Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Holocaust Remembrance Day

Seventy years ago today, Soviet forces liberated the Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp. Over a million people, mostly Jews but also gypsies, gays, and others were killed there. In 2005 the UN designated January 27th as International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Here are two sites about this day:
http://www.yadvashem.org/27th/index.asp
http://www.un.org/en/holocaustremembrance/

Here is Steven Spielberg's timely warning about the rise of anti-Semitism in the world: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/world/article/Survivors-visit-Auschwitz-a-day-ahead-of-70th-6040071.php


Monday, January 26, 2015

Interfaith Days: Feast of Sts. Timothy and Titus

Timothy and Titus, recipients of the three "Pastoral Epistles" attributed to Paul in the New Testament, were notable early Christians. Timothy was a faithful, younger associate of Paul, and Titus was also a Christian convert on whom Paul relied. Today is their feast day in the Roman Catholic Church and the ELCA; in 1969 the Catholic Church assigned the day to immediately follow the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul. The ELCA also honors Silas on this day. The Orthodox Church honors Titus on August 25 and commemorates him on 25 August and Timothy on January 22.

More information about the two disciples are found on these Catholics sites:

http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/Saints/saint.aspx?id=1272 and
http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2013-01-26
The picture is from: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/130604457918024838/

Sunday, January 25, 2015

Interfaith Days: January 25th, Conversion of St. Paul

Today is the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul the Apostle, celebrated in the Anglican, Lutheran, Roman Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox churches. In his own letters, Paul refers to his "call," while Luke (in the Acts of the Apostles, 9:1-19) provides a dramatic narrative of what happened to him.

This day is also the end of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, which started in 1908 as a Roman Catholic octave (eight-day observance, beginning with the Feast of the Confession of Peter, which is January 18th). After the World Council of Churches was established in 1948, the week was observed in many more churches.

(From the 2015 Interfaith Calendar of the Diversity Awareness Partnership of St. Louis---see dapstl.org for more information---and various online sources. My wife Beth purchased this Peter and Paul icon for me in Athens.)


Saturday, January 24, 2015

Interfaith Days: January 24, Vasant Panchami

In the Bhakti and Smarta schools of Hinduism, worshippers chose a favorite deity (Ishtadeva, that is, a favorite form of God) to worship and cherish. If I were Hindu, my Ishtadeva would be Sarasvati, the goddess of knowledge, the arts, and music.

The Hindu festival Vasant Panchami happens today this year. With Sarasvati as the festival goddess (it's also her birthday), the day commemorates the end of winter and the beginning of spring. (Sounds wonderful to me!)

These sites explain more: timeanddate.com/holidays/ and this one. The picture is from this site.



Monday, January 19, 2015

Interfaith Days: January 19, Timkat

from: https://in.lifestyle.yahoo.com/timkat--
christianity-s-ancient-heartbeat-in-ethiopia.html?page=all
Today is Timkat (or Timket), the Ethiopian Orthodox Christian version of Epiphany, commemorating Jesus' baptism in the Jordan River. The most important festival in Ethiopia, Timkat (which means "baptism") also a festival of the Ark of the Covenant, which is never mentioned in the Bible after the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem. It is a happy festival involving processions, renewal of one's baptism, and colorful clothes. http://www.peace-on-earth.org/Ethiopia/1st.pdf and https://in.lifestyle.yahoo.com/timkat--christianity-s-ancient-heartbeat-in-ethiopia.html?page=all

(From the 2015 Interfaith Calendar of the Diversity Awareness Partnership of St. Louis---see dapstl.org for more information---and various online sources.)


Sunday, January 18, 2015

Interfaith Days: January 18, World Religion Day

Today is the beginning of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. http://www.oikoumene.org/en/resources/week-of-prayer

It is also World Religion Day, which in the Baha’i faith is dedicated to the oneness and unity of faiths in the world. The day happens on the third Sunday in January, was established in 1950 by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is in the US.

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Interfaith Days: January 14th, Makar Sankranti

In Hinduism, today is Makar Sankranti, a festive holiday every January 14th, marking "the turning of the sun toward the north, observed by flying kites, feeding the poor, and offering librations to the dead" (from the Diversity Awareness Partnership's 2015 Interfaith Calendar: dapstl.org). This site provides ways the holiday is observed in different regions: http://www.makarsankranti.org and http://festivals.iloveindia.com/makar-sankranti/





Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Interfaith Days: January 13th, Maghi, Lohri

In the Sikh faith, today is Maghi, the commemoration of the death of forty Sikhs who died in battle for Guru Gobindhi Singh Ji. This site provides some background: http://www.allaboutsikhs.com/sikh-festivals/the-sikh-festivals-maghi

Today is also Lohri, a particularly festive day among Punjabis, described at this site:
http://www.festivalsofindia.in/Lohri/

(From the 2015 Interfaith Calendar of the Diversity Awareness Partnership of St. Louis---see dapstl.org for more information---and various online sources.)


Monday, January 12, 2015

Interfaith Days: January 12th, Seijin no Hi

from: http://www.tuvy.com/blog/2010/08/shinto/
In the Shinto faith, today is Coming of Age day, or Seijin no Hi. Coming of age festivals have been held in Japan since the 8th century, but this particular day was established during the 20th century for January 15, and then the day was set at the second Monday of January. The day congratulates people who have reached the age of 20 and thus are recognized as adults. Festivals, ceremonies, and parties mark the day.

(From the 2015 Interfaith Calendar of the Diversity Awareness Partnership of St. Louis---see dapstl.org for more information---and various online sources.)


Sunday, January 11, 2015

Interfaith Days; January 11th, Baptism of Jesus

Andrea del Verrocchio,
"Baptism of Christ"
c. 1475
In many Christian churches, today is the observance of the Baptism of the Lord Jesus. I wrote about the day last year: http://paulstroble.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-baptism-of-our-lord.html

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Interfaith Days: January 6th, Epiphany, Theophany

from: http://catholicromanurduprayers.blogspot.com/
2012_01_01_archive.html
Today is Epiphany, the western Christian commemoration of the revelation of God in Jesus, connected with the visit of the Magi to the infant. Click here for an article that gives some resources and explanations for the day.










In eastern Christianity, the commemoration is called Theophany, and the day honors the revelation of the Holy Trinity in Jesus, connected with his baptism in the river Jordan. This article considers the holiday.









And here's a fun little piece from the United Methodist News. I'm no relation to the interviewed astronomer. http://www.umc.org/news-and-media/what-was-the-star-of-bethlehem


Monday, January 5, 2015

Interfaith days, January 5th, Guru Gobind Singh Jayanti, 12th Night

In Sikhism, the birthday of Guru Gobindh Singh is observed this year on January 5th. He was the tenth and last of the living Sikh gurus. He founded the Khalsa (the collective of all initiated Sikhs) and passed the sacred authority to the holy book of the Sikhs, the Guru Granth Sahib.
http://sgpc.net/gurus/gurugobind.asp and http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Guru_Gobind_Singh

Today is Twelfth Night, the Christian observance of the close of Christmastide. http://www.crivoice.org/cy12days.html

It is also New Year in Mahayana Buddhism. Here is an interesting essay about the day: http://www.beliefnet.com/Faiths/Buddhism/Articles/The-Buddhist-and-The-New-Year.aspx


(From the 2015 Interfaith Calendar of the Diversity Awareness Partnership of St. Louis---see dapstl.org for more information---and various online sources.) 

Saturday, January 3, 2015

Interfaith Day: January 3rd, Mawlid

Today is Mawlid, or Mawlid an-Nabi, the day that Muslims observe as the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad. Different Muslim countries observe the Prophet’s birth with processions, celebrations, and prayers.

On the Islamic calendar, the day is the 12 Rabi. The Prophet Muhammad's birth date is uncertain, but 12 Rabi was declared a holiday by the Ottomans in the 16th century CE, although it had been celebrated for a long time prior to that. Here is a Britannica article about the day: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/370339/mauled

(From the 2015 Interfaith Calendar of the Diversity Awareness Partnership of St. Louis---see dapstl.org for more information---and various online sources.)


Thursday, January 1, 2015

"Godbearing: Evangelism Reconceived"

Today is the Catholic celebration Mary, Mother of God, honoring the mother of Jesus.The First Council of Ephesis in 431 affirmed Mary with that title, Theotokos, which is important not only to affirm the role of Mary but also to affirm the full divinity of Jesus.

That word means "Godbearer." This past semester, I taught an evening seminary on Evangelism at Eden Theological Seminary. One of the textbooks that the students appreciated was Godbearing: Evangelism Reconceived by Elaine A. Robinson (Pilgrim Press, 2006). Robinson argues that evangelism, traditionally conceived, is not the answer to the problems and challenges of the contemporary church. The focus on "counting noses" (or, as one guest to our class called it, "butts in the pews") is a very human solution, resulting in measurable numbers and demonstrable results. But there are problems with that approach: a sometimes tenuous connection to discipleship, a lack of engagement with modernity, and others (chapter 2).

Robinson uses that term "Godbearer," not to usurp the special theology of Mary, but to describe a new approach to evangelism wherein we are "bearing the renewed image of God within, bearing God to others, and bearing with God the suffering of others"(p. 112). A Godbearer has the Christ-character within, has been transformed by Christ, and is devoted to bearing God to others as a way to serve---as well as to share and live the Good News.

Chapter 1 and 2 describes the spirit of our contemporary time and then argues why traditional aspects of evangelism have strengths and drawbacks. Chapter 3 is the "christology" of Godbearing, with the full humanity and divinity of Christ showing us the "radical relationally of God." Chapter 4 considers five examples of Godbearing: Mary Theotokos, Mary Magdalene, the Apostle Paul, Bartolomé de las Casas, and Rosa Parks. Chapter 5 sums up the book and points us toward the future. She engages a variety of theologians like Karl Barth, Ronald Rolheiser, William Abraham, James Cone, Sallie McFague, Jurgen Moltmann, and others.

If you're interested in issues of evangelism and discipleship, Godbearing is well worth your time and engagement.

Interfaith Days: January 1st,10th of Tevet, Mary Theotokos,Shogatsu

Happy New Year! Here's a new blog series for the upcoming year.

I participate in the Diversity Awareness Partnership of St. Louis. The organization produces a calendar of holidays among several religions. For more information about this wonderful group, please see www.dapstl.org.

For 2015, I think I’ll share the holidays as they occur, to teach myself and others about important days among different faiths. These are aspects of the spiritual journeys of people around the world, milestones for faith.

The Tenth of Tevet falls on January 1 this year. This is a fast day in Judaism commemorating the siege of Jerusalem by the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar II in the 6th century BCE. It’s one of the minor fast days, with no relationship to Hanukkah other than proximity on the calendar.

It is also the Catholic Christian celebration Mary, Mother of God, honoring the mother of Jesus.The First Council of Ephesis in 431 affirmed Mary with that title, Theotokos, which is important not only to affirm the role of Mary but also to affirm the full divinity of Jesus.

January 1 is also the eighth day (octave) of Christmastide. Personally speaking, I've appreciated New Years Day more this year because I've noted it among the days of Christmastide, rather than a nostalgia-inducing, stand-alone day.

In Orthodox Christianity, it is the feast of St. Basil the Great, who wrote an important Eucharistic Liturgy in the church. Basil was also a supporter of the Nicene Creed and, among other contributions, introduced the terms ousia and hypostasis into the trinitarian formulation.

In Shinto, this is Shogatsu/Gantan-sai, the New Year’s Day celebration. Among its ceremonies are the ringing of the bells symbolizing the worldly desires and sins that are abandoned to the old year.