Back in the saddle…

My soul has been nourished the past ten days. Thanks to 40,000 frequent flyer miles, $67 (the booking fee!) and the hospitality of my dear friend, Michael, I enjoyed an inexpensive but exciting trip to Berlin, Germany. Home base was a lovely apartment right near Potsdamer platz, which is a bustling center of commerce and entertainment. There is a huge amount of building going on all over the city – some of it very exciting, modern architecture. But the new and the old mingle throughout and I love the juxtapositions and conversations that they create. Some say that Berlin is one of the most interesting cities in the world right now and it is easy to see why.

Berlin is a city that is well aware of its history though it is not always easy to face. But it seems to be finding a way to integrate its past into its future. Buildings like the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtnis-Kirche from the 1960’s, in which a new church and tower were built within and beside a bombed out structure, are a unique blending of new and old. A stretch of the Berlin Wall has been preserved and cobblestone markers on the streets show where it used to run. And the Holocaust Memorial is a profound remembrance of the many lives lost in concentration camps. Thousands of slabs of grey concrete (each about the size and shape of a funeral plot) are set in a pattern of rows which you can walk between. When you first observe the monument from the sidewalk, they are at varying heights but no more than waist high. As you walk towards the center of the memorial, you descend lower and lower until the heavy pieces extend almost 8-10 feet above you. The street noise is muted, it is darker and there is a feeling of weight and sadness. As you come back to the edge of the memorial (which covers the space of a city block), the light grows again, giving a sense of coming to the surface after being underwater. Michael, who has lived with the memorial for several years, pointed out that concrete was an intentional choice. This is not a memorial that is going anywhere soon; it will stand to remind future generations of the suffering that was inflicted on so many.

Dining in the city was wonderful and we didn’t even hit high-end places. There are fresh markets, lovely cafes and places where you can get the classic German beer and bratwurst. I was also amazed to see food from so many different cultures. One evening, I made a Vietnamese rice noodle soup with ingredients that we bought at an Asian grocery. Somehow, the rice noodles didn’t make it home with us (or the cupboard ate them) and I was despairing that the soup was a failure. Michael put on his jacket, walked down to a restaurant on the street and ended up buying noodles from them. Maybe this is one of the gifts of globalization; you can easily get rice noodles in places you wouldn’t expect. Last night I had the best falafel and Middle Eastern food I have ever had in my life. The place was called Mo’s Falafel which, sadly, only gave me visions of Mo from The Simpsons. However, this Mo was a round, middle-aged babushka. She worked behind the deli-style counter of her tiny shop with amazing efficiency and care: a splash of olive oil here, a spoonful of yogurt sauce there, and a collection of bubbling pots and sizzling pans on the stove. She moved like a dancer who had perfected choreography for each action in the kitchen. She didn’t want to answer questions about herself (Michael inquires each time he visits) but focused on the food. “My little job,” she said, “is to please my customers.” And that she did. If you are ever in Berlin you must go to Mo’s!

Berlin has an exciting art scene and I got to see exhibitions at the Gemäldegalerie Gallerie, Hamburger Bahnhof and Kunst Werke. In the past years, I have found such renewal in museums and I’m not sure exactly why. I’m learning to appreciate the craft and skill of well-known masters, enjoying the challenge of new works and allowing myself to respond intuitively to colors, forms and figures. There is also something about the leisurely pace of a museum and the orderliness of the space. Somehow it cleanses the palate and sharpens your ability to see the world.

The other aspect of Berlin that I enjoyed was their openness and tolerance toward same-sex relationships. I recognize that no place is ideal, but it is truly joyful to walk down the street arm-in-arm with another man and not have to think twice about it. The most common places you are “allowed” to publicly express same-sex affection in the US are in gay bars, clubs or a few neighborhoods within large cities. Outside of these contexts, there are few truly safe places. As I shared in an earlier post, I don’t believe that sexuality is the lens through which I am called to view everything but it is an important part of how I live in the world. Like anyone, I want to be able to share healthy, life-affirming touch with a friend or a lover and not have to fear. I long for the day that gay and lesbian persons can live undivided lives – not having to choose between public or private expressions of their love and care. Berlin gave me a snapshot of what that might be like.

As I reenter the “real” world, I am looking forward to the coming months. There is much to do but I feel as if my batteries have been recharged. I’m especially looking forward to co-teaching a class at Eden Theological Seminary with Dr. Christopher Grundy this month. We’ll be sharing our passion for congregational song and exploring how churches might recover and reclaim the joy of singing together. I’m sure it will be a rich time and fuel some future entries.

It has been great to see the growing blog readership. Each time I post, I see a few more people are reading. I encourage you to offer comments and thoughts if you like. Peace.

Sabbath time

Tonight I head to Germany for 10 much-needed days of rest. I always find that there are so many little details to take care of before I head somewhere, but I’ve done what I can do and it’s time to go! I’m taking a few things with me and if I’m inspired, I’ll blog while I’m away. The first is the book The Hidden Wholeness: The Journey Towards an Undivided Life by Parker Palmer. I recently read his book Let Your Life Speak and was so happy that a friend thought to give me The Hidden Wholeness for Christmas.

I’m also taking along the poems of Rabindranath Tagore. Last night I had a lovely dinner with a friend and she introduced me to one of his collections, Gitanjali. The imagery in them is so rich and sensual; and they are full of illusions to music and worship. They have captured my imagination. I’m going to post one below and you can also find the entire set of poems here. I’m not sure how great the translation is, but take a peek and let me know what you think. Have a Happy New Year and perhaps I’ll have the opportunity to write from Berlin.

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When the heart is hard and parched up, come upon me with a shower of mercy.

When grace is lost from life, come with a burst of song.

When tumultuous work raises its din on all sides shutting me out from beyond, come to me, my lord of silence, with thy peace and rest.

When my beggarly heart sits crouched, shut up in a corner, break open the door, my king, and come with the ceremony of a king.

When desire blinds the mind with delusion and dust, O thou holy one, thou wakeful, come with thy light and thy thunder.