Another interesting and yet odd experience. And this time, my problem was not just matching my daily schedule as a graduate student with my religious practice (the problem I had on Ghadir, Ashura and other Islamic important days). I have no classes on Friday.
This year, Good Friday coincided with the birthday anniversary of our Prophet. So, I had to integrate my religious practices (as a Shia Muslim) with my field observations (as a sociologist). Incorporating these totally different kinds of experience in the same day sounded weird to me; to feel jubilant at heart for the birthday anniversary of my prophet and in the meantime, to attend sober ceremonies for another prophet (who is also revered by Muslims; though in a different way).
I always wished to observe Good Friday ceremonies. It's equivalent of Ashura in Christian tradition. As an observant practicing Shia, I always felt that some of the traditions/beliefs in Ashura processions are not authentic; i.e. they have not been endorsed by our Imams and have been later on imported into Shia traditions somehow.
For example, carrying alam (a very huge wide heavy metallic highly ornamented symbol) during Ashura ceremonies has absolutely nothing to do with the battle of Karbala, Imam Hussein or Islamic traditions in general. Another example is self-flagellation which didn't (and doesn't) make sense to me as a proper way to commemorate the Passion of Imam Hussein (if I may borrow such a term from Christianity). And I always suspected that such rituals that make Ashura ceremonies look like a festival (rather than commemoration of a deep-rooted religious movement against a corrupt ruler), must have entered Shia traditions from somewhere else. My studies about Christian ceremonies later on gave me a hint about the possible origin.
Over recent decades, bigot enemies of Shia have used such traditions to make their case against Shia. Although the root of their enmity should be traced to their uneasiness with the revolutionary ideology of Shia (that started with the revolt of Imam Hussein against Yazid) and not merely some rituals, this has caused prominent progressive Shia scholars to seek to weed out such unauthentic additives and once again make Ashura the pure commemoration of what Imam Hussein gave his life over. I've written about this in a previous post.
Today, I started my conflicting daily schedule with prayers and salutations to the Prophet and his successor Imam Ali. Then, I went to Corpus Christi University Parish for Good Friday service at noon. It was a sober commemoration of Passion of Christ accompanied by very modest music and hymns. And I couldn't help but think that while Christians (who accompany their rituals with music) keep this one so simple, why Ashura ceremonies that by nature should be even more contemplative than Good Friday, have ended up blended with so much bizarre music (that in some cases isn't even solemn).
After recitation of the Passion and Intercession (prayers for problems worldwide, local and personal), came the Communion which was done around the Cross. The service finished with veneration of the Cross. The red band (straddling around the Cross) was stripped and people flocked around to pay they respect; some would kneel, some would kiss and some would just pray before the Cross.
Then, I proceeded to Good Friday Ecumenical Cross Walk. It started with an ecumenical service at Washington Church. There, the Passion of Christ (from Luke) was read by pastors from different Churches and a pastor from St. Michael's in the Hills Episcopal Church gave the homily. Even the hymns and songs had been selected from prayerbooks of different churches. Then, the Cross (that were made of tree trunks) was carried out along Central Ave to Hanmi Covenant Presbyterian Church. It was really heavy and several people had to carry it. The dedication of people in carrying the cross was remarkable and anybody tried to give a hand along the way and I couldn't help think about the same dedication to carrying the alam (or giving a hand to it) during Ashura ceremonies in Iran, Iraq and Lebanon.
Actually, observing this cross walk was the main reason that drew me to all this. However, I don't think what's written in the Bible quoting Jesus Christ as saying "anybody who follows me should carry his cross" should be taken literally. Carrying the cross means following Jesus Christ, standing fast for the word of God at all cost (even your life) and not budging in the face of calamities and obstacles. That's what all prophets have done. And that's what Imam Hussein did to keep the religion of his grandfather upright. And neither he nor any of his successors ever mentioned anything like carrying an alam to commemorate the battle of Karbala. Some Shia historians believe that carrying the alam has been adopted from Christian tradition of carrying the cross (and it sounds plausible to me).
At Hanmi, they laid the Cross in the altar and put nails on the hands of the Cross. Oddly enough, this spiritually difficult job (that could be distressing even to a man) had been assigned to two women, Pastor Amy Erickson (from Christ Presbyterian Church) and a UT student from Corpus Christi University Parish). After the brief sermon by the Korean Pastor of Hanmi Church, continuation of the Passion and a (not so brief, yet insightful) homily, the Solemn Intercessions began. At the end of each petition, a hammer would strike one of the nails in the cross. And this difficult job was done by our student (I asked her how she felt while nailing the cross; she said it to be distressing over the first strikes, but she managed to concentrate on the prayers and to feel easier as it went on). And again, all the hymns and songs during the ceremony had been selected from prayerbooks of different churches. At the end of the procession, people gathered around the nailed cross for prayer and contemplation and then left in silence.
But my job was not finished for the day. In the evening, I attended Hope Lutheran Church for Good Friday evening service. I was keen to know how this progressive always jubilant lively church would observe this thoughtful sober night.
The day before, I had attended their Maundy Thursday Service. What I found most interesting was their reenaction of the Last Supper. There, after Jesus Christ told his disciples that one of them would betray him, the reenactors started thinking aloud about the words of their Lord and almost everybody would end his thoughts with "Is it I?" doubting his own pure belief and dedication to Jesus Christ. Well, except for Judas Iscariot who was sure about himself! Playing with his pouch of silver coins, he mocked (in his thought of course!) the other disciples for their self-righteousness and then hypocritically doubting themselves, jeeringly repeating their line of "Is it I?" and then concluding he was the only one who wouldn't be a hypocrite, not doubting himself! And Judas was reenacted by one of my first friends (actually a brother in belief) when I arrived in Toledo and he happened to be the Youth (High School) Minister at Hope. An odd choice for Judas.
Upon completion of the service and stripping of the altar, the lights grew dim gradually and people left in silence (unlike other services and ceremonies that would always finish with a sending song or hymn). But what I observed over Good Friday evening service was even more interesting.
The service consisted mainly of Stations of the Cross and was accompanied by a touching power-point projection that would show contemporary problems in our world; the most interesting one showed that infamous photo of street execution of a Viet Cong suspect, a communist, by Saigon police chief while the reading was on Crucifixion verdict of Jesus Christ. Or on the third station where the cross is laid on Simon of Cyrene, one of the photos depicted the iconic scene from 911 where dust-covered FDNY and NYPD people carried an unconscious victim out of WTC rubble. Or on the fourth station (women of Jerusalem), they showed wailing Palestinian women and children. And each station was followed by very thoughtful prayers, all explaining what it means to follow Jesus Christ and to carry the cross in our time. At the end, the lights grew dim gradually and people left in silence.
This year, Good Friday coincided with the birthday anniversary of our Prophet. So, I had to integrate my religious practices (as a Shia Muslim) with my field observations (as a sociologist). Incorporating these totally different kinds of experience in the same day sounded weird to me; to feel jubilant at heart for the birthday anniversary of my prophet and in the meantime, to attend sober ceremonies for another prophet (who is also revered by Muslims; though in a different way).
I always wished to observe Good Friday ceremonies. It's equivalent of Ashura in Christian tradition. As an observant practicing Shia, I always felt that some of the traditions/beliefs in Ashura processions are not authentic; i.e. they have not been endorsed by our Imams and have been later on imported into Shia traditions somehow.
For example, carrying alam (a very huge wide heavy metallic highly ornamented symbol) during Ashura ceremonies has absolutely nothing to do with the battle of Karbala, Imam Hussein or Islamic traditions in general. Another example is self-flagellation which didn't (and doesn't) make sense to me as a proper way to commemorate the Passion of Imam Hussein (if I may borrow such a term from Christianity). And I always suspected that such rituals that make Ashura ceremonies look like a festival (rather than commemoration of a deep-rooted religious movement against a corrupt ruler), must have entered Shia traditions from somewhere else. My studies about Christian ceremonies later on gave me a hint about the possible origin.
Over recent decades, bigot enemies of Shia have used such traditions to make their case against Shia. Although the root of their enmity should be traced to their uneasiness with the revolutionary ideology of Shia (that started with the revolt of Imam Hussein against Yazid) and not merely some rituals, this has caused prominent progressive Shia scholars to seek to weed out such unauthentic additives and once again make Ashura the pure commemoration of what Imam Hussein gave his life over. I've written about this in a previous post.
Today, I started my conflicting daily schedule with prayers and salutations to the Prophet and his successor Imam Ali. Then, I went to Corpus Christi University Parish for Good Friday service at noon. It was a sober commemoration of Passion of Christ accompanied by very modest music and hymns. And I couldn't help but think that while Christians (who accompany their rituals with music) keep this one so simple, why Ashura ceremonies that by nature should be even more contemplative than Good Friday, have ended up blended with so much bizarre music (that in some cases isn't even solemn).
After recitation of the Passion and Intercession (prayers for problems worldwide, local and personal), came the Communion which was done around the Cross. The service finished with veneration of the Cross. The red band (straddling around the Cross) was stripped and people flocked around to pay they respect; some would kneel, some would kiss and some would just pray before the Cross.
Then, I proceeded to Good Friday Ecumenical Cross Walk. It started with an ecumenical service at Washington Church. There, the Passion of Christ (from Luke) was read by pastors from different Churches and a pastor from St. Michael's in the Hills Episcopal Church gave the homily. Even the hymns and songs had been selected from prayerbooks of different churches. Then, the Cross (that were made of tree trunks) was carried out along Central Ave to Hanmi Covenant Presbyterian Church. It was really heavy and several people had to carry it. The dedication of people in carrying the cross was remarkable and anybody tried to give a hand along the way and I couldn't help think about the same dedication to carrying the alam (or giving a hand to it) during Ashura ceremonies in Iran, Iraq and Lebanon.
Actually, observing this cross walk was the main reason that drew me to all this. However, I don't think what's written in the Bible quoting Jesus Christ as saying "anybody who follows me should carry his cross" should be taken literally. Carrying the cross means following Jesus Christ, standing fast for the word of God at all cost (even your life) and not budging in the face of calamities and obstacles. That's what all prophets have done. And that's what Imam Hussein did to keep the religion of his grandfather upright. And neither he nor any of his successors ever mentioned anything like carrying an alam to commemorate the battle of Karbala. Some Shia historians believe that carrying the alam has been adopted from Christian tradition of carrying the cross (and it sounds plausible to me).
At Hanmi, they laid the Cross in the altar and put nails on the hands of the Cross. Oddly enough, this spiritually difficult job (that could be distressing even to a man) had been assigned to two women, Pastor Amy Erickson (from Christ Presbyterian Church) and a UT student from Corpus Christi University Parish). After the brief sermon by the Korean Pastor of Hanmi Church, continuation of the Passion and a (not so brief, yet insightful) homily, the Solemn Intercessions began. At the end of each petition, a hammer would strike one of the nails in the cross. And this difficult job was done by our student (I asked her how she felt while nailing the cross; she said it to be distressing over the first strikes, but she managed to concentrate on the prayers and to feel easier as it went on). And again, all the hymns and songs during the ceremony had been selected from prayerbooks of different churches. At the end of the procession, people gathered around the nailed cross for prayer and contemplation and then left in silence.
But my job was not finished for the day. In the evening, I attended Hope Lutheran Church for Good Friday evening service. I was keen to know how this progressive always jubilant lively church would observe this thoughtful sober night.
The day before, I had attended their Maundy Thursday Service. What I found most interesting was their reenaction of the Last Supper. There, after Jesus Christ told his disciples that one of them would betray him, the reenactors started thinking aloud about the words of their Lord and almost everybody would end his thoughts with "Is it I?" doubting his own pure belief and dedication to Jesus Christ. Well, except for Judas Iscariot who was sure about himself! Playing with his pouch of silver coins, he mocked (in his thought of course!) the other disciples for their self-righteousness and then hypocritically doubting themselves, jeeringly repeating their line of "Is it I?" and then concluding he was the only one who wouldn't be a hypocrite, not doubting himself! And Judas was reenacted by one of my first friends (actually a brother in belief) when I arrived in Toledo and he happened to be the Youth (High School) Minister at Hope. An odd choice for Judas.
Upon completion of the service and stripping of the altar, the lights grew dim gradually and people left in silence (unlike other services and ceremonies that would always finish with a sending song or hymn). But what I observed over Good Friday evening service was even more interesting.
The service consisted mainly of Stations of the Cross and was accompanied by a touching power-point projection that would show contemporary problems in our world; the most interesting one showed that infamous photo of street execution of a Viet Cong suspect, a communist, by Saigon police chief while the reading was on Crucifixion verdict of Jesus Christ. Or on the third station where the cross is laid on Simon of Cyrene, one of the photos depicted the iconic scene from 911 where dust-covered FDNY and NYPD people carried an unconscious victim out of WTC rubble. Or on the fourth station (women of Jerusalem), they showed wailing Palestinian women and children. And each station was followed by very thoughtful prayers, all explaining what it means to follow Jesus Christ and to carry the cross in our time. At the end, the lights grew dim gradually and people left in silence.
4 comments:
Mehrad,
I'm very much enjoying your blog. I'm a faculty member at UT in the library, and came across your blog b/c it mentioned the church I attend. I'm reading the rest of your posts now and appreciate your many insights. Thank you!
I'm glad to hear that. I wish you had written which church you attend. I've mentioned more than one in this post.
Oh, merely an oversight. I attend Washington Church, on Central Ave.
...and I was at the "God & Gays : Bridging the Gap" movie screening/discussion that you blogged about in a different post. So, we may have seen each other there! Anyway, it's good to read your reflections.
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