Because we were exiles, we love exiles. How that must change us! We cannot hate what we choose or surround our love with barbed wire so that only those with the password can be its recipients. It is God who chooses not us. We do not choose to be its citizens, its ruler called us out of helpless darkness. Our role is to proclaim; our joy is to celebrate. That is not always how we show ourselves. Treating church life as politics and our way of doing things as superior, we engage in malicious comment through social media, we are insincere, we are cruel.
It is no wonder that in the Global North we see numbers decline for the rule of love has become the rule of self. Being human and thus failing to be all that we should be, all that we will be, is not new. In the gospel we see the nature of home. For our home is not a building, not even one of the splendour of the National Cathedral. Home is the people of God built together as living stones by the master builder of all creation. Jesus in the gospel passage draws all our attention.
He casts out the money changers and merchants — we all remember that. We forget that he brought in the children, the blind and lame. The former praised God, the latter found healing. How dare He! Unqualified to praise in good theology. Disqualified to be in the temple by their injuries and bodily incapacity, both groups were the antithesis of those he cast out.
Yet he calls them in, showing the reversal of everything that is the reality of the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God is not the church: the church points to the Kingdom. The Kingdom is seen in those caring for the outcast and the marginalised. They had come ashamed, they went restored. The Kingdom is seen where people act for others.
The Kingdom is to be seen and proclaimed. In this great cathedral, in a side chapel, is a Coventry Cross of Nails. It has been there for very many years. It is the symbol of the worldwide community of the Cross of Nails based around Coventry Cathedral. Nails that symbolise the horror of war - taken as they were from the bombarded ruins of the mediaeval Cathedral - and the strength of resurrection love, sent by the community that rose from the ashes and ruins.
In the Provost of Coventry saw a vision of the Kingdom of reconciliation and those crosses, in churches all around the world, point to forgiveness, reconciliation and hope. In your own nation will you live that out? My question is this: Would Randy Hollerith be prepared to invite someone from the KKK to preach, then ask those hurt by the invite to come together so they can talk about it?
This decision, with its resultant fauxpologies and suggestions we just get over it is profoundly offensive. Max Lucado??? What was the public of having him? Why be surprised. The present attitudes and behaviour are an embarrassment, and it might be time to lift their franchise! The art and articles that appear here remain the property of their creators. Search our Site.
February 7, John Chilton. Newest Oldest Most Voted. Inline Feedbacks. Michael Bruno Thorne. February 11, pm. Scott Arnold. February 11, am. Stuart Schadt.
February 10, pm. Eric Bonetti. February 9, pm. Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins graduated from St. Albans, one of the three schools associated with Washington National Cathedral. Lee and Thomas Stonewall Jackson.
Their association with racial oppression, human subjugation, and white supremacy does not belong in the sacred fabric of this Cathedral. Although Wilson is the only president interred here, the cathedral has hosted the funerals of four others—Dwight D.
One floor beneath Wilson, the remains of two different but significant heroes are interred. His remains were interred in the Chapel of St. Joseph of Arimathea in , and in , a memorial plaque was installed thanks to a grassroots, crowd-funded campaign. Interred near Shepard are the ashes of Helen Keller, author, lecturer, and disability activist, and her teacher and companion, Annie Sullivan.
More than other notable diplomats, congressmen, and members of the military are also buried at the cathedral. But anyone is welcome to spend eternity here—for the right price. The central tower is feet above sea level, making its top the highest point in Washington, D.
Other buildings in the District may be technically taller, but the cathedral sits atop a foot-high hill. If there was some way to put the foot-tall Washington Monument —D. In , two decades after stonemasons laid down their tools, an earthquake damaged both the Washington Monument and the nearby cathedral. Flying buttresses pulled away from the central structure, hand-carved angels and a pound finial fell from the roof, and turrets shifted out of place.
No one was hurt, but nearly a decade later, parts of the exterior are still clad in scaffolding, and restoration efforts are ongoing. In the s, a design-a-carving competition for children resulted in the Darth Vader grotesque, which was placed high upon the northwest tower. One gargoyle sports a conspicuous ring—its carver had just gotten engaged. They reflect devils and lawyers.
Some carvers made figures that resembled their girlfriends, their mothers, or, unfortunately, their ex-girlfriends. Houses of worship are often quiet places for reflection, but during my time spent exploring the grounds, one noise is notably absent: the sound of bells.
Above the carillon is a peal of 10 bells ranging from pounds to 3, pounds. Volunteers and students ring the bells on Sundays, and during concerts and funerals, but most hours pass by silently. Each week, the cathedral prays for one of the 50 U.
From high atop the cathedral, D. Whether or not you believe in a higher power or an afterlife, Magner is right: this may be as close to heaven as some of us get—at least in the District. Washington National Cathedral is open Monday through Friday from 10 a. Sunday worship services begin at 8 a. Alexandra is the managing editor of Roadtrippers Magazine.
She likes things that are bigger or smaller than they should be: novelty architecture, miniature worlds, and anything made from fiberglass or neon.
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