Alumni News
Experiencing God’s Presence While Volunteering as an Aid Worker on the US-Mexico Border
This article was published in the School of Theology annual 2017 focus magazine, adapted from a sermon deliveredat Boston University’s Marsh Chapel on October 29, 2016. Please find the full magazine here. This article begins on page 47 of the magazine.
What Does it Mean to Enter into the Wounded Body of Christ?
By Laura Rambikur (STH'17, SSW'17)
One of the most important lessons I have learned at the School of Theology is the responsibility we have to be accountable for the theology we practice and preach. Growing up, I knew the disciple Thomas as the one who was skeptical, the one who said he wouldn’t believe the miracle of the resurrection until he had seen Christ and touched his wounds.1 I did not just learn this in church; it is a message perpetuated by popular culture and has become engrained with the name Doubting Thomas. The message is simple: do not be like Thomas, believe in the resurrec-tion. Do not question, just believe.
Thomas teaches us about wounds—how to ask questions and how to serve as witness to the wounds that accom-pany the resurrection. When Jesus appears after the crucifixion, it is not in a new body, but in a wounded body. Is there something to be learned from a wounded resurrection? The New Interpreter’s Bible highlights the graphic description of Thomas’ request, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my fingers where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.”2 Thomas’ grief takes on a challenge not expressed by any of the other disciples; Thomas needs to phys-ically enter into the wounds to believe the resurrection, to find hope. Thomas helps us understand what it means to enter into the broken body of Christ. This particular passage has always cap-tivated me because it is the Thomas moments, the moments upon entering the wound, where I encounter God. What does it mean to enter into the wounded body of Christ?
When I think of the wounded body of Jesus, I think of home, the border, and the physical barrier that divides Arizona and Mexico. I think of the wilderness where so many hundreds of people have died trying to escape polit-ical violence and economic downturn. For six summers, I worked in Honduras and heard horror stories of the border, la frontera, from my Honduran friends and family. I never doubted the stories were true, but I needed to touch the wounds of the border to fully understand the responsibility I have—likeThomas, I needed to experience this wounded body of Jesus.
In spring 2010, I went on my first trip as a volunteer with a group that provides humanitarian aid on the US–Mexico border. Despite its beauty, the Sonoran desert is one of the most deadly migration corridors in the western hemisphere. We had been searching all day, we knew the migrants were there; we had followed their trails, walked their footsteps, found their empty, broken water bottles and food containers. We found shoes, prayer cards, and pictures of families, the loved ones they had left behind. Bumping along the dusty dirt road, we saw the saguaro cacti standing tall with their long arms reaching out, resembling human figures frozen in place.
We finally hit the intersection where the road turned to pavement. As soon as we made the turn, we saw them. There were six of them; their movements were slow and weary, reflecting exhaustion known only to those who have stared death in the face. Being the translator for the group, I swung the car door open and hopped out. “We are friends of the Church, do not be afraid.”
SHARING STORIES
They were from Chiapas, Mexico, and had traveled for three months. Originally, they were part of a group of 25 and had become separated. For nine days, they had been wandering, lost in the desert wilderness without food and water. They had been traveling by night when vehicle headlights appeared and sent the group scattering. Afraid of being discovered, they did not call out for help. They had left their homes, their loved ones, everything they had behind in Chiapas. Raul, a farmer whose land had been taken from him by government officials, explained he could not find work. “My children cannot eat,” he said. “We cannot survive, so I left looking for work, looking for a way to survive.” I sat with them, and they told me their stories. I carry these stories with me; they are stories of the wilderness and the wounded body of Christ.
When we asked about their feet, the six exchanged looks, resistant at first, but I explained we had medicine to clean and bandage their blisters. Reluctantly, they took their shoes off, exposing their bloody and blistered feet. My God! I thought as I saw their wounds. I had never participated in a foot washing. I felt as if I had been given a tremendous responsibility. As we cleaned their feet, we listened to stories of Chiapas, the soft green landscape, so far from this deadly, dry, desolate wilderness. Raul told me God had sent us as their guardian angels, that they thought they were going to die alone in the desert, so far from their families, so far from God. His words hit as I realized the responsibility I was now charged with upon entering into this wound, by becoming part of their story. After Thomas sees the risen Jesus and touches his wounds, he responds, “My Lord and my God!”3 The New Interpreter’s Bible highlights this as one of the most powerful responses in the Gospel of John.4 Theologically, this response points to the beginning of John, where the word is God and becomes flesh. It is in the wounded body of humanity that Thomas encounters God.
As I sat there with
these six, it hit me;
all I could do was serve as witness:
“My Lord and my God!”
When Jesus appears in this passage, he gives in to Thomas with compassion. The word compassion is derived from the Latin pati cum, “suffer with.” Maybe Thomas is the disciple who, in the most material and graphic way, helps teach compassion. Jesus does not shame Thomas for his request to touch his wounds; instead, Jesus invites Thomas into his wounds: “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”5 The compassion demonstrated in this passage is not often highlighted. Yet, the way Jesus and Thomas interact is critical: theologically, it points to the resurrection that happens through the act of compassion when Thomas enters the wound. This is where Thomas finds resurrection.
COMPASSION AND RESPONSIBILITY
The afternoon had finally started to cool when I saw the unmistakable white-and-green truck identical to the vehicles used by animal control—a lifted pickup truck with a steel cab covering the bed where they lock away dangerous animals. Border Patrol had found us; my heart sank, even though I knew this moment was coming. The group had asked us to call; they wanted to go home. They were terrified and felt this was the best way to ensure their safety. The agent got out of the truck and unlocked the back, the door swung open, and I watched in horror as they piled into the back of the truck that would haul them away to one of the private prisons where God only knows what would become of them. Raul was about to get in when he turned and hugged me. Tears welled in my eyes as he said, “You have saved my life, thank you.” Just then, the agent yelled, “Hey! You! What’s in that bag, su mochila?” Raul was the only one who had a mochila (backpack). “Nada!” Raul began. “Solo es…” But before he had a chance to explain, the agent had ripped the bag from his hands. “What’s in here? Drogas? (Drugs?) Guns?” As the officer reached into the bag, I saw that Raul’s expression was completely calm, while the officer was shocked. “A Bible?” It caught him completely off guard. “All right, get in.”
I could no longer hold back my tears. We watched them drive away, all crammed into that tiny space. They had wandered into the wilderness, where they had lost so much, yet all the while carrying their faith, the hope that drives humanity to seek survival despite all odds. This is their story, the story of the wounded body of Christ. This is the story of Thomas entering into Jesus’ wounds. When we choose to walk with those who suffer, we choose compassion; when we choose to enter the wound, we have a responsibility to serve as witness. When we serve as witness, we have a responsibility to be held accountable for the wounds we have experienced. To share the stories of the wounds that accompany the resurrection is to encounter God. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Laura Rambikur (’17, SSW’17) is from Arizona and is pursuing ordination as a deacon in the Desert Southwest Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. After graduation, she plans to return to the borderlands and conduct advocacy work for immigrants.
1. John 20:24-29, The New Interpreter’s Bible Volume IX (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1995), 848.
2. John 20:25, ibid.
3. John 20:28, ibid., 849.
4. Ibid., 849–850.
5. John 20:27, ibid., 849
Bishop John Tetteh (STH ’98, 01) publishes book
Bishop John Tetteh published Why You Are Ill and How You Will Heal in August 2018. You can read more about the book here.
Reverend Michael John Balboni, Ph.D. (STH ’07, ’11) publishes book
Rev. Michael J. Balboni, Ph.D. and Tracy A. Balboni published Hostility to Hospitality: Spirituality and Professional Socialization within Medicine in October of this year. This book explores the relationship between spiritual health and American medicine. Read more about the book here.
Rev. Balboni currently serves as the Interim Assistant Minister at Park Street Church in Boston, MA.
Nimi Wariboko publishes The Split God
The Split God: Pentecostalism and Critical Theory argues that the image of God that arises out of the everyday practices of Pentecostalism is a split God—a deity harboring a radical split that not only destabilizes and prevents God himself from achieving ontological completeness but also conditions and shapes the practices and identities of Pentecostal believers.
Robert Cummings Neville says, “Not since the early work of Thomas J. J. Altizer has a theologian/philosopher opened such a radical new vision of reality with new language as Nimi Wariboko does in The Split God. Through an analysis of Pentecostalism, Wariboko creates a vivid, shocking theology that self-consciously repeats classical Christian orthodoxy (in some of its modes) while transforming it so as to make new sense of Pentecostal beliefs and practices. He mines the language of contemporary continental critical theory of the psychoanalytical and Marxist sort for resources to express his claim that God is split, not whole, reality both spiritual and material is split, not whole, society is split, not whole, and persons are split, not whole. What Pentecostalism does, he claims, is to unite these split parts into vital ways of living in the face of God without making them holistically coherent, just alive and vital.”
Nimi Wariboko is Walter G. Muelder Professor of Social Ethics at Boston University. He has published many books including God and Money: A Theology of Money in a Globalizing World and The Pentecostal Principle: Ethical Methodology in New Spirit.
Bryan Stone Publishes Finding Faith Today
Finding Faith Today presents the findings of a multi-year study on how people come to faith in the US context. The book sheds new light on how people come to faith and what sort of spiritual, practical, and social changes accompany that.
Mark R. Teasdale, Associate Professor of Evangelism, Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, says: "This book offers a paradigm shift! In a culture awash with statistical trends about religious adherence and programming meant to attract people to faith, Stone's wide-ranging, thoughtful, and careful research provides a human face to the statistics. He shows us that most people find God in authentic relationships and communities. As people of faith we are freed from the business and celebrity often connected with faith-recruitment to welcome, befriend, and share our lives with others."
Bryan Stone is Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and E. Stanley Jones Professor of Evangelism at Boston University School of Theology. Among his published titles are: Evangelism After Pluralism (2018), A Reader in Ecclesiology (2012), Evangelism After Christendom (2006), and Faith and Film (2000).
Richard Gentzler (STH ’83) Publishes Book on Ministry for Older Adults
Dr. Richard Gentzler recently released An Age of Opportunity: Intentional Ministry by, with, and for Older Adults. This book recognizes the importance of older adults in our congregations and sees this population as vital to the life of the church. To find out more about An Age of Opportunity, click here.
Dr. Gentzler earned his Doctor of Ministry at BU School of Theology in 1983 and has served in various capacities within the United Methodist Church. He retired from the General Board of Discipleship and the Susquehanna Conference of the UMC. You can email him at rgentzler@tnumc.org.
Dr. Stephanie Budwey (STH ’04, STH ’12) joins faculty at Vanderbilt Divinity School
Dr. Stephanie Budwey has joined the faculty at Vanderbilt University's Divinity School as the Luce Dean's Faculty Fellow Assistant Professor of the History and Practice of Christian Worship and the Arts. She will also service as the director of Religion in the Arts and Contemporary Culture.
Dr. Budwey earned her Master of Sacred Music in 2004 and her Doctor of Theology in 2012 from BU School of Theology.
See the full press from Vanderbilt release here.
Ted Lockhart (’68) publishes “But for These”
But For These: A Memoir of Helpers on my Way to a Cohort of Preachers by Ted Lockhart (CAS'65, STH'68) is out now.
Theodore (“Ted”) L. Lockhart is a retired United Methodist minister and native son of St. Petersburg, Florida, where he attended kindergarten and the public schools in that city. After high school, he served four years in the United States Air Force, including two years in Japan, where he received “The Call.” He attended Gibbs Junior College (St. Petersburg) and Boston University. He served his entire ministry in United Methodist churches in Massachusetts during the 1960s through the 1990s. At various times during those years, he also worked on the faculties of Boston-area institutions of higher education.
Since retiring, he has served congregations on an interim part-time basis in his hometown, St. Petersburg, Florida. He has served as treasurer, vice chairperson, and chairperson of the board of directors of the Dr. Carter G. Woodson African American Museum in St. Petersburg. In 2016, he was selected as a Distinguished Alumnus of Boston University School of Theology. He is the author of three volumes of verse, In Search of Roots (Dorrance & Co., 1970); Before Blackness, Lying After Truth, In Rabbitude, and Other Poems (Dog Ear Publishing, 2013); and In Our Good Name: Poems for Reflection (Dog Ear Publishing, 2016).
Reverend Dr. William Alberts ('61) has written a book review of Reverend Lockhart's memoir. Here is an excerpt:
"Rev. Theodore Lockhart’s BUT FOR THESE is a unique blending of prose and poetry that illuminates his struggle to “daringly become whosoever I could.” With searing honesty Ted takes us into his confidence, and tells what it was like being raised in the oppressive Jim Crow South, the obstacles he faced in pursuing a college and seminary education to become a minister in the white-controlled Methodist Church, and the critical role cohorts played in supporting him as he pursued his ministerial calling. A calling dogged by guilt and personal doubt about, “I’m not cut out for that.” He describes his rise in the Church’s New England Conference -- and his fall at the hands of hierarchical “ecclesiastic politics” – a “cast-away tossed under the bus in a sacrificial offering to the gods of Saving Face and Incompetence.” Sharing his intense anger in response and how he handled it provide a humanizing service for anyone overcome by anger. The book ends with Ted’s rise again in the same Conference, culminating in his pastoral leadership in a church that became the first racially mixed United Methodist congregation to fully welcome LGBTQ persons into its membership. BUT FOR THESE is an inspiring down-to-earth story of a man seeking to be upright. There is much information and insight in Ted Lockhart’s 147-page book – not only for Methodists, but for anyone who believes that honesty and integrity are the two sides of the same humanizing coin."
You can read the rest of the book review here: Review of BUT FOR THESE
Tree of Life Tragedy
October 29, 2018
Dear Beloved Community,
Eleven members of our family died on Saturday, worshiping on Shabbat and practicing their faith as God had taught them to do. They worshiped in the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They were sisters and brothers, life partners, admired leaders and elders, and dear friends; yet their lives were destroyed in a rampage of hatred.
The very name of the Synagogue – Tree of Life – is ironic. The tree of life has traditionally been a binding symbol, central to many religious traditions and symbolic of Divinity and the God-given force of life. Indeed, Muelder Chapel in our own BU School of Theology has a prominent Tree of Life banner, created and gifted to us by one of our alums. In Judaism, the tree of life is symbolic of God’s creative force and also of the Torah. How can such a symbol of life, rooted in Divine creation and binding the human family across our many differences, be associated now with hatred, violence, and fear.
The loss of eleven lives is horrific, and the proximity of this mass slaying to the anniversary of Kristallnacht (November 9-10, 1938) magnifies the sense of tragedy and fear let loose in Pittsburgh. In Kristallnacht, Nazis destroyed synagogues across Berlin and Germany, and approximately 100 people were killed. The systematic oppression and murder of Jews escalated after that, leaving a legacy that brings shame to the whole human family. Now we face another tragedy in the inhuman legacy of attacking synagogues, mosques, LGBTQ people, and people of oppressed races and cultures. We cannot tolerate this as a human family. We are facing the death of our own sisters and brothers, and we are facing the death of our souls.
The magnification of hatred wrought by such devastating acts, and the hate-permitting culture that we have allowed to emerge, cannot continue. We live in a fallen world, but we are not called to fall down in our God-given responsibility to honor the dignity of every single human being and every part of God’s creation. We are called to be present to tragedy and to mourn – to feel the pain and loss, to cry out, and to stand up for our hurting human family.
In these sad days, may you find spaces to mourn and be present with one another; may you find spaces to nourish your souls with the life force that surges through the Tree of Life.
With prayer,
Mary Elizabeth
Mary Elizabeth Moore
Dean and Professor of Theology and Education
Tell STH Students Where You Worship
STHSA (the STH Student Association) has created a database for new students who may be new to Boston or have yet to find a spiritual home in the city. The database gathers information on where current students are worshiping so that other students can get ideas for houses of worship they can explore. And they want alums to participate!
This will enable students to reach out with questions and/or find a buddy to make visiting a new place a little less intimidating. PLEASE NOTE that by completing this form you are authorizing your information to be available to current students in order for them to contact you.