Today's battle between musician and king is one of the more intriguing pairings of Lent Madness 2014. While on seemingly disparate paths, both J.S. Bach and Alfred the Great were fighters. Well, Bach once tangled with a bassoonist and Alfred fought Vikings but you get the point. However this match-up turns out, we know Bach will remain victorious in one category: children sired. He famously fathered 20 children while Alfred had a mere quarter of this number.

In yesterday's neck-and-neck race between James Holly and Harriet Beecher Stowe, Harriet eked out a victory 51% to 49%. She'll go on to face Alcuin of York in the Round of the Saintly Sixteen.

In the same way it's never too late in Lent to begin a Lenten discipline, it's never too late to join in Lent Madness! If you're just checking out this fun, informative way to learn about some amazing people and grow your faith, click here to watch our brief Voting 101 video. We also have some general information for those new to Lent Madness here.

If you haven't liked us on Facebook or followed us on Twitter, you're missing some supplemental conversation. Granted there's plenty of that among the hundreds of comments that follow each match-up but some people just can't get enough of the Madness!

Well, it's been a wonderful, wacky, heart-pounding first full week of Lent Madness 2014. Yesterday marked our second 1% margin of victory this week (see Antony of Egypt vs. Mary of Egypt). Yowza! The Supreme Executive Committee authorizes you to take a deep cleansing breath this weekend and then get ready for our next match-up on Monday morning as Lydia tangles with Moses the Black.

J.S. Bach

For someone who was orphaned at age nine and never traveled farther than 225 miles from his birthplace, Johann Sebastian Bach left a legacy to the world of music much grander than his circumstances might suggest. Born in 1685, the eighth child of a musical family in Eisenach, Germany, Bach studied organ and voice. He was known for his stellar soprano voice. After the loss of his parents who died just months apart, he lived with his older brother, Johann Christoph, an organist who likely continued Bach’s training and introduced him to contemporary music.

Bach’s first real job as an organist came at the age of eighteen when he was hired in Arnstadt, a city in central Germany. Over the next several years, as he moved to progressively larger and more prestigious positions, he began composing in earnest. At age 22 he married his first wife, Maria Barbara, and rather famously, engaged in a street fight with a bassoonist.

After stints in Weimar and Köthen as Kapellmeister (musicmaker), Bach landed in Leipzig in 1723 as Thomaskantor, or director of music, a post he held for twenty-seven years until his death. During this period, he composed more than 300 sacred cantatas that correspond to the weekly lectionary readings. In addition, he continued composing the large-scale orchestral works for which he is well known: the St. Matthew Passion and St. John Passion for Good Friday, the Mass in B Minor, the Brandenburg Concerti, and hundreds of other works. A catalog of his work created in 1950 lists some 1,127 surviving pieces; many more compositions were lost over the years.

In Bach’s day, the church was the only place an accomplished musician could make a living for himself and his family. And Bach required a substantial living: between his two wives (the second was the much-younger, highly gifted soprano Anna Magdalena) he fathered twenty children, ten of whom survived to adulthood. However, his deep devotion to the Christian faith was evident: he not only composed the sacred works but also taught Luther’s Small Catechism classes while at Leipzig. No one of his stature would have been forced to teach Sunday School.

J.S. Bach died at age 65 in Leipzig. He kept composing until the very end, despite contending with blindness for many years. His deep dedication to his craft resulted in some of the most beautifully complex music humankind has ever created. Certain of Bach’s pieces are the musical equivalent of a gothic cathedral. They make our hearts soar toward God.

Collect for J.S. Bach
Almighty God, beautiful in majesty and majestic in holiness, who teaches us in Holy Scripture to sing your praises and who gave your musicians Johann Sebastian Bach, George Frederick Handel and Henry Purcell grace to show forth your glory in their music: Be with all those who write or make music for your people, that we on earth may glimpse your beauty and know the inexhaustible riches of your new creation in Jesus Christ our Savior; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

 -- Heidi Shott

Alfred the Great

Alfred the Great united the kingdom of England and was its first great moral leader. Born around 849, he was sent to Rome at the age of four, where some sources say he was confirmed and anointed king by Pope Leo IV.

This was a trifle premature, since Alfred had three older brothers, one of whom deposed his father shortly after they returned home to England. Until Alfred came of age, the kingdom was divided between his brothers, Aethelbald, Aethelred, and Aethelbert.

During this period, Alfred fought alongside his brother, Aethelred; first, against the “Great Heathen Army,” led by Ivar the Boneless, then against the invading Danish—also known as the Viking—army. This second battle did not go well, at least for Aethelred. He died, and Alfred became the new king in 871.

This was less impressive than it sounds. The Vikings had conquered most of England, but by 880, Alfred had managed to push them back out, and for the first time in history, unite England under a single ruler.

Alfred then set about reforming legal practices throughout the land. He issued a new legal code to standardize the laws throughout all England. This was called the Doom Book, which took inspiration from the Ten Commandments and the gospel’s call for mercy and combined them into a comprehensive system that meted out fines and payments instead of violence.

Alfred also saw it as his job to increase education and religious piety. So he began a court school to improve his own children’s learning as well as issued a decree that all primary education occur in English. To aid this cause, he commissioned the translation of numerous books into English, including the Venerable Bede’s Ecclesiastical History and the Dialogues of Gregory the Great. Alfred also translated several books into English himself, including the first fifty Psalms and Boethius’ Consolation of Philosophy.

Alfred believed it was his duty to care for both the physical and spiritual well-being of his people, and tried, throughout his reign, to do both equally. He died in October of 899. He is the only English monarch to be (officially) called “the Great.”

Collect for Alfred the Great
O Sovereign Lord, who brought your servant Alfred to a troubled throne that he might establish peace in a ravaged land and revive learning and the arts among the people: Awake in us also a keen desire to increase our understanding while we are in this world, and an eager longing to reach that endless life where all will be made clear; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

-- Megan Castellan

Vote!

[poll id="88"]

Here's a match-up that may have you scratching your hair shirt. James Theodore Holly, pioneering African-American bishop and missionary versus Harriet Beecher Stowe, author and abolitionist. Two 19th century figures who had a major impact upon race relations in the United States and abroad.

Yesterday F.D. Maurice defeated David of Wales in a day that saw a brief technical glitch in the initial daily e-mail sent out to subscribers. "Yes, Virginia, there are Lent Madness gremlins."

What's that? You say you don't receive these fantabulous e-mails insuring that you never miss a vote? Go to the home page and look on the right side just under the Voting 101 video -- enter your e-mail address and voila! You'll receive every match-up in your inbox at 8:00 am Eastern Standard Time.

Finally, as we enter into another exciting and occasionally heart-wrenching day of voting, remember that what we say about confessing our sins to a priest in the Episcopal Church also applies to engaging in Lent Madness: "All may, none must, some should."

James Theodore Holly

James Theodore Holly was the first bishop of the Episcopal Church in Haiti and the first African-American bishop in the Episcopal Church. He was born in 1829 to freed blacks in Washington, D.C. Holly was self-educated and taught himself Latin, Greek, Hebrew, French, and Creole over the course of his life.

As a young adult, Holly devoted his time to the cause of abolitionism and greater inclusion of African Americans in the Episcopal Church. He also worked alongside Frederick Douglass and Lewis Tappan and served as an editorial assistant for The Voice of the Fugitive, an abolitionist newspaper in Canada. Although he was baptized and remained Catholic through his young adult years, in 1852—a year after he married his wife Charlotte—Holly was received into the Episcopal Church. Three years later, he was ordained deacon in the Episcopal Church and in 1856, a priest.

Holly founded the Episcopal Society for Promoting the Extension of the Church Among Colored People, a forerunner of the Union of Black Episcopalians. While a member, he passionately advocated for the Episcopal Church to make a public statement in opposition to slavery.

Emboldened by his belief that people of color could experience unique opportunities and freedom outside of the United States, Holly, his family, and a small group of emigrants left the United States for Haiti in 1861. During their first year on the island, many of the emigrants died, including Holly’s mother, his wife, and two children. Nevertheless, Holly went on to found Trinity Episcopal Church as well as a host of schools and health clinics. He was ordained the first missionary Bishop of Haiti in 1874.

Holly’s leadership and vision helped create a more culturally inclusive church in a period of great racial upheaval. Along with Holly’s dogged determination of a life of equality for all, his ministry expanded the geographical and cultural parameters of the Episcopal Church and served as a voice for the voiceless. At the time of his death in 1911, the Episcopal Church in Haiti had more than 2,000 members, fifteen parish churches, and fifteen ordained clergy. And today, the Episcopal Church in Haiti, with nearly 90,000 members, is the largest diocese in The Episcopal Church.

Collect for James Theodore Holly
Most gracious God, by the calling of your servant James Theodore Holly you gave us our first bishop of African American heritage. In his quest for life and freedom, he led your people from bondage into a new land and established the Church in Haiti. Grant that, inspired by his testimony, we may overcome our prejudice and honor those whom you call from every family, language, people, and nation; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

-- Maria Kane

Harriet Beecher Stowe

Harriet Beecher Stowe put pen to paper and changed the world. She actually wrote more than twenty books in her lifetime but is best remembered for Uncle Tom’s Cabin, which brought home the moral evil of slavery in graphically emotional terms.

Born June 14, 1811, Stowe was raised in a progressive and very devout household. She enrolled in a school run by her older sister and received an education in the classics, unusual for a girl at the time. At twenty-one, she moved to Cincinnati, Ohio (now known primarily as the headquarters city of Forward Movement, sponsors of Lent Madness) to join her father, who had moved there to serve as president of Lane Theological Seminary. There, she met Calvin Ellis Stowe, a professor at the seminary and fellow abolitionist. They got married in 1836 and had seven children. Their home became a stop on the Underground Railroad and Harriet continued with her writing and work as an abolitionist.

Stowe wrote Uncle Tom’s Cabin as a response to the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. This law stated that if any former slave was captured in the North, they had to be forcibly returned South and returned to their owner, or sold.

By this time, Stowe and her family had moved to Maine, where her husband was teaching theology at Bowdoin College in Brunswick. Stowe would gather students and faculty to read over the chapters as she completed them. The book was published in June of 1851, when Stowe was forty-one years old. In a letter to an English Lord Chief Justice, “I wrote what I did because as a woman, as a mother, I was oppressed and broken-hearted with the sorrows and injustice I saw, because as a Christian I felt the dishonor to Christianity.” Initially, the novel came out in installments in the newspaper The National Era. She was paid only $400—considered a small payment, even for that time. When Uncle Tom’s Cabin was published in novel form, the book sold a staggering 300,000 copies in less than a year.

The book not only articulated slavery as intellectually wrong but also as emotionally wrong, with the effects of slavery played out in the tragic lives of its characters. And the book sparked outrage over slavery like nothing else had to that point. In 1862, Stowe went to the White House to meet with President Lincoln. Her son reported that Lincoln greeted her with “So you’re the little lady who wrote the big book that started this war.”

Stowe kept writing through the rest of her life, though nothing ever matched the success of Uncle Tom’s Cabin. And she kept fighting injustice. In her family’s summer home of Mandarin, Florida, she founded several integrated schools and promoted the ideal of equal education.

She died in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1896.

Collect for Harriet Beecher Stowe
Gracious God, we thank you for the witness of Harriett Beecher Stowe, whose fiction inspired thousands with compassion for the shame and sufferings of enslaved peoples, and who enriched her writings with the cadences of The Book of Common Prayer. Help us, like her, to strive for your justice, that our eyes may see the glory of your Son, Jesus Christ, when he comes to reign with you and the Holy Spirit in reconciliation and peace, one God, now and always. Amen.

-- Megan Castellan

Vote!

[poll id="85"]

In this morning's email from Lent Madness global headquarters, there was a broken link to the voting page. While voter turnout has been decent, the Supreme Executive Committee is concerned that some fans might not find their way over to the polling place. So here is the correct link: https://www.lentmadness.org/2014/03/david-of-wales-vs-f-d-maurice/ Please share it widely on social media, bulletin boards, windshield flyers, bumper stickers, and billboards.

As an homage to Facebook's popular Throwback Thursday, we thought we would provide some retro images to encourage you to vote. If you're of a certain age, the name "Maurice" conjures images of a television star from days of yore: Morris the Cat. Sure, it's spelled differently, but they sound the same.

And of course, David of Wales is easy. We've provided a handy antique picture of whales. Hey, it was either going to be this or Welch's grape juice in reference to the Welsh. We made the right choice, I think you'll agree.

If you are worried about remembering to vote, you can sign up for daily emails. Just put your email address in the little box over there on the right side of our website and hit the subscribe button. In the event there's a problem with either our email or your overly aggressive spam filter, make sure you have a backup plan. Here are several ways to remember to vote each day:

• Buy a purple alarm clock and set it for 8:00 a.m. Eastern time.
• Like us on Facebook and see the daily posts, as well as regular updates.
• Follow us on Twitter for up-to-the-second news.
• Tell your priest or minister to call you each morning. She or he has nothing better to do than activate the parish calling tree to get out the Lent Madness vote. Tell them we said so.
• If your town has tornado or civil defense sirens, call the mayor and ask that they sound every day of Lent to call people to vote.

Will F. D. Maurice get a cheshire grin as David goes extinct like a whale? Or will David gobble up F. D. Maurice only to vomit him out on the shores of defeat? Your vote will decide the outcome. Vote now (but only once per person!).

The battleground is Great Britain as David of Wales goes up against F.D. Maurice of the Church of England. A bishop beloved by the Welsh vs. a social activist and theologian beloved by Anglo-Catholics. The winner advances to take on Julia Chester Emery.

In yesterday's match-up, a controversial pairing that brought together two ancient Egyptian ascetics, Antony of Egypt squeaked past Mary of Egypt 51% to 49%. People had a lot to say about this battle with a record number of comments recorded and if you thought your vote "didn't really matter," Antony prevailed by a mere 150 votes out of nearly 6,000 cast. He'll go on to face Basil the Great in the next round.

Speaking of voting, you should know that the Supreme Executive Committee keeps former President Jimmy Carter on retainer as an impartial election observer. This is just a reminder that Lent Madness suffrage entitles you to ONE vote per day. Big Brother (in the form of the technophile member of the SEC -- who used to work for IBM!) is watching. If you have more than one person (not including dog, cat, ferret, etc) in your household he/she/it can obviously also cast a vote on another device.

The elections so far have been clean but this is just a friendly reminder in light of yesterday's very close battle. So, your Christian duty this Lent is to vote. Just don't sin against God, the SEC, and the Lent Madness faithful and do it more than once.

David of Wales

The patron saint of Wales, David was a bishop of Menevia during the sixth century. Originally called to the monastic life, he ended up as a well-known church leader, teacher, and preacher. He founded numerous monasteries and churches throughout Wales and the surrounding areas. David also presided over two synods against Pelagianism (a heresy that denied the existence of original sin). The first synod was at Brefi around 560 and the second was at Caerleon (the “Synod of Victory”) around 569.

Legend has it that a miracle took place at the Synod of Brefi. While David was preaching a sermon in the village of Llanddewi Brefi, the place where he was standing rose up to form a hill, and a white dove landed on his shoulder. Commenters jest that the location of the miracle was already rather hilly, but the story is cherished as his best-known miracle. The white dove is seen as a symbol of his ministry. David is also associated with the leek, a symbol of Wales.

David lived a disciplined and ascetic life. His strict monasticism was modeled after the earliest Christian ascetics: hard manual labor without even the use of draught animals, silence, long hours of prayer, and a diet of bread and herbs without any meat and alcohol. No personal possessions were allowed.

Some accounts claim that David lived past the age of 100 years. His biographers described that the monastery was “filled with angels as Christ received his soul.” One biographer cited David’s last words to his community: “Be joyful, and keep your faith and your creed, and do the little things that you have seen me do and heard about. I will walk the path that our fathers have trod before us.” This entreaty is remembered as a well known Welsh saying: “Do ye the little things in life” (Gwnewch y pethau bychain mewn bywyd).

Through the leadership of David, many evangelists journeyed throughout the British Isles and Brittany, spreading the gospel.

Collect for David of Wales
Almighty God, you called your servant David to be a faithful and wise steward of your mysteries for the people of Wales: Mercifully grant that, following his purity of life and zeal for the Gospel of Christ, we may with him receive our heavenly reward; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

-- Amber Belldene

Frederick Denison Maurice

Frederick Denison Maurice was born in 1805. He attended Trinity College, Cambridge, with the intention of becoming a barrister or lawyer. He was ultimately unable to receive his degree, because as a Unitarian and a dissenter from the established church, he refused to subscribe to the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion, which defined the doctrine of the Church of England. Maurice moved to London, where he began to write in support of social reforms.

It was during his time in London that Maurice converted to Anglicanism. In 1830, he left London to study at Exeter College in Oxford. By 1834, he was ordained as a priest and four years later he wrote his seminal work The Kingdom of Christ, in which he held that the Church was a united body, transcending individual sects, denominations, and disputes. While Maurice’s work would ultimately be an early source of Anglican ecumenism, it also roused suspicion among more conservative wings of the church. In 1846, he became a professor of theology at Kings’ College, London.

European society changed rapidly in the first half of the nineteenth century, as advances in industrialization ultimately led to the rise of a new middle class, which created new social tensions. During the same year that socialist Karl Marx famously called religion “the opiate of the people,” Maurice wrote, “we have been dosing our people with religion…when what they want is...the living God.” Later, inspired by the Revolutions of 1848, a wave of political upheavals across Europe, Maurice became one of the organizers of the Christian Socialist Movement, seeking to, as he said, engage in the conflict with “unsocial Christians” and “unchristian Socialists.” The Christian socialists sought to apply Christian principles to laissez-faire industrialism, advocating for a collective responsibility for the poor and those in substandard factory working conditions.

Unlike Marx, the Christian Socialists would advocate for the active involvement of the Church in improving the lot of the working class. Maurice’s book Theological Essays, published in 1853, ultimately cost him his job as a professor when it was viewed as being heterodox—too much at odds with the established Church. Using his existing knowledge and teaching experience to improve the lives of the working class, he founded the Working Men’s College to promote his ideals. Ultimately he returned to the academy, teaching in Cambridge from 1866 until his death.

Collect for F. D. Maurice
Almighty God, who restored our human nature to heavenly glory through the perfect obedience of our Savior Jesus Christ: Keep alive in your Church, we pray, a passion for justice and truth; that, like your servant Frederick Denison Maurice, we may work and pray for the triumph of the kingdom of your Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

-- David Sibley

Vote!

[poll id="81"]

Today's saintly drama revolves around Egypt. As in "Who will emerge victorious in the holy battle for Egyptian domination." Antony (don't call me Anthony or even Tony for that matter) of Egypt takes on Mary (you can just call me Mary) of Egypt. These two have a lot in common both being hermits and spending much spiritual energy on resisting temptation. Nonetheless, only one will seize the title "Pharaoh of Lent Madness" and make it to the Round of the Saintly Sixteen to square off against Basil the Great.

In yesterday's matchup Anna Cooper bested (upset?) Joseph of Arimathea 60% to 40% which is unfortunate since Joseph already gave away his burial plot.

And if you missed yesterday's exhilarating edition of Monday Madness click here to see Tim and Scott hold forth on all things Lent Madness. As usual it's epic and compelling with high production values.

Antony of Egypt

Antony was born in about 251 to wealthy Christian parents in Middle Egypt. When he was not yet twenty years old, his parents died and left their large estate and his young sister to his care. Shortly thereafter, Antony was convicted by Jesus’ words to the rich man to sell everything and give the money to the poor. Antony parceled out his land, giving it away to his neighbors, and sold all his family’s belongings. He gave the money to those who were poor around him, keeping a small portion to provide for him and his sister. A short while later, he heard the gospel command to not worry about tomorrow. He promptly gave away what remained of his money, put his sister in a house of virgins, and took up a life of solitude.

Antony moved to an old tomb and survived on only bread and water, never eating or drinking before sunset, and often fasting for days in between. During this time, he wrestled with demons that assaulted him for his wealth and tempted him with lustful thoughts. He was successful in his resistance, being assured in a vision from God that he had won the victory. Encouraged by this vision, Antony moved further out into the desert.

Antony lived alone for over twenty years. Although he was drawn to the life of a hermit and constantly tried to retreat further into the wilderness, he eventually acquired some renown, and pious men sought to imitate him. Eventually, a sort of monastery was formed, a community of disciples attracted to his lifestyle. The monastery of Saint Antony the Great now stands at that site.

In 311, when the emperor Maximinus began persecuting Christians, Antony went to Alexandria hoping to be martyred. He publicly wore his white habit—the sign of a Christian monastic—and visited Christians in prison and labor camps and testified on their behalf before tribunals. He did not, however, try to impugn himself. In 312, when the persecution ebbed, Antony again returned to the desert and, alone in his cell, committed to become what Saint Athanasius called “a daily martyr to his conscience, ever fighting the battles of faith.” In his old age, Antony participated in the Arian controversy alongside his friend and biographer, Bishop Athanasius. This doctrinal debate claimed that Jesus was subordinate and distinct from God. In 355, Antony was invited to Alexandria to debate the Arians, many of whom were convinced by his arguments and changed their thinking. After the debates, he returned to the desert where he died in 356 at the ripe old age of 105.

Collect for Saint Antony of Egypt
O God, by your Holy Spirit you enabled your servant Antony to withstand the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil: Give us grace, with pure hearts and minds, to follow you, the only God; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

-- David Creech

Mary of Egypt

Mary of Egypt is recognized as the patron saint of penitents. This is because of her conversion from life as a sex addict to that of a desert hermit. Her life story or Vita, reportedly first told by Mary to a monk, was later put in writing by Saint Sophronius, the Patriarch of Jerusalem (634-638).

Born in the fourth century in an unknown region of Egypt, Mary ran away to the city of Alexandria at the age of twelve. As a young woman in Alexandria, she lived a life her biographer labeled as public prostitution. Reportedly she often refused payment for sexual acts because of her insatiable desire and instead subsisted mostly by begging and handiwork. Around the age of thirty, she traveled to Jerusalem with a group of pilgrims, hoping to find new sexual partners in the crowds. There she pursued gratification of her desires for a short time. Then, her life changed when she tried to visit the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the place where Jesus was crucified. But she was unable to pass through the door due to an invisible force.

At this strange occurrence, Mary had an epiphany of sorts and was filled with remorse for her sexual sins. At the sight of an icon of the Virgin Mary, she prayed for forgiveness and renounced her worldly ways. Finding new freedom from her previously insatiable desires, she was able to enter the church. Inside, a voice guided her into the desert. She obeyed, journeying to the monastery of Saint John the Baptist to receive absolution and Holy Communion. Then she crossed the Jordan to live in the desert as a hermit in penitence. She is often depicted in iconography with three loaves of bread, the only food she took into the desert. Once she ate them, she lived off what she could forage in the wilderness.

She lived alone in the desert for forty-seven years, until she met a monk named Zosimus, and told him the story of her life. He agreed to bring her communion on Maundy Thursday of the following year. She appeared to him on the opposite bank of the Jordan River, made the sign of the cross, and walked across the water to receive the body and blood of Christ. She asked him to meet her again one year later, at which time he found her corpse. An inscription told him that she had died shortly after his first visit, though her body was preserved. With the help of a lion, Zosimas dug a grave and buried her. When asked if this was true, Zosimas said, “I’m not lion about any of this!”

Collect for Mary of Egypt
Almighty God, in the early life of Mary, you give us an example of how our incarnate bodies can be sources of both pleasure and destruction. Make us aware of your never-failing love and forgiveness, that we, like her, might love and serve you in body, mind, and spirit. Through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.

(Collect written by Nancy Hopkins-Greene.)

-- Amber Belldene

Vote!

[poll id="80"]

Yep, it's that time again. Tim and Scott hold forth on all things madnesstastic. Tune in for the latest news about Lent Madness Fever sweeping the nation and/or the House of Bishops. Watch LentMadnessTV every day. Or multiple times a day if you want a true wilderness experience.

Remember, you can be a Lent Madness evangelist. It's not too late to invite your friends, your church, and your nation to join the bestest Lenten discipline in the world.

Today's match-up is why Lent Madness can sometimes resemble the theater of the absurd. The Scriptural figure Joseph of Armimathea, who asked Pilate for Jesus' body in order to give him a proper burial, takes on Anna Cooper, African-American feminist, writer, and academic. The good news? Lent Madness returns after taking a sabbath on the First Sunday in Lent.

Over the weekend, as Tim was singing The Great Litany in procession, Scott shared some additional Lenten devotional resources offered by Forward Movement (shockingly, Lent Madness isn't everyone's sole Lenten discipline). The mysterious Maple Anglican also released his Week One Update video which recapped the first three match-ups and previewed this week's battles.

And now? More Madness!

Joseph of Arimathea

The patron saint of funeral directors, morticians, and undertakers, Joseph of Arimathea has a curious reputation. He appears in all four gospels, doing essentially the same thing: going to Pilate to ask for Jesus’ body in order to provide for his burial. Presented as a person of high status by each evangelist, his portrait shifts slightly in each version. He’s a kind of Rorschach test for a character we tend to think of as “not Jesus’ type:” a wealthy, well-connected religious leader.

In Matthew, he’s noted as a rich man and a disciple of Jesus. In Mark, he’s “a respected member of the council” who “went boldly to Pilate.” In Luke, he is “a good and righteous man,” a member of the council who had not agreed with the plan to kill Jesus. And in John, he’s a secret disciple for “fear of the Jews.” It’s like the synoptic gospels are saying, “Yeah, he’s on the council that killed Jesus, but he’s really a good guy, you know?” John can’t seem to get over his distaste.

John cannot deny, however, that after Jesus was abandoned at his crucifixion, Joseph showed up and went in person to the very man who executed Jesus and asked for the body. Handling the corpse would render Joseph ritually unclean for the Passover (Numbers 19:11-13).

Instead, Joseph fulfilled another law. Deuteronomy 21:22-24 says, “When someone is convicted of a crime punishable by death and is executed, and you hang him on a tree, his corpse must not remain all night upon the tree; you shall bury him that same day, for anyone hung on a tree is under God’s curse.”

Joseph is an interesting (and typically Jesus-like) case study about keeping the Law: is it more important to be clean and to take part in religious rituals or to show love and compassion to the least among us? Joseph’s choice shows he understood the essential truth of Jesus’ teaching.

After the burial, Joseph disappears from scripture. According to one legend, he brought the Holy Grail to England. In fact, Elizabeth I made use of Joseph’s supposed trip to support Anglicanism. After all, the Roman bishops “testifieth Joseph of Arimathea to be the first preacher of the word of God within our realms.” Therefore, the Roman Church couldn’t have been the first and only established church in England, could it?

Collect for Joseph of Arimathea
Merciful God, whose servant Joseph of Arimathaea with reverence and godly fear prepared the body of our Lord and Savior for burial, and laid it in his own tomb: Grant to us, your faithful people, grace and courage to love and serve Jesus with sincere devotion all the days of our life; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

 -- Laura Darling

Anna Julia Haywood Cooper 

Anna Julia Haywood Cooper was one of the first feminists of the twentieth century and a tireless advocate for “neglected people,” in particular, African American women. Born in 1858 as the daughter of an enslaved African woman and a white man, likely her master, Anna transcended the limitations of slavery and the post-Civil War’s Reconstruction. She attended St. Augustine’s Normal & Technical Institute—now St. Augustine’s College—in Raleigh, North Carolina. She later studied at Oberlin College and graduated in 1884 with a bachelor’s degree and in 1887 with a master’s in mathematics. While at St. Augustine’s, Anna met and married her husband George Cooper, who was preparing for the priesthood. Although he died two years after they married, Cooper pressed forward with her education and career because of her desire to foster the full inclusion of black women in civic life.

Anna’s passionate belief in the power of education to transform lives led her to serve as a teacher and principal at M Street High School, the only all-black school in Washington, D.C. When her superintendent told Cooper that she should focus on teaching trades to her students instead of science, math, and literature, Cooper unabashedly defied his orders and continued with her original plans. As a result of her firm resolve, M Street’s graduates attended some of the nation’s most prestigious colleges and universities during a time when such opportunities were limited for women and people of color.

Cooper wrote A Voice from the South, in which she argued that black women had a unique voice about the experience of oppression and criticized educational, social, and civic advancements that only favored black men. At the heart of Cooper’s work was a firm belief in the potential of every human being. Never one to slow down, in 1915, Cooper adopted five children left orphaned, and in 1925, at the age of sixty-five she earned her doctorate in history from the University of Paris. Cooper died in 1964; she was 105 years old.

In 2009, the United States Postal Service issued a stamp in her honor. Pages 26-27 of all United States passports quote Anna Julia Haywood Cooper’s passionate beliefs about equality and freedom for all: “The cause of freedom is not the cause of a race or a sect, a party, or a class—it is the cause of humankind, the very birthright of humanity.” Thus it is possible to meditate on Lent Madness while waiting in slow-moving immigration lines when you return to the United States from vacationing elsewhere.

Collect for Anna Julia Haywood Cooper
Almighty God, you inspired your servant Anna Julia Haywood Cooper with the love of learning and the skill of teaching: Enlighten us more and more through the discipline of learning, and deepen our commitment to the education of all your children; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. 

-- Maria Kane

Vote!
 

[poll id="84"]

After Alcuin easily dismissed Ephrem of Edessa (77% to 23%) in our only Saturday battle of Lent Madness 2014, today is a rest day until Monday's battle between Joseph of Arimathea and Anna Cooper. To help you cope with a day without voting, we encourage you to go to church and share the Good News of Lent Madness with your fellow pew-sitters. Go ahead and print out some brackets and pass them out. Encourage people to fill them in during the sermon. Your priest will love that.

After church, make sure you tune into this week's update from everyone's favorite color commentators, veteran Lent Madness competitors Archbishop John Chrysostom and Archbishop Thomas Cranmer. Throughout Lent Madness, they will offer a new video each week. The videos will look back on the contests from the previous week and preview upcoming battles.

Of course, Lent Madness is not the only thing happening during the forty days and forty nights of Lent. The official sponsor of Lent Madness is Forward Movement, and they offer a whole range of publications to nourish your Lenten journey. So if you're looking for something beyond the saintly smackdown, maybe these will help. Since Lent's already started, here are some digital resources that you might enjoy.

If you'd like some daily meditations to go with your daily voting, try Lent is Not Rocket Science: An Exploration of God, Creation, and the Cosmos by W. Nicholas Kinsely. The season of Lent prompts us to ask questions, big and small, about the nature of our being, and about our role in the world. Astronomer, physicist and Episcopal Bishop W. Nicholas Knisely explores the intersection of faith and science, creation and the cosmos. Available on the Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble Nook, and on iTunes.

If that one doesn't strike your fancy, how about Disciples on the Way by Carol Mead? Experience a Lenten journey that will prepare you to walk throughout your life as a disciple of Jesus Christ. Carol Mead reflects on discipleship and the season in these daily meditations for the forty days of Lent. Available on Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble Nook, and iTunes.

Finally, Good Lord, Deliver Us offers daily reflections for our Lenten journey guided by the heart and vision of thirty-two timeless petitions from Thomas Cranmer's Great Litany. Leonard and Lindsay Freeman offer strength and encouragement for our walk to the cross as they look at the many ways in which deliverance comes to us. Like the Great Litany itself, their reflections speak of human frailty and holy grace, of the longings and aspirations of our human hearts, and of the transformative power of God's abiding love. Available on the Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble Nook, and iTunes.

We won't want to miss the obvious. Forward Day by Day is beloved throughout the Episcopal Church. Chances are you can get a paper copy at your own parish, but it's also available digitally. Each day you'll read a meditation based on the assigned scripture readings. In addition to print, you can get Forward Day by Day as a daily email, an iPhone app, or an ebook. You can also read it on the Forward Movement website for free. Get a daily reminder by following on Facebook or Twitter. By the way, the cover of the current issue features Lent Madness 2012 Golden Halo winner Mary Magdalene.

Last, but not least, for those of you who want something that's not a daily meditation but which might help you through Lent Madness, check this out. Stars in a Dark World: Stories of the Saints and Holy Days of the Liturgy.

Stars in a Dark World illuminates for us those individuals who knew in their hearts the great love of God, who knew how far they were from perfection. They lived courageously, taking steps without knowing what would be accomplished, addressing the complexities of their world with singleness of purpose and understanding, and confronting the struggles of daily life because they were no more and no less. This compelling familiarity and intimacy invites us into the mystery of the gracious God who called the saints to maturity in Christ. -- from the forward by Bishop Richard F. Grein

Stars in a Dark World, by Fr. John-Julian, OJN, is the most comprehensive and detailed collection of the biographies of the saints and background information about the holy days of the Episcopal liturgy available today. This 700-page book is the result of over seven years of research and study, and covers all liturgical commemorations approved for use through 2006. Available for Amazon Kindle,  Barnes & Noble Nook, and iTunes.

We'll see you Monday morning at 8:00 a.m., Eastern time, for the resumption of the Madness.

In the first and only Saturday match-up of Lent Madness, we get Dueling Deacons! Alcuin of York vs. Ephrem of Edessa. With the emphasis on diaconal service we can only imagine these two standing around saying "After you." "No, after you." Nonetheless, you must decide which of these holy men will move on and which will be left to wallow in the lavabo bowl of defeat.

Yesterday Julia Chester Emery trounced Charles Henry Brent 73% to 27% in the Six-Name Showdown and will go on to face the winner of David of Wales vs. F.D Maurice. Speaking of the bracket, you may not know this but Lent Madness Bracket Czar, Adam Thomas, updates the bracket after each victory. Be sure to click the link, print it out, and/or post it on your living room wall and adore it for 24 hours before tearing it down and putting up the new one. [Please note: The Supreme Executive Committee does not generally condone the killing of trees].

You'll also notice that underneath the bracket but above the match-up calendar, Adam posts the results and a link to each completed battle. This will come in especially handy in subsequent rounds as saints advance and you want a quick biographical refresher before casting your next vote.

After today's vote is concluded, the next pairing will be posted on Monday morning as Joseph of Arimathea faces Anna Cooper. Even with a single day off, you may experience a phenomenon known as LMW (Lent Madness Withdrawal). Please stay calm; help is on the way. The "good news" is that we lose an hour of sleep this weekend so Lent Madness will return even sooner than anticipated!

Alcuin 

Alcuin of York (735 - 804), deacon and later Abbot of Tours, was a Renaissance man. The Carolingian Renaissance of learning in eighth-century Europe was greatly influenced by him.

Born in Northumbria (England) and educated by a disciple of the Venerable Bede at the cathedral school at York, he became master there, expanding the school into an international center of learning, complete with a fantastic classical library. Charlemagne invited Alcuin to join his Frankish court in 781 and put him in charge of implementing widespread, radical educational reform. Schooling for everyone came under the purview of the church, and Alcuin created a liberal arts curriculum consisting of the trivium (grammar, logic, rhetoric) and the quadrivium (arithmetic, geometry, music, astronomy) primarily to educate clergy, who were then required to establish free schools in their parishes. Alcuin wrote many textbooks for these schools, including a math book of river-crossing problems. Charlemagne, his wife, and sons were among Alcuin’s students.

Alcuin also established scriptoria (places for writing) throughout the empire to copy ancient manuscripts using Carolingian miniscule, a new kind of cursive writing that facilitated faster copying and standardization of letters. He may have developed new punctuation symbols too, including the previously unknown question mark. Given more time, he might have invented the emoticon. Using his techniques, much of ancient Roman literature and Greek mathematical works were thus preserved in a world threatened with destruction from repeated “barbarian” invasions. His significant moral influence over Charlemagne inspired the emperor to eventually abolish his law requiring everyone to be baptized or face execution, reasoning that forcing people into baptism wouldn’t make them Christians.

Alcuin was also a liturgical reformer, revising the lectionary and adapting the Gregorian (Roman/Italian) Sacramentary to include and preserve Gelasian (French/German) liturgies and ancient prayers. This effort expanded official liturgical resources to include saints’ feasts, the blessing of the Easter font, and other prayers, including the Collect for Purity still used today. He also standardized the text of the Vulgate (St. Jerome’s Latin Bible), which had accumulated many scribal errors over 400 years of copying. He continued developing plainchant for use in worship and re-introduced singing the Creed.

Among his theological writings is a celebrated treatise against the heresy of Adoptionism, the belief that Jesus was merely human until his baptism. Alcuin’s many extant letters are important historical sources, and his (admittedly mediocre) poems include a poignant and rather graphic lament on the Viking destruction of the holy monastery at Lindisfarne.

Collect for Alcuin
Almighty God, who in a rude and barbarous age raised up your deacon Alcuin to rekindle the light of learning: Illumine our minds, we pray, that amid the uncertainties and confusions of our own time we may show forth your eternal truth, through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

-- Penny Nash

Ephrem of Edessa

Ephrem of Edessa was a deacon, teacher, prolific poet, and defender of orthodoxy in the fourth-century church of Syria.

He was baptized as a young man and joined a covenanted Christian community in Nisibis. This community was a forerunner to monasticism. The community was a small, urban group committed to service and abstinence. At some point following his baptism, Ephrem was ordained deacon and also formally appointed to the office of teacher, which still holds great distinction for Syriac Christians.

Ephrem is thought to have attended the Council of Nicea with his bishop. He is beloved for his defense of orthodox Christianity through his composition of popular songs, a tactic he learned from the Gnostic opposition, which employed it with great success. These teaching hymns, called madrašê in Syriac, were possibly sung by all-women folk choirs and accompanied by the lyre. We do not know if there was liturgical dance to go with these hymns, but if so, the choreography is thankfully lost in the dustbin of history.

Ephrem’s writings were practical theology intended to instruct Christians during a tumultuous time of conflicting doctrine. He skillfully drew on a multitude of influences, including early Rabbinic Judaism, Greek science and philosophy, and the Persian mystical tradition. Ephrem was so admired and his writings considered so authoritative that Christian authors wrote works in his name for centuries after his death. The best known of these works is the Prayer of Saint Ephrem, still recited during fasting periods in Eastern Christianity today.

In 363, the Roman Emperor was forced to surrender his home city of Nisibis to Persia, and the entire Christian population was expelled. Ephrem moved to Edessa, where he lived for ten years. In his sixties, he succumbed to an epidemic as he ministered to its victims.

Ephrem is often called “The Harp of the Spirit.”

Collect for Ephrem of Edessa
Pour out on us, O Lord, that same Spirit by which your deacon Ephrem rejoiced to proclaim in sacred song the mysteries of faith; and so gladden our hearts that we, like him, may be devoted to you alone; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

-- Amber Belldene

Vote!

[poll id="79"]

Earlier today, we received our 1,000,000th page view on this site. For a Fortune 500 company, that might not be remarkable, but we think it's noteworthy on a site devoted to Lent. While the Supreme Executive Committee is not shy about trumpeting our supremacy, even we could not have done all this alone. Of course, our Celebrity Bloggers deserve the credit for writing compelling, entertaining, and even inspiring bios. We also give thanks for the Global Lent Madness Viewing Public. You keep us going whenever we get discouraged, whether it's Tim's Luddite inability to run a website or Scott's procrastination at doing his part of the epic SEC book proposal that will change the face of Lent.

One million page views means that many of you find something worthwhile here. We've heard that some of you enjoy Lent Madness because of the glimpses of God's glory we see in the lives of saints. Many others take great delight in the vibrant conversations throughout Lent. We sometimes have well over 200 comments each day of Lent, and we're well over 10,000 total comments. Community doesn't end here though. We've surpassed 8,000 likes on Facebook and over 2,000 likes on Twitter. Opening day yesterday set a traffic record with over 30,000 page views.

Our point in sharing all this is that perhaps there is a lesson here for the church. With a very modest budget (just ask our volunteer Celebrity Bloggers) and a simple concept, Lent Madness has attracted a wide audience. Perhaps there is a message that we would do well to think about joyful ways to proclaim the Good News. Perhaps we should find other ways to do Christian education outside classrooms. Perhaps we should use Lent as a time to invite others to join us on a journey as we all seek to follow Jesus.

Keep up the madness. We look forward to sharing some more numbers when we post our 2,000,000th page view. It might be sooner than you think!

Happy Lent!

Tim+         Scott+
The Supreme Executive Committee of Lent Madness