Tuesday, December 22, 2020


 

The Longest Night

While the photo above was taken earlier this year, the layers of light and dark within the picture have a special poignancy for me today.  Humanity dances within the rhythms of light and dark.  

The longest night, winter solstice, has interesting and arresting vantage points for the soul, not only now but over much of time in the past and in many cultures.  (see the New York Times article, The Longest Night).

I think it is natural for us to be uneasy with darkness, to feel thwarted by the things we are unable to do or complete without the light.  How can we function without our sense of sight? How will we avoid the pitfalls?  It lowers our sense of control and safety, strips us of the cloak of accomplishments and visible possessions that we hide in.

Each year older I become, I hope that I can learn to come a little closer to terms with the rhythms of light and dark.  To wrestle against it less, to let it instruct me more.  How would my life enlarge and grow if I followed the footpath of my failures to some discovery rather than avoid that trail at all cost?  What seeds can I shelter in my hand and heart, dormant in the dark, dreaming of spring?


Saturday, March 21, 2020

The Age of Coronavirus


-A reflection on Ezra 3, when the Israelite captives were faced with the uncertainty of rebuilding their lives
              
                And when the third month had come, and the children of the United States realized that the coronavirus was in their midst, the people ceased their gathering together.  All the governors, after consulting with their learned men, sent out decrees to all their land, closing the schools, and the social places; even the churches of God became empty.  And fear had come upon many people because the routines were disrupted and the March Madness would no longer distract them form their own inner madness.  And furthermore, the stock market was shaken in a tumult, sometimes up and sometimes down, and the prospect of losing one’s retirement loomed in their minds.

                And yet, there were creative and stalwart people in the land, people who remembered the stories their grandparents had told them of other difficult times; tales of how hard work and creative problem-solving coupled with resolute faith in God and compassion for others had carried them through things like the Great Depression and the World Wars and other pandemics.  And some of them remembered even older stories, when times were even harder.  These creative and stalwart people, armed with confidence in the problem-solving skills God had given them, and confident in the power of what can happen when friends and neighbors get together to share and help each other, these people set their sights on new routines.  They developed new ideas for bringing structure and a sense of security and purpose for themselves and those around them. 

                They discovered that although the invisible virus was able to change so much in their lives and create so much unknown and fear – that some things could not be changed.  For one thing, spring was upon them!  Glorious spring with the birds singing in the morning!  And the woodpeckers looking for insects in the trees!  And the flowers thrusting up from the ground!  It was found that none of these things was the virus able to destroy.  And it was also found that the things that were taken away uncovered new things underneath that had always been there but were now more needed and easier to see and appreciate; things like the value of being with family and saying hello to a neighbor and how much we need each other to support our emotional selves and our ability to do the necessary work of life.  It clarified how thankful they were for their schools and their jobs and their churches, for the teachers and their work; and remined them that it was a special gift to be able to even have these things to go to, because now they knew what it was like not to have them. 

                But all of this was still hard, and there were times of weeping with loud voices, and times of shouting aloud for joy – for there were things taken away and new things given.  Many uncertainties could not be taken away, and even death need to be faced in some cases.  Yet in it all, God was present and speaking quietly to those who would listen; and many old stories were told, many songs were sung – and in time, new life emerged.