Gaudete (Rejoice!)

The ancient word Gaudete means to "rejoice." and was written into a number of different Christian Hymns and polyphonic pieces in the Middle Ages.  One famous one: Gaudete Christus natus est  is likely a product of the 15th and 16th centuries, but its roots are certainly deeper.  I've loved this hymn and just thought I share a video post.

Latin	English
Gaudete, gaudete! Christus est natus Ex Maria virgine, gaudete!	Rejoice, rejoice! Christ is born (Out) Of the Virgin Mary — rejoice!
Tempus adest gratiæ Hoc quod optabamus, Carmina lætitiæ Devote reddamus.	The time of grace has come— what we have wished for, songs of joy Let us give back faithfully.
Deus homo factus est Natura mirante, Mundus renovatus est A Christo regnante.	God has become man, To the wonderment of Nature, The world has been renewed By the reigning Christ.
Ezechielis porta Clausa pertransitur, Unde lux est orta Salus invenitur.	The closed gate of Eziekiel Is passed through, Whence the light is born, Salvation is found.
Ergo nostra contio Psallat iam in lustro; Benedicat Domino: Salus Regi nostro.	Therefore let our gathering Now sing in brightness Let it give praise to the Lord: Greeting to our King.

 

Spiral Dynamics with Shane Hipps

Spiral Dynamics_Shane Hipps from Daniel Leatherman on Vimeo.

While at a chaplains conference in Northern California,  we were treated to a lecture by Shane Hipps, a teaching Pastor at Mars Hill Church in Grand Rapids, MI.  He speaks about Spiral Dynamics a social development theory introduced in the mid- 1990s by Don Beck and Chris Cowan.  For books on Spiral Dynamics see this link to Amazon.

How much of an issue do you make an "issue"?

On December 2, 2013, the Hawaii  Marriage Equality Act went into effect. Licenses were issued, and same-sex couples lined up at the courthouse and in some houses of worship to become legally married.  On our school campus, this event came and went with little fanfare.  There are no couples (as of yet) lining up to be married in our school's chapel.  Still, there is a strong conservative evangelical current within our community whose fear is that students at school will be "exposed" to gay marriage.

To quote, M*A*S*H's Col. Sherman T. Potter, "Horse hockey!"

Mālama- living sustainably.

[caption id="attachment_99" align="alignright" width="300"] A wee little friend at San Damiano, Danville, CA[/caption]

Mālama is a word we hear often in our island culture: Mālama I ke Kai (Protect the Sea), Mālama ʻAina (Protect the Land), Mālamalama (light of knowledge lit. protected light). Mālama is often translated as "to protect or care for" ; it implies maintaining a sense of sustainability when it comes to this protection or care.

Sustainability has become a key word in our cultural vocabulary and certainly a commercial buzz word. Often linked to words such as "green" or "renewable", "sustainability" has long been associated with a kind of "granola" movement- associated with a variety of efforts such as recycling and composting. Once the niche market of a few home gardens and local farmers, organic farming is now big business. As individuals and families, more and more look for organically grown fruits and vegetables, drink milk from organically fed (and purportedly happier) cows, buy eggs from cage-free, free range chickens, bake with organic flour and whole grains, get fish from sustainable hatcheries or fisheries.

Sustainability in these product areas implies a connection between the farmer and the field, the rancher and the herd, the fisherman and the sea. We have done much in the history of the human race to subdue the earth- we carved out of the earth fields with irrigation; that makes the dessert produce richly; cast nets large and small to reap the harvest of the sea; tamed beasts of the field and used them to tow the plow, hunted others and later raised them for food.

The Book of Genesis says that in the beginning that after God created the heavens and the earth and populated it with the creatures of the land, the sky and the sea, God created humankind “God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.’ “ (Gen 1:28) When it comes to the key words of “subdue” and “dominion” itʻs important to understand the context in which these two words exist. In Hebrew, the original language of the Old Testament, “kevash” means to subdue as in to literally place the foot not neck of your conquered enemy signifying the submission of the conquered enemy. “Radah” the Hebrew verb to “have dominion” or “rule” is a little different than the common understanding of ruling over a people. “Radah” is related to other words which have meanings to descend or to wander. The implication of this verb is to literally rule by wandering among the subjects as an equal.

What God commends to us then in “kavash” and “radah” is to rule over the earth and its creation not as a dictator, but as a benevolent leader- a steward and a caretaker leader who is in relationship with all of creation. Mālama.

We need to return to the heart of Mālama-to protect and to care for the relationships that allow us live and grow. It is a grave sin to continue to consume and consume with abandon simply thinking there will always be. We need to reduce, reuse, and recycle not because its a trendy slogan, but because it is the right thing But itʻs more than simply buying organic, or belonging to co-op, or joining a CSA. Mālama pono means to take care or be right. Most important is to protect and care for spiritual and the human connections in our lives. These last relationships are the ones that enable us to be resilient in the wake of loss, rejection, or hardship.

We are called to be sustainable people, to live not only with aloha, but also pono (moral right-ness). With Godʻs help, we will live in right relationships with the ʻaina, the land, with moana, the ocean, and kekahi i kekahi, with one another. Mālama pono.

Reflection: Halloween and All Saints Day 2014

All Saints Day is a high feast of the Church and it often Get's me talking about saints and inevitably leads to some bask .  What is it that makes a saint a saint?  who do we recognize as a saint?  Are there only Christian Saints?

Some examples:  The Saints of New Orleans, The Carroll College “Fighting Saints” in Helena Montana; Grandparents; Archbishop Desmond Tutu;  Perhaps even the Dalai Lama?

I Sing A song of the saints of God, patient and brave and true, who toiled and fought and lived and died for the Lord they loved and knew…

I’m not sure what it is, but this hymn is a favorite.  Is it the tune, which I kind of catchy and leaves you humming it  well into the next period?  Or is it the words.  Regardless, this is the week we talk about saints.  And why not,  We have the convergence of the secular and the sacred.  For as we all know Thursday is Halloween, that must mean that Friday, Nov 1, is all Saints Day.

Here we are.  Another Halloween.   A trip to the store in the last month or so revealed pallets, I mean pallets of candy, candy candy.

Moloka'i sunrise

Reflections on DOMA's repeal

The recent decision by the US Supreme Court in striking down the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)  rocked the nation and set us on a new course for the federal recognition of same-sex unions.  The implications of this open the door for granting military benefits to all legally married partners.  In fact, this summer the Secretary of Defense publish some guidelines outlining military benefits being extended to married same-sex couples.

Once the 5 to 4 decision repealing DOMA was announced,  there was both great jubilation for some and greater disappointment for others.   In Hawaii, Civil Unions have been possible since 2011, joining other states that permit same-sex unions.  Civil Unions in the state of Hawaii accord some legal benefits to same-sex partners, but do not carry the full "weight" of marriage.    In Hawaii and other states, same-sex marrriage continues to be a point of controversy and public debate.  As a nation, of different beliefs and traditions, we are not of one mind on this matter.  From a faith perspective, there is considerable debate within traditions as to the merits of traditional marriage and same-sex marriage.  People of deep faith disagree passionately for a variety of reasons.

Cup of Tea Review

I love tea and this was my first visit to this restaurant in March of 2013.
I also eat out regularly so I have reasonable expectations when it
comes to customer service.

My wife made a reservation and we showed
up on time for a 230 reservation and were promptly seated. The menu
selection is a typical fair and is all well and good. We ordered
two Princess Heather Teas and a Wee Tea as our daughter came with
us. Others have commented on the food as being nothing special they
are spot on. Nothing really stood out in terms of the food. They do
say you can order more sandwiches if you are still hungry, which is
nice, but more on that later. The scones were soft and slightly
gummy as if they had not fully baked. Maybe they like them like
that, but whatever they called a scone, IMHO wasn't, sorry.

But the poor scone should have told me that something else was
amiss. Let me also say that our server was very pleasant and
professional and dealt with the issues of the kitchen as best she
could. I noted as we came in there was a party of 4 that sat down
just before us and a party of two afterward. On neighboring tables
we were assorted sandwiches and confections such as brownies and
cupcakes and chocolate mousse. So when our tier arrived with its
assortment of sandwiches (PB&J at our request for the kiddo,
cucumber, and egg salad), scones & fruit, and the dessert tier
we were less than pleased. Come to find out that the kitchen was
running out of food.
As one who regularly dines out, I know this happens.
Chefs usually compensate by offering replacing it with something
equivalent. The cookies were taken from the boutique store in front
and plated one small cookie per person along with pastry cups with
a small dollop of whipped cream, choc. drizzle, and a maraschino
cherry. When I inquired and mentioned that I was disappointed in
the dessert, the cook (not the chef) came out and apologized that
they had run out of the other items. No big deal, except I don't
think that for a $25 tea I should get store bought cookies out of a
bag. She offered and we accepted some chocolate covered
strawberries instead (so why not put them out to begin with?)
Remember the sandwiches? We asked for a 'refil' of cucumber and
PB&J. They brought out the cucumber sandwiches and another
strawberry with the apology that they did not have enough bread for
the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I wanted to give them the
benefit of the doubt, but REALLY? It's three slices of bread
stacked and cut into petite quarters. If you knew that you were
getting that low, could you send someone out with some petty cash
from the till to the supermarket and get a couple of loaves? I
don't know if I mentioned the advert on the table for "bingo night"
that was going to start at dinner service at 6. It made me wonder
if they were holding back in preparation for dinner. If so, then
every slice of bread counts. I know this review is less than
spectacular, but in subsequent dealings with the restaurant in
trying to plan a catered event has only confirmed the two stars.
The desire to work with me on a menu for my event (like requesting
cupcakes as part of the tea party) was met with a curt "whatever
chef bakes is what she bakes that day." Bottom line- the food is ok
at a 3.5/5 and the service did them in for me.

How beautiful on the mountain are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace… (Isaiah 52:7)

How beautiful on the mountain are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace… (Is 52:7)

Last week a reality hit me. For the majority of my students, they have lived nearly all of their lives thus far in a post 9/11 world. Since 2001 the United States and its allies have been engaged in the Global War on Terror. This means that in their living memory, they have never known a time during which our nation has not been a war. We’ve had parents, friends, aunites, and uncles deploy to places such as Iraq and Afghanistan, once, twice, even more. We have seen the price veterans and their families have paid. Earlier this year, I met a group of wounded warrior athletes out on our track. Some had prosthetics and dealt with wounds of the body, others suffered wounds you cold not visibly see such as traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder, including a former navy chaplain whom I met.

Psalm 98- Praise in Lent

Find Psalm 98 here

It’s not often that we read from and talk specifically about a psalm.  There are 150 psalms in the Bible and are ancient prayers and hymns so old that the original melodies have been lost to history.

The Psalms can be divided into different categories:  There are psalms of sorrow or lament, psalms of praise, royal psalms, and thanksgiving psalms to name a few.  Psalm 98 is in a category of both praise and enthronement.
There is a lot of interesting technical Biblical stuff regarding form and structure in this short psalm of 9 verses, but most importantly, is the question of what does it all mean?  That is to say,  what does it mean for us to offer praise?

Splashtop remote desktop

Here are two videos that show the chapel configuration for using an Ipad and a laptop to show presentations. A key component is having a separate WiFi since there is both a Desktop application and a iPad application. Here is a link to the Splashtop Website with more information.

http://youtu.be/h1-rD0Y75J0

http://youtu.be/Y7zvBUhlMaM

 

 

God Likes Mountains

God, I am convinced likes mountains.  While there something amazing happens for Jesus is seen in blazing white and in the company of Moses and Elijah.  A moment so incredible and transformative for the disciples with him.  Perhaps this is where we get the phrase a “mountain top” experience. Referring to the feeling one has when one has experienced something wonderful and life changing.  Truth is, the mountain top experience does not last forever. There are other challenges to face, other things to do.  It’s not that such experiences don’t change us, indeed we are transformed by them.  But we cannot stay on top of the mountain forever.

Our lives are filled with both mountains and valleys. Highs and lows. There are good days and bad days.  Faith is no different.