PERSPECTIVES
Pilgrimage ends on a high O BERAMMERGAU didn’t invent the Passion Play. These were widespread in medieval times, performed throughout the Germanspeaking region as well as in countries such as France, Italy and England. Before and for long after Oberammergau’s villagers made their famous pledge, the most famous Passion Play was that of Benediktbeuren, also in Bavaria, the first known script of which was written in 1300. The oldest complete script of a Passion Play dates to the 14th century. With the Reformation, in most parts of Germany Passion Plays fell out of common usage, but in the Bavarian Alps and Austria they became increasingly popular. It was in that context that the Oberammergau play was born, along with 40 others in the region between 1600 and 1650. Oberammergau gained a measure of pre-eminence in 1750 when its script was thoroughly reworked by the Benedictine Ferdinand Rosner of the nearby Ettal Abbey (which our group had visited the previous day). It was adopted by other Passion Plays throughout Bavaria. When in 1780 Passion Plays were banned in Bavaria—the beginning of a creeping process of anti-clerical secularisation that would culminate in the nationalisation of monasteries—Oberammergau was one of two plays that were given an exemption. The nearmonopoly helped establish Oberammergau’s Passion Play, and in the mid-19th century it began to attract international attention. At the time it was performed only on Sundays, with Monday shows added in 1880. A new theatre holding 4 000 people was built for the 1890 run, which attracted among its crowds of tens of thousands attendees from as far as the United States.
The cast numbered 500, out of Oberammergau’s 1 366 inhabitants. By the 1930s, Oberammergau attracted 400 000 spectators. Among them in 1934—the play’s 300th anniversary— was Adolf Hitler. Though decidedly not a friend of Catholicism, Hitler praised the Passion Play fulsomely. Presumably he approved in particular of the manner in which it presented Jews. Throughout their history, Passion Plays in general were not a good time for a Jew to be seen in public—and not only in Germany. Stoked on by the hideous assertion that Jews are responsible into perpetuity for the execution of Christ and the ghastly blood libel (the rumours that Jews used the blood of Christian children for the production of matzos for the Passover), Christian crowds would attack Jews, even burning their homes.
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ncredibly, Oberammergau did not solve the question of anti-Semitism in its script until the 1990s, almost three decades after Vatican II issued its decree Nostra aetate, which put an end to the final remnants of institutional antiSemitism. Christian Stückl, who first directed the play as a 27-year-old in 1990 and did so again this year, supervised two comprehensive revisions to shed the play of any trace of anti-Semitism. Our guide, Fr Johannes Schuster (who previously worked as a missionary in Africa) served as a consultant in the revisions. The play now presents Jesus as a reformist Jew and leader, rather than as a hapless victim of an intrinsically bloodthirsty people. Those in the know say the play is much stronger for it. It is indeed an impressive and intensely moving production. Artistically, the tableaux vivants—the living images, as the programme calls them—and chorus produc-
People’s spiritual hunger
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OMEONE recently hit out at priests. Well, that is not news. Pillorying priests goes back to the days of the prophets. Anyway, the man was unhappy that large numbers of people are now turning to professional counsellors for help instead of priests. That, in his view, shows that priests have failed in a key area of their ministry, namely healing. The person who made that observation is himself a priest. Now that is news. Some two decades ago when I was completing high school, I can’t recall seeing counselling listed in the careers booklet issued by the Ministry of Education to help students choose university courses. But right now I doubt there is a Kenyan university or sizeable college that does not train counsellors. Besides, there are many specialised institutions offering the course. What’s more, Kenya’s fast growing media seems to be cashing in on the huge demand for counselling. Every newspaper does not only have an agony aunt/uncle, but also regular extensive write-ups on relationships and other personal issues. The top rated radio programmes here are call-in shows where listeners seek or offer advice on a range of personal matters. That must surely be clear evidence of a deep spiritual yearning among people. There are other pointers. Self-styled “prophets” and “apostles” are emerging every other day, setting up “ministries”
and pulling crowds with promises of instant solutions to various problems. Those joining the movements are largely dissatisfied Christians deserting churches they have been members of probably since childhood. They are looking for proper spiritual care. Weeks back a young priest friend working in Nairobi told me he had decided never again to go back to his village for holidays. He had just returned to the city without a day’s rest. Immediately when people around his village realised he was home, they turned up at his gate everyday with all sorts of requests: “Please Father come over and say Mass for us,” “Please come and talk to our son,” “Please Father spare a minute to talk to my husband…” There are simply not enough priests to cater to the needs of everyone. Moreover, can the needs be met at a onehour Sunday Mass at a church crammed to the rafters? My vast rural diocese officially has some 450 000 faithful in just 16 parishes, and about 30 priests. Quick math: an average of over 28 000 Christians per parish. How effectively can a priest or two minister to those people? If he decided to fully attend to the youth or couples only, the priest would not find time for anything else. Now, as the Lord Himself said, truly the harvest is huge but the labourers few. Certainly we must continue praying for more workers in the vineyards. Other than that, there are ways to ease
Günther Simmermacher
The Pilgrim’s Trek
tions especially are extraordinary. More importantly, the recreation of the events leading to Christ’s death is, as one might expect, intensely powerful—to my mind much more so than the shockand-awe gore of Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ. The theology is modern and profoundly Christian: the play does not condemn. Judas does not betray Jesus for greed, but in a tragically misguided strategic gambit. He is being used by Caiaphas and his sidekicks, and when he realises it, Judas tries to bargain for Jesus’ life. When it fails and he realises what he has done, the distraught Zealot commits suicide. It is a very moving sequence. Likewise, we come to understand the causes of Caiaphas’ duplicity. His concerns are political: Jesus is a danger to a delicate peace between the Jews and the Roman occupiers. We should not have much sympathy for Caiaphas’ deviousness, but we may at least understand it as being motivated by cold expediency, not by hatred. It will surprise nobody to know that the most heart-rending scene comes after the (impressively staged) crucifixion, as the lamenting Mary holds her dead son, the famous pietà image. The play ends with a silhouetted Jesus rising from his tomb, and Mary Magdalene finding the empty tomb. Unlike our medieval ancestors, we need no Easter sequel to know how the story ends. The hope and joy that follows is implicit. The vision of the rising Christ and discovery of the empty tomb concluded our pilgrimage that began so recently and yet so long ago in Nazareth. It was a profoundly symbolic twist of itinerary: our spiritual journey commenced where the story of salvation itself was activated through Mary’s consent to bear the world’s redeemer, and it ended with his death and resurrection—the new life. The last words in the Oberammergau play belonged to the choir which declared: “Hallelujah! Praise, honour, adoration, power and majesty be yours, forever and ever!” n This is the 17th and concluding part of Günther Simmermacher’s series on The Southern Cross’ Passion Pilgrimage in September.
The Southern Cross, February 16 to February 22, 2011
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Michael Shackleton open door
Clarifying doxology Why do we say the doxology of the Lord’s Prayer during holy Mass only, and not on a daily basis? Serena Isaacs
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HE doxology consists of these words: “For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours now and forever.” It is generally an integral part of the Lord’s Prayer in use among Protestants, but not among Catholics. You will find the words neither in Matthew’s rendition of the Lord’s Prayer (Mt 6:9-3) nor in Luke’s (Lk 11:24), nor anywhere else in the New Testament. No reputable modern translation of the Bible— Catholic or Protestant—includes it, except possibly as a footnote. That is why Catholics especially, have recited the Our Father in their daily prayers without the doxology but there is no reason to prevent them from saying it with the doxology, if they wish. Experts have noted that the words of the doxology are very Jewish in style, and you will find similar kinds of praise texts in 1 Chronicles 29:11 and Psalms 145:11 and 93:1, which were probably sung or recited in liturgical rites. It is likely, therefore, that Jewish converts to the Church in the earliest years (possibly the Apostles themselves) brought these praise texts with them and introduced them into the Eucharistic liturgy. This liturgical recitation of the doxology after the Our Father must have been common enough for absent-minded copyists over the centuries, when copying the New Testament, to add it after the prayer, which explains why some older versions of the gospel texts erroneously included it, for instance, the King James Bible of the Church of England, published in 1611. The great influence of the King James Bible on English-speaking Christians may explain why Protestants favour the doxology when they say the Lord's Prayer. You will notice in our current liturgy that there is a break after priest and congregation recite the Our Father. Following the words “deliver us from evil”, the priest expands the theme of deliverance. The doxology follows only then, demonstrating that it is a liturgical response by the congregation, and not a component of the original prayer Jesus taught us. Without the doxology the Our Father is the prayer Jesus gave us and which we can say at any time we like. With the doxology the Our Father is part of the liturgy of the Eucharist that is prayed in the Church’s public life.
Henry Makori Letter from Nairobi the hunger, chief among them urgent formation of lay pastoral agents to help the priest. In many African Catholic settings, the people of God are in the hands of the catechist in the sub-parish. But many of those catechists are ill-prepared to respond to the spiritual and other needs of the faithful. Secondly, in the 1970s eastern African bishops initiated a great pastoral idea called “Small Christian Communities” or “SCCs”. These are units of Christians in a neighbourhood. They are the church located between the family and the subparish. SCC leaders are best placed to attend to their little flock in a variety of matters that do not require a priest. But those leaders are often not properly formed or facilitated and are themselves helpless. And thirdly, there are leaders of various lay movements. These too haven’t been adequately formed or supported to offer proper care to members. The result is that members of those movements do not find the healing they seek. So the professional counsellor, the relationships expert, the talk show host/hostess and the evangelical “prophet” have emerged to fill a gap created by too much emphasis on the figure of the priest. Isn’t it time church authorities shifted attention to the priesthood of properly formed lay leaders to address this urgent pastoral challenge?
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VALLEY VIEW TRAVEL NEW FOR 2011• ALL WELCOME! 3 September to 13 September CATHEDRAL OF CHRIST THE KING 50th ANNIVERSARY PILGRIMAGE Celebrate with them by visiting Holy Land Christian sites — Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Nazareth, Sea of Galilee, Capernaum, to name but a few, and Old Cairo where the Holy Family hid from Herod’s soldiers, Mt Sinai, St Catherine’s Monastery in Egypt
Organised and led by Rev Shaun Mary Cost: R19 795 Tel: (031) 266 7702 Fax: (031) 266 8982 Email: judyeichhorst@telkomsa.net
A list of current pilgrimages can be viewed by clicking on the Valley View Travel icon at www.catholic-friends.com