"Be ye holy..."

[reen12]

In terms of finding one’s self a burden -
Once pretensions are forfeit, is this not a blessing?

There we are, knocked off our high horse, landing with a jolt -
right next to Saul on the road to Damascus.

Yet since ‘humility’ comes from the word *‘humus’ *[earth, ground,]
are we not on firmer ground spiritually…sitting their dazed - as reality asserts -
than we might have been otherwise?

Besides, there are a lot of good things about sitting on the ground.
One can see things that can’t be seen - riding on a high horse toward Damascus.
A blessed sense of proportion is obtained, once our head clears.

T’was not for naught that God created man from the very clay of His creation.
Was this not a hint to us, in terms of pretentions of any kind?

A great mercy?

…the Lord God formed man out of the clay of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life…
[Genesis 2]

reen

 

[reen12]

Blessed be the Name of the Lord! This is too deep for me! I have been renewed and re-created. I have been dismayed and seen my end in the dust of the earth. His mercy endures forever! Blessed be He! He makes all things new! Thanks be to Him.

Thanks be, indeed, Tom. To Him be glory and honor.

For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us
a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory…
[2 Cor. 4:17]

I remain grateful to C.S. Lewis, who truly understood the ‘eternal weight of glory,’
which was the subject of one of his essays.
[A pdf file of same:]

verber.com/mark/xian/weight-of-glory.pdf

This is why we human beings may feel overwhelmed - and even crushed, when
God allows even a momentary experience of this weight of glory.

Lewis made the point that God Himself will fit us to carry and to experience
this sacred weight.

Eye has not seen, nor ear heard -
Nor have entered into the heart of man
the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.
[2 Cor 2:9]

reen

 

[sawman]

" Has not entered into the heart of man,
the things which God has prepared for those who love Him."
2 Cor2:9

I was thinking last nite on this; humility, being low, on the ground, on the road to Damascus.
The road to Damascus is an address.Think of the humility experienced by Saul, in his burning zeal and love for God, he was on his way to persecute, or kill some of those christians in Damascus. Doing the Lord’s work he was, protecting the holiness of God from blasphemers and apostates. The next thing he knew, on the ground with the lord talking to him asking him 'why are you persecuting me?" It must have been truly humiliating, among other things.
I’ve shared that kind of moment with Saul, dazed and humiliated, with my whole world lying in ruins around me. Sitting there on the road to Damascus was my own plot of humility. Don’t we all have that location memorized?
To be prostrate on the ground with my nose in the dirt. Trying to get as low as I can, because He is so holy, and I am so not.

There is a place inside of me that is like a forest glade. A quiet, peaceful glade, that nobody knows about. This glade is lush, and full of wondrous plants and smells. A secret opening in a forest that goes on forever. A private place, very private. The only things in here are things that I’ve invited to be here. Some things are not so nice, but I know where they are kept, and I don’t need go there very often. This is the place where He walks in the cool of the morning with me. This is the place I try to make special for Him. This the place where I am pressed down into the earth by His weight of Glory. I have invited Him to visit many times, but I am not always ready. Sometimes He comes to me in this Garden and I am overthrown with love that burns so brightly. There are other times when I experience my smallness and brokenness in the presence of His wholeness and fullness. This is a place that is holy and mine. I give it to Him to cultivate and nurture.

This thread has made me realize that the address of this holy place is on the Damascus road. right down there next to Saul’s spot. I don’t know why I should have been given such a beautiful spot, but I think many of us have one like it. C.S. Lewis for sure had a spot like this. I think that this is the kind of place where His lambs can come to and be safe.

Just thought I’d share this, I’m not sure why, but it makes me weepy thinking of such goodness and beauty. My heart burns for Him so much.

Blessed be He!

 

[reen12]

The road to Damascus is an address…
I’ve shared that kind of moment with Saul, dazed and humiliated, with my whole world lying in ruins around me. Sitting there on the road to Damascus was my own plot of humility. Don’t we all have that location memorized?..

To be prostrate on the ground with my nose in the dirt. Trying to get as low as I can, because He is so holy, and I am so not.
…This the place where I am pressed down into the earth by His weight of Glory… There are other times when I experience my smallness and brokenness in the presence of His wholeness and fullness. This is a place that is holy and mine. I give it to Him to cultivate and nurture.

This thread has made me realize that the address of this holy place is on the Damascus road. right down there next to Saul’s spot.

A beautiful post, Tom. Truly beautiful.

quote: sawman

To be prostrate on the ground with my nose in the dirt. Trying to get as low as I can, because He is so holy, and I am so not.
…This the place where I am pressed down into the earth by His weight of Glory… There are other times when I experience my smallness and brokenness in the presence of His wholeness and fullness.

I wouldn’t even attempt to add to that which you have written.

reen

 

[sawman]

I am always in awe at the way we must speak of spiritual and or theological things. C.S.Lewis said once that it was impossible to discuss theological ideas without metaphors. Indeed, it hard to discuss any purly intelectual concept or idea without using all kinds of metaphors. Medieval artists would depict virginity as a walled garden many concepts in religion were depicted in a kind of code of symbols.

It makes me wonder how handicapped we might be if we could not use metaphor and symbols to understand " Be Ye Holy". In Leviticus, the Lord does not use much metaphor at all in the giving of the law. He says “Do this” or “You shall not do that”. Being holy as the Lord is holy though, requires us to use our imaginations along with our intellect to concieve of God’s holiness. How does God “do” holy? He just is. Holy is who He is.

I thank God for all his gifts! He gives with such abundance and love.
Blessed be God in all His works!
Let all creation bless His holy name!

 

[reen12]

I am always in awe at the way we must speak of spiritual and or theological things. C.S.Lewis said once that it was impossible to discuss theological ideas without metaphors. Indeed, it hard to discuss any purly intelectual concept or idea without using all kinds of metaphors. Medieval artists would depict virginity as a walled garden many concepts in religion were depicted in a kind of code of symbols.

It makes me wonder how handicapped we might be if we could not use metaphor and symbols to understand " Be Ye Holy".

quote: sawman

Indeed, it hard to discuss any purly intelectual concept or idea without using all kinds of metaphors.

Do you think that God gave us the material world, in part, to provide us
with material for metaphor? Since He created the human mind and heart,
He knows what ‘stays’ with us and delights us. Metaphors and stories.

A man fell victim to robbers as he went down from Jerusalem to Jericho…
[Luke 10]

And then what happened…?

But Jonah made ready to flee to Tarshish away from the Lord. He went down to Joppa, found a ship going to Tarshish, paid the fare, and went aboard to journey with them to Tarshish…
[Jonah 1]

What happened then? Did he get away?

Part of the pretentious in life is to ‘pretend’ that we have outgrown simple stories.
“Nuance” and ‘simplistic’ have taken the field. To be a sophisticate, scatter
‘nuanced’ [and it’s word-relations] like birdseed, in speech.

Heaven forfend that something simple might be of worth beyond measure.

Now that I think of this, was the snake trying to tell Eve that she didn’t
properly ‘nuance’ what God said? http://bestsmileys.com/nono/9.gif

reen

 

[reen12]

I’ve been thinking further about how ‘God writes straight with crooked lines.’

Thinking about this, I recalled a volume of the collected letters of Michelangelo that I read,
many years ago, and Michelangelo’s work on the statue of David the shepherd,
which statue is to be found in Florence.

There was a huge block of marble with a sizeable flawed area.
No sculptor of reputation was williing to work with this flawed column of marble.

Michelangelo carved the statue of David, in this flawed stone, with the weight on the statue’s right foot -
shifting the hip area to the right of plumb, thus cutting away the flawed area,
in the carving of this wonderous work, now 500 years old.

static.howstuffworks.com/gif/michelangelo-sculptures-13.jpg

He was a true artist, in the manner of his Creator.
He, too, carved straight with flawed material.

reen

 

[sawman]

" There was once a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job. That man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil.
2 There were born to him seven sons and three daughters.
3 He had seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred donkeys, and very many servants; so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the east.
4 His sons used to go and hold feasts in one another’s houses in turn; and they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them.
5 And when the feast days had run their course, Job would send and sanctify them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all; for Job said, “It may be that my children have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts.” This is what Job always did.
6 One day the heavenly beings came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them.
7 The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Satan answered the Lord, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.”
8 The Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and turns away from evil.”
9 Then Satan answered the Lord, “Does Job fear God for nothing?
10 Have you not put a fence around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.
11 But stretch out your hand now, and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.”
12 The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, all that he has is in your power; only do not stretch out your hand against him!” So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord."

Job 1:1-12

Job was “blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil.” and “he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all; for Job said"It may be that my children have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts.” This is what Job always did." Job had ten kids. He offered burnt offerings for every one of them, every day. This what he always did. What an epithaph. I wonder, did he make offerings because he was blameless or did the daily offerings make him blameless? Probobly he was blameless because he feared God and turned away from evil. In any case, anyone who prays every day for every kid can’t be all bad. I also notice that he does this because he thinks that his children may have sinned. I think he probobly had a pretty good idea that maybe they had sinned, and were in need of some fatherly intercession.

Job is another story of God’s truth. A good example indeed.

Blessed be the name of the Lord!
May His holy will be done forever!

 

[sawman]

" There was once a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job. That man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil.
2 There were born to him seven sons and three daughters.
3 He had seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred donkeys, and very many servants; so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the east.
4 His sons used to go and hold feasts in one another’s houses in turn; and they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them.
5 And when the feast days had run their course, Job would send and sanctify them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all; for Job said, “It may be that my children have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts.” This is what Job always did.
6 One day the heavenly beings came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them.
7 The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Satan answered the Lord, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.”
8 The Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and turns away from evil.”
9 Then Satan answered the Lord, “Does Job fear God for nothing?
10 Have you not put a fence around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.
11 But stretch out your hand now, and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.”
12 The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, all that he has is in your power; only do not stretch out your hand against him!” So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord."

Job 1:1-12

Job was “blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil.” and “he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all; for Job said"It may be that my children have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts.” This is what Job always did." Job had ten kids. He offered burnt offerings for every one of them, every day. This what he always did. What an epithaph. I wonder, did he make offerings because he was blameless or did the daily offerings make him blameless? Probobly he was blameless because he feared God and turned away from evil. In any case, anyone who prays every day for every kid can’t be all bad. I also notice that he does this because he thinks that his children may have sinned. I think he probobly had a pretty good idea that maybe they had sinned, and were in need of some fatherly intercession.

Job is another story of God’s truth. A good example indeed.

Blessed be the name of the Lord!
May His holy will be done forever!

 

[sawman]

"1 O God, you are my God, I seek you, my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
2 So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory.
3 Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you.
4 So I will bless you as long as I live; I will lift up my hands and call on your name.
5 My soul is satisfied as with a rich feast, and my mouth praises you with joyful lips
6 when I think of you on my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night;
7 for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I sing for joy.
8 My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.
9 But those who seek to destroy my life shall go down into the depths of the earth;
10 they shall be given over to the power of the sword, they shall be prey for jackals.
11 But the king shall rejoice in God; all who swear by him shall exult, for the mouths of liars will be stopped " Psalm 63

Praise be the name of the Lord!
Because Your love is better than life!
So I will bless You all of my life!

Thanks to all who serve in our military and for all those who have given their utmost to defend and protect this God-blessed country Amen!!
Peace,
Tom

 

[reen12]

…The world is seeing a resurgence of the evil philosophy of " man as master" and " man is the measure of all things".This is at it’s root an atheistic pride. It is one of the oldest evils in creation. Our culture is particularly infatuated with this concept. It is a harbinger of death and destruction. It has haunted human civilization forever. " I will not serve!" is the motto.

Earlier in this thread, in speaking of the attitude: "Man now decides that which is good or evil,’ Tom wrote:

quote: sawman

It is one of the oldest evils in creation. Our culture is particularly infatuated with this concept.
It is a harbinger of death and destruction. It has haunted human civilization forever. " I will not serve!" is the motto.

That is the nature of evil. It destroys, not creates.
It demeans - not raises toward the light.

I did not have sufficient energy to more fully address that which you wrote at the time, Tom, so I return to same now.​

As a culture, we have permitted the creation - nay, the celebration of -
not ‘the good, the true, and the beautiful’ - but rather the
sometime exaltation of all that is twisted, garish, demonic, and malevolent.
*Unimaginable *violence in movie productions, as human beings
are depicted as being viciously torn apart, thus having the effect of
deadening moral sensibilites - with the production of images that are, literally, ‘obscene.’
[And ‘obscene’ means, in this instance, that which - in a morally healthy society - is to be kept ‘out of sight.’]

There is, as well, and not surprisingly, a resurgence of interest in the ‘dark arts.’

Shakespeare surely understood.
Macbeth, no doubt, regretted his chat with three practioners of the dark arts on the heath.
They were the cold introduction to - and the escort of - the fall of Macbeth.

The attempt to bend reality by human fiat - rather than at the behest of God, through prayer to Him,
as one waits upon the Creator… The attitude Non serviam is not inclined to wait on anyone,
much less Deity.

All things are to move at the dictate of ‘self.’

reen

 

[reen12]

.The world is seeing a resurgence of the evil philosophy of " man as master" and " man is the measure of all things".This is at it’s root an atheistic pride. It is one of the oldest evils in creation. Our culture is particularly infatuated with this concept. It is a harbinger of death and destruction. It has haunted human civilization forever. " I will not serve!" is the motto…

Non serviam - ‘I will not serve,’ are the words of the fallen archangel. [Lucifer…‘bearer of light.’]

John Milton described this Non serviam powerfully - when in his work Paradise Lost,
Milton clearly conveyed the ruin that followed with instancy… upon Lucifer and his cohort’s Non serviam

• which cohort was also in open rebellion against God, each member of whom is driven out of heaven,
  along with Lucifer, the former ‘light bearer.’ After this defeat, one of the fallen is heard to say -
  in a state of utter confusion:

*As we erewhile, astounded and amaz’d, *
*No wonder, fall’n such a pernicious highth. *

The* non serviam* is rendered by Milton thusly - as he writes of Lucifer’s obdurate pride, still afire…

Lucifer, stunned and undone by his fall, yet cries out:

*To reign is worth ambition though in Hell: *
*Better to reign in Hell, then serve in Heav’n. *

---

When human beings begin to think that they are the arbiters of that
which is good or evil, the creation of a hell on earth may not be far behind.

Who lives and who dies - at the mercy of the state - if man is the Master of the Universe?
Who then is defined as ‘life unworthy of life?’ [A National Socialist cry, in Hitler’s Germany.]

The acceptance of abortion on demand is the gate that opens on other horrors, as Karol Wojtyla knew.

That which he wrote is vastly worth repeating:

*“To claim the right to abortion, infanticide, and euthanasia, and to recognize that right in law, *
*means to attribute to human freedom a perverse and evil significance: that of an absolute power over others *
*and against others. This is the death of true freedom.” – John Paul II, The Gospel of Life *

quote: sawman

May we fight the good fight by being small in the eyes of the world. May we overcome by being weak and of no account in the eyes of the world. May we persevere by being wounded and grieving. In the eyes of the world. Those are the eyes that cannot see. Those are the ears that cannot hear.

The One Who can hear, and Who offers mercy, awaits our prayers to Him.
The reigning culture ethos will be defeated by Love Himself -
as human beings learn, with increasing alarm, the results to be endured…in the real world …which flow directly from the fount: Non serviam.

reen

 

[sawman]

There is much here in these last two posts, reen. Just a few thoughts for now.

Little gates. There seems to be a theme running thru much of what is said here. The progress of evil in many cases seems to be a progressive series of gates that are opened and walked thru. Each gate in and of itself is not necessarily a big or important gate. The succession of repeated openings though leave one in a state of extreme evil or seperation from He who is all Good…

At the same time the path of repentance is also a series of gates, maybe the same ones?
The path of holiness seems to be the same kind of thing as well. As we repent, or seek after holiness, we have the benifit of becoming brighter and brighter; less and less blind; less and less deaf. The road to evil has the same kind of progressive quality to it. More and more blind, deaf and dark. Maybe this is the mark of being created, this small step at a time plodding along. Even the Dark Archangel is limited too.

You and I are old enough to have witnessed the progressive nature of the fall of our culture. I never thought that such degeneration would able to be seen by one generation. So the progress of evil in a culture seems to be geometrical rather than arithmatical. We seem to be not only blinded to the stature of the evil in our midst but blinded as well to the quickening of it’s potency.We are also blinded in our ability to realize the consequences of " non serviam". History is no longer a guide or a warning. And so we grow enthusiastic in our sowing of the wind.

The smallness that He has shown us is in the whispering wind, the trusting look of a child, the gentleness of one who would not quench the smoldering wick. The Good Shepherd is the one who searches out the lost and lame.

This discussion of condition of our culture and by way of metaphor our souls, puts me in a martial spirit. I do not know how the feminine responds to this topic, but I am urged to war against it. It is the tools of war that I need training in. I so much want God to right the wrongs and destroy the destroyer. I want to be in the front rank of the attack. " Put not your trust in horses and chariots". It is He who shall train my hands for war. This is a battle in which the mighty must be made that way through quietness and pliancy.

This is a deep topic and I am not such a deep thinker or expresser of thoughts. Much must be said here but even more must be done. That is the tension that has to be overcome many times. The heart is willing but the flesh is weak.

Peace,
Tom

 

[reen12]

There is much here in these last two posts, reen. Just a few thoughts for now.

Little gates. There seems to be a theme running thru much of what is said here. The progress of evil in many cases seems to be a progressive series of gates that are opened and walked thru. Each gate in and of itself is not necessarily a big or important gate. The succession of repeated openings though leave one in a state of extreme evil or seperation from He who is all Good…

At the same time the path of repentance is also a series of gates, maybe the same ones?
The path of holiness seems to be the same kind of thing as well. As we repent, or seek after holiness, we have the benifit of becoming brighter and brighter; less and less blind; less and less deaf. The road to evil has the same kind of progressive quality to it. More and more blind, deaf and dark. Maybe this is the mark of being created, this small step at a time plodding along. Even the Dark Archangel is limited too.

You and I are old enough to have witnessed the progressive nature of the fall of our culture. I never thought that such degeneration would able to be seen by one generation. So the progress of evil in a culture seems to be geometrical rather than arithmatical. We seem to be not only blinded to the stature of the evil in our midst but blinded as well to the quickening of it’s potency.We are also blinded in our ability to realize the consequences of " non serviam". History is no longer a guide or a warning. And so we grow enthusiastic in our sowing of the wind.

The smallness that He has shown us is in the whispering wind, the trusting look of a child, the gentleness of one who would not quench the smoldering wick. The Good Shepherd is the one who searches out the lost and lame.

This discussion of condition of our culture and by way of metaphor our souls, puts me in a martial spirit. I do not know how the feminine responds to this topic, but I am urged to war against it. It is the tools of war that I need training in. I so much want God to right the wrongs and destroy the destroyer. I want to be in the front rank of the attack. " Put not your trust in horses and chariots". It is He who shall train my hands for war. This is a battle in which the mighty must be made that way through quietness and pliancy.

This is a deep topic and I am not such a deep thinker or expresser of thoughts. Much must be said here but even more must be done. That is the tension that has to be overcome many times. The heart is willing but the flesh is weak.

Peace,
Tom

Tom, I have spent my lifetime reading, contemplating, observing - and praying as i can.

Rarely have I come upon such clarity and strength of expression, as you have offered in your post.

I read your post aloud to my husband, and he knows, after nearly 35 years,
that I only read aloud to him that which I find of particular significance,
combined with strength and beauty of expression.

Will reply additionally, as I take time to further contemplate that which you wrote.
God bless and be with you, Tom.

reen

 

[sawman]

A few further thoughts,

upon some reflection over the past few days on the idea “non serviam”;

There is a state proper to us as free individuals that can be refered to as “ownership” of ourselves for want of a better word.
It is displayed in the insistance of placing our own private judgement in supremecy over that of the judgement of others.
Another way of saying this is by using will in place of the word judgement.
Because our will is free, we tend to consider it ours as well. Rightly so otherwise it would not be “ours”.

There is a good proper way that this ownership needs to be exercised.
There is also a very thin line between this proper “ownership” and an improper hoarding of the “ownership”.

When we desire the good of another, we freely subordinate our will in some manner to that of the beloved.
This is seen in many kinds of loving relationships.

What God calls for, desires, from us is a type of giving of our “own” prefered judgement and an acceptance of His. This creates a tension and a choice.

What we see in our culture is a radical, emphatic statement of ownership. It pervades and oozes in and thru every pore of public and private intercourse that we have.

To submit, or not to God trustingly and innocently our better judgement about our very will, is I think at the core of “non serviam”.
There is a way we can grasp our “ownership” so tightly, like a life preserver or like a miser, that One would have prize it out of our grasp with a crowbar. This is a situation that cannot produce a gift. Quite the opposite, it produces emnity and strife and hatred.

How many ways do we see this at the root of “man as the Master of all things” We / I am the arbiter of what shall be right and what shall be wrong. Lucifer did not suffer under any illusions, he knew he was not the master of anything. He knew he was only the master of his own will. A will that was less a majestic thing because it was only his own, but it was his and no one would have a claim upon it.

So we see this at the bottom of so much in our culture and our souls.

So what do you think? It is hard for me to put these ideas into words they things that I can barely grasp before they disintegrate. Stringing them together like this does not always seem to flow too well. I share them though as I can. I hope this is a good two cents worth too.

Peace,
Tom

 

[reen12]

A few further thoughts,

upon some reflection over the past few days on the idea “non serviam”;

…What God calls for, desires, from us is a type of giving of our “own” prefered judgement and an acceptance of His. This creates a tension and a choice.

What we see in our culture is a radical, emphatic statement of ownership. It pervades and oozes in and thru every pore of public and private intercourse that we have.

Yes, I understand. Even the nooks and crannies of life are affected by the ‘idol’ mentality.
When men and women are an idol unto themselves, the notion of ‘take control’ is often emphasized -
as in advertisements that begin with:
“Take control!” [of your banking, or trading, or car insurance…]
Which is risible on it’s face.

“Life is what happens while you’re making other plans.”

I don’t even ‘control’ my next breath. That is from God.

Another nook and cranny? “Here’s your weather for tomorrow…”
“My weather?” http://bestsmileys.com/nono/9.gif
And here I thought that it was God’s weather.

Or television programs, introduced by a variation of:
“Man is about to wrest another secret of the universe from the realm of the
formerly hidden and unknown.”

Well it’s not unknown to the Creator.
I don’t own the universe, anymore than I own the weather.
I am a creature created by Another.

quote: sawman

To submit, or not to God trustingly and innocently our better judgement about our very will, is I think at the core of “non serviam”.
There is a way we can grasp our “ownership” so tightly, like a life preserver or like a miser, that One would have prize it out of our grasp with a crowbar.

‘Crowbar’ is precisely the reality, Tom. I’ve noted, from the perch of age 64,
that aging introduces limitations and infirmities that must be accepted
with as much grace as possible. Literally, ‘grace.’ Life itself becomes the
‘crowbar,’ as time moves forward.

reens

 

[reen12]

…So we see this at the bottom of so much in our culture and our souls.

So what do you think? It is hard for me to put these ideas into words they things that I can barely grasp before they disintegrate. Stringing them together like this does not always seem to flow too well. I share them though as I can. I hope this is a good two cents worth too.

Oh, do I know about “ideas…that I can barely grasp before they disintegrate.”

I’m still pondering your earlier post. There is so much in that post that I
would like to address. In your current post, the concept of grasping to self
one’s will reminded me of Francis Thompson’s poem, wherein
the subject of the poem continues to run swiftly from God.
[Wishing to clasp to himself "his’ life, ‘his’ will.]

I fled Him, down the nights and down the days;
I fled Him, down the arches of the years;
I fled Him, down the labyrinthine ways
Of my own mind; and in the midst of tears
I hid from Him, and under running laughter.
Up vistaed hopes I sped;
And shot, precipitated,
Adown Titanic glooms of chasmed fears…

…(For, though I knew His love Who followed,
Yet was I sore adread
Lest, having Him, I must have naught beside.)

***…***Ah! is Thy love indeed
A weed, albeit an amarinthine weed,
Suffering no flowers except its own to mount?
Ah! must—
Designer infinite!—
Ah! must Thou char the wood ere Thou canst limn with it?

-Francis Thompson

How many times in life do we get ‘burned’ by the exercise of our autonomous will…
unchecked by the Designer’s will?

Does God ‘char the wood’ - indirectly - by allowing a human being to choose between His will
and one’s own will?

It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
-Hebrews 10

It’s all of one piece. Idols, willfulness, control - setting oneself as the arbiter of
that which is good or evil.

reen

 

[reen12]

It’s rather difficult to be holy in the midst of the cultural midden of our day.
The dominant cultural ethos is conveyed through nearly every organ of culture.
Often in pleasing disguises. As is/was the following presentation,
which took place in Martha’s Vineyard, in 1987.

The following is not that video, merely still photos and the song.
[the song ends 3 min 30 seconds into the recording.]

youtube.com/watch?v=-J_9kYdRFCM

The visual effects, in the actual video, were stunning. Absolutely stunning.

Yet therein lies the problem.

Our senses ‘process’ the colors, the movement,
the base beat in the background, a gorgeous
sunset…which quality of light provides the contrapuntal,
as the wave of this ‘experience’ washes ashore.

In short - visual and audial perfection.

In such a presentation, the senses may be ravished, and rational thought/logic forfeit.

[Which pretty much reflects the happenings of the last 45 years.]

Rational thought ousted, as the senses and slogan-thought
took the field - unmediated by the rational.

Now come the lyrics, being sung in the midst of this
panoply of the perfect…

reen12

 

[reen12]

[The opening bars are a treat, musically.]

youtube.com/watch?v=-J_9kYdRFCM

Baby sneezes
Mommy pleases
Daddy breezes in
So good on paper
So romantic
So bewildering

What, precisely, is “bewildering?”
Motherhood?
‘Bewildering’ - as the necessary changes take place,
as ‘you and I’ become “Us, the family.”

Lot’s of phenomena look ‘so good on paper,’
until the reality encountered needs summon
mature views and adult behavior. Always a challenge.

I know nothin’ stays the same…

It is bewildering, at times, when the
first child is born and one is confronted
with an infant’s continual needs.
Somewhat disorienting, at first -
with sleep interrupted on a regular basis,
the former ‘pace’ of life changed, as is one’s focus,
of necessity.
This infant is counting on mother or father
to meet his/her needs. So, yes…

I know nothin’ stays the same…

Happily, the author of Ecclesiastes was also cognizant of this reality:

For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven…
-Ecclesiastes 3

reen12

 

[reen12]

youtube.com/watch?v=-J_9kYdRFCM

The lyrics continue:

But if you’re willin’ to play the game
It’s comin’ around again

Game? What ‘game’ is that?
Love, marriage, parenthood as a ‘game?’

So don’t mind if I fall apart
There’s more room in a broken heart

At least this statement may be true. May reflect reality.

Yet the following verse put’s me in mind of
the Theatre of the Absurd/Existentialism.

Pay the grocer
You fix the toaster
You kiss the host goodbye
Then you break a window
Burn the Soufflé
Scream the lullaby

I can’t decide if the above verse is meant to convey a sense of the absurd
or a [necessarily] uncritiqued stream of consciousness.

And I believe in love
But what else can I do
So in love with you

I believe in love
Now who knows where or when
But it’s comin’ around again

I ‘believe’ in love, too.

I also believe in marriage vows,
continuing maturity, and all of the other demands that life makes. :coffeeread:

When one - or both- spouses cannot engage the demands of maturity,
a broken heart may be the next reality encountered.

Or many broken hearts.

reen12