The CATHEDRAL TIMES The weekly newsletter of the Cathedral of St. Philip · Serving Atlanta and the World · July 7, 2019
‘WHAT MANNER OF SPIRIT WE ARE’ By the Rev. Dr. Thee Smith, Priest Associate If you grew up like me, reading the King James Version of the Bible, you were haunted recently ( June 30; Pentecost 3C) by some words left out of our gospel translation. When his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” But he turned and rebuked them (Luke 9:54-55; NRSV; my emphasis). Instead, the King James Version adds (in italics): But He turned and rebuked them, and said, “ You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.” And they went to another village (Luke 9:55-56; NKJV). Notice too that the epistle assigned to be read alongside that gospel uses that same word, ‘consume.’ If, however, you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another. [Rather] Live by the Spirit, I say (Galatians 5:15-16; NRSV). Thus the apostle Paul echoed Jesus’ mission to ‘save not destroy human lives’ (cf. ‘to save not condemn the world,’ John 3:17). Recall, in that connection, the ‘All Lives Matter’ slogan that served, several years ago, as a reaction or push-back to the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement. For Jesus, indeed, all lives matter—but especially the lives of our opponents on every issue. Why ‘especially?’ Because human zeal for any cause or issue so easily shifts into sacrificial zeal to consume and destroy our opponents (structurally related like all dualisms, some say). Notice, precisely in that connection, how the disciples’ request to ‘call down fire from heaven’ invoked the signature act of the prophet, Elijah. Also featured in the assigned Old Testament reading that Sunday, it was Elijah who famously summoned fire from heaven to sanction mass execution of the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18.38-40). May we not covet, with Elisha, that ‘mantle of the prophet!’ Rather, we’re called to a ‘non-sacrificial’ (cf. René Girard) perspective on ‘what manner of spirit we are.’ Consider in that regard David Livingstone’s “Perspectives on the World Christian Movement,” delivered to students at Cambridge University on December 4, 1857. (Acknowledgement: John Piper, 'Desiring God' https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/our-grand-obligation) People talk of the sacrifice I have made in spending so much of my life in Africa. . . . Is that a sacrifice which brings its own blest reward in healthful activity, the consciousness of doing good, peace of mind, and a bright hope of a glorious destiny hereafter? Away with the word in such a view, and with such a thought! It is emphatically no sacrifice. Say rather it is a privilege. Anxiety, sickness, suffering, or danger, now and then, with a foregoing of the common conveniences and charities of this life, may make us pause, and cause the spirit to waver, and the soul to sink; but let this only be for a moment. All these are nothing when compared with the glory which shall be revealed in and for us. I never made a sacrifice. ‘What manner of spirit are we?’ As typical sinners we inevitably continue forms of ritual sacrifice. But as Christ-like spirits we’re called to ‘desire mercy, not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.’ To that prophetic text a more contemporary translation renders Jesus’ addendum to Hosea: ‘For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners’ (Hosea 6:6 and Matthew 9:13; New International, New Living).
This SUNDAY
JULY 14, 2019 · The Fifth Sunday after Pentecost: Proper 10, Year C Amos 7:7-17 · Psalm 82 · Colossians 1:1-14 · Luke 10:25-37
7:45 A.M. HOLY EUCHARIST, MIKELL CHAPEL
Celebrant and Preacher: The Rev. Dr. Thee Smith
8:45 A.M. HOLY EUCHARIST, CATHEDRAL Celebrant: The Rev. Canon Cathy Zappa Preacher: The Rev. Canon George Maxwell Cathedral Choir (Tenors and Basses): Peter Hallock, To the Supreme Being Stephen Paulus, The Road Home
9 A.M. HOLY EUCHARIST, MIKELL CHAPEL
Celebrant and Preacher: The Rev. Dr. Thee Smith
11:15 A.M. HOLY EUCHARIST, CATHEDRAL Celebrant: The Rev. Canon Cathy Zappa Preacher: The Rev. Canon George Maxwell Cathedral Choir (Tenors and Basses): Peter Hallock, To the Supreme Being Stephen Paulus, The Road Home
11:15 A.M. LA SANTA EUCARISTÍA, MIKELL CHAPEL Celebrant: The Rev. Canon Lauren Holder Preacher: The Rev. Deacon Juan Sandoval
PRAYER List FOR THOSE WHO ARE ILL OR RECOVERING: LONG TERM PRAYERS T. Mayo and Pat Atkins • Christian Bensah • Virginia Bicksler • John Blair • Gary Bodner • Pat Brinson • Dick Burgin • Bernice Burton • Wicke Chambers • Heather Clark • Suzy Cohen • Terry Dornbush • Sarah duBignon • Kitty Dukehart • Lee Duncan • Randy Farmer • Rita Fink • William Ham • Caroline Hatcher • Katie Hughey • Louise Kan • Elaine Lyon • Frank Mathews • Lorri McClain • Carol McDonald • Jim McKenzie • Glenn Miller • Cecil Miner • Royce Mitchell • Charlie Neal • Marian Palmore • Garry Pryor • Rubye and Wayne Reid • Tommy Ripley • Agnes Elizabeth Robertson • Louis "Skip" Schueddig • Brian Sturgell • Julie Thompson • Faye Van Winkle • Sandy Williamson • Randy Wilson • Hollis Youngner
FAMILY AND FRIENDS Eileen Abeyesundere • Alex Collins Astrop • Bettina Bass • Mr. and Mrs. William Boyd • Caroline Brewer • Connie Brittain • Joe Bumbak • Joseph Counahan • Sandra Daniel • Annelly Deets • Aurelia Dunnam • Cheryl • Deborah Ellington • Rosalyn Flanagan • Helen Nixon Fleming • Carleton Fuller • Laura Gardner • Ann Gressette • Peggy Govan • Bobby Hearn • Greg Hentz • Charlie Jones and Family • Sun Ja Kim • Rosie and Robert Leonard • Ingrid Liepz • Betty C. Lyons • Pat Martin • Michelle Maxwell • Reynolds McClatchey • Michael McClelland • Desi McGinty • George Mori • Steven Norman • Andi Otey • Peter Michael Payne • Penelope Rose Price • Bill Poole • Frank Roth • James Sands • Karl Schaffenburg • Daniel Ladson Shwab • Leila Sinclair • Ken Singleton • Donna Steigerwald • Tina Susco • Pierson Thames • Roger Traylor • Janiece Townshend • Ron M. Wallace • Jim Wilson • Whit A. Wright • Patricia Young
FOR THOSE WHO HAVE DIED Bucky Gage
EDUCATION LIVING LIFE AS OFFERING Many Sundays we hear the offertory sentence, “Walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself for us, an offering and sacrifice to God.” In this two-week series taught by Cathedral seminarian Nicole Lambelet, we will consider what “sacrifice” and “offering” meant in the ritual life of the Hebrew people and in the New Testament, and how the Christian tradition has adopted these ancient terms to talk about our own sacred meal. Join us Sundays, July 14 and 21 at 10:10 a.m. in Child Hall to offer your own insights and life experience to what promises to be a lively discussion!
SMALL GROUP BIBLE STUDY Room 122, led by Gordon Mathis and Jim Bingham
BIBLICAL GREEK Room 356 (1:15–2:45 p.m.), led by the Rev. Dr. Thee Smith
SPIRITUALITY "WOMEN OF THE BIBLE" PILGRIMAGE TO ISRAEL IN 2020 (FOR MEN AND WOMEN) Join other Cathedral parishioners and pilgrims from around the world for a spiritual retreat with St. George’s College in Israel. We will be participating in a ten-day study pilgrimage called “Women of the Bible,” which offers a reflective spiritual experience for women and men who wish to focus on often overlooked perspectives in the Bible. In addition to the study pilgrimage, our Cathedral group will have extra days at the beginning and the end of the pilgrimage to explore this holy region on our own. The travel dates are May 31-June 14, 2020. The estimated cost is $5000, though we are still in the beginning stages of pricing group airfares and ground transportation. A deposit of $700 is required before August 1 to secure your spot. If you are interested, contact Jeannie Mahood, jmahood@cathedralATL. org or 404-365-1031, for more complete information.
JULY 15 LABYRINTH WALK AND TAIZÉ MEMBERSHIP TRANSITIONS NEW MEMBER Jan Disney, from Alpharetta, Georgia
DEATH Bucky Gage, husband of Alice Gage, father of Haley Champion, Maggie Hasting, and Cooper Gage, died July 4, 2019
Get your week off to a peaceful start with a labyrinth walk and Taizé this Monday, July 15. A labyrinth introduction will take place at 6:30 p.m., followed by a facilitated walk from 7-8 p.m. Weather permitting, we’ll be on the outdoor labyrinth in front of the Lanier House (otherwise, in Child Hall). The Taizé prayer service starts at 8 p.m. in Mikell Chapel. Originating in Taizé, France, this simple service of scripture, music, and candlelight will bring a beautiful and prayerful close to your Monday. The labyrinth and Taizé take place every third Monday at the Cathedral. Come to one, or both – and bring a friend!
The CATHEDRAL of ST. PHILIP
The Very Rev. Samuel G. Candler, Dean Dale Adelmann, Ph.D., Canon for Music The Rev. Lauren R. Holder, Canon for Outreach and Congregational Life The Rev. George M. Maxwell, Jr., Vicar The Rev. Catherine Zappa, Canon for Education and Worship The Rev. John William Harkins III, Ph.D., Priest Associate The Rev. Deacon Juan Sandoval, Deacon for Hispanic Ministries The Rev. Theophus “Thee” Smith, Ph.D., Priest Associate The Rev. Carolynne G. Williams, Canon Associate for Pastoral Care and Elder Ministry Austin Hall, Senior Warden Dorsey DeLong, Junior Warden
CATHEDRAL TIMES SUBMISSION DEADLINES: FOR THE SUNDAY, JULY 21 ISSUE, THE DEADLINE IS WEDNESDAY, JULY 10. FOR THE SUNDAY, JULY 28 ISSUE, THE DEADLINE IS WEDNESDAY, JULY 17. PLEASE EMAIL ANNOUNCEMENT REQUESTS TO THE EDITOR, DAN MURPHY, AT DMURPHY@CATHEDRALATL. ORG. TO RECEIVE THE TIMES BY EMAIL, CONTACT JANIE HARRIS AT JHARRIS@CATHEDRALATL.ORG.
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POSTMASTER: Dated Material. Please deliver by July 13, 2019 POSTMASTER Send address changes to: The Cathedral of St. Philip 2744 Peachtree Road, NW Atlanta, Georgia 30305-2920 404-365-1000
BLOOD DRIVE Thursday, July 18 10 a.m.–3 p.m. Child Hall No reservation needed. Help save a life!
CATHEDRAL TIMES (USPS-093440) is published weekly by The Cathedral of St. Philip 2744 Peachtree Road, NW Atlanta, Georgia 30305-2920 Periodicals Postage Paid at Atlanta, GA
OUTREACH
BOOK DISCUSSION OF THE CROSS AND THE LYNCHING TREE BY JAMES H. CONE Thursday, July 25, 5-7 p.m., Walthour Library “An exploration of these emotionally charged symbols and their interconnection in the history and souls of black folk.” Led by Canon Cathy Zappa and the Rev. Dr. Thee Smith
PILGRIMAGE TO THE NATIONAL MEMORIAL FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE, AND THE LEGACY MUSEUM Wednesday, August 7 8 a.m. until approximately 8 p.m. Montgomery, Alabama Cost: $20 (includes lunch) SPACE IS FILLING UP – REGISTER SOON!
MORE INFORMATION AT CATHEDRALATL.ORG/MONTGOMERY
CAMP HOLLYWOOD CELEBRATES 15 YEARS AT THE CATHEDRAL! For a week in June, the youth wing of the Cathedral was buzzing with activity! We once again hosted Camp Hollywood, a day camp run by FOCUS + Fragile Kids. Campers enjoy a week of art, music, science, cooking, and recreation based on the themes of popular children’s movies. FOCUS was the beneficiary of the 2004 Cathedral Antiques Show, and began in the 1980s to offer multiple programs to children, teens, and young adults with multiple disablilites.
SOMETIMES DREAMS DO COME TRUE! Your favorite little book store is having its first ever book sale in the Cathedral Atrium. The Cathedral Book Store is marking down prices on select books of every type: cookbooks, fiction, Bible studies, poetry, meditation, and more. Stop by our tables in the Atrium between services on Sundays, July 14 and July 21. You won’t want to miss these deals!