I like the eternal verities, and seek them everywhere and in all seasons. Eternal verities, things that are always true, often hold true in regard to light and the shifting earth moon sun and stars. For me, Christmas is all about the solstice, the light shining forth in darkness, and the babe radiant in the manger under the shining star. Even Santa rolling all bright and cheery out of the dark chimney, and the festivals of light all accord with the solstice very well. A light shines forth in the darkness. Remember the Prologue to John. It's easy to keep a mystical perspective throughout the days of the season.
At first blush, equinoxes are a little harder to integrate into the grand scheme of things. At Christmas solstice we think of the transcendent Christ as the light of the world. In His death and resurrection at Easter it is the transcendent Christ again who embodies that mystery of eternal life. The vernal equinox is about new life in the spring, new life bursting forth in nature, flowers abloom, resurrection anew. Hold a barnyard egg up to the light, see the life immanent within. It's easy to understand that the egg is a symbol of the season and of Christ's illumination of us.
But in the week leading up to Easter, we think of Jesus the man. The man washing his disciples' feet, the man weeping in the garden, the man betrayed by his friends, the man being nailed to the cross, the man suffering. The great Easter Vigil, falling on the silent night before Easter as we await the risen Christ, is the historic time for baptism and renewal. We share in the shift from man to God.
I love the old Sunday school handouts from the 50's, before the pictures were so painfully politically correct, modernized and vividly colored. I love the old soft-toned simple drawings of Jesus coming into Jerusalem, of Jesus with the children, of Jesus praying in the garden, and the old Sallman portrait of Jesus that I accepted as fact when I was a child.
And so I immerse myself in the eternal verities as I see them, whenever I can. But this week I think of the historical Jesus, and of the concrete experiences of the man who was called to be an avatar of light and truth, a Christ.
Showing posts with label equinox. Show all posts
Showing posts with label equinox. Show all posts
Monday, March 17, 2008
Monday, November 5, 2007
Let us Now Praise Famous Men
“Let us Now Praise Famous Men.” Quick. Where does this famous quotation come from?: Julius Caesar? Winston Churchill? Walt Whitman? John F. Kennedy? James Agee?
If you’ve been reading from the bottom up, you know that Steven Spender put in his two bits on the topic, and sang the praises of transcendent and fully aware souls who have come and gone, moving among us throughout history, leaving “the vivid air signed with their honor.”
But the famous "speech" about praising famous men came much earlier. You may have heard it somewhere this week, because it is trotted out and read, in accord with the seasons, at the time of Halloween and All Saints Day, in churches around the world. It’s Biblical era stuff, read this week in autumn, when the depths of the earth are churning midway between equinox and solstice, and the spirits are free to roam, stirring and wakening our memories.
The famous passage also takes into kind account those who aren’t famous, those who lived in obscurity, those who toiled in the shadows like most of us do, and lived lives that were good.
The passage is from Ecclesiasticus in the Apocrypha, which the Anglicans accept as part of the Biblical canon, but even if you don’t, it’s still as old as the hills. And curiously comforting, if you let it be:
1 Let us now praise famous men,
and our fathers that begat us.
2 The Lord hath wrought great glory by them
through his great power from the beginning.
3 Such as did bear rule in their kingdoms,
men renowned for their power,
giving counsel by their understanding,
and declaring prophecies:
4 Leaders of the people by their counsels,
and by their knowledge of learning
meet for the people, wise and eloquent
are their instructions:
5 Such as found out musical tunes,
and recited verses in writing:
6 Rich men furnished with ability,
living peaceably in their habitations:
7 All these were honoured in their generations,
and were the glory of their times.
8 There be of them, that have left a name
behind them, that their praises might be reported.
9 And some there be, which have no memorial;
who are perished, as though they
had never been; and are become as though
they had never been born;
and their children after them.
10 But these were merciful men,
whose righteousness hath not been forgotten.
11 With their seed shall continually remain
a good inheritance, and their children are
within the covenant.
12 Their seed standeth fast,
and their children for their sakes.
13 Their seed shall remain for ever,
and their glory shall not be blotted out.
14 Their bodies are buried in peace;
but their name liveth for evermore.
15 The people will tell of their wisdom,
and the congregation will shew forth their praise.
Ecclesiasticus 44 1-15
If you’ve been reading from the bottom up, you know that Steven Spender put in his two bits on the topic, and sang the praises of transcendent and fully aware souls who have come and gone, moving among us throughout history, leaving “the vivid air signed with their honor.”
But the famous "speech" about praising famous men came much earlier. You may have heard it somewhere this week, because it is trotted out and read, in accord with the seasons, at the time of Halloween and All Saints Day, in churches around the world. It’s Biblical era stuff, read this week in autumn, when the depths of the earth are churning midway between equinox and solstice, and the spirits are free to roam, stirring and wakening our memories.
The famous passage also takes into kind account those who aren’t famous, those who lived in obscurity, those who toiled in the shadows like most of us do, and lived lives that were good.
The passage is from Ecclesiasticus in the Apocrypha, which the Anglicans accept as part of the Biblical canon, but even if you don’t, it’s still as old as the hills. And curiously comforting, if you let it be:
1 Let us now praise famous men,
and our fathers that begat us.
2 The Lord hath wrought great glory by them
through his great power from the beginning.
3 Such as did bear rule in their kingdoms,
men renowned for their power,
giving counsel by their understanding,
and declaring prophecies:
4 Leaders of the people by their counsels,
and by their knowledge of learning
meet for the people, wise and eloquent
are their instructions:
5 Such as found out musical tunes,
and recited verses in writing:
6 Rich men furnished with ability,
living peaceably in their habitations:
7 All these were honoured in their generations,
and were the glory of their times.
8 There be of them, that have left a name
behind them, that their praises might be reported.
9 And some there be, which have no memorial;
who are perished, as though they
had never been; and are become as though
they had never been born;
and their children after them.
10 But these were merciful men,
whose righteousness hath not been forgotten.
11 With their seed shall continually remain
a good inheritance, and their children are
within the covenant.
12 Their seed standeth fast,
and their children for their sakes.
13 Their seed shall remain for ever,
and their glory shall not be blotted out.
14 Their bodies are buried in peace;
but their name liveth for evermore.
15 The people will tell of their wisdom,
and the congregation will shew forth their praise.
Ecclesiasticus 44 1-15
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