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‘Peace be with you’
As in many environments today, “peace” was a conventional salutation in the ancient world. In the Gospel of Luke, when the risen Jesus appears among the disciples in Jerusalem, he extends to them a greeting of peace. This particular account of the resurrection reflects several themes specific to Luke’s gospel, and forms an important transition…
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For discussion: ‘Peace be with you’
1. When you meet friends or family, what form of greeting do you use? Have you ever met anyone who used “peace” as a greeting? Does your congregation use “passing the peace” or some type of peace greeting in worship? What is the meaning of this greeting of peace? 2. Alicia Batten offers two views…
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I was in prison
Just before Jack McKay* was let out of prison, a local paper ran an article that portrayed him as an unhinged, unreformed sexual predator. The message was blunt: Beware, be afraid. I wasn’t afraid. But I was somewhat apprehensive as I pulled up to the prison at 8:30 a.m. to pick Jack up on the…
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For discussion: I was in prison
1. What experiences have you had with prison visitation or helping someone with a painful past become settled in Canadian society? What level of acceptance would someone like Jack McKay, the pseudonymous former inmate in this story, find in your community? What social services would there be to help him? What would happen in your…
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The 100 percent clean comedian
Matt Falk recalls one of his worst gigs from the beginning of his career as a comedian. He was hired to perform at a corporate event, and during his 30-minute set the audience barely chuckled. The people in the club mostly just stared at Falk and talked among themselves. At the end, he wished the…
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Laughter is sacred space
Laughter has always been a huge part of my working career, working as a writer and actor in comedic theater. Most etymologists, those who study where words come from, believe that the word “humour” is derived from the same root as the words “human,” “humility” and—my favourite—“humus,” meaning “of the earth, connected to the dirt,…
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For discussion: The 100 percent clean comedian and Laughter is sacred space
1. What kind of jokes make you laugh? Why do we value a sense of humour? When can laughter be disrespectful or inappropriate? What is the tipping point where there is too much laughter? How do you interpret Ecclesiastes 7:3: “Sorrow is better than laughter because a sad face is good for the heart”? 2.…
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Other faiths speak out on end-of-life issues
Physician-assisted suicide has been in the news a lot recently. Last spring, Canadians watched as Winnipegger Susan Griffiths took her final journey to Switzerland to end her life, rather than face a slow, painful death from multiple system atrophy. Last fall, Dr. Donald Low, a high-ranking medical official in Ontario, grabbed the attention of people…
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Only God can determine the time and place of death
“Do not kill yourselves: for verily God is to you most merciful” (Qur’an 4:29). It is commonly understood that when we were born, we had no choice but to become a citizen of this world. We didn’t get a chance to choose our parents or birthplace either. But if entering this world was not of…
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God gives life, nobody should try to take it away
Hinduism is based on nonviolence. Suicide—killing oneself—is an act of violence. Killing another person is also wrong. In Hindu scriptures, nowhere is it mentioned that one can assist someone who wishes to commit suicide. To do so would be to commit a violent act, which is against Hinduism. Life is created or given by God.…
