"THE WIDOW WAITS FOR JUSTICE"

The Parable of the Widow and the Unjust Judge

Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart. He said, ‘In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people. In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him and saying, “Grant me justice against my opponent.” For a while he refused; but later he said to himself, “Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.” ’ And the Lord said, ‘Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them? I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them. And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?’ (Luke 18:1-8)

An exhibit titled The Word & Example at the Episcopal Café's Episcopal Church Visual Arts website includes Tobias Haller's painting above, along with other wonderful art works which are well worth viewing.

About "The Widow Waits For Justice":

The model is African-American actor Ruth Attaway. I photographed her, as Mary Magdalen, in Owen Dodson's "The Confession Stone" for which I was lighting designer.

Lighting designer? Tobias wears another hat? Mercy me! His collection of hats must be huge.

Image used with Tobias Haller's permission.

FROM A FRIEND FROM LONG AGO...

...who no longer knows me very well.

The Catholic Church is bleeding from self-inflicted wounds. The agony that Catholics have felt and suffered is not necessarily the fault of the Church. You have been hurt by a small number of wayward priests that have probably been totally weeded out by now. (My emphasis)

Walk with your shoulders high and you head higher. Be a proud member of the most important non-governmental agency in the United States ... Then remember what Jeremiah said: 'Stand by the roads, and look and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is and walk in it, and find rest for your souls'. Be proud to speak up for your faith with pride and reverence and learn what your Church does for all other religions. Be proud that you're a Catholic."

Please pass this on to every Catholic on your e-mail list.

The church is bleeding from self-inflicted wounds all right, but the following statements in bold print are nothing more than propaganda. Just 2 days ago, I posted on the story from Philadelphia of 21 wayward priests who had not been weeded out until now. Who is responsible for their remaining in ministry if not the "Church", the one, true Roman Catholic Church? Tell me. Who?

PRAY FOR THE PEOPLE IN JAPAN

From the New York Times"

An earthquake of 8.9. magnitude struck off the coast of Japan on Friday, the strongest ever recorded in the country. The quake churned up a devastating tsunami that swept over cities and farmland in the northern part of the country and threatened coastal areas throughout the Pacific and as far away the west coast of the United States and South America.Fragmentary early reports of the toll indicate that hundreds of people have been killed. Japanese police officials told the Associated Press that 200 to 300 bodies were found in Sendai, a port city in the northeastern part of the country and the closest main city to the epicenter.

Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks prayer in response to natural disaster.

Adon ha-olamim, Sovereign of the universe,

We join our prayers to the prayers of others throughout the world, for the victims of the earthquake and tsunami which this week has brought destruction and disaster to many lives.

Almighty God, we pray You, send healing to the injured, comfort to the bereaved, and news to those who sit and wait. May You be with those who even now are engaged in the work of rescue. May You send Your strength to those who are striving to heal the injured, give shelter to the homeless, and bring food and water to those in need. May You bless the work of their hands, and may they merit to save lives.

Almighty God, we recognise how small we are, and how powerless in the face of nature when its full power is unleashed. Therefore, open our hearts in prayer and our hands in generosity, so that our words may bring comfort and our gifts bring aid. Be with us now and with all humanity as we strive to mend what has been injured and rebuild what has been destroyed.

Ken Yehi Ratzon, ve-nomar Amen.
May it be Your will, and let us say Amen.

From Beliefnet.

PLEASE PRAY FOR KIRSTIN, CATHY, AND LINDA

Kirstin at Barefoot and Laughing:

Who really gets time to plan their own ritual of dying? Who is conscious that every time they do something, it could be the last time they experience it? Who lives constantly with a greeting in their mouth, and goodbye in the back of their mind?

Me. And I’m still navigating how to do this gracefully.

Read the rest at Kirstin's blog.

From JCF:
I've heard from Cath's sister:

Cath is still in a pretty critical situation. We (family, docs, hospital staff) are still working to get her fully stabilized. She is still dealing with severe pain -- tho' that is getting a bit better -- but she has serious issues with lower limb weakness, lack of feeling in her hands and transient mini "seizures.". The diagnosis of what went wrong is not complete yet but none of the potential options are good.

I will provide updates as we find out more. If there is anything special you would like to share with her, please post it and I will give her the message(s). Again many thanks to all of you.

PLEASE continue to pray for Cath, her family, and all her many, many friends..



The latest update from our parishioner, Linda, who is now in Zambia, is that she is alert and aware, that she has a person caring for her, and that she is able to obtain pain medication. Please continue your prayers for Linda.

For Kirstin, Cathy, and Linda:

May God the Father bless you, God the Son heal you, God the Holy Spirit give you strength. May God the holy and undivided Trinity guard your bodies, save your souls, and bring you safely to his heavenly country; where he lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen.

GOOD NEWS FROM ARKANSAS HILLBILLY!

Just thought I'd stop and let you and everyone know I didn't get the job with the retailer I applied for. Instead I am working in a music store surrounded by beautiful guitars, banjos, mandolins and fiddles. That is so much more wonderful than I could have hoped for! Thank you all for your prayers.

Dave aka Arkansas Hillbilly

Thanks be to God and to all who prayed. It's time we had good news!

PRICE OF GAS

A sign in Hazelton, BC (so says Doug).

LENTEN MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDING BISHOP

Are you traveling light on the earth?

By Katharine Jefferts Schori, March 08, 201

The Episcopal Church observes Lent in solidarity with Christians throughout the ages. Lent has anciently been understood as a time of solidarity with those who are to be baptized at the Easter Vigil. It's a time to focus on prayer and study and fasting, and in some traditions, almsgiving. Each of those, when done in solidarity with those preparing to be baptized, is an invitation for us to deepen our own Christian spiritual practice.

I would encourage you this year to expand the realm of that practice; to think about your solidarity with those who walk the way of Christ, with those who walk the way of Jesus, in particular concern for those beyond your local community.

We have a remarkable calling in this era to think about our relationships not only with other Christians, but with other human beings across this planet, and indeed with the rest of creation. Perhaps you might focus your Lenten discipline this year in attention to how you live on this earth.

Do you live like the Son of Man, who travels continuously with never a place to lay his head? Who doesn't carry two bags or an extra lunch or an extra pair of sandals? That is what he encouraged his disciples to do, to travel light.

Are you traveling light on this earth?

Consider as you live through each day, how you use water, how you use fuel, how you use electricity, and how you use the food that is a gift.

If each of us is able to thoughtfully enter into a more compassionate concern for the blessings of creation, it will change the way in which human beings as a species impact this earth.

I heard at the Primates Meeting recently, from the Primate of Polynesia, a very agonized conversation about the plight of his people on low-lying islands in the South Pacific, which are rapidly disappearing beneath the rising sea level. That rising sea level is the result of the way in which wealthier parts of this human population use energy.

We hear about the concerns of people in Africa who find corn too expensive to buy for food because we are using it here to produce ethanol so we can drive our cars.

The way in which we use our resources is a spiritual matter. The way in which we live on this earth is a matter of faithfulness. Can we act in solidarity with those who are preparing to enter this community and do so more thoughtfully and in a more compassionate way that considers all of God's creation?

I invite you to a blessed and holy Lent, to a Lent of prayer and study and compassion through almsgiving and fasting.

-- The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori is presiding bishop and primate of the Episcopal Church.

From Episcopal News Service.

UPDATE ON LK AND FORCED SURGERY

In a previous post, I linked to the story of LK, who refused surgery for cervical cancer for religious reasons, but was to be forced by court order to undergo a radical hysterectomy against her will.

From the ABA Journal:

Under legal standards for informed consent, an adult who is mentally competent generally has a constitutional right to refuse medical treatment, even treatment that would be life-saving.
....

The state supreme court...stayed the court order requiring the hysterectomy and provided for the emergency appeal to proceed.

“Normally, we don’t force treatment on adults. Competent adults can refuse even lifesaving treatments on religious terms,” Arthur Caplan of the University of Pennsylvania's Center for Bioethics tells the Missoulian. “The challenge is to establish that they truly are incompetent and that they really do comprehend the risk posed to their life.”

Exactly. The stay is the proper ruling. The burden of proof falls on those who say LK is incompetent.

Thanks to Paul (A.) for the link.

OUTWITTED BY INTELLIGENT ELEPHANTS

From Discovery News:

Elephants recently aced a test of their intelligence and ability to cooperate, with two of them even figuring out ways that the researchers hadn't previously considered to obtain food rewards.

The study, published in the latest Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, highlights not only the intelligence of individual elephants, but also the ability of these animals to cooperate and understand the value of teamwork.

Scientists now believe elephants are in league with chimpanzees and dolphins as being among the world's most cognitively advanced animals.

"Elephant sociality is very complex," lead author Joshua Plotnik told Discovery News. "Social groups are made up of matriarchal herds (an older female is in charge), and varying levels of relatedness among members. Cooperation in elephants was most likely necessary in a context of communal care for, and protection of, young."

"In the wild, there are fascinating anecdotes of elephants working together to lift or help fallen members, and forming clusters to protect younger elephants," added Plotnik, a Cambridge University researcher who is also head of research at Thailand's Golden Triangle Asian Elephant Foundation.

Note that "an older female is in charge". The elephants are smart, all right. Humans could learn a few things from them.

A total of 12 male and female elephants from the Thai Elephant Conservation Center in Lampang, Thailand, participated. It's estimated that fewer than 2,500 of these animals are left in the Thai jungle, so conservation efforts now are critical.

And what if the cognitively advanced elephants, chimps, and dolphins leagued up against us? Alas, there are too many of us and not enough of them left due to the depredations by humans upon the noble animals and their habitats.

Two elephants, named Neua Un and JoJo, even figured out how to outwit the researchers.

"We were pleasantly surprised to see the youngest elephant, Neua Un, use her foot to hold the rope so that her partner had to do all the work," Plotnik said. "I hadn't thought about this beforehand, and Neua Un seemed to figure it out by chance, but it speaks volumes to the flexibility of elephant behavior that she was able to figure this out and stick to it."

Read the entire story of the elephants learning to accomplish their purpose through cooperation. Since I saw the account of the experiment in my local paper a few days ago, the intelligent elephants remained in my mind. It seems to me that the majestic beasts already knew how to cooperate. They simply learned a new task.

Because of our hubris and arrogance, humans will have much to account for.

"GOD IS LOVE" - THE INNOCENCE MISSION