Souvenir of Canada

Chimo!!! (Canadian for 'Aloha') Just finished watching "Souvenir of Canada" by Douglas Coupland. It somehow had a warm feel to it. It was neat to ponder on some of Canada's artifacts through the years. There is a great tribute to Terry Fox on this DVD and I have to say it was pretty moving. Coupland basically is showing the process of putting a "Canada House" together with white walls and purely Canadian items in it, Ookpik included (our national mascot...didn't you know?!?)... All in the name of the continuous search for our identity, which near the end was beautifully stated as our identity being that we are part of the land. The special features were also pretty fun, we particularly enjoyed the National Film Board (NFB) short clips. They are quite enjoyable...although I think Matthew remembers watching them back in school..Saskatchewan, or Saskatoon at least, must not have been quite as archaic as Chilliwack :)

Listening to...

Workingman's Blues #2.

Leithart on Radical Orthodoxy

Still processing the conference:

On Monday afternoon, I sat in on the crowded session reviewing a book entitled Theology and the Political: The New Debate. Basically, it seems to be a treatment of various issues in relationship between theology, Continential philosophy, and the political, associated with a theological movement known as "Radical Orthodoxy". The main figure behind this approach is Prof. John Milbank. If you're interested, see also this assessment in "First Things".

Until quite recently, I've not read much in this area, so it was excellent to hear from such important participants as Graham Ward and Conor Cunningham, who quite rightly reoriented the discussion away from Ontology per se and towards Christology and particularly, the Incarnation. Just before this session, at a previous session, I had the privilege of briefly meeting Prof. Peter Leithart. I think he was quite intrigued to hear that many of his books are being read by capital "O" Orthodox Christians. Leithart had this and this to say about these takes on "Radical Orthodoxy."

Compatriots in the District

The cool slang for Washington, D.C., is "the District."

This morning, before my last session at the conference, I finally made it down to the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial. With very full days of listening to academic papers (my new friend Dan Greeson has a good list of them), I've not had as much time to see "the District" as I would on a more leisurely trip. That said, I have wanted to visit these sites ever since reading about them in an article in a 1960's era National Geographic that I read as a kid. {Digression: In my parents' house we had hundreds of these old magazines, going back to the 40s - a wall of yellow. Every night, before bed, I would pick one at random and carefully page through it, reading whatever interested me. I always liked the old car adds in the front, and the black and white military school classified in the back.} I'm pretty sure this is how I picked up a lot of my trivia. In any case, this particular article was written by a young Sikh man {strangely he was from Burma and knew then U.N. Secretary General, U Thant.} This guy travelled around the States in a little campervan, recording his journey in photos as he went. As a ten-year-old, I greatly admired his spontaneity.

I called Krista and we got to visit through digital particles and soundwaves floating through the late November brightness here this morning. As I approached the Lincoln Memorial, I thought of this great man that I know mainly through Elton Trueblood's book Abraham Lincoln: Theologian of American Anguish. I also thought of how much it resembles a classical pagan temple, right down to the statue of Lincoln seated inside. Then I saw the sign above his head, which reads:

"IN THIS TEMPLE /
AS IN THE HEARTS OF THE PEOPLE /
FOR WHOM HE SAVED THE UNION /
THE MEMORY OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN /
IS ENSHRINED FOREVER."

Several of the papers this weekend dealt with theology's relationship to the political.

I have always been struck by the religious nature of public life in the United States. Is it in spite of or because of "the separation of Church and State" that this country is so religious? When Karl Barth came to the States in the early 1960s, it was precisely the nation's deeply religious character that stood out to him. "I can see that in every way you are very religious," (Acts 17.22).

We talked as I walked up to the temple precinct. 1 Corinthians 8-11 flashed into my mind. Thankfully, there were no hot-dog carts in site, so I didn't have to worry about meat being offered to the idol; I did, however, accidentally kick over a travel mug of coffee that someone had left unattended. I'm hoping that this doesn't count as latreia? Krista asked, "Do Americans worship their Presidents, or something?" Touring these monuments you might get that impression. I felt as though I might as well have been in Delphi or Ephesos or somehting. Of course, there is a historical tradition of a quasi-imperial cult in the American republic. It was also in National Geographic that I first saw the painting "The Apotheosis of George Washington" by Constantino Brumidi. It is not surprising that this fresco was painted in 1865, at the conclusion of the Civil War and the year of the death of America's 'Messiah'-president, Lincoln. We should also be aware, as the Apostle was, as Barth was, that it is in the most religious societies that there exists the greatest tendancy and temptation towards idolatry. True worship of the true God is the only antidote.

Don't get me wrong. In good ole' Methodist fashion, my heart was 'strangely warmed' at these monuments this morning. As I entered into the naos of the Lincoln Memorial, I suddenly remembered that today is the the Feast of the Entrance of the Theotokos into the Temple. But this was not all. I discovered that I was truly on hallowed ground. I soon found the spot where Dr. King gave uttered the words, "I have a dream..." Just down the steps, on the same day, Bob Dylan and Joan Baez sang "With God on Our Side".

In a many dark hour
I've been thinkin' about this
That Jesus Christ
Was betrayed by a kiss
But I can't think for you
You'll have to decide
Whether Judas Iscariot
Had God on his side.

So now as I'm leavin'
I'm weary as Hell
The confusion I'm feelin'
Ain't no tongue can tell
The words fill my head
And fall to the floor
If God's on our side
He'll stop the next war.

Most of us have many idolatries. In the precincts of national memory, I was challenged to wrestle with some of my own. I hope that the theological reflection on the political will bear good fruit.

In any case, I was also pleased to meet some fellow Canadians at the monuments.

Matthew Francis Goes to Washington

Yes, this is me standing in front of the White House. I've come here to Washington to attend the Annual Congress of the Society of Biblical Literature. It is a place filled with lots and lots of talk. There are about 4000 Religious Studies and Theology profs hanging around, talking on and on about one thing or another. And I diligently did my part. First thing this morning I presented my paper in the "Bible and American Popular Culture" Section, and our theme for this year was "Speciality Bibles." There is a pretty diverse selection of Bibles out there, including "Biblezines" which contain the whole text of the New Testament in a format akin to Seventeen or Men's Health . I wonder what Marshall McLuhan might think of these? I'm pretty happy with how it went, and had some helpful feedback from some of the attendees. A prof. from Texas presented on the very odd illustrated Bible called The Brick Testament, which has Biblical scenes conveyed entirely through Lego. (Warning: Not suitable for all viewers). My paper was entitled "The Orthodox Study Bible and Orthodox Identity in North America", and attempts to understand the meaning of the volume put out in 1993, interestingly by the same publisher as the Biblezines (collaboratively with a whole bunch of Orthodox clergy). Some people loved it, some people didn't. Whatever side you take, I argue it's still an important publication. If you're interested in conversing about this, feel free to post a comment or to email me.

Anyway, its been good to be here (after a crazy all-night flight and sprinting my lungs out in Toronto to catch my connection), and to see friends old and new. Oh yeah, and there's a room the size of two football fields full of theological books for sale at discount prices. Help!!

It is only minor consolation to know that during this sojourn, missing Krista and home... I can take solace in billions of words - I pray that some of them might even be meaningful.

St. John's Bakery, Toronto

The real bread of life...

Apocalyptic and the Beauty of God

I have my friend over at Becoming Human to thank for his link to this worthwhile sermon by Anglican Bishop N.T. Wright. It was preached at Harvard University in October, and explains elegantly in about 1000 words what I took a hundred or so pages to say at the end of my studies in Manchester.

I'm still learning to use George Orwell's rules from "Politics and the English Language" (1946):

(i) Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.

(ii) Never us a long word where a short one will do.

(iii) If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.

(iv) Never use the passive where you can use the active.

(v) Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.

(vi) Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.

Akathist at Sts. Peter & Paul, Montreal

On Friday night we served an Akathist (a style of liturgical prayer-poetry) in the presence of the Port Arthur Mother of God Icon.

There is an interesting story behind this icon (surrounded by flowers on the left of this image - click on the picture for a larger view). This copy was given as a gift to our Archdiocese of Canada, and will be permanently located in our Cathedral in Ottawa.

You can see a few more photos from my trip to Montreal over here.

"Gospodi pomilui..."

After a weekend in Montreal immersed in the beauty of Slavonic Liturgy in a warm-hearted parish, I caught the papers last night on the flight home. Oh Lord! Another evangelical pastor walks the plank... and this morning has admitted to his sins.

Nevertheless, here is an interesting take on the whole Ted Haggard debaucle.

Who would have thought that just a week ago, in his Sunday Sermon on October 29 (it would be his last), Haggard began the sermon with a prayer that included these words:

“Heavenly Father give us grace and mercy, help us this next week and a half as we go into national elections and Lord we pray for our country. Father we pray lies would be exposed and deception exposed. Father we pray that wisdom would come upon our electorate…”

Lord, have mercy.