Golgotha: Three in the Afternoon
I want to wish everyone a very blessed time this Easter or Jewish Passover (Pesach). This is truly a holy time for millions of people all over the world.
2000 years ago a Jewish man came to reveal something wonderful. That God has not given up on us despite the violence and hatred that still exists. This man of Peace was himself murdered on a cross (the worst form of Roman execution).
But as C.S. Lewis (once an atheist who was "surprised by the joy of God's love”) has said, this single death became the death of death itself. The tomb could not hold him, neither all those who believe on the Day of Resurrection.
One of those who believed in the 20th century was Dr Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965). In 1952 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, not only for his work with the African community at Lambaréné (in modern Gabon), but for his implacable opposition to nuclear weapons. He called his philosophy, "Reverence for Life". www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/1952/schweitzer/biographi...
Schweitzer was an outstanding musician and theologian in Alsace, one of the preeminent modern interpreters of J.S. Bach. He was the author of one of the most explosive books at the start of the 20th century, "The Quest of the Historical Jesus". His status as a musician and academic of the first rank was established. But he gave it all up to do what he once explained to his African friends in these words, "Jesus told me to come to Africa and heal the sick."
So Schweitzer (who it must be said did not believe in the divinity of Jesus Christ), was so taken by this Jewish man's message that he immediately chose to complete his medical degree and become a missionary doctor in French Equatorial Africa. Now I have always been greatly moved by Schweitzer's response to the calling of Jesus - precisely because, like Thomas of old, he had his doubts - many of them.
But he was so motivated by God's love that he felt compelled to give up his prestige in Europe and become a servant of Africa, amongst the poorest communities. Like most of us he was no saint, but he was an obedient servant to the end, dying with the people he loved on September 4, 1965. On Resurrection Day, I know that he will know that his Redeemer lives.
This little video reflects on that moment when Jesus cried out on the cross at a place called Golgotha (the "Place of the Skull"): "It is finished, Father I commend my spirit into your hands."
The music is a tribute to the fusion of Albert Schweitzer's beloved J.S. Bach and the rhythms of his African compatriots. "Herr, Unser Herrscher" (Lord, Our Ruler) from the album "Lambarena: Bach to Africa" (Sony Classical, 1995).
Above all this Easter we pray for peace in a broken world, in the spirit of a true "Reverence for Life". In the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.
"Albert Schweitzer: Reverence for Life - Documentary Preview"
www.youtube.com/watch?v=glzmO9MB9u4
"Albert Schweitzer: practicing Bach in Lambaréné (original footage)"
www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2lRwGXkr3A
Golgotha: Three in the Afternoon
I want to wish everyone a very blessed time this Easter or Jewish Passover (Pesach). This is truly a holy time for millions of people all over the world.
2000 years ago a Jewish man came to reveal something wonderful. That God has not given up on us despite the violence and hatred that still exists. This man of Peace was himself murdered on a cross (the worst form of Roman execution).
But as C.S. Lewis (once an atheist who was "surprised by the joy of God's love”) has said, this single death became the death of death itself. The tomb could not hold him, neither all those who believe on the Day of Resurrection.
One of those who believed in the 20th century was Dr Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965). In 1952 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, not only for his work with the African community at Lambaréné (in modern Gabon), but for his implacable opposition to nuclear weapons. He called his philosophy, "Reverence for Life". www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/1952/schweitzer/biographi...
Schweitzer was an outstanding musician and theologian in Alsace, one of the preeminent modern interpreters of J.S. Bach. He was the author of one of the most explosive books at the start of the 20th century, "The Quest of the Historical Jesus". His status as a musician and academic of the first rank was established. But he gave it all up to do what he once explained to his African friends in these words, "Jesus told me to come to Africa and heal the sick."
So Schweitzer (who it must be said did not believe in the divinity of Jesus Christ), was so taken by this Jewish man's message that he immediately chose to complete his medical degree and become a missionary doctor in French Equatorial Africa. Now I have always been greatly moved by Schweitzer's response to the calling of Jesus - precisely because, like Thomas of old, he had his doubts - many of them.
But he was so motivated by God's love that he felt compelled to give up his prestige in Europe and become a servant of Africa, amongst the poorest communities. Like most of us he was no saint, but he was an obedient servant to the end, dying with the people he loved on September 4, 1965. On Resurrection Day, I know that he will know that his Redeemer lives.
This little video reflects on that moment when Jesus cried out on the cross at a place called Golgotha (the "Place of the Skull"): "It is finished, Father I commend my spirit into your hands."
The music is a tribute to the fusion of Albert Schweitzer's beloved J.S. Bach and the rhythms of his African compatriots. "Herr, Unser Herrscher" (Lord, Our Ruler) from the album "Lambarena: Bach to Africa" (Sony Classical, 1995).
Above all this Easter we pray for peace in a broken world, in the spirit of a true "Reverence for Life". In the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.
"Albert Schweitzer: Reverence for Life - Documentary Preview"
www.youtube.com/watch?v=glzmO9MB9u4
"Albert Schweitzer: practicing Bach in Lambaréné (original footage)"
www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2lRwGXkr3A