypt. It was a wonderful and mix of people. Certainly it was the most multi-cultural group that I have ever worshiped with anywhere in the world. While Cairo is a large city, it is predominately a mono-culture – more like Minneapolis than New York City – and so this multicultural group is especially noticeable.
Before worship this morning I was speaking with a young man named Jacob from Singapore and he was telling me some about the refugee ministry and some of the language classes that are offered at St. Andrew’s. He said that one of the interesting things is that in these classes Arabs and Africans study side by side – something that doesn’t happen in Egyptian society for the most part. He also said that an Egyptian has begun volunteering in the program. In some small way that ministry is transforming lives by bringing together for a common goal – learning English – people who normally would not associate with one another.
After worship I was invited to join a small group in their Bible study of the Book of Acts (Acts 16). It was a fascinating discussion with a variety of thoughts and opinions expressed. As might be imagined in such a diverse group the discussion was at times passionate and heated, but throughout a spirit of love and respect was present. I was sorry to have to leave it early. I look forward to returning again next week.
Being in the midst of this incredibly diverse environment in worship and Bible study, Paul’s words from Galatians 3 (our epistle reading for the day) took on a new and powerful meaning. “As many of you has were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male or female; for all are one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3) I’ve always loved this great news that Paul shares with believers in every time and place and have been grateful to be part of church that has tried to live them out so fully, especially when it comes to the roles of men and women in leadership. But today as a woman preaching in Cairo in the midst of this incredibly diverse congregation of believers, I saw a fuller and more beautiful picture of the body of Christ than I have ever seen before. It was a grace moment!
The worship service went fine. There were about 40 present. People from America, Great Britain, Australia, Canada, Singapore, Japan, Nigeria, Sudan and even Egypt. It was a wonderful and mix of people. Certainly it was the most multi-cultural group that I have ever worshiped with anywhere in the world. While Cairo is a large city, it is predominately a mono-culture – more like Minneapolis than New York City – and so this multicultural group is especially noticeable.
Before worship this morning I was speaking with a young man named Jacob from Singapore and he was telling me some about the refugee ministry and some of the language classes that are offered at St. Andrew’s. He said that one of the interesting things is that in these classes Arabs and Africans study side by side – something that doesn’t happen in Egyptian society for the most part. He also said that an Egyptian has begun volunteering in the program. In some small way that ministry is transforming lives by bringing together for a common goal – learning English – people who normally would not associate with one another.
After worship I was invited to join a small group in their Bible study of the Book of Acts (Acts 16). It was a fascinating discussion with a variety of thoughts and opinions expressed. As might be imagined in such a diverse group the discussion was at times passionate and heated, but throughout a spirit of love and respect was present. I was sorry to have to leave it early. I look forward to returning again next week.
Being in the midst of this incredibly diverse environment in worship and Bible study, Paul’s words from Galatians 3 (our epistle reading for the day) took on a new and powerful meaning. “As many of you has were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male or female; for all are one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3) I’ve always loved this great news that Paul shares with believers in every time and place and have been grateful to be part of church that has tried to live them out so fully, especially when it comes to the roles of men and women in leadership. But today as a woman preaching in Cairo in the midst of this incredibly diverse congregation of believers, I saw a fuller and more beautiful picture of the body of Christ than I have ever seen before. It was a grace moment!
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Joking 2010:3
At dinner on Saturday evening I was talking with three students who I’ve taught in the past. They were curious to know what class level they would be for this year and when I could I told them. These students are all have quite good English so they will be in the higher level classes. But they were joking with me, “I think I will be Level 1.”
“No. No. You must challenge yourself. You must push yourself to learn English.”
They rolled their eyes as they nodded at my encouragement.
Several minutes later in the conversation I was trying to remember a word in Arabic. “I must work on my Arabic this summer.”
Without missing a beat, Marco chimed in. “Yes. You must challenge yourself Pastor Amy. You must push yourself to learn Arabic!”
It was a good laugh and a reminder of how these students love to joke!
“No. No. You must challenge yourself. You must push yourself to learn English.”
They rolled their eyes as they nodded at my encouragement.
Several minutes later in the conversation I was trying to remember a word in Arabic. “I must work on my Arabic this summer.”
Without missing a beat, Marco chimed in. “Yes. You must challenge yourself Pastor Amy. You must push yourself to learn Arabic!”
It was a good laugh and a reminder of how these students love to joke!
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Learning New Things 2010:2
A friend’s parting words to me yesterday were “learn everything you can” so I’m going to try and make that my mantra for the next month. It began as I stepped off the plane. What could I learn today upon arriving in this strange, familiar place for the fourth time?
So far the learning is focused on me – paying attention to what I’m learning about myself as I encounter Egypt again. Someone said to me recently that they loved stepping off the plane in Africa because you can feel the difference in the air. I tried to notice if I felt anything different in the air. The air has a certain thick, smoky smell to it – pollution is my guess. There was a familiarity to the scent, but it didn’t warm my heart.
I learned as we waited for a good 30 minutes for our bags to make it to the carrousel that I’m far more patient in Egypt than I usually am at home. At home I would have been fuming. I would have made three phone calls and responded to e-mails if forced to wait that much time. At 15 minutes I would have been looking for someone to complain to. I only looked at my watch once or twice in that whole time. Mostly I just kept watching the same bags go past me on the carrousel and looking at all the other people waiting for their bags too. Somehow there was solidarity knowing that I wasn’t the only one having to wait. I’m guessing that somehow the patience of my fellow travelers altered my own response to the situation.
When I stepped into the car that would bring us to the seminary and heard the Arabic music on the radio, I learned that what one of the things that I really miss when I’m away from Egypt is the music – Egyptian popular music. After four summers I recognize songs and voices. I can tell a love song from a heartbreak song from a dance song – even when I don’t know the words. I love the melodies. They have a certain haunting strain to them. I love the rhythms and I love to hear the words in Arabic. In music I can sometimes even understand them!
Friday night after dinner Abuna Esshak, Tom, John and I went out for a walk. It was intended to be a short walk to the store but we ended up walking for a good hour as we had to make our way to a different store. Road 9 was crowded with cars and people walking down the middle of the street – nothing new there. Some of the stores have changed. It’s become even more westernized – there’s now a Cinnabon in Ma’adi! But what was interesting on our walk was to learn about this place from the observations and questions of Tom and John, two seminarians from Rome, who have never been here before. Our conversation reminded me that there’s much I know about this place – it’s become like a second home – but even more there’s so much more to learn.
Let the learning continue!
So far the learning is focused on me – paying attention to what I’m learning about myself as I encounter Egypt again. Someone said to me recently that they loved stepping off the plane in Africa because you can feel the difference in the air. I tried to notice if I felt anything different in the air. The air has a certain thick, smoky smell to it – pollution is my guess. There was a familiarity to the scent, but it didn’t warm my heart.
I learned as we waited for a good 30 minutes for our bags to make it to the carrousel that I’m far more patient in Egypt than I usually am at home. At home I would have been fuming. I would have made three phone calls and responded to e-mails if forced to wait that much time. At 15 minutes I would have been looking for someone to complain to. I only looked at my watch once or twice in that whole time. Mostly I just kept watching the same bags go past me on the carrousel and looking at all the other people waiting for their bags too. Somehow there was solidarity knowing that I wasn’t the only one having to wait. I’m guessing that somehow the patience of my fellow travelers altered my own response to the situation.
When I stepped into the car that would bring us to the seminary and heard the Arabic music on the radio, I learned that what one of the things that I really miss when I’m away from Egypt is the music – Egyptian popular music. After four summers I recognize songs and voices. I can tell a love song from a heartbreak song from a dance song – even when I don’t know the words. I love the melodies. They have a certain haunting strain to them. I love the rhythms and I love to hear the words in Arabic. In music I can sometimes even understand them!
Friday night after dinner Abuna Esshak, Tom, John and I went out for a walk. It was intended to be a short walk to the store but we ended up walking for a good hour as we had to make our way to a different store. Road 9 was crowded with cars and people walking down the middle of the street – nothing new there. Some of the stores have changed. It’s become even more westernized – there’s now a Cinnabon in Ma’adi! But what was interesting on our walk was to learn about this place from the observations and questions of Tom and John, two seminarians from Rome, who have never been here before. Our conversation reminded me that there’s much I know about this place – it’s become like a second home – but even more there’s so much more to learn.
Let the learning continue!
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Egypt Bound 2010:1
I try to tell stories and not preach in my blog but I AM a pastor and some things just come naturally. I leave for Egypt Thursday evening (6/10/2010). To kick off my blog for 2010 I thought I'd share a sermon I preached this past Sunday that speaks some about how all of these experiences and my life as a pastor and proclaimer of the Word become integrated for me.
God-Changed Lives
1 Kings 17:17-24 and Luke 7:11-17 - June 6, 2010
Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Buffalo, NY
Pr. Amy Walter-Peterson
On Thursday I leave for my fourth year of teaching English as St. Leo’s Coptic Catholic Seminary in Cairo, Egypt. It’s always an adventure. One thing that I have come to count on is change in the seminarians from year to year. Some of the change comes as they simply grow and mature from one year to the next. Some of the change comes from their exposure to new ideas and new ways of thinking in their education. And some of the change comes from their encounters with others . . . others, like me.
George is one such student. I met him for the first time two summers ago. That summer he came across as an angry and sullen young man. In the one day that I spent with his class his first summer in the English program he asked questions that verged on inappropriate. George could not get his mind around the idea of a female priest - that is what I am to these students - a female priest. And if that weren’t hard enough to grasp, I was a MARRIED, female priest. George could not fathom how I could be a pastor AND take care of my responsibilities at home. When I explained that my husband and I shared responsibilities at home, he was dumbfounded. That day in class was the extent of our interaction that first summer.
George returned for his second summer course last year and was in my class 3 days a week. As he gained some confidence with his English, he began to speak a few words from time to time. I began to joke with him in class and he would break a smile or even join in laughing with the others.
About half-way through the course last year, George and I ended up sitting at the same table for lunch one day. George was desperate for some classmates to join us, but they would not come to his rescue. So George and I sat together for the entire meal. The conversation started slowly but I asked him questions about his family and his home. He eventually asked me again about being a pastor in America. He asked if my husband was a pastor and I explained that he was not and told him about the work he does. He asked again how our home gets taken care of when we are both working. I explained again, “Sometimes I make dinner, sometimes Hans makes dinner. Sometimes I clean the house, sometimes Hans cleans the house. Sometimes I go to the store, sometimes Hans goes to the store. We share these responsibilities.”
As I spoke, George listened and nodded. And then he said, “I think maybe this is better in America than in Egypt.” I tried not to fall off my chair or show my shock. Those were the last words I expected to hear from George.
Now I’m not sure that George really meant what he said. If push came to shove, I’m pretty sure that George would not really support the idea that sharing household responsibilities is good for Egyptian families and society. But in that conversation and in his comment, I saw the beginning glimpses of a change of heart. Just one year before, George has been so certain of his view of the world. But on that day, he sat next to me and admitted that maybe there were other ways to order the world that aren’t necessarily bad. The spirit was working change in George’s life. I saw it revealed right before my eyes. I can’t wait to see George when I return this week and see where God has been leading him.
Change abounds in our readings for today. There is the obvious change that God brings in raising to life the son of the widow of Zarapheth in 2 Kings and the son of the widow of Nain in the gospel. There is the change God brings in the form of saving help to these two widows whose newly raised sons will again provide them with life and security and protection.
It doesn’t end there. In the beginning of his letter to the Galatians, Paul speaks of the changed life that he has received through a revelation of Jesus Christ. Paul describes his life-change in full detail, “I was violently persecuting the church of God and was trying to destroy it.” But then, he says, “God was pleased to reveal his Son to me.” Paul’s ministry began and the churches of Judea that were in Christ said of him, “The one who formerly was persecuting us is now proclaiming the faith he once tried to destroy.” A changed life to be sure!
The Psalmist even gets in on the action today giving thanks to God for healing power that changes lives. “You have turned my mourning into dancing; you have taken my sackcloth and clothed me with joy . . .”
But the changes that strike me most are not these changes that I’ve just named. The changes that strike me in today’s readings are not so much life-changes as heart-changes. Or maybe they are better called heart openings. Let me explain.
The widow that Elijah is visiting is the very same widow of Zarapheth for whom Elijah had promised a never-ending abundance of meal and oil, if she would only share her last morsel with him. She shared and God provided. But now in our scene from today’s reading, the widow’s son has been spared starvation only to die of disease or illness. She is distraught - truly for her it would have been better for them to die together. She is irate - What have you against me, man of God?
Unlike their first encounter, Elijah has no words of comfort for her. No “fear not” comes from his mouth today. Instead he asks for her dead son’s body and takes him to an upper room. And there we see Elijah’s heart laid bare. He is moved by the pleas of this widow who has provided him with food and hospitality. His heart opens to her grief and her pain and he pleads with God on her behalf. “O Lord my God, have you brought calamity even upon the widow with whom I am staying, by killing her son? . . . O Lord my God, let this child’s life come into him again.” And we’re told, “the Lord listened to the voice of Elijah; the life of the child came into him again and he revived.”
A similar encounter happens in Luke. Jesus, his disciples and a crowd of followers travel to Nain. At the city gate they encounter the burial procession of a man who has died. Luke tells us he wasn’t just any man, “he was his mother’s only son, and she was a widow.” He wasn’t just her only kin, he was her only source of security and protection, her only means of food and shelter.
Our words fail to convey the enormity of the impact that this scene had on Jesus. Our translation says, “When the Lord saw her, he had compassion for her . . .” But it was deeper than that. Eugene Peterson says, “When Jesus saw her, his heart broke . . .” That’s closer. But it’s even more - upon seeing this widow weeping over the death of her only son, Jesus felt the way we feel when we see the remains of a crash by the side of the road and we get that ache in our gut and that sinking feeling inside of us.
Jesus’ heart was opened to the grief, the pain, the complete loss of a strange widow, in a strange village, who experienced the death of her only son. Jesus was so moved by this experience that he “came forward and touched the bier and said, “young man I say to you, rise!” And rise, he did!
What strikes me most in these two encounters is that God’s life-changing power is ushered into the world by two men - Jesus and Elijah - who are first changed by the grief and loss of the widows they encounter. God uses the heart-rending change that Elijah and Jesus experience with these two widows as an opportunity to bring change to world.
Elijah’s heart-changed soul cries to God on behalf of the widow of Zarapheth and in her joy she proclaims, “Now I know that you are a man of God, and that word of the Lord in your mouth is truth.”
Jesus’ heart-changed soul works on behalf of the widow of Nain, and in their fear and awe the people of the village proclaim, “God has looked favorably on his people!”
The same was true for Paul. The same was true for the Psalmist. And the same is true for us. God uses our heart-changed lives to change the world! In fact, God changes our lives - through changing our hearts - so that we may bring God’s life-changing power to the world!
In the Upstate New York Synod we say that we are resurrection people, who pray first, walk together and change lives. The truth is that we don’t change lives. But when we lay bare our lives to the power of the Holy Spirit, when we allow our hearts to be changed by the grief of widows, or the cries of anguish of Gulf Coast fishermen, or the pleas for dignity and hope by refugees around the world, when we allow our lives to be open and changed by the cries of the world around us, God uses our changed hearts to change the world . . . one person at a time.
When I return to Egypt this week, I will also have the privilege of visiting and leading worship at St. Andrew’s Church in central Cairo which houses St. Andrew’s Refugee Ministry. Emigrés from Sudan, Somalia and other parts of Africa are served by that ministry. St. Andrew’s is a ministry supported through ELCA’s global mission and served by ELCA missionaries, which means it is a ministry that is supported by the offering you give on behalf of the wider church.
St. Andrew’s Refugee ministry provides literacy courses that teach people to read and write in Arabic. The ministry also helps prepare students to take an education test that will qualify them for further study. A few years ago the ministry started offering sewing classes, only the girls signed up. But then the directors mentioned the some of the most successful clothing designers are men. So Eid, a refugee from Somalia, signed up. Then came Atem, from Southern Sudan. Now the class is mostly boys.
I don’t know the entire story of St. Andrew’s Refugee ministry. But I’d be willing to guess that someone had a heart-changing experience that opened them to the plight of African refugees who have been forced out their homes by war, violence and poverty and are now living in Cairo where they are disdained by their Egyptian neighbors (including my students). Through sewing, literacy and other classes, Eid, Atem and the lives of so many other lives are being changed as they wait to be resettled in cities across the globe. Cities like Buffalo where they have settled on the south side and are served by the ministries of churches like Resurrection Lutheran. Through these ministries, God is using heart-changed lives to change the world . . . one person at time!
May it be so for us as well!
God-Changed Lives
1 Kings 17:17-24 and Luke 7:11-17 - June 6, 2010
Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Buffalo, NY
Pr. Amy Walter-Peterson
On Thursday I leave for my fourth year of teaching English as St. Leo’s Coptic Catholic Seminary in Cairo, Egypt. It’s always an adventure. One thing that I have come to count on is change in the seminarians from year to year. Some of the change comes as they simply grow and mature from one year to the next. Some of the change comes from their exposure to new ideas and new ways of thinking in their education. And some of the change comes from their encounters with others . . . others, like me.
George is one such student. I met him for the first time two summers ago. That summer he came across as an angry and sullen young man. In the one day that I spent with his class his first summer in the English program he asked questions that verged on inappropriate. George could not get his mind around the idea of a female priest - that is what I am to these students - a female priest. And if that weren’t hard enough to grasp, I was a MARRIED, female priest. George could not fathom how I could be a pastor AND take care of my responsibilities at home. When I explained that my husband and I shared responsibilities at home, he was dumbfounded. That day in class was the extent of our interaction that first summer.
George returned for his second summer course last year and was in my class 3 days a week. As he gained some confidence with his English, he began to speak a few words from time to time. I began to joke with him in class and he would break a smile or even join in laughing with the others.
About half-way through the course last year, George and I ended up sitting at the same table for lunch one day. George was desperate for some classmates to join us, but they would not come to his rescue. So George and I sat together for the entire meal. The conversation started slowly but I asked him questions about his family and his home. He eventually asked me again about being a pastor in America. He asked if my husband was a pastor and I explained that he was not and told him about the work he does. He asked again how our home gets taken care of when we are both working. I explained again, “Sometimes I make dinner, sometimes Hans makes dinner. Sometimes I clean the house, sometimes Hans cleans the house. Sometimes I go to the store, sometimes Hans goes to the store. We share these responsibilities.”
As I spoke, George listened and nodded. And then he said, “I think maybe this is better in America than in Egypt.” I tried not to fall off my chair or show my shock. Those were the last words I expected to hear from George.
Now I’m not sure that George really meant what he said. If push came to shove, I’m pretty sure that George would not really support the idea that sharing household responsibilities is good for Egyptian families and society. But in that conversation and in his comment, I saw the beginning glimpses of a change of heart. Just one year before, George has been so certain of his view of the world. But on that day, he sat next to me and admitted that maybe there were other ways to order the world that aren’t necessarily bad. The spirit was working change in George’s life. I saw it revealed right before my eyes. I can’t wait to see George when I return this week and see where God has been leading him.
Change abounds in our readings for today. There is the obvious change that God brings in raising to life the son of the widow of Zarapheth in 2 Kings and the son of the widow of Nain in the gospel. There is the change God brings in the form of saving help to these two widows whose newly raised sons will again provide them with life and security and protection.
It doesn’t end there. In the beginning of his letter to the Galatians, Paul speaks of the changed life that he has received through a revelation of Jesus Christ. Paul describes his life-change in full detail, “I was violently persecuting the church of God and was trying to destroy it.” But then, he says, “God was pleased to reveal his Son to me.” Paul’s ministry began and the churches of Judea that were in Christ said of him, “The one who formerly was persecuting us is now proclaiming the faith he once tried to destroy.” A changed life to be sure!
The Psalmist even gets in on the action today giving thanks to God for healing power that changes lives. “You have turned my mourning into dancing; you have taken my sackcloth and clothed me with joy . . .”
But the changes that strike me most are not these changes that I’ve just named. The changes that strike me in today’s readings are not so much life-changes as heart-changes. Or maybe they are better called heart openings. Let me explain.
The widow that Elijah is visiting is the very same widow of Zarapheth for whom Elijah had promised a never-ending abundance of meal and oil, if she would only share her last morsel with him. She shared and God provided. But now in our scene from today’s reading, the widow’s son has been spared starvation only to die of disease or illness. She is distraught - truly for her it would have been better for them to die together. She is irate - What have you against me, man of God?
Unlike their first encounter, Elijah has no words of comfort for her. No “fear not” comes from his mouth today. Instead he asks for her dead son’s body and takes him to an upper room. And there we see Elijah’s heart laid bare. He is moved by the pleas of this widow who has provided him with food and hospitality. His heart opens to her grief and her pain and he pleads with God on her behalf. “O Lord my God, have you brought calamity even upon the widow with whom I am staying, by killing her son? . . . O Lord my God, let this child’s life come into him again.” And we’re told, “the Lord listened to the voice of Elijah; the life of the child came into him again and he revived.”
A similar encounter happens in Luke. Jesus, his disciples and a crowd of followers travel to Nain. At the city gate they encounter the burial procession of a man who has died. Luke tells us he wasn’t just any man, “he was his mother’s only son, and she was a widow.” He wasn’t just her only kin, he was her only source of security and protection, her only means of food and shelter.
Our words fail to convey the enormity of the impact that this scene had on Jesus. Our translation says, “When the Lord saw her, he had compassion for her . . .” But it was deeper than that. Eugene Peterson says, “When Jesus saw her, his heart broke . . .” That’s closer. But it’s even more - upon seeing this widow weeping over the death of her only son, Jesus felt the way we feel when we see the remains of a crash by the side of the road and we get that ache in our gut and that sinking feeling inside of us.
Jesus’ heart was opened to the grief, the pain, the complete loss of a strange widow, in a strange village, who experienced the death of her only son. Jesus was so moved by this experience that he “came forward and touched the bier and said, “young man I say to you, rise!” And rise, he did!
What strikes me most in these two encounters is that God’s life-changing power is ushered into the world by two men - Jesus and Elijah - who are first changed by the grief and loss of the widows they encounter. God uses the heart-rending change that Elijah and Jesus experience with these two widows as an opportunity to bring change to world.
Elijah’s heart-changed soul cries to God on behalf of the widow of Zarapheth and in her joy she proclaims, “Now I know that you are a man of God, and that word of the Lord in your mouth is truth.”
Jesus’ heart-changed soul works on behalf of the widow of Nain, and in their fear and awe the people of the village proclaim, “God has looked favorably on his people!”
The same was true for Paul. The same was true for the Psalmist. And the same is true for us. God uses our heart-changed lives to change the world! In fact, God changes our lives - through changing our hearts - so that we may bring God’s life-changing power to the world!
In the Upstate New York Synod we say that we are resurrection people, who pray first, walk together and change lives. The truth is that we don’t change lives. But when we lay bare our lives to the power of the Holy Spirit, when we allow our hearts to be changed by the grief of widows, or the cries of anguish of Gulf Coast fishermen, or the pleas for dignity and hope by refugees around the world, when we allow our lives to be open and changed by the cries of the world around us, God uses our changed hearts to change the world . . . one person at a time.
When I return to Egypt this week, I will also have the privilege of visiting and leading worship at St. Andrew’s Church in central Cairo which houses St. Andrew’s Refugee Ministry. Emigrés from Sudan, Somalia and other parts of Africa are served by that ministry. St. Andrew’s is a ministry supported through ELCA’s global mission and served by ELCA missionaries, which means it is a ministry that is supported by the offering you give on behalf of the wider church.
St. Andrew’s Refugee ministry provides literacy courses that teach people to read and write in Arabic. The ministry also helps prepare students to take an education test that will qualify them for further study. A few years ago the ministry started offering sewing classes, only the girls signed up. But then the directors mentioned the some of the most successful clothing designers are men. So Eid, a refugee from Somalia, signed up. Then came Atem, from Southern Sudan. Now the class is mostly boys.
I don’t know the entire story of St. Andrew’s Refugee ministry. But I’d be willing to guess that someone had a heart-changing experience that opened them to the plight of African refugees who have been forced out their homes by war, violence and poverty and are now living in Cairo where they are disdained by their Egyptian neighbors (including my students). Through sewing, literacy and other classes, Eid, Atem and the lives of so many other lives are being changed as they wait to be resettled in cities across the globe. Cities like Buffalo where they have settled on the south side and are served by the ministries of churches like Resurrection Lutheran. Through these ministries, God is using heart-changed lives to change the world . . . one person at time!
May it be so for us as well!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)