Memorial service for Lukas Vischer

In remembrance and thanksgiving for the life of Lukas Vischer
Culte en mémoire de Lukas Vischer
Le mercredi 7 mai à 16h au Centre oecuménique


Musique


Accueil ~ Welcome ~ Geiko Muller-Fahrenholz



(This service is structured around Psalm 107 which Lukas used as the basis for a eucharist he celebrated with his family in the last weeks of his life. Those parts marked in bold are to be said by all. There are also short extracts from his writings which have been translated here into English. The service, includinga 25 minute address and some beautiful music lasted exactly one hour.)

Psalm 107
O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures for ever.
Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
those he redeemed from trouble
and gathered in from the lands,
from the east and from the west,
from the north and from the south.


Cantique ~ Hymn ~ Toi Saint Esprit

Lukas wrote a German version of a song based on the Song of Songs 2.11-14 by the Chinese poet and theologian Weifan Wang ~ Read by Martin and Barbara Robra in German

For now the winter is past,
the rain is over and gone.
The flowers appear on the earth;
the time of singing has come,
and the voice of the turtle-dove
is heard in our land.
The fig tree puts forth its figs,
and the vines are in blossom;
they give forth fragrance.
Arise, my love, my fair one,
and come away.
O my dove, in the clefts of the rock,
in the covert of the cliff,
let me see your face,
let me hear your voice;
for your voice is sweet,
and your face is lovely.

Musique ~ Hans Schmocker

Psaume 107 ~Psalm 107 – lu en Français par Jospeh Kabongo
4Some wandered in desert wastes,
finding no way to an inhabited town;
5hungry and thirsty,
their soul fainted within them.
6Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress;
7he led them by a straight way,
until they reached an inhabited town.
8Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
for his wonderful works to humankind.
9For he satisfies the thirsty,
and the hungry he fills with good things.

Musique


From a sermon by Lukas Vischer on 2. Cor. 5, 18 – 21, Oct. 28, 1990 ~ read by Renate Sbeghen in German

You remember the Magnificat, the hymn in which Mary sings of God's world of reconciliation … she develops a magnificent vision, an image of the world that rises up out of God's reconciliation: She sings as though it has already taken place once and for all. "He has shown strength with his arm … He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. " Mary sings the new song that had become possible with the coming of Jesus. And yet this song is not something to be taken for granted. Think of the disciples after the death of Jesus. … They retreat and hide behind closed doors. … It required the Risen One, to be able to break open locked doors from within. With Jesus in their midst, they are given the power to break out and go forth. The song of God's reconciliation can now be sung anew. And they become messengers who dare, to announce to the powerful the end of their domination and to the rich the end of their exploitation.
(L. Vischer Hg.: Gefolterte – Folterer – christliche Hoffnung. Tagung der „Aktion der Christen für die Abschaffung der Folter“, 26. – 28. Oktober 1990, Basel)

Psaume 107 ~ Psalm 107 ~ lu en espagnol par Adolfo Ham
10Some sat in darkness and in gloom,
prisoners in misery and in irons,
11for they had rebelled against the words of God,
and spurned the counsel of the Most High.
12Their hearts were bowed down with hard labour;
they fell down, with no one to help.
13Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he saved them from their distress;
14he brought them out of darkness and gloom,
and broke their bonds asunder.
15Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
for his wonderful works to humankind.
16For he shatters the doors of bronze,
and cuts in two the bars of iron.

17Some were sick through their sinful ways,
and because of their iniquities endured affliction;
18they loathed any kind of food,
and they drew near to the gates of death.
19Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he saved them from their distress;
20 he sent out his word and healed them,
and delivered them from destruction.
21Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
for his wonderful works to humankind.
22And let them offer thanksgiving sacrifices,
and tell of his deeds with songs of joy.

Musique

Bearing witness to God’s covenant together ~ read by Tamara Grdzelidze


"The resurrection of Christ is often interpreted as God's way of rejecting death. Easter is celebrated as a festival of life. This is certainly true. But is the resurrection God's rejection of mortality and the limits that are set to human life? Most certainly not. The resurrection is the anticipation of God's new creation. It takes away from death its quality of being an enemy. It gives people the freedom to look death in the face. It is not an invitation to rebel against death, but the foundation to live life in all its fullness in the face of death.
Death as such is not a defeat for humanity. The fact of death as such does not take away from life its meaning. The question is rather how we live the life that we have been given in the love of God, of our neighbour and of the whole world. This is how it finds its fulfilment. "

Psaume 107 ~ Psalm 107 lu en Allemand par Luzia Wehrle

23Some went down to the sea in ships,
doing business on the mighty waters;
24they saw the deeds of the Lord,
his wondrous works in the deep.
25For he commanded and raised the stormy wind,
which lifted up the waves of the sea.
26They mounted up to heaven,
they went down to the depths;
their courage melted away in their calamity;
27they reeled and staggered like drunkards,
and were at their wits’ end.
28Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he brought them out from their distress;
29he made the storm be still,
and the waves of the sea were hushed.
30Then they were glad because they had quiet,
and he brought them to their desired haven.
31Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
for his wonderful works to humankind.
32Let them extol him in the congregation of the people,
and praise him in the assembly of the elders.

Psaume 107 ~ Psalm 107 ~ lu en français par Georges Lemopoulos
33He turns rivers into a desert,
springs of water into thirsty ground,
34a fruitful land into a salty waste,
because of the wickedness of its inhabitants.
35He turns a desert into pools of water,
a parched land into springs of water.
36And there he lets the hungry live,
and they establish a town to live in;
37they sow fields, and plant vineyards, and get a fruitful yield.
38By his blessing they multiply greatly,
and he does not let their cattle decrease.

Musique

Extract from a lecture in Bochum in 2002 ~ read by Setri Nyomi

"I want to add one last thought. To me it is more important than anything else that can be said about our common confession. The path that we have taken is fatal. It is inevitable that there will be increasing damage as well as more and more victims. Starting from where we are now it is unrealistic to expect that humanity awaits an age of justice and fulfillment. Decay and destruction are more likely. This situation brings with it … the temptation of cynicism. What is the point of making a commitment when nothing will change?
In the Apocalypse in the Gospel of Matthew, there stands the strange sentence: "And because of the increase of lawlessness, the love of many will grow cold." (Matt. 24:12) Because of the hopelessness of the situation, love is transformed into indifference or even into bitterness.
The witness of the church is hit at its very heart through this process. It freezes. It is therefore perhaps the most important task of the church, to point to the source of Christian love. Its flow does not depend on the course of history, but rises above all human history: God is love. And every act of love has meaning in itself, or more precisely it has meaning in and of God, and is therefore not ultimately dependent on finding legitimacy on the level of this world.
… The Church may say much that is correct … But it will only be able to truly engage with the people of this age if it does all it can to not let its love go cold. This is why the simple phrase "God is Love" belongs both at the beginning and at the end of any confession that is to answer the challenges of this age.
Psaume 107 ~ Psalm 107 ~read in English by Setri Nyomi
39When they are diminished and brought low
through oppression, trouble, and sorrow,
40he pours contempt on princes
and makes them wander in trackless wastes;
41but he raises up the needy out of distress,
and makes their families like flocks.
42The upright see it and are glad;
and all wickedness stops its mouth.
43Let those who are wise give heed to these things,
and consider the steadfast love of the Lord.

Lukas Vischer in memoriam - Geiko Müller Fahrenholz

Cantique ~ Hymn~ Mon rédempteur est vivant

Prières ~ Prayers ~ Theodore Gill

Heavenly Creator, Lord of all, living Spirit:

We give you thanks for the life and witness of your servant Lukas Vischer,
for the gift of his being, for the grace you gave him,
for all in Lukas that was good and kind and faithful:
his passion for family, and companionship with friends and colleagues,
his profound commitment to the cause of unity, justice, peace, Creation;
to pastoral ministry in and among local Christian communities;
to our mutual education and edification;
to the proclamation of the Word of God in Jesus Christ
through the power of your Holy Spirit.

We thank you for his high standards and diligence, demanding as they could be,
but most of all we thank you for the reflection of your love in his life,
“for love is strong as death”,
and your love abides with us from our beginnings to the end,
until the sky and the sea become one.

We thank you that for Lukas death is past, and pain is ended,
and he has entered into the joy that you have promised and prepared for us.

Continue to be with Lukas’ family, O Lord –
with Barbara, with their children and grandchildren, with all their family members –
and be with all of us who knew him,
that we may be comforted, and comfort one another; that we may take up his work;
that we too may look forward with confidence in you, in whom he taught us to trust.

“One generation shall laud your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts.”

Almighty God, before whom generations rise and pass away:
We praise you for the best in that generation of which Lukas Vischer was a part.
Particularly we remember those who have died in recent months
after devoting their lives to the one Church and the unity of Christians.

We give thanks for them all, and we name especially the ecumenical pioneers
Father Vitaly Borovoy and his beloved wife, both of the Russian Orthodox Church,
Chiara Lubich and Monsignor Pierre Mamie of the Roman Catholic Church,
and retired bishop Krister Stendahl of the Church of Sweden.
Thanks be to you, O Lord, for such a generation:
May their memory be eternal!
This we pray in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Let us now join in praying, each in our own language, the prayer that Jesus taught:

Notre Père ~ The Lord's prayer ~ Vater unser - chacun(e) dans sa propre langue.

Blessing

Des dons en mémoire de Lukas pour le travail du centre John Knox peuvent être déposés dans les paniers à la sortie.
Gifts in memory of Lukas for the work of the John Knox Center can be placed in the baskets at the exit.