Lenten Photo Discipline – Day 4: Injustice (x3)

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23rd psalm in cherokee copy

This photo was taken at the site of Major Ridge’s home near Rome, GA.  Major Ridge was a chieftain of the Cherokee people, and both a perpetrator and victim of injustice.  As a large landowner, Major Ridge had slaves (both other Native Americans, and those enslaved from Africa).  Facing the inevitable removal of the Cherokee people from the mountains of Georgia, Tennessee and the Carolinas, Major Ridge (without the legal backing of his people) negotiated a treaty with the US government for removal.  This treaty is what the US Government used to force the removal of the Cherokee nation, resulting in the infamous Trail of Tears.  Because he negotiated this treaty without the consent of the rest of the Cherokee council, Major Ridge and his family were deemed traitors and subsequently murdered by their own people.

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. ~ Jesus

Lenten Photo Discipline – Day 3: See

 

 

See

 

See me, feel me, touch me,

     heal me.

~ Tommy, The Who

I was totally captivated when I saw this mural a few years back in Philly.  It is in the middle of a historical neighborhood that has suffered much and is now rising from the ashes.  I particularly like the way the artist has taken broken pieces of mirror and pottery and reshaped them into something beautiful… a healing piece of art, in which you can see reflections of the old, the new, and yourself.

Lenten Photo Discipline – Day 2: Return

return

“…today that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and holding fast to him; for that means life to you and length of days, …” 

Deut. 30: 19b-20a

Goin’ To the Chapel

weddingOver the course of my ministry, I’ve done many weddings.  These have included marriages between people of differing faiths (mostly Christian and Jewish), marriages between two non-Christians, marriages between two professing Christians, etc.  Recently, a colleague called me with a conundrum… a couple had asked him to perform their wedding, only they didn’t want to be married in the eyes of the state – only in the eyes of God.  It seems that their financial situation would be negatively impacted by being legally married.  Hmmm… what to do?  what to do?

Our denomination has asked that we be in a two year process of reflecting on Christian Marriage.  This request is prompted in part by the debate on same-sex marriage, but the more my friend and I talked about his situation, the more I realized that the issue is way more complex than sexuality.

And so I began to think about those times when I’ve debated whether or not I would be willing to perform a wedding for people.  Perhaps my hesitations are a key to understanding how I view marriage (Christian or otherwise).  What do my hesitations have to tell me about how I view the purpose of marriage; the qualities that make for a good and wholesome marriage; whether marriages should be recognized separately by the church and the state, etc.

The weddings that I’ve hesitated about and/or refused to do include:

  • One in which I thought the relationship would be abusive.  (I refused to do the marriage.)
  • One in which I believed the marriage would fail.  (I did the wedding — the marriage failed.)
  • One for which the couple had not been able to produce a license by the date of the wedding. (we converted the wedding into a “betrothal” service; the couple honeymooned in Las Vegas, where they were able to legally marry without a license)

What these experiences tell me is that the quality of a relationship is important to me in a marriage.  I clearly value a marriage that is mutual and loving over a marriage of convenience or one in which the relationship is not mutually supportive or respectful.  I also notice that sometimes I have to separate my “agent of the state” role from my “agent of the church” role.

So, what about you?  What marriages have you debated about doing?  What marriages have seemed possibly unwise (even if you weren’t the one doing the ceremony)?  What do these hesitations tell you about what you value about marriage?