13 Tuesday Sep 2016
Posted in Travel
From the cathedral we walked to the lake in the middle of Reykjavik.
It offers some splendid views of the city.
In the picture above, the church you see is not the cathedral. The church in the picture is actually bigger than the cathedral and it’s made of aluminum (we were told). Just a little fun fact for you there.
The views around the lake are just great.
Such a pleasant city, isn’t it?
12 Monday Sep 2016
Posted in Church, Uncategorized
We stepped across the street from the parliament of Iceland to go inside the cathedral. It’s a beautiful building inside.
I loved seeing all the wood. It’s also very Lutheran (which makes sense since it is a Lutheran church) – there is a great deal of order in it, along with a hat tip to beauty in worship.
The pulpit was no exception.
I was left wondering though – how many people actually hear the Good News from this pulpit? If Iceland is like other countries that have state sponsored religion, then the answer is not many. Which is a real shame.
The altar was of course beautiful as well. And as you can see in the picture, the flag of Iceland is right nearby, so people won’t forget the tie between church and state.
When I was up towards the front of the church, I turned back to see what was at the back. This is what I found.
And in another section of the church, it was great to see some Icelandic on the wall.
For all I know it says something insulting about tourists who stop into the church and take lots of pictures. I’m hoping it’s a blessing though for all who step foot in the church.
25 Thursday Aug 2016
Posted in Travel, Uncategorized
In many ways Iceland is so unique. They are extremely progressive on many issues, small in number, on top of ways to use safe energy, etc.
Yet in other ways, Iceland is just like many “older” nations – the link between God and country has been there for so very long. Not in a American way. No, more European in mindset.
First is the Parliament building.
The building itself isn’t much to look at. But look at the top.
There’s the Icelandic flag and a crown – a hat tip to the Danish monarchy that ruled Iceland for so many centuries.
The garden in the back of the building is actually much nicer.
The great thing about Iceland is that you can go pretty much anywhere and you won’t see any security guards. I have no doubt that they are watching your every step, but at the same time, not having security present all the time gives a different feel – that there is a different level of trust between the governing and the governed.
Across the street from parliament is the cathedral.
Being Scandinavian in outlook, the Lutheran church is the state church. Pastors are paid by the state and the church serves an important symbolic function in Iceland. There are positives and negatives to this, too many to go through in this post. The point is this – there is no separation between church and state here. The church serves the needs of the state. That’s the price you pay when you accept money from the state.
Lastly, there is the tribute to great people of the past in Iceland.
First there is the founder of the capitol.
Looks like a pleasant man, huh?
And across the street in the park opposite the parliament there is another statue.
The biggest difference regarding statues between Iceland and the rest of Europe is this – they don’t have guys on horses here for the most part. That may be because they generally don’t celebrate military figures here. They are more concerned with culture. Not a bad thing.
05 Friday Aug 2016
Posted in Travel
Being out in the water around Reykjavik allowed us to see a view of the city that is far different from other views.
You discover that the city is actually quite short – in terms of tall buildings.
The tallest building in the city is the Cathedral. It sticks out rather distinctly, doesn’t it?
30 Friday Oct 2015
Tags
There are a few things that are must see’s in Turku when you visit.
One, especially if you are a runner is the statue of Paavo Nurmi:
Nurmi was known as the flying Finn. He was an amazing runner in the early 20th century.
Of course, there is the river too:
The river is just gorgeous.
And what is a visit to Turku, without seeing the Cathedral:
I worked my way down the river towards the Cathedral so I could get a picture of the Cathedral with the city flag – I thought it had a neat effect.
And what better way to end a full day, than with a glass of Port wine, overlooking the river, while you wait for the bus to go back to Helsinki.
26 Monday Oct 2015
Posted in Travel
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In May, I went back to Turku for a day long visit to talk with a professor and see a few more sites.
First stop – the cathedral. It’s pretty much obligatory. It’s the biggest thing in Turku and just always impressive to see.
Then it was across the street to see the traditional location of where the archbishop of Finland announces the Christmas peace.
The story is that the archbishop announces the Christmas peace at noon on Christmas Eve from the balcony of this building. Many, many people travel from around Finland to be here for the occasion and it is televised and draws a huge audience.
Next up was the Cathedral School, which is next door to the Christmas Peace announcement building (sorry, I don’t know what it’s called).
It’s one of the oldest schools in Finland.
One of the neatest things is the city seal:
It shows up all around Turku. It goes back to the Swedish name for the city – Åbo. It’s a shield dedicated to the Virgin Mary – hence the blue.
16 Friday Oct 2015
Stockholm Cathedral, as I’ve said many times, is very pleasing to the eye. It is full of amazing art, impressive statues, and a plethora of gold.
One only has to look at the King or Queen’s seat to understand.
And it goes from there. What does a king get for his favorite preacher?
A nice gold pulpit.
Impressive isn’t it. Who wouldn’t want to preach from that right?
Of course, there is a price to pay for this. It’s not paid in currency or gold. The cost is the Gospel which preaches good news to the poor, the outcast, and the outsider. In a church like this, and in any society where the ruling and governing class have sway over the church, what ends up being preached is a different gospel – one that preaches comfort to the comfortable.
15 Thursday Oct 2015
The Stockholm Cathedral is full of lots of stuff. Really pretty stuff.
And really heavy stuff – both literally and metaphorically.
The stuff is made from really solid stuff.
It gives the feeling that the church is really solid and has a solid foundation.
And yet, it also presents challenges. Challenges like – who is the church built for?
Not something most people or rulers want to think about, but we should.
13 Tuesday Oct 2015
The Stockholm Cathedral is an amazing place. If you’ve been following my last few posts, you will see what I mean. It’s not just that there is a ton of art work. It’s that the art work is so diverse in the sense that there is a wide variety of types of art.
There are paintings…
And by that, I mean large murals.
And there are statues…
And by that, I mean large statues. This is the famous statue of St. George and the dragon. It’s huge and in full color. St. George is probably at least six-foot tall, if you could stand him up on his own. This is an incredible piece of art. It’s also very fitting in a state-run church that at one time the state was an empire. One can almost see the argument being made that Christ will come in on a horse and with a sword and vanquish all enemies of the church and state. This is an image of Christ that Jesus himself pushed back against time and time again. His disciples at the time didn’t get it and subsequent followers haven’t gotten it right very often either. We’re always looking for a military leader to conquer and kill our foes. Christ conquers through love. The theology is in stark contrast.
Back to the cathedral. There are also small statues…
I don’t remember the full details, but I believe this is a statue of a saint standing guard over the city. I honestly can’t remember much about the statue except that it is beautiful.
12 Monday Oct 2015
…or the continuation of our tour of the interior of the Cathedral in Stockholm.
The Cathedral has a great deal of wood, brick and stone. And don’t get me wrong, the combination of the three turned out beautiful.
Above is a side view of the stairway up to the pulpit. It’s gorgeous isn’t it. And at the same time, its troubling to me.
Who does this cathedral serve? That’s the question that kept going through my mind as I wandered through it, in awe of its beauty.
The answer is one I don’t think we really want to mention, but I will, because that’s who I am. The cathedral serves the royalty and the powerful. It serves to prop up those in power. They built it (or rather, paid for it to be built by laborers). They heard the messages that were addressed to them. I wonder if Mark 10:17-31 was ever read from this pulpit. It’s the reading where Jesus tells the wealthy man to sell his possessions and give them to the poor and then to follow him. The pastor that would preach on that would have probably ended up in prison. The Gospel message would have to have been run through the filter of royalty. So much for conflicting the comfortable with the Word of God.
Above is the door to the stairway up to the pulpit. Again, it’s beautiful and yet, it’s beauty masks something else – division. Only the chosen few are allowed to enter through. This supports the notion that there is a division between the masses and those that speak to the masses, or rule over them.
Above is a tomb. It’s inside the cathedral. It’s a wealthy couple’s tomb. They paid for the privilege of being buried in the cathedral with the notion that they would be closer to Jesus, especially when he returns. The tomb is beautiful and yet, it’s beauty masks something else – division. It sends a message that only the wealthy and the powerful have access to God.
All throughout the cathedral, there is beauty. And yet the beauty masks something else – division. A division that humans created to separate those that are chosen by other humans and the masses who are unlucky. The chosen ones are surrounded by wealth and beauty and hear a comforting message while they see comforting images. The irony is that the Gospel message was being preached all around society, except in the cathedral. The message was that God is with the outcasts, the outsiders, those without power or value. The images were stark and the wealthy and powerful ran to the church to escape the visual imagery they saw. It was uncomfortable. Yet, it was real. So much better to manipulate the church and God and receive a supposed divine blessing on the established order of things.
Is it any wonder why people would opt out of the church when they could. Why pay the church tax when the church’s message was to comfort the comfortable all the while the conflicted suffer.
I want to invite us to pray together this Lent.
What do I see in the world?
God is good all the time
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