I Miss Him Already!

            

            A bit of sadness crept over me as I watched the departing ceremony of Pope Francis.  His presence in our midst has called each of us to a more joyous and merciful way of living.  As a nation we have watched him embrace persons in wheelchairs, kiss children, visit those in prison, meet with victims of clergy sexual abuse, reprimand bishops, chide those in political power, and call for us to turn away from a consumerist culture. 

            A former student of mine posted this perceptive question: “could this be a time of spiritual awakening?”  Indeed, it could be.  People from varied perspectives have repeated and tweeted phrases from his various speeches and homilies.  His visit has not simply touched the Roman Catholic faithful, but Protestants and persons of other faith traditions.  It is been a particular joy to me to hear the soaring music of the church.

No religious figure rivals this pope in moral authority, and he speaks across ecclesial and religious boundaries.  His capacity to nudge people to live ethically is remarkable.  He is above all a pastor and practical theologian, and he speaks with remarkable clarity.

Hardship has honed his humility.  As a young Jesuit leader, he was imperious with his priests and was demoted.  He attempted a doctorate in Germany and never managed to finish it.  He spent time in barrios and became deeply acquainted with poverty.  Now he calls the world to notice those marginalized by the global market and to live more simply for their sake.

On these matters I agree with the Holy Father.  Yet, as a minister who has spent her life working for justice for women in the church, I must register a concern. Yesterday, Maureen Dowd of the New York Times wrote that Francis would be a perfect 19^th century pope.  She is known for her acerbic take on matters; however, the warrant for her critique is the pope’s recalcitrance on the role of women in the church.  While he applauded the good work of women religious, they were always ancillary to the center of worship and the leadership of the church.  The visual imagery of the pope surrounded by men at every turn was striking.

While it is not possible to do everything at once, surely the marginalization of women in the church requires sustained attention.  The pope offered a slight nod to the possibility of married priests; why not open the conversation about the ordination of women?  Do not both fall under the rubric of tradition rather than apostolic dogma?

At every event, the pope invited us to pray for him.  I have begun doing so, for the world needs his continuing witness.  I will also pray that he will be able to hear those persistent voices calling the church to welcome its daughters to every role within it.  That would surely move him into the 21^st century! 

Molly T. Marshall

Central prepares students to craft the future with God.

Working for Peace through Justice

My time in Myanmar has once again demonstrated the power of global partnerships.  As the Peace Studies Center and Central collaborated on a workshop in human sexuality, we have learned of the places where education, peer support, and advocacy are most needed.

            Our sister school, Myanmar Institute of Theology, is a leader on so many fronts in its beleaguered nation.  For example, the establishment of a Peace Studies Center seeks to infuse a Christian theological and ethical interpretation of peace.  The government interprets peace as quietism, i.e., people are quiet about the injustices they experience and witness.  They do not protest the compromise of their religious liberty or human rights.

            The mission of the Peace Studies Center is something different altogether, and their initiatives are bold.  Courageous in being willing to engage the realities among varied constituencies such as domestic violence, the Center is a response to the desperate needs and burning issues in the churches and larger society.  As its description says: It “keeps walking its journey of peace-building in Myanmar.”

            The Center follows the teaching of Oscar Romero who wrote:

Peace is not the product of terror or fear.

Peace is not the silence of cemeteries.

Peace is not the silent result of violent repression.

Peace is the generous, tranquil contribution of all to

the good of all.  Peace is dynamism. Peace is generosity.

It is right and it is duty.

How significant it is to have such a resource located in a seminary so that students learn new skills in building peace and transforming conflicts.

            The Center calls persons to understand the destructiveness of violence and its self-perpetuating grip in societies.  Yet it is more than a think tank.  Leaders of the Peace Studies Center, Maung Maung Yin and Mana Tun, regularly travel to villages to train pastors and laypersons in the transforming initiatives that make for peace.

            In the near future, Dan Buttry will be meeting with some faculty and me about how Central might think about a Peace Studies emphasis.  Whether this might mean a new degree or a center is undetermined at this point—and it will require good thinking on the part of faculty and clear interest on the part of donors.

            These faithful scholar-practitioners at Myanmar Institute of Theology inspire me.  They are willing to risk for the clear imperative of Jesus.  Blessed are the peacemakers, indeed.

            Molly T. Marshall

Central prepares women and men to craft the future with God.

Human Rights, Dignity, and Respect

            

            This week I am participating in a human sexuality training workshop in Yangon, Myanmar, sponsored by Peace Studies Center of Myanmar Institute of Theology, Colors Rainbow, and Central Seminary, through the funding of the Arcus Foundation. This conference draws together persons from a variety of perspectives, all working for human rights, especially for those who experience discrimination because of gender identity or sexual orientation.  Indeed, discrimination may be too mild a term when criminalization of sexual acts, torture, or even the death penalty are involved.

            Colleagues Julie Kilmer, Maung Maung Yin, Mana Tun, and I will lecture and facilitate discussion of the interface between theological ethics, biblical interpretation, public policy, and advocacy for human rights.  Representatives from Equality Myanmar will also call attention to international treaties and the situation in Myanmar. Today’s sessions have been earnest, lively, and engaging, with persons from disparate contexts sharing insights.  It is important to get such voices at the table.

            The room is populated with activists, scholars, theological students, and community developers.  What draws us together is common concern for justice for sexual minorities. Thankfully, in our day, new attention is given to the threatened lives of these persons.  Deeply embedded homophobic and transphobic attitudes, often combined with lack of legal protection, exposes LGBT persons to egregious violations of their human rights. Young gay persons in attendance are glad to hear a progressive Christian perspective.

            The UN, under the leadership of Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, continues to call the global community to justice.   He writes:

Some say that sexual orientation and gender identity are sensitive issues.  I understand.  Like many of my generation, I did not grow up talking about these issues.  But I learned to speak out because lives are at stake, and because it is our duty under the United Nations Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to protect the rights of everyone everywhere.

            My lecture will call attention to the ways in which religious perspectives and misuse of sacred texts have been used as weapons against women, and by extension, against LGBT individuals.  The perspectival bias in biblical hermeneutics is unquestionably patriarchal, and sexual discrimination has been traditionally derived from the Bible—written by men, for men, with little consideration given to the lives of women.  Likewise, same-sex behavior receives marginal attention in the Bible; when mentioned, the primary concern is to protect the prerogatives of males, for whom any experience of “effeminization” undermines their status.

            It is an interesting time to be in Myanmar.  Recently, the parliament passed Protection of Race and Religion Bills, which are quite regressive. Not only do they compromise religious liberty regarding conversion, and women’s rights, but have

ongoing implications for the LGBT community as these laws embolden oppressive actions.

            During a regional parliamentary session in Mandalay in August 2015, the region’s minister of border and security affairs, Dr. Myint Kyu, called on police to arrest gay people.  He pledged that “we are constantly taking action to have the gays detained at the police stations, education them, then hand them back to their parents.”  Abuse is a regular practice, and his harsh words give warrant for it.

            A conference like this is important work, and I am grateful for Central’s support and commitment.  I trust we will continue to develop ways to equip pastoral leaders for knowledgeable and compassionate ministry.

            Molly T. Marshall

           Central prepares women and men for seeking God, shaping church, and serving humanity.

What Do You Want to Bring About in this World?

            Quite a buzz surrounds David Brooks’ fine book The Road to Character.   The author senses that something has radically shifted in our culture over the last 40-50 years, and self-advancement far outstrips self-effacement.  He concludes that the psychotherapeutic focus on self-esteem has rendered an ethos of the “Big Me, which neglects the common good.  Brooks is attempting nothing less than recovery of what he calls “an older moral ecology.”

            Sounding a bit like St. Augustine on sin, Dorothy Day on spiritual discipline, and Reinhold Niebuhr on “moral realism,” Brooks is calling contemporary persons to useful virtue, entailing humility, sacrifice, vocation, and passionate love.  He is rightly suspicious of the generic commencement address that exhorts graduates to “find their passion.”  Rather, he suggests following the insights of Victor Frankl, Holocaust survivor and Austrian neurologist, to allow suffering to guide our thinking and pay attention to what life requires of us.

http://subtledesigner.blogspot.com/2010/09/if-proverb.html

            Wisdom is an essential companion on the road to character.  Proverbs personifies her with these words:

Wisdom cries out in the street; in the square she raises her voice. At the busiest corner she cries out; at the entrance of the city gates she speaks: “How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple?  How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge?” (Proverbs 1:20-22)

Wisdom is both gift of God and fruit of keen discernment.  Wisdom can be gained in the marketplace if one pays attention, and the knowledge that comes from above is not absent even there.

Reid, Robert, 1862-1929. Wisdom Mural, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN.

            I saw a short segment over the weekend on the “oldest woman on Wall Street.”  Now over a hundred, she has worked there well over fifty years.  The interviewer asked her how she had been successful with her firm, gaining the enduring trust of her clients.  She responded with, “I have been extremely conservative, seeking to be wise with investments.”  Giving priority to their concerns has ensured her own success.  Her labor has contributed to the interests of others in a significant way.

            Learners come to seminary—and faculty members remain there—because they desire to be useful to God’s larger purpose in this world.  They believe that Gospel values of peace, justice, friendship, sacrifice, and mercy are instruments of grace.  They also trust that God has called them to help relieve great suffering in this world.  Together, faculty and students forge a vision for what they want to bring about in this world. 

            A theological school remembers what God requires, and it does not shrink back from the truth of the human condition. A seminary can be an outpost for God’s mission, surveying the horizon so that it might meet a rising need in the church. 

            Molly T. Marshall

Central prepares women and men for seeking God, shaping church, and serving humanity.