Stones, Scars and Shavuot

"Memory is frequently the bondslave of despondency. As a general principle, if we would exercise our memories more wisely, we might, in our very darkest distress, strike a match which would instantaneously kindle the lamp of comfort."

C.H. Spurgeon

"Man's most precious thought is God,

but God's most precious thought is man."

Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel 

     There is on my right forefinger a scar. You would probably miss it. The scar is small, the memory runs deep. Scars remind us of moments, painful events captured like a photograph on a layer of skin. Forgetful people need scars. As Chesterton said, "There is such a thing as the momentary power to remember that we forget." That is why my 'to do' list is usually written on the back of my left hand.

     Today America celebrates Memorial Day, a day to remind us that men and women died defending our country. Yesterday was another day of remembrance- Pentecost, or as the Children of Israel call it, Shavuot, celebrating the anniversary of the day Moses was given the Law engraved on tablets of stone by the finger of God. Stone makes for good memorials. Stone has permanence. Cemeteries are filled with stones. I am grateful for the stones, the scars and Shavuot; they each remind me I am alive by the grace of God and I am grateful to be alive in America.

For a wonderful explanation of Shavuot by John J. Parsons, click here.

Selah

My favorite find from today's walk

"God writes straight in crooked lines, and man cannot evaluate them as he lives on one level and can see from only one perspective. We are not the final arbiter of meaning. What looks absurd within the limits of time may be luminous within the scope of eternity."

Abraham Joshua Heschel, A Passion For Truth

Millie, my Granddaughter

Bookmarks for Christmas

Yesterday began week two of Christmas break. There's coffee and books, midday walks in the wood, and painting. There is also time to rest, and think. Yesterday I read- "The decisions you make today will impact someone's tomorrow."

Derwin L. Gray.

I've been looking at the symbolic meanings of the Hebrew characters in the word 'selah'. Somewhat of a mystery to scholars, the word is a musical notation whose meaning has wandered. Selah is composed of three characters. The first letter, the samech, was the picture of a hand on a staff; symbol of support, cycle, ring. The lamed, an ox goad, symbolized learning and teaching, control and authority. The final character, the heh, represented arms extended and symbolized spirit, wind and word. Pause, crescendo or musical interlude are the translations most agreed upon.

I think it's good to have words that cause us to stop.

They are like finding the perfect pebble.

Here are a few photos of the wood where I walk:

Relevance

Recruitment Ad for Antarctic Expedition

Sir Ernest Shackleton, 1914

"When first conceived, an idea is a breakthrough; once adopted and repeated, it tends to become a cul-de-sac." Abraham Joshua Heschel

After fourteen months of unemployment, I am teaching again. Last week I wanted to quit. That, I suppose, is the life of a teacher. Like Sir Shackleton's description of an expedition, the wages tend to be small (no one becomes a teacher for the pay- you can make more money by managing a Taco Bell) with long months of complete darkness. But then it happens, the moment every true teacher yearns to see- the phenomenon known as the 'aha' moment, when the veil is parted and the light comes on. In my life, the Lord puts enough distance between the 'aha's' to keep me going (too many, too often might make me prideful).

During the summer, while still unemployed, I was visiting Hugh Gill. He looked at me and said, "You will be teaching soon, but not like you've ever taught before." He spoke prophecy over me that day. Now I am teaching with the good folk at Trinity Christian Preparatory School, or Trinity Prep for short. It is an amazing and challenging place. The old ways of teaching seem different here. Some of them don't work at all. Hugh was right. I have been praying for strategy. God is re-teaching me how to teach. Yesterday He reminded me that He made my students uniquely unique- as only He does. I cannot approach them with a 'bread' recipe, i.e., "If I follow these steps a perfect loaf will result." No, if I can teach them anything it will be to embrace their uniqueness, to explore the possibilities of what it means to be made in the image of God, the possibilities God Himself has instilled within them. The methodology then will not be learner-based or curriculum-based but God-based outcome.

There is a war being waged against our youth. The forces of darkness are building walls, attempting to erect gates around young minds. In 1986 Elie Wiesel was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his book Night. As he accepted the award he said this:

"We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Sometimes we must interfere."

"This is the rock on which I will put together my church, a church so expansive with energy that not even the gates of hell will be able to keep it out. "

Matthew 16:18

The Message

Portrait of a Student

Alex Jamison

No Tombstone Needed

"The power we attain in the world of space terminates abruptly at the borderline of time"

Abraham Joshua Heschel

When I worked for my Pop in the monument business I worked alongside Rudy, sandblaster and chief stone setter. The business was small. There was Pop, Rudy, Alice (the secretary) and me. One day, Rudy and I were in a cemetery, a cemetery on a hill. We were at the bottom of the hill, the tombstone needed to serve a grave at the top of the hill- a stone setters' conundrum. Usually when presented with this problem we would 'buck up' and make it happen. On this day the ground was soaked with rain. The ground was, in Rudy's words, "slick as a gut". (I wonder if he'd read the theory of intestinal use in the construction of the pyramids.) After a couple of false starts, we arrived at a solution. We borrowed boards from the cemetery outhouse and built a road...one step at a time. We delivered a public tribute to the dead by depriving privacy to the living. Pop asked me recently to do a presentation rendering for a monument he hopes to sell. I confess, I am intrigued. I have done many renderings, designed many memorials, but this one will become a piece of history. The memorial is for someone in the country music hall of fame, a lifetime achievement recipient. Over the years I have designed, fabricated, and installed monuments in hundreds of cemeteries. And so, I wonder, "Why is this one different?" As I pondered this question I also asked, "Why do we memorialize the dead?" I know the marketing response- I grew up in the business. And then, the words of G.K. Chesterton came to mind, "God grants us the ability to remember that we forget..." We, humans, are forgetful. To remind us that someone lived we make tombstones of granite and marble, not cardboard and marker. As we approach Easter I am, again, reminded that Jesus doesn't have a tombstone. And I am grateful.

The Stirring, Teresa Carter

"Israel believed that the prophetic word pronounced, which came from God, was an event, a three-dimensional event, and not merely indifferent sounds issuing from the throat. Such an event set other events in motion, moving in a way they would not have moved without that word."

Jeremy Driscoll, A Monk's Alphabet

Artist's are an odd lot. I know because my wife and I are both artists. It's okay to be odd, sometimes. Besides, I don't want to be like everyone else. Here's a thought I've been chewing on for some years now- artists are bridges between the classes, drinking beer with a house framer one moment and having wine with a bank VP in an art gallery the next. Michelangelo is a good example. Of course, with this privilege comes responsibilty.

The language of art...a picture is worth a thousand words. Imagine the vocabulary required of the Louvre. So, here's another thought- if prophetic words set events in motion, what about prophetic art? What happens when a prophetic utterance occurs on canvas? Every generation is filled with those who impact culture with their words, music, paintings, sculpture. Those working within their time speak to their time. The prophetic transcends time.

"Creation is the language of God, time is His song, and things of space the consonants in the song. To sanctify time is to sing the vowels in unison with Him. This is the task of men, to conquer space and sanctify time." Abraham Joshua Heschel

On Being Childlike

Someone has said, "We are born original, we die copies." And, as Steve Thompson says, "You will only be a good you, you will be a poor anyone else."

One day, Jesus said, "...unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven." He was talking to a group of grown-ups, people who were once children. But, they grew up. Children fascinate me. They have commonalities Jesus may have been referring to.

Children have an honesty that makes grown-ups uncomfortable. A child will look you in the eye and say, "Your breath stinks!"
One day, when my oldest daughters were small, I walked into their room. They were hiding behind their bed, whispering.
"What are you two doing?" I asked.
Lauren, the younger of the two, replied,"We're not eating candy!"

Children carry an innocence that cuts to the heart. When Allison, my oldest daughter, was very young (before the candy episode) I arrived home later than usual. She asked, "Where were you tonight?"
"I went to visit a sick man."
"Is he better?"
"No."
"Is he going to die?"
"Yes."
Without hesitation, she said, "Well did you give him a kiss and a hug? You wouldn't want him to die without a kiss and a hug."

Children have wonder. I have met few grown-ups who have wonder. As an educator, I have seen the correlation between wonder and knowledge. As knowledge increases, wonder decreases. As we gain information and understanding of 'how the world works' the world, and all it contains, is less amazing. Abraham Joshua Heschel said, "I did not ask for success; I asked for wonder. And God gave it to me."

The list goes on. Children:
are imaginative
love a good story
glad to be a part of whatever is going on (and don't wait for an invitation)
love to sing
are inquisitive
love to draw, paint, cut, mold...be creative
don't worry about their wardrobe (or whether their socks match)

But, most importantly, children seem to be comfortable in their own skin; they don't mind their quirky, peculiar individuality that distinguishes them from their peers. They are not concerned with being like everyone else. God, in His wisdom, crafted me according to specific specifications.I want to be a good me. I want to be 'like a child.'