Hawthorn The Happy
Epiphany 2011
for Everyone
Fun with a Purpose
The Happy Hawthorn gathered up After the last of Yule Burnt in the twelfth night fire To celebrate his rule
In this Issue . . . “Greed, America and the Rich Young Ruler” — Mark VanSteenwyk . . . . . 2
Hear the Happy Hawthorn Sing a lullaby As all the baleful nobles Fall down and cry
Orthadox Troparion For Theophany/Epiphany — Martin Madansky . . . . . . . 4
Peasant children fast asleep While princelings toss and turn The king and queen bellow wails As the palace starts to burn Hawthorn crown upon the head Of the Holy King The people dance ’round the fire While their children sing
“A Recipe for Celebration” — Boo Johnson . . . . . . . . . . 6
“Time Lapsed” — Brett Taylor 5
Prayers for Epiphany . . . . . . 7 D.I.Y. “Fix yr Bike Flat” — Aubrey Harding . . . . . . . . 9 “In Our Dreams We Have Seen Another World” — Subcomandante Marcos 10 “The Going Forth of the Word” — Brett Taylor . . . . . . . . . . 11 Missio-Dei News — Amy VanSteenwyk . . . . . . . . . . . 13
The ga z where e, which is lookin it cann g We bo o th spe t see, turns ak of : What was n ot reta Does ined. this be g in or e nd?
- Fern ando Pessoa
Greed, America and the Rich Young Ruler A CERTAIN RULER asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
belongs to the poor (Luke 6:20).
Perhaps it is Luke’s assumption that there are no “innocent” independently wealthy “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. people. Rather, Luke’s approach to poverty “No one is good—except God alone. You and wealth must be understood in light of know the commandments: ‘You shall not Jubilee. According to the Hebrew Jubilee commit adultery, you shall not murder, you (which at the very least informed Jesus’ shall not steal, you shall not give false testi- approach to economics), if someone has mony, honor your father and mother.’” amassed wealth, it doesn’t NECESSARILY matter if it is directly at the expense of the “All these I have kept since I was a boy,” he poor. Hoarding would be seen as INTRINsaid. SICALLY stealing from the poor. And, as such, it would When Jesus heard this, he have been unjust. Take a look said to him, “You still lack at Leviticus 25 to read more one thing. Sell everything on what YWHW was going you have and give to the for with the Jubilee. poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then I’m not advocating that come, follow me.” Christians practice Jubilee exactly as understood in When he heard this, he Leviticus 25 (and elsewhere). became very sad, because I don’t believe we should just he was very wealthy. Jesus cut-and-paste the Torah into looked at him and said, our contemporary Christian “How hard it is for the rich to enter the king- lives and try to live it out as-is. However, dom of God! Indeed, it is easier for a camel when Jesus begins to call people into the to go through the eye of a needle than for Kingdom of God, he raises the bar on the rich to enter the kingdom of God.” Jubilee, rather than watering it down. If you read through Christ’s teachings on wealth The Gospel of Luke (and its sequel: Acts) and poverty, it becomes apparent that Jesus isn’t an ethereal philosophical text. Luke wants people to live in an ongoing practice doesn’t deal with wealth and poverty abof Jubilee. The early chapters of Acts show stractly, rather in Luke we see poor people this in practice. And we can also assume and wealthy people engaged directly. that, given early church practices and teachings on wealth and poverty, they extended We learn in this passage that it is seemtheir Jubilee-inspired economic practices to ingly impossible for the rich to enter the aliens and stranger who were, in Leviticus, Kingdom, for probably a number of reasons excluded from Jubilee. including the simple truth that the kingdom
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Whenever I talk about Jubilee, people push back. Especially if they have money. The modern USAmerican understanding of justice is quite different than the justice of Jesus. Nowhere can we find in his Jubilee vision that a wealthy person needs only to give alms to be justified, since wealth comes from the Land, and the Land, which ultimately belongs to God, is granted to His people. In light of this, the call of the wealthy isn’t simply to be charitable. Charity doesn’t get at justice. Even when Jubilee ceases to be rooted in the promised land, it is still assumed that, in Christ, everything belongs to the Lord and should, therefore, be redistributed to those in need as an act of justice–not as an act of “charity.” Before I dive back into the story of the Rich Young Ruler, I want to make a quick statement about an understanding of Jesus that often gets in the way of a healthy reading of Scripture.
But what of the rich and the powerful? In this encounter with the Rich Young Ruler, we see the way that they are to enter into the Kingdom. They also need to be converted into human beings. If the poor become marginalized and dehumanized because of oppressive power and the crushing weight of social, economic, and religious systems, then the ones who wield that power and create or support those systems also become dehumanized, but in a different way. In fact, if you read through Luke/Acts carefully, it becomes apparent that Luke isn’t simply rejecting the wealthy (it is valid to believe that Luke himself was wealthy at some point), but is instead deeply interested in the salvation of the wealthy, which requires them to divest of their wealth.
But let’s get practical. What is, ultimately, the goal of the wealthy divesting of their wealth? We often use Jesus as an example of the The goal is to share possessions…which is downwardly-mobile. It is assumed that, in what we see in the early chapters of Acts. Heaven, Jesus was kinda wealthy…and that When wealthy people come to faith, they he left that all behind to slum it with the are to share everything with the poor, who poor folks. But Jesus isn’t simply someone receive it. But the poor and the wealthy don’t who decided to serve the poor. He was poor. then go their separate ways, rather, they live He didn’t speak as the affluent who advoas family. The goal of downward mobility cates for the poor…he spoke as a representa- isn’t mere charity, but solidarity. tive of the poor. I wonder if, to Jesus, it was a more condescending act to address the To Luke, and to Jesus, Mammon (money) poor or to address the Rich Young Ruler? is like a false God who woos away the Rich Maybe he looks at everyone the same–but and keeps them from being a part of the I wonder if he held more pity for the Rich People of God. Mammon isn’t a neutral Young Ruler than he did for the poor Lepers thing–it is a perilous tool that can either he sometimes healed. purchase solidarity or serve as a wall dividing the wealthy from the poor. Whether Jesus addressed the wealthy or the poor, his goal was to call folks into a righSo, like the Rich Young Ruler, we USAmeriteous relationship with God and neighbor. cans are being asked to embrace the ChrisJesus’ sermons and acts serve to convert the tian Jubilee. marginalized into human beings. His are acts of liberation for the oppressed and the So, given the way the early Church ran with poor. Jesus’ economic vision (which was inspired by the Hebrew Jubilee), how should we live?
Orthadox Troparion for Theophany/ Epiphany When Thou, O Lord, was baptized in the Jordan, The Worship of the voice of the Father bore witness to thee, calling thee His beloved son, and the Spirit, in the form of a dove, confirmed the truthfulness of the word. O’ Christ our God who has revealed yourself and enlightened the world, Glory to you!
Ode To My Socks Maru Mota brought me a pair of socks that she knitted with shepherdess hands, two socks soft as rabbits. I put my feet into them as into two cases knitted with threads of twilight and sheep’s wool. Wild socks, my feet were two wool fish, two big sharks of ultramarine crossed by a golden braid, two giant blackbirds, two cannons: my feet were honored in this way by these heavenly socks. They were so beautiful that for the first time my feet seemed to me unacceptable like two decrepit firemen, firemen unworthy of that embroidered fire, of those shining socks. Anyway I resisted the sharp temptation to save them the way school boys keep lightning bugs, the way scholars collect rare books, I resisted the mad impulse to put them in a golden cage and each day to feed them birdseed and the meat of rosy melon. Like explorers in the forest who give up the finest young deer to the roasting spit and eat it with regret, I stretched out my feet and put on the lovely socks and then my shoes. And this is the moral of my ode: beauty is twice beautiful and goodness is doubly good when when it concerns two wool socks in winter. ~ Pablo Neruda
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Time Lapsed He must have seen it spring like a storm leaping spasmodically across grassy meadows. Leaving in its wake hideous clusters: cement and smoking stacks polluting the sky’s dignity with viscid smog. Billions of incessant lights blinking through every darkness and the awful rumbling of machines that never sleep… the chatter of a million animals that know not quite how to be still. I imagine we looked something like time lapsed. On film: A single ethereal flower withered, bowing low: a long sigh. Never lifting a delicate head again. Observed in one quick flash: an easy death, holy land desecrated. Air wreaks of chemical vapor. Fruit is sour with poison. Night glows demonic Bird songs drowned an ocean of senseless static. I don’t feel anything! I’m afraid for my health. I don’t want an easy death! I don’t need a convenience or for many things to bear my name. I need the peace of simplicity: the gentle flow of the river at the fisher’s knees the quiet mind of the gardener, hands deep in soil. A life rooted where dark is just dark and the light rests under the blessed golden sun. Rewound.
A Recipe for Celebration Cooking Instructions: Add wine, cinnamon sticks, opened (serves 3-4 people) cardamon pods, and cloves together Dear friends, in a pot. Heat at a medium temperature until almost boiling. Reduce Warm greetings from Norway. Here heat to low and let sit for 15 minat school we have been drinking a utes. In a separate pot, pour brandy wonderful winter beverage that I over sugar cubes. Light on fire with want to share with you. It is called a long match or heat on stove until Julegløgg or “Glogg” for short. sugar is melted. Add to wine. Strain. Serve hot in mug with a spoon full of Enjoy! shaved almonds and raisins. Your friend, Boo Note:
Julegløgg
Eating ginger bread and/or clemenIngriedients: tines is very Norwegian as well. 1 bottle red wine (or non-alcoholic alternative of apple or grape juice) 2 Cinnamon Sticks 10 Cardamon Pods 10 Cloves 12 Sugar Cubes Shaved almonds Raisins 1 cup Brandy (optional)
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D.I.Y. Fix Yr. Bicycle Flat This is an easy fix, and there is no reason to keep you off your bike!! Materials needed: • Two tire levers (these can be picked up at any bike shop, are fairly cheap and can be reused many times) • Patch kit (not the self adhesive kind) or a new tube • Air pump The first thing is to remove the tire from the bike. This can either be done by loosening the bolt holding the tire to the frame with a wrench or if it is quick release wheel, you can just loosen the skewer and remove it. The next step is to deflate the tube. You can do this by pushing the nipple in the valve down with the lever or something else. Once the tube is deflated, you can insert both tire levers between the rim and under the tire next to each other. While holding one in place, pull the other along the rim pulling the edge of the tire onto the outside of the rim. Do this until the whole side of the tire is outside of the rim. Repeat this with the other side. Once the tire is completely on the outside of the wheel, remove the tube from between the wheel and the tire, carefully removing the valve stem first. See if you can locate the hole in the tube. If it cannot be found, partially inflate the tube and place in a bucket of water and look for the air bubbles escaping when the tube is squeezed. Mark the hole with a sharpie or something. If the tube has been blown out, or the hole is unusually large, purchase a new tube from a bike shop (usually $6). Dry the tube thoroughly and using the sandpaper in the patch kit, sand down the area surrounding the hole. Carefully cover the area with the adhesive provided (you can use rubber cement), wait 10 seconds (until it is sticky) and then apply the patch, making sure it is smooth, tight and there are no air bubbles. Wait 30 seconds for it to dry before putting everything back together. After the patch dries on the tube, or with a new tube, place it back on the rim, inserting the valve stem first, with the tire over the tube. Using the tire levers, tuck the edges of the tire back into the rim. Do this on both sides being careful not to pinch the tube and get another flat. Once it is finished, carefully rock the tire back and make sure the tube is not caught. Carefully re-inflate the tire to the pressure specified (will be written on the tire). Reattach to bike and ride ride ride!!!
In Our Dreams We Have Seen Another World reprinted from Our Word is Our Weapon “the selected writings of Subcomandante Insurgente Marcos�
March 1, 1994 To the Mexican people To the people and governments of the world: IN OUR DREAMS we have seen another world, an honest world, a world decidedly more fair than the one in which we now live. We saw that in this world there was no need for armies; peace, justice and liberty were so common that no one talked about them as far-off concepts, but as things such as bread, birds, air, water, like book and voice. This is how the good things were named in this world. And in this world there was reason and goodwill in the government, and the leaders were clear-thinking people; they ruled by obeying. this world was not a dream from the past, it was not something that came to us from our ancestors. It came from ahead, from the next step we were going to take. And so we started to move forward to attain this dream, make it come and sit down at our tables, light our homes, grow in our cornfields, fill the hearts of our children, wipe our sweat, heal our history. And it was for all. This is what we want. Nothing more, nothing less. Now we follow our path toward our true heart to ask it what we must do. We will return to our mountains to speak in our own tongue and in our own time. Thank you to the brothers and sisters who looked after us all these days. May your footsteps follow our path. Good-bye. Liberty! Justice! Democracy! Respectfully, Subcomandante Marcos from the mountains of the Mexican Southeast
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Going Forth of a Word The Word Was born in blood, Grew in the dark body, beating, And took flight through the lips and mouth. Farther away and nearer Still, still it came From lands which had turned to stone, Lands weary of their poor tribes, For when grief took to the roads The people set out and arrived And married new land and water To grow their words again. And so this is the inheritance; This is the wavelength which connects us With dead men and the dawning Of new beings not yet come to light. —Pablo Neruda THE WORD BORN in blood, part of body, sprung from soul, takes on a life of its own once released at the lips. The act of utterance is a sending forth, a giving of life. As there is no returning to the womb in the birth of the body, the Word, once sent out, cannot return to the dark mouth from which it came. Word and life move ever forward, sowing seeds unto death. Weak life sows weak seeds and weak words meet their end in short time, but a strong life replicates far and wide and a mighty word echoes long, falling on many ears.
into the life consuming maw of Moloch, who demands blood for blood and spoke of a greater sort of sacrifice, breaking its jaw in two. It has turned the logic of justice on it’s head. To that which was “an eye for an eye,” it has spoken “Love your enemies, do good to them that hate you, bless them that curse you, pray for them that despitefully use you. To him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and from him that taketh away thy cloak withhold not thy coat also.” Has any other Word been as powerful as this: a Word that does away with the distinction of friend and enemy, that renders a curse powerless, that lays retaliation, war, death itself in the grave? This is the new sacrifice: the self lain low on the alter, the dissolution of the ego, death to the petty pride that sets brothers and sister against eachother.
Yet division is still abudant, war still ravages our land, and pride and greed still rule the human heart. For all of the ears this powerful Word of God has fallen on, for all the miles that it has traveled, not much seems to be different from the time before it was first spoken. We have now more than ever a reason to deapair. It seems daily the condition of the world is not only not getting better, but is even getting worse. We often feel a There is a Word so mighty that it is shapgreat sense of hoplessness looming over ing the very ground under our feet! It has our heads. “How can I change anything?” echoed over millions of miles and it lives we ask ourselves. “How can anything I do, and is beckoning all to hear its call. Love: possibly be of any significance?” All of the the word of God, God in a Word, God evil in this world that continues to hold sway spoken Godself into an earthly existence. seems so insurrmountable. The Church, Christ, son of God, Word become flesh. The what is supposed to be the living body of Word has gone forth! It has marched right
Christ on earth, his hands to heal, and his mouth to continue to speak and carry forward his Word to the ends of the earth, sowing seeds of rebirth, has simply continued to live in the self serving patterns of the world.
command to be given over completely to Love.
In the face of all of this, we can still hear the Word’s gentle call, and where what looks our impending doom tempts us towards despair, We hear all around us a message of fear it calls us away from it. The indefatigable being preached, we hear stories told of a and undefeatable Word! It pushes forward God that demands a blood sacrifice paid to in the darkness and brings with it light to appease his wrath. We are still bowing to show the way of peace. It lives and breathes Moloch! We are inundated with messages in bodies growing. It pushes forward, and that if we don’t behave (or rather believe) a it calls us to push forward, to not give into particular way, our blood too, must be spilt. despair. In this way an inheritance is being The Words going forth from the “body prepared for our young. This of Christ today” are communicatis the forming of the ing anything but God’s Word new creation. And or God in a Word which is so we remain hopeLOVE! The result is that instead full and faithful, of a Church that is filled carrying forward and overflowing with and the Word by mouth spreading Love throughand by deed, saying out the world, we have “Love your enone that is overflowing emies,” and to the with and spreading it’s best of our limited fear. We have a body of abilities, loving our Christ that is trembling enemies. In this way with fear, that is so affriad the Word carries of it’s own destruction that forward not as empty it goes about condemlanguage, but as living ing the world to and transformative. keep its own life safe and secure. As the Word grows in our bodies and as we And so, we are angry that carry it forward birthing our God has been dressed up in the clothes it and giving it life, we hope that we of Moloch. we are scared, not for a nearwill see the day that it ultimately defeates all ing eternity where our brothers and sisters other words. Where the Word has promised will burn in the flames of hell, but scared an end to war, hate, retaliation, we long to that they are already are in the flame and see it fulfilled. Where it has promised the that they will never find the courage to pull laying to rest of death, we long to see it so. themselves out of it. We are daily challenged Where it has promised the brother and sisby the battle between hope and hopelessness. terhood of all humankind, we wait patiently If Christ, the son of God, Word of God born for the end of our division. We have heard of in flesh came forth carrying Words of such a world ruled only by Love: God in a Word, weight and they have fallen on deaf ears, the Word of God, God spoken Godself into how can we carry them any further? We an earthly existence, and we know that it is are troubled that those, who have heard the being made. Word’s call, still fail to obey its one simple
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MISSIO DEI NEWS NOT MUCH TIME has passed since our last publication, but a quite a lot has happened. We’re excited to report that our chickens have begun laying eggs. We still find each one exciting and relish having fresh eggs almost daily. The huge amounts of snowfall in December gave us plenty of opportunity to build our shovelling muscles. The crew over at Clare house even used their excess snow to build a snow fort (technically called a quinzhee, I’m told) large enough for a few adults to fit in and warm enough to sleep in!
news to share: a full-time job after a long job-hunt. We’re so happy for him as well. The holidays gave many of us a chance to see loved ones here and afar. We got to see Boo who was back from Norway for a few weeks. Those of us that were able gathered to celebrate Christ’s birth together late on Christmas Eve with a vigil in the newly finished space above the garage at Clare House. One thing we are adding to our weekly calendar for those that wish to join us is a Wednesday night gathering at Sattler House after our meal to study the text for the upcoming Sunday service. If you’re in the neighborhood anytime, stop by and you’ll likely find someone home to visit with or come in the evening and join us for dinner. We’d love to see you.
Our broken dryer and leaky washer have led some of us to wash clothes by hand and many to let our clothes air dry, usually inside. It turns out, though, there’s this process called sublimation by which ice in clothes hung out to dry in below freezing temps turns directly into vapor. So if you stop by and see some very rigid laundry hanging on the clotheslines outside, Peace, that’s what’s going on. your Friends at Missio Dei A few people have shuffled around since Kristin Knudson moved out of La Casa. Annie now rooms with Sarah at Clare House and Marty has moved in to La Casa. Magali and Akary will also be moving up to Clare house permanently within the next month. The Ellens family got great news: Carmen’s parents’ visa has finally been approved! They’re expected to come to visit for a few months sometime around early spring. We can’t wait to meet them and welcome them to Minnesota. Marty also has good
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About Us . . .
The Happy Hawthorn is a publication from Missio Dei based loosely on a liturgical calendar filled with fun and challenging content, plus news updates and prayers for the season. Missio Dei is an urban intentional community that includes residential members (in three houses) and members who live nearby. We are commited to following Jesus’ way of simplicity (seeking a sustainable life with a proper relationship to possessions), hospitality (inviting friends and strangers to share our life togther), prayer (being rooted in life giving spiritual rhythms), peacemaking (seeking non-violent ways to resolve conflict), and resistance (breaking our addiction to power as we get in the way of injustice). We are rooted in the West Bank of Minneapolis, committed to Anabaptist beliefs, and seek to embody the radical love of Christ in the shadow of Empire.
What We’re Listening To . . . “Van Lear Rose” by Loretta Lynn
“The Age of Adz” by Sufjan Stevens “Out of the Fertile Crescent” by Ballydowse “A Love Supreme” by John Coltrane “Accoustic Extravaganza” by “The Suburbs” by The Arcade Fire “Another Side of Bob Dylan” by Bob Dylan
Come Visit Us . . .
Sunday evenings at 5 pm, we gather to eat, pray, engage scripture, discuss, and sing together. We meet at Clare House (2717 S. 8th Street in Minneapolis). Wednesday nights at 6:30 pm we have an open potluck style meal, where we welcome anyone to join us in sharing our lives over dinner. We’ve had anywhere from 4 to 30 people join us. The more the merrier, so don’t hesitate to stop by! The meal is at Sattler House (3312 S. 31st Avenue in Minneapolis).
Looking to Help?
You can make tax emepmt monetary donations at www.missio-dei.com or you could help by giving us something from our needs list: Toilet paper Set of end tables or 2 Bike parts/bikes/ bike tools Food Dishwasher or laundry soap Computer in working order for Clare house Plastic window insulation for winter Insulation Dryer Lawn mower Non-folding, stackable chairs for Sunday Rubberized tread material for stairs outside Fence material Bedding Towels and washcloths Sheets- full, twin, queen Toiletries- toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, soap etc. Pillows (sleeping) Pillowcases Straw bales Electrical wiring supplies winter clothing Or anything else you might find helpful!
*For larger items email info@missio-dei. com to schedule a pick up
Missio Dei
2717 8th Street South Minneapolis, MN 55454
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