8. Because I Follow Jesus, I love you.
I move toward “the other.”
I break down walls of hostility.
i stand with you in solidarity.
you are made in God’s image.
strong-
i am your servant.
benevolent
I practice human-kindness.
15. All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful:
The Lord God made them all.
- Ms. Cecil Alexander (1848)
16. Each little flower that opens,/ Each little bird that sings,/
He made their glowing colors./ He made their tiny wings.
The purple headed mountains,/ The river running by,/ The
sunset and the morning/ That brightens up the sky.
The cold wind in the winter,/ The pleasant summer sun,/
The ripe fruits in the garden,/ He made them every one.
The tall trees in the greenwood,/The meadows where we
play,/ The rushes by the water,/ To gather every day.
He gave us eyes to see them,/ And lips that we might tell/
How great is God Almighty,/ Who has made all things
well.
All things bright and beautiful,/ All creatures great and
small,/ All things wise and wonderful:/ The Lord God
made them all.
17. The rich man in his castle,
The poor man at his gate,
He made them, high or lowly,
And ordered their estate.
All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful:
The Lord God made them all.
18. Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to
war,
With the cross of Jesus going on before.
Christ, the royal master, leads against the
foe;
Forward into battle see his banners go!
-Sabine Baring-Gould
19. France, 1847
Placide Clappeau, a French wine merchant,
mayor of the French town Roquemaure,
writes a poem.
Adolphe Adam sets it to music.
Later the song is translated into English by John
S. Dwight –
It is said to have been the first music ever
broadcast over radio.
20. O holy night, the stars are brightly shining;
It is the night of the dear Savior’s birth!
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope, the weary soul rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees, O hear the angel voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born!
O night, O holy night, O night divine!
21. Truly He taught us to love one another;
His law is love and His Gospel is peace.
Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother
And in His Name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
Let all within us praise His holy Name!
Christ is the Lord! O praise His name forever!
His pow’r and glory evermore proclaim!
His pow’r and glory evermore proclaim!
1847
23. The Sermons We Preach
- Who is scapegoated/condemned?
- What virtues are aspired to?
- What vices are condemned?
- What Scriptures are emphasized?
- What subjects are avoided?
And vice versa?
27. Meanwhile in the
wilderness:
The Essenes
- Hyper-clearn
-Hyper-puritan
- Isolated communes
- Multiple daily baptisms
28. What would it mean for John ...
- to leave his father’s priestly work
- to leave the Temple
- to leave Jerusalem
- to avoid the Essenes
- and to baptize ...
29. in the Jordan River?
- in public
- in running water
- in an “undeveloped”
setting
- with a message, not of
cleanliness, but ...
31. What does it mean for
Jesus to accept John’s
baptism?
32. What would it
mean for the
Spirit in the form
of a dove to
descend upon
Jesus?
33. And what would it mean
for Jesus’ disciples to
expand John’s “guerrilla
theatre” around the
world?
34. Baptism - not into a
new “hyper-clean”
religion - but into
Christ, a new
humanity, a new
kingdom, a new way
of life?
35. Peter, Acts 10:
“God has shown me I
should never call
anyone impure or
unclean.”
“I now realize ... God
does not show
favoritism.”
36. Baptism into this new way of
being human ...
Born again ...
Given a new identity ...
In the flowing river ...
In solidarity with everyone
everywhere.
44. For Paul ...
Eucharist as passover ... not day of
atonement.
Meal of liberation ...
Meal of anticipation ...
45. We don’t need to offer a sacred gift to
appease a hostile God ...
Rather, a gracious God offers a
sacred gift of love to us ...
so that we will be reconciled to God
and to one another.
46. Sacrifice is transformed in the New
Testament ...
Living sacrifices (Rom 12)
Sacrifice of praise
Sacrifice of doing good and sharing
(Hebrews)
48. Christ died for our sins ....
The coach put in Smith for Jones. (substitute)
I paid $20 for the book. (exchange)
I got a ticket for speeding. (consequence)
I took an aspirin for my headache. (cure)
49. Meal of unity ...
Meal of solidarity ...
Meal of one-anotherness
50.
51. how will our liturgies of
hostility be
transformed ...
53. From Catherine Maresca (Catechesis of the Good Shepherd) -
Finally, [Maria] Cavalletti emphasizes the importance of being specific.
You can’t teach children language without teaching children a language.
She writes, “Wishing to stay on a vague level without any specific
content is the same as wanting a child to talk without using any
particular language.”9 Some parents say they don’t want their children
to learn a particular religion because they want them to be free to
choose their own. But these children are missing the opportunity to
become spiritually literate.
To be initiated into the signs of their religious tradition creates the
possibility of grasping the signs of many traditions, and of respecting
the integrity of each of those traditions. So we need to be religious in a
particular way, true to the faith we affirm for ourselves, in order to
foster the spiritual and religious literacy of our children. world this is a
service to our children. We have to be specific.
54. While we don’t reject other traditions, a particular
religion has to be our starting point. To say, “I’m
spiritual but not religious” is like saying, “I’m linguistic
but don’t speak any particular language.” Everyone has
innate linguistic capacity that gets activated as one
learns a particular language or languages. Likewise,
everyone has spiritual capacity that gets activated and
mobilized through becoming religious in a particular
way. Becoming religious in a particular way is
foundational for relating to the religious other.
55. Children who have learned their native language well are poised
to learn new languages with greater ease. Children who learned
the language of their religious tradition are likewise poised to
grasp the sacred signs of another tradition. As we nurture the
spiritual life of young children with sacred signs, we
simultaneously build the foundation of respect and understanding
for others’ beliefs. With spiritual literacy, faith and interfaith
formation work hand in hand, promoting in turn a more peaceful
world.
Children, Signs, and Spiritual
Literacy: An Interfaith Experience
By Catherine Maresca
