Those cartoons ...
Right now, Danish media - and quite a lot of non-Danish media - is filled with stories about Muslim outrage at a set of cartoons, originally printed in September 2005 in a Danish newspaper.
And yesterday, Saturday February 4th, the conflict escalated, when Syrian protesters burned the Danish and the Norwegian Embassy.

So, here's this Danish pastor's view.

First : The printing of the cartoons was - in my opinion - a piece of teen-age idiocy. It was a "nyah-nyah-nyah, we don't need to show anyone any courtesy or respect, neither Christian nor Muslim". Unfortunately, that is the way much of the media in this country treats anything religious. It isn't turned against Muslims specifically (even if few Muslims will believe that). Christians get their (big) shovel of flack too, because the "general opinion" in this country is, that if you believe in God (any God), you are - automatically - ridiculous. People like me have learned to live with it :-) But I do believe it was a first major stab at a non-Christian community.

Second : Once they were printed, and the protests came from Danish Muslims, the newspaper could have gone out and said : We didn't realise that it was such a sensitive subject, and that it could be seen as such an affront, we apologize ... and the story would - in all probability - have ended there.

Third : We are now in October 2005. Ambassadors from Muslim countries expressed concern, and asked for a meeting with the Danish Prime Minister. At this point, someone should have reminded the man (PM), that courtesy doesn't cost anything. He ought to have taken the meeting, and spent time explaining to the ambassadors that the press and the government are two completely seperate entities in this country, rather than sending them a letter saying so. In a face-to-face meeting, he could also have shown them Danish cartoonist Roald Als' depiction of himself as a caveman to prove his point. And to show that it isn't Muslims "everyone" is after, he could then have shown them Monty Pythons "Life of Brian" or Jens Jørgen Thorsens (rather boring) Jesus-film.

Fourth : The cartoons appeared in September 2005. Someone has had an interest in keeping the story, and the rage, alive, and have been conscientiously fanning the flame since then. This (or probably "these") someone carries a lot of responsibility for bringing the situation this far.

Fifth : It's always the idiots who gets the press. Right now, it's the idiots at Jyllands-Posten, the idiots in the Danish government, and the idiots in the Middle East who get all the big pictures, all the stories, all the attention.

Sixth : This is a very good reminder to all of us, that Christians can poke fun at Christians, and Muslims can poke fun of Muslims, but don't try to mix the faiths. It is bad taste for a Christian to tell jokes about Muslims, just as it is bad taste for Muslims to tell jokes about Christians. This holds true, not just for religious jokes, but for gender-jokes and nationality-jokes as well.

Seventh : And what am I going to say to the congregations gathering in the churches I serve, today ? I really don't know ... which is possibly why I am spending this Sunday morning writing this blog.
I have written a nice sermon, based on today's lectionary, but I'll probably not hold it. I feel that I must adress the issues inherent in a situation which now includes the burning down of embassies.

I will probably remind everyone (and "everyone" in the following includes myself), that the great majority of Muslims around the world are, like the great majority of Christians, peace-loving people, who just want to live their ordinary lives.

I will remind everyone, that stupidity comes in all forms, shapes, faiths, colours, genders and ages, and that any community, no matter how you define it, has it's share of idiots. The bad thing happens, when one set of idiots turn to violence, and the worse thing happens, when another set of idiots decide to answer in kind. This pulls the not-quite-idiots into the conflict, and instead of having just two minor groups of idiots, shouting at each other, you suddenly have a mob ... and it is a well-known fact, that the IQ of a mob, any mob of any faith in any country in this world, dwindles proportionally with the number of people in the mob.
The bad thing has happened. I just hope and pray, that the worse will not.

I will remind everyone, that the fact that "this group" has idiots in it, does not mean that "this group" is a bunch of idiots. Therefore the Danish community "in general" should not take out our frustration, anger and fear on the Muslim community of Denmark.

And what more ?
Pray for illumination.
Pray for understanding.
Pray for peace.
Please pray with me.
Thank you, and God bless you.

Sunday, January 29, 2006
Lectionary readings :
Isaiah 40:26-31
Romans 4:18-22
Matthew 14:22-33

I'm very late with this one. Sorry, but ... life.

Jesus ... and Peter ... walking the stormy waves of lake Kinnereth.
It's a very, very well-known image.
To walk on water is - at least in this country - synonymous with doing everything right, and getting maximum benefit from it.
... which could be said to be slightly odd, because the benefit gained by the two people who do walk on water in this story, is being tortured and executed ...

But the story is so well known, that jokes are being told, which pivot around this one, and they would not be told, if you had to start people out with the gospel-story.
And yet, it is one of the "uncomfortable" stories.
Because ... frankly ... we know, we the sensible 21st century people of the western world, we know that it is not possible to walk on water unless it is frozen.
So quite a lot of ink, and quite a few forests, have been spent explaining away the uncomfortable miracle (and this is a very frequent occurence with the miracle-stories in both the Old and the New Testament).
The problem about that, however, is, that if you take away the miracle, you take away the story, and also the things we might learn from it, disregarding whether we believe the miracle or not. In order to understand the story, we need to accept the miracle. It isn't just part of the story, it is the centre of it, and the part from which the rest gains it's significance.

So, let's try to look a bit closer at the component parts.
First there's the storm.
Now, whenever we encounter a storm in the bible, and there is water involved, we have an internal reference to Genesis 1, where the spirit of God blows over the waters of chaos and calms them (for a more direct picture of this, Psalm 104 might be useful, as might Psalm 89).
What is essential is, that the waters represent chaos. Not neccesarily evil, but that which opposes the creative order of God.
So, when Jesus walks through the waters, in the storm, we are not dealing with an ordinary little miracle. This is God, the creator of Heavens and Earth, who once again subdues the threatening waters.
What is more, at his command, Peter can do the same !
And this is where the story can get a very personal connection indeed.
No so much with regard to water-walking capabilites or the lack thereof, more with regard to doing the impossible.
Because we can do the impossible.
When God commands, we can do it, just like Peter did !

And when it happens, to us as it does to Peter, that we suddenly realise that we are doing something we can't, and we fall off, plump into the murky, stormy waves of life at it's really bad, it's good to know that we can do something.
We can ask for help !
And we get it.
Just like Peter did.

To me, love is walking on water. It's a dangerous business, where we constantly fall through. It's a risky endavour at best, where we are at our most vulnerable, and where our lives are constantly on the line.
And no, I'm not talking of the big, romantic / erotic love here.
I'm talking of the "everyday" love, which makes the world and our lives work, and a powerful (the most powerful) expression (to my mind) is the love between parent and child.

We have all been children, and as such, we know how very hurt and bewildered we are, when our parent/s do not see us or love us. And being children, we take the burden on ourselves. When mom / dad doesn't love me, it must be because I am not loveable.
That is an awful way to hurt a child. It is a terrible wound to get.
... and as parents, we do the same.
We put the burden on our children, when we find ourselves unable to cope, and to love them. And let's be quite frank about this : there are times when we, as parents, do not love our children. It might be just a split-second where we wish them at Jericho (or worse places) and we might feel horrible with ourselves for feeling that way. But the emotion, however fast you squash it, is there. What is worse ... the child will pick it up !
And when this happens, we plunge into the stormy waves, drowning.
Now, I'll probably (possibly, hopefully) write much, much more about love in this blog, because the love between parent and child is one of the most powerful forces in the lives of most people, and therefore, one of the most powerful descriptions of the relationship between God and man.
In this post, however, I'll just remind you, that you can reach out and ask for help.
... and that you should.
Love is walking on water, and to do that you need to have your spirit, firmly fixed on the only one who can do it, the only one who can help you do it.
So ... Open your spirit to recieve the love that comes, always, from God your parent (!)
Open your ears and hear the command, that you should love as you are loved.
Reach out, and let Him take you by the hand, guiding you, holding you, helping you.
And walk safely on the stormy waters of your life :-)
God bless you.