Pilgrims on the Way of Jesus

Pondering the faith

In the contemporary era of the Church, we often wonder why congregations are struggling to make it. Diana Butler Bass, a leading expert on mainline church renewal, notes some wise words from a pastor of a Lutheran church that is going through a process of renewal:

It’s not rocket science. You preach the gospel, offer hospitality, and pay attention to worship and people’s spiritual lives. Frankly, you take Christianity seriously as a way of life.

 From her spiritual memoir Traveling Mercies, Anne Lamott tells of taking her son Sam, then an elementary age child, each week to church, even though Sam does not want to go. Lamott writes, “The main reason is that I want to give him what I found in the world, which is to say a path and a little light to see by.”

Lamott recounts those she knows in her Presbyterian congregation as well as persons of other religious persuasions as good examples as why the journey is worth it. She writes, “They follow a brighter light than the glimmer of their own candle; they are part of something beautiful.” (Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith, 100).

Lamott credits her Presbyterian congregation for helping her become more grounded in life. They took care of her in a variety of ways, supporting her when she became a single mom. This congregation was on a pilgrimage of sorts.

Our funky church is filled with people who are working for peace and freedom, who are out there on the streets and inside praying, and they are home writing letters, and they are at the shelter with giant platters of food. When I was at the end of my rope, the people at St. Andrew tied a knot in it for me and helped me hold on. (ibid.)

How is your congregation a place for pilgrims to gather, those who seek out God’s goodness through living the faith in deepening (and yes, even differing) ways? Oftentimes, the temptation has been to worry about why the pews are half-empty.  All too often, budgets and buildings can overshadow the gospel's simplicity and any sense of your fellowship as a place for "spiritual grounding".

When we embrace faith's practices of hospitality, worship and spiritual care,  we can be a place where God is found, whether we seem a bit withdrawn from the world or right in the thick of things. And others will see us as God wishes us to be: pilgrims on a journey.

When the saints go marching in....to the halls of power

Image from ABC News

In the midst of the hoopla (Pope-la?) of His Holiness Pope Francis visiting the United States, I read with interest the flurry of media coverage.  True to form, Francis demonstrates a humility in his way of interacting with all people, not just those in secular or sacred halls of power.  A pontiff who prefers to eat with the homeless rather than Beltway luminaries is indeed a different type of religious leader than one otherwise might expect.

In his speech before the United States Congress, the Pope offered a word of gratitude for the lives of four notable Americans.  For many Baptists, we cheer on the recognition of Martin Luther King, Jr., one of our most noteworthy contributors.  We also recognize the greatness of Abraham Lincoln, leading the country when deeply divisions required extraordinary leadership.  Perhaps for some in the Baptist fold, we do  not know the great Americans also noted:  Dorothy Day and Thomas Merton, two significant 20th century Roman Catholic voices.  Just like any list of Baptist "greats", there would be some Roman Catholics a bit perturbed with Day and Merton being cited, as they were faithful yet dissenting voices in their own way against institutional passivity when matters divine tended to overshadow the deep needs of the world for people in the pews as well as from pulpits and high places in ecclesial life. 

A great introduction to Dorothy Day and Thomas Merton as well as Flannery O'Connor and Walker Percy is the book "The Life You Save May Be Your Own: An American Pilgrimage" (Farrar, Staus and Giroux, 2003).  Author Paul Elie deftly weaves these four Catholic voices together, forming a narrative tapestry of divergent life stories shaped by the faith that they loved enough to critique through their prose and lived out witness. 

Of Day and Merton, Pope Francis recalled:

"In these times when social concerns are so important, I cannot fail to mention the Servant of God Dorothy Day, who founded the Catholic Worker Movement. Her social activism, her passion for justice and for the cause of the oppressed, were inspired by the Gospel, her faith, and the example of the saints."

"A century ago, at the beginning of the Great War, which Pope Benedict XV termed a "pointless slaughter", another notable American was born: the Cistercian monk Thomas Merton. He remains a source of spiritual inspiration and a guide for many people. In his autobiography he wrote: 'I came into the world. Free by nature, in the image of God, I was nevertheless the prisoner of my own violence and my own selfishness, in the image of the world into which I was born. That world was the picture of Hell, full of men like myself, loving God, and yet hating him; born to love him, living instead in fear of hopeless self-contradictory hungers.' Merton was above all a man of prayer, a thinker who challenged the certitudes of his time and opened new horizons for souls and for the Church. He was also a man of dialogue, a promoter of peace between peoples and religions."

LINK: http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/09/24/443126027/in-pope-francis-congress-speech-praise-for-dorothy-day-and-thomas-merton

Particularly for myself, I rejoiced in Merton gaining mention before Congress.  It was in college that I visited my first monastery. Growing up Baptist in Kansas, the fact that I had an interest in learning, let alone visiting, a monastery was a bit of a surprise. Anti-Catholicism tendencies were not unknown.

While studying at American Baptist-related Ottawa University, I found myself enthralled in the writings of Thomas Merton, a 20^th-century monk who lived at the Abbey of Gethsemani near Louisville, Kentucky. I decided to write my senior thesis on Merton, and as part of my exploration into Merton, I stayed a week at the monastery where he lived until his death in 1968. (And given that monasteries typically observe vows of silence, I suppose I was a handful…)

At the entrance to the monastery, an inscription is carved over the gateway to the monastic enclosure. It reads “God Alone”. Thomas Merton came to the Abbey as a young adult who was mixed up with a lot of the life questions that we tend to have: who am I and what I am supposed to do with my life? Merton had some additional baggage, orphaned by his parents’ deaths during his adolescence and wounded from a life given to youthful indiscretions while at college. Merton entered into the monastery after a long soul-searching, feeling called to a life withdrawn from the world. The monastic life helped Merton reorient his life, later becoming regarded as one of the 20^th-century’s spiritual masters. Not to say that it was an easy stretch of time for Merton as his posthumously published multivolume collection of journals will attest. He searched for God and wrestled with the world inside and outside the monastic enclosure. The inscription “God Alone” makes good sense to be at the entrance of his monastery, as Merton found his grounding and his identity as he developed a deep trust in God.

Nonetheless, Merton's entrance into the monastery helped him redefine his relationship to the world.  While separate, he would become intertwined with the tumult of the 1960s, addressing issues of war, racism and political matters. His hermitage would be a place where he hosted a number of activists and writers from time to time.  Martin E. Marty once criticized Merton for daring to comment on race issues from the distant cloisters.  Eventually, Marty realized that Merton's writings had a great deal of insight into the difficulties and tumult, bringing an incisive and considered word in the midst of many voices clamoring for the right answers to perplexing and violent times.

Saints are always with us in every generation, whether they are canonized, beatified or known just to us from life's experience of faith gracing us through notable faithful lives we experienced firsthand.  I am reminded of the 16th Psalm, often called a psalm of trust, when considering such folks. 

The 16^th Psalm is called a psalm of trust, framed in the language of deep appreciation and unshakable knowledge that in God alone, we find our hope and assurance, as well as our guidance in the journey ahead. It is a psalm for all those who seek God, the one whom the Psalmist praises, “You show me the path of life.” This psalm revels in the goodness of life with God and the wisdom of following the path that God sets before us.

Without God, the psalmist declares, we still live our lives, but without a sense of the deep goodness and stability that life with God gives us. We can seek many things in this life, but are they ultimately “good” in the abundant and life-giving way that God alone provides?

For all of us, it asks us to be intentional about knowing ourselves fully, examining ourselves in a way that leads not to an uneasy and constant sense of guilt or imperfection (I admit that was the aftertaste of some of my Kansas Baptist upbringing). Life with God is a sign of life, where we can breathe freely and attune our hearts and minds. We strip down of our vanities and our pride so that we are allowed to live with God: to live faith not as an additional or optional part of life, but to ground ourselves firmly and intentionally in the life of faith. We are called to be pilgrims, persons journeying toward God along the spiritual pathway.

Who knows?  Today, the Beltway may have been blessed by someone aware enough to know the halls of power need redemption.  As we gear up for the 2016 election cycle, it might be a blessing to know that the people most tuned into what this country and our world needs most are not given to certainty and argument, but lead with a spirit of humility and service to others, especially the most vulnerable and marginalized among us.

Stewing about Stewardship? Here are some resources!

Stewardship sermons and stewardship season have one disturbing thing in common: preachers and lay leaders struggle with finding the right words and the right way to discuss the reality that the church needs to talk about money and generosity if ministry and mission are to carry on.

Hearing "a dry sermon on stewardship" is the last response a preacher wants her congregants to claim when reviewing worship (if they do such things) at lunch after worship.  Further, preachers also worry that they will be accused of always preaching "about money", even when they know for a fact that the only time one preached on stewardship was once per year!

Talking about money, stewardship and generosity are necessary conversations, yet we have to be attuned to ways and strategies that recognize that a good and ongoing conversation about the ministry and mission of the congregation begets many opportunities to create a culture of generosity, connecting the giver's sense of affinity with the mission of the congregation and ensuring that good stewardship is accompanied with prudent accounting practices, careful endowment management and intentional conversations with church leaders about living within their means while also tamping down any institutionalism that leads to circling the wagons more than setting out on new adventures for Christ and the Reign of God.

I suggest the times for stewardship and budgets and other conversation about "money and ministry" happen on an ongoing basis, rather than relegated to the brief (and not so strategic) time between September and November.  Churches miss the opportunity to "tell the story" year-round, and nobody really should put a budget together when the pledges are yet to come in, yet I know many churches who plan budgets without tying anticipated income to temper the expense planning.  I'd much rather see a congregation work through budgets without anxiety or apathy, as it is not a pretty sight or memorable experience otherwise!

Some resources to suggest for stewardship and rethinking your congregation's ways of discussing money faithfully, frankly, and forward-thinking:

This Fall, Dr. Jim Kelsey offers an online/onsite opportunity for the ABCNYS Lay Study program.  Dr. Kelsey will be teaching a church administration course, covering key issues that all pastors and lay leaders should know to help their church carry out routine church business as well as staying up with the ever changing challenges of resources, volunteers and "best practices".   To learn more abou this affordable course which can be taken on site (in the Syracuse area) or simultaneously ONLINE!!!, visit our Region page. LINK: http://www.abc-nys.org/programs/lay-study-program/ls-courses

A recent blog post on "Seven Books about Church and Money that Every Clergy-person Should Read" is quite helpful.  I own a number of these books already and resonate with the good reviews.  Take and read!   LINK:   https://stewardshipuniversity.wordpress.com/2015/09/01/seven-books-about-church-and-money-that-every-clergy-person-should-read/

A webinar for American Baptists is coming up soon!  This free resource connects you with the Ecumenical Stewardship Center offering opportunities to think about new trends in stewardship.  Sign-up is free yet required!   LINK:   http://www.abc-usa.org/2015/09/15/webinar-generosity-stewardship-trends-with-marcia-shetler-executive-directorceo-of-the-ecumenical-stewardship-center%ef%bb%bf%ef%bb%bf/

A report about charitable giving overall can be helpful to understand the "climate" shared by churches/faith communities with other 501c3 charitable organizations.  LINK:  http://givingusa.org/giving-usa-2015-press-release-giving-usa-americans-donated-an-estimated-358-38-billion-to-charity-in-2014-highest-total-in-reports-60-year-history/

Stewardship Resources

Christopher, J. Clif. Not Your Parents’ Offering Plate: A New Vision for Financial Stewardship.  Abingdon, 2008.

Durall, Michael. Beyond the Collection Plate: Overcoming Obstacles to Faithful Giving. Abingdon, 2003.

Durall, Michael. Creating Congregations of Generous People. Alban/Rowman & Littlefield, 1999.

Hall, Douglas John. The Steward: Biblical Symbol Come of Age. Wipf & Stock, 2004.

Hamilton, Adam. Enough: Discovering Joy Through Simplicity and Generosity. Abingdon, 2009.

Hicks, Douglas A. Money Enough: Everyday Practices for Living Faithfully in the Global Economy.  Jossey-Bass, 2009.

Jones, Clifford A., Sr., The Star Book for Stewardship. Judson Press, 2012.

Lake Institute on Faith and Giving. “2013 Congregational Economic Impact Study”. PDF report
available via: http://www.philanthropy.iupui.edu/congregational-economic-impact-study

Marcuson, Margaret.  Money and Your Ministry: Balance The Books While Keeping Your Balance.  Marcuson Leadership Circle, 2014.

Mosser, David N. The Stewardship Companion: Lectionary Resources for Preaching. Westminster/John Knox Press, 2007.

Robinson, Anthony B. Stewardship for Vital Congregations. Pilgrim Press, 2011.

Satterlee, Craig A. Preaching and Stewardship: Proclaiming God’s Invitation to Grow. Alban/Rowman &Littlefield, 2011.

Tennant, Matthew. Preaching in Plenty and in Want. Judson Press, 2011.

Watley, William D. Bring the Full Tithe: Sermons on the Grace of Giving. Judson Press, 1995.

Remembering 9/11 Care-fully

It is Friday, the day I post a new blog.

It is also September 11th, a date on the calendar with deep sorrow and complex ways of talking about the events of that day and our perceptions of the world thereafter.

I wrote a blog last year, recalling various experiences with being in ministry and how congregations process times like these with hearts and minds and sometimes as we pray with clenched teeth.  I refer you back to this blog post from 2014:

http://preachingandpondering.blogspot.com/2014/09/preaching-after-911.html

Learning Anew (Mark 7:24-37)

Crumbs at the Table:
How do we deal
with theological otherness?

Among the more challenging texts for congregations and preachers, we read in Mark 7:24-37 that Jesus is challenged by the Syrophoenician woman to provide healing.  Deeply troubling for centuries of interpreters is Jesus’ negative initial response.  The woman’s tenacious retort prompts Jesus to recognize her faithfulness and proceeds to grant her request.  

Reading this story, I recalled some questions I posed to seminarians at Central Baptist Theological Seminary when I served as an adjunct instructor.  These questions were not on the test, yet they sparked classroom dialogue as these are ones not quickly or easily answered.  I argue that such questions are at the core of pastoral ministry when sharing the faith and helping congregations understand their theological identity. 

The questions I asked:

When you talk about your beliefs about Christianity, who is readily included and welcomed in your theological worldview? 

Further, who is considered somewhat included, but not fully for reasons you believe strongly in? 

Finally, who is considered not able to be included at all or to be kept at a distance until they fit into your theological way of understanding the world and the Church? 

The point of asking the questions is quite straightforward:  Like it or not, no matter the religious traditions in the classroom, each tradition has in its theological worldview places we must recognize as we tend to place barriers, impasses,  or restrictions in ways overt and covert, subtle and outright.

You see, our beliefs and deeply held convictions are not just “there” in the woodwork. Beliefs influence our day to day living.  We cannot compartmentalize our faith values and our convictions about what it means to follow the way of Jesus.  Further, our religious beliefs shape how we approach our relationships with people who may be beyond our spiritual boundaries.  Beliefs shape the way we live in the world in all its diversity and difference. 

In such conversations about persons or groups of people “in” and “out” of our theological comfort zone, it is customary to speak about how we deal with “others”, those who are most unlike “us”.  Those who are “other” to us may be those who we deem suspect, to be kept at arm’s length or too controversial to be discussed.  Our religious values are our own to keep and live by, however, we have to realize that our beliefs are reflected back in how we view and live in the midst of the world.  Inevitably, we have our points of contention where we see some sort of difference as an obstacle or a less desirable element in our relationships with those we deem “other” to us.

As local churches are free in the Baptist tradition to interpret and order our fellowship as we read Scripture, what do our beliefs say about the world and its diversity?  Are there boundaries that we need to acknowledge or barriers to be identified?   Who is the “other” that we need to consider more carefully in our judgments and in our willingness to reach out or include?  How would such a vision play out in our programming and potlucks, worship services and times for gathering together?  

In an often fractured world, where people feel less connected despite the heightening connectivity of technology, surely the gospel has a good word to be shared about churches that believe God’s love is given freely.  Are we willing to hear when someone we deem “other” speaks up and asks for the church to listen again to the gospel’s good word?

Learning to Breathe Again: Psalm 146

After a few years away from singing in a community choir, I found myself joining the local one when I moved to a small town in Vermont to serve as minister. It was the first time since college that I became part of a choral group that sings more demanding material, and let me tell you, I came home exhausted. We rehearsed for two hours, sometimes a little longer, and it was a stimulating and engaging experience to delve into the music selected for each program. Nonetheless, after that first night in September, my feet hurt from standing, my voice hurt from hitting a few notes I had not visited in awhile, and my gut hurt.

One of the key elements of singing is whether you can breathe well. Finding the pitch, being able to carry a tune—these are helpful, but you also have to be able to breathe so that what you are trying to sing has adequate support. Good breathing skills are needed to sing, but they take practice, and that night in September, I realized how out of practice I had become with these skills. Nonetheless, to be able to keep up with the demands of singing the music well, you have to improve your breathing skills.

When the psalms speak of praise of God, the ability to breathe is part of the act of praise. Praise and breathing are intertwined in the Psalms, and for good reason. The Hebrew Scriptures remind us, particularly in the Psalter, that we breathe only because God has given us breath.

As the Creation narratives unfold, the book of Genesis refers to the wind and breath that enlivens Creation as that of the Spirit of God being imparted. Without God’s activity, Creation has not come alive. In Genesis 1, the winds that move over the waters and the very act of bringing to life the first human is about God breathing life into Creation, humanity included. (Even the Hebrew word used for wind or breath as well as describing the Spirit of God, called by Christians as the Holy Spirit, is breathy in its pronunciation: ruach.) Thus, the 150th Psalm calls out, “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord”, reminding that all of Creation breathes together the same breath of life. Thus, the 140th Psalm’s vision of God as “provider of all” refers to death as when God’s breath is taken away, such is the Psalter’s notion of how dependent we humans are on God. Thus, the melancholy of the 144th Psalm as it refers to humans as those “who are like a breath; their days like a passing shadow”.

The Psalms come from a theological worldview that ties breath and life together as gifted to us by God. Thus, in turn, the act of praise comes about because we have breath, and especially when the created finally remember with all due reverence the Creator who has given us the breath!

The failing of humanity, however, as the 146th Psalm puts it, is when we falter in remembering from where our praise and breath comes from. Psalm 146 gives a criticism here that should be noted: “Do not put your trust in princes, in mortals, in whom there is no help. When their breath departs, they return to the earth; on that very day, their plans perish.” The Psalmist offers a contrary word to the way things tend to work in this world. Even though the language of “princes” is archaic, the intimation is that we should be careful where and with whom we place our hope. Do not be lulled into thinking that “the powers that be” will ultimately save you or keep you completely safe and secure. No nation or leader will deliver this. (They certainly will promise it if it keeps their throne safe for the time being, but reigns and presidencies alike cannot keep us from all harm.) Thus the contrary world of the Bible looms over the reader of the Psalm, calling upon the hearer to reorient themselves in what seems disorienting: It is in God alone that we find our hope and trust.

See the first two verses of Psalm 146. These are the type of verses of the Bible that you encourage people to memorize and keep close to heart: “Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul! I will praise the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God all my life long.” (Ps. 146:1-2) If you are able to keep these praises close to heart, and these “princes” or “powers that be” at arm’s length, you have begun to live a more authentic life, getting away from those things that may seem to sound good now, but later and inevitably run out of air.

The film Dream Girls featured a number of very talented actors, including Jamie Foxx, Eddy Murphy, and a newcomer Jennifer Hudson, who went from American Idol contestant to winning an Oscar for her first film. Each of the characters has a great deal of talent. Foxx is an aspiring music agent and promoter. Murphy is an aging performer seeking that next “new sound”. Hudson is the lead in a minor trio of women. As the musical unfolds, the characters find great fame and great hardship, sometimes with each other’s help, other times at one another’s expense. A complex web of relationships is woven of fortune and misfortune alike.

Foxx’s character turns to more shady dealings, as his enthusiasm outpaced by his desire for more power as a record company boss. Eventually, it is discovered that he is working with the Mob and stealing music from other performers. Murphy’s character finds himself turning more to heroin addiction rather than trying to reinvent himself for a changing music market. Hudson’s character finds herself demoted from lead singer to back-up and then right out of the group altogether. All the while, the great talent and giftedness of this gathering of characters goes to waste as power, drugs, and money erode their lives.

In many ways, Dream Girls depicts life, fraught with complexities, and only a few of the characters in this musical find a measure of redemption. The musical feels eerily familiar to the lives we lead, as we deal with choosing wisely or foolishly the paths ahead while dealing with the random and chaotic fallout of life’s ambiguities and travails. All the while, the psalmist sits in the back row with his popcorn, saying, “Didn’t you get the bit in my little song about not chasing the stuff that won’t last?”

The psalm turns us away from the foolishness of this world and reorients us to the way of life that helps us breathe again. The spiritual life is not just for emergencies only or the deeply pious. The Psalms are to accompany you by the bed stand, the dashboard, the cubicle at work, the places where you find a moment’s respite, just as they have been there for ancient Israel and all those generations afterward who seek wisdom. In reorienting ourselves back to God, we remember that the only gift we have in this life, the only asset is life itself. What we make of it can be wonderment as well as disaster, but we are better off starting with the simplicity of the Psalm, geared to that which helps us breathe and give due praise rather than disdain or disregard to God.

Meanwhile, back at the choir rehearsal, I found myself asked to sing one of the solos for the Choral Society concert.  To sing a solo means no matter the rehearsals, there are a number of last minute things still to be figured out. Moreover, I pray the worst not to happen: the unmanly thing of having your voice crack. The most important thing that I will need to do is remember to breathe.

One other deft movement within this Psalm is also noted. While the Psalmist appeals to the individual to turn away from the tempting personal gain thought to be found in this life, the Psalmist reminds us of whom God is. It is not enough that God’s people get themselves straightened out and reoriented to their own little journey in faith. It is also about being able to praise God, the one who is steadfast in support and care of those otherwise marginalized, usually by those same “princes” or “powers that be”. The thing to keep in mind about the “powers” that try to get us to run our lives by their desire is this: they may not last, but their policies and practices can create a world of hurt for the less fortunate of the world that lasts sometimes over the generations. 

God is not like that puff of air that disappears. God is steadfast, or “keeps the faith forever”. Steadfast is a word that the Psalmist uses that you do not use lightly in the vocabulary of the Hebrew Scriptures. To be steadfast means to be undeterred and unshakeable. Again, the Psalmist revels in the irony of human life: we chase all manner of things, only to find that they, and even ourselves, are like a puff of wind. God, the very wind of Creation, is the only stability, and so, again, the Psalmist with the popcorn in the back row says, “Pay attention to what God cares about. It might tell you something.”

The God of Psalm 146 is deeply concerned with those who are less fortunate in this life: the oppressed are given justice; the hungry are fed; the prisoners are liberated; the blind are given sight; the righteous vindicated; the widow, the orphan, and the sojourner are tended. This is the song that ancient Israel and all the generations thereafter are called to sing. Yet, it is not the “happy-clappy” music that some churches call “praise music” where you sing rather shallow words and on the fifth time, you are told “now, sing it with feeling.” No, this sort of Psalm is one that you have to learn to sing, but first you have to learn to breathe! This sort of praise music is not for the faint of heart. As Water Brueggemann observes, when ancient Israel, the community first called to this psalm’s performance, takes up the Psalm of the day, “Israel sings, and we never know what holy power is unleashed by such singing”.

Churches have such a wonderful calling to be the Church, yet sometimes, we have allowed worry to overtake us. The bitter truth: More often than not, we’ve forgotten to breathe, and our praise of God has diminished a bit. The redemptive word: Now we’re back in voice training, learning some new and challenging material. Our backs may hurt, our feet may hurt, but we are more than just tired. We might be ready to start singing.

And the psalmist speaks up again waaay in the back of the crowd, “Now you’re getting it!”

Remembering Ourselves Rightly: Exploring Ian McKellen's Mr. Holmes

Mr. Holmes is a new film starring the venerable actor Ian McKellen. In recent years, McKellen has gained new audiences as a superhero villain (Magneto in the XMen films) and a wizard (Gandalf in the two trilogies of The Hobbit/Lord of the Rings).  For decades, McKellen has worked on stage and film, lauded for his performance. Without a doubt, this new film showcases the fruitfulness of his long career.

Without spoiling key plot points of this film or its source material (a 2005 novel A Slight Trick of the Mind written by Mitch Cullen), let me share some thoughts:

McKellen portrays an aging Sherlock Holmes, predominately in his extreme latter decades, dealing with a diminishing physical capacity with the telltale signs of forgetfulness hinting the fog of dementia slowly settling in his mind.  Some parts of the film depict Holmes at the end of his illustrious career as a consulting detective, working alone as his trusty companion Dr. Watson married and no longer living on Baker Street.  McKellen deftly shows a dapper Holmes, working away at a case that confounded the authorities, juxtaposed with the man in his elder years, living alone, save a housekeeper and her young son.  There are times when the camera closes in on the aged Holmes, with McKellen showing a man in his late winter years, and they are hard, lingering days of diminished capacities and deep regret.

The film highlights the housekeeper’s son, who finds a mentor figure in Holmes, who warms to the boy’s curiosity and even shows him how to maintain the bee hives that Holmes spends most of his daytime fussing over.  The son explores Holmes’ upstairs study and finds a folder of the old man’s writings.  He becomes fascinated by Holmes’ attempt at writing the story of a case from years ago.  It turns out that Dr. Watson wrote a version of this case, which turned out to be Holmes’ final case.  Holmes, however, retells the case, trying to understand what happened in a different light. Far from triumphant, Holmes’ recollection of these events demonstrates why Holmes retired and moved off to a largely solitary existence out in the countryside.

The film revolves around memory and the way we tell our stories.  Holmes struggles with memory, yet he is driven by his lingering regrets to regain enough of his recall that he can revisit the details of his last case.  Holmes tries a variety of treatments, including a lengthy trip to Japan to gather a rare plant said to have restorative, memory boosting qualities.  The flashbacks to the events of his last case are hard won, moments of clarity that he rushes to capture in his prose.  The housekeeper’s son presses him on details, wanting to know what happened next.  Holmes appears at times uncertain of his ability to remember as well as his fear of what his memories will reveal about past mistakes and sorrows.

 While in Japan, Holmes encounters firsthand the survivors of the nuclear bombings, wandering through society as barely acknowledged victims of war.  While a smaller subplot, the scenes of his recent trip to Japan resonated as I saw the film a few days before the 70^th anniversary of the bombings.  Historians and educators continue to lament the resistance from certain quarters in public and political circles to displays and retrospectives that examine the costliness of such decisions.  Holmes staggers down the street in disbelief and overwhelmed by what he beholds.  As I watched this, I reflected on the irony that it might be safer for some that this honesty be confined to an art house film rather than in a more public venue such as the Smithsonian, where in 1995 a political firestorm ensued when a proposed exhibit would have displayed the fuselage of the Enola Gay bomber as well as artifacts and commentary demonstrating the severity of the bombing’s consequences on the people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. See this article: http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtid=2&psid=3498

Working with congregations, I am quite aware that churches share their memories and history quite selectively.  A church may have patterns of conflict or other upsetting incidents along its congregational history, and yet it is only after much detective work on a pastor or consultant’s part that the dynamics and distress come to the surface.  Further, a church’s history can be understood sometimes by reading the archives or the formal “anniversary history booklet” and then compared against the narratives one learns over a cup of coffee one-on-one or just listening to the buzz out in the parking lot after a business meeting.  A skilled interim minister or gifted and courageous settled pastor, and better yet, a congregation willing to work with the interim and one another can be a great corrective and healing experience for such a church, if people are prepared to journey through the fog of memory and learn from their past and own what really happened or got left undone or unsaid.

Watching Mr. Holmes, I took great delight in seeing a master actor at his craft.  I also saw an earnest portrayal of memory and what really needs to be lost and found if we are to be more faithful to ourselves and before God.  Holmes will gain a measure of peace in his late years, but only after he has faced a more sober and earnest exploration of his past.