This Too Shall Pass

Perhaps you don’t reflect much on the past or the past year as the new one is dawning. However, I am plagued with a mind that is always reflecting on things great and small. 2008 was a really mixed bag for me. It was an emotional rollercoaster of highs and lows. Mostly, though, it was difficult. So, when I came across the following quote it hit me like a ton of bricks. Maybe it will speak to you, and may 2009 be the best year ever for you and your family.

“And the king wanted an inscription
good for a thousand years and after
that to the end of the world?”
“Yes, precisely so.”
“Something so true and awful that no
matter what happened it would stand?”
“Yes, exactly that.”
Something no matter who spit on it or
Laughed at it there it would stand
And nothing would change it?”
“Yes, that was what the king ordered
his wise men to write.”
“And what did they write?”
“Five words: THIS TOO SHALL PASS AWAY.”

Carl Sandburg
The People, Yes

A Lesson from the Rolling Stones

One of the things that interest me is longevity. I enjoy looking at classic cars, old ruins, and things that have grown in value over the years. Well, I guess you could say, the Rolling Stones could be on the Antique Roadshow – their value to me, though, is priceless. It is interesting when one of the few intact rock bands meet one of the (arguably) great filmmakers of our lifetime, Martin Scorsese. There is no question in my mind that the cinematography of his film about the Rolling Stones “Shine Your Light on Me” is beyond compare. If you watch it closely, you can see a master at work, and if you study just the band members with their gestures and the way they interact, you discover the aura that surrounds each of them. For example, I really enjoyed Keith Richards who may look like a character out of “The Night of the Living Dead” but comes across to me as a sweet, affable, and friendly old rocker. They all look as though they have been through a few winters, but they come alive when they strap their guitars on and walk into each other’s presence in a theater like the Beacon in New York, where this was filmed.

What flows out of this film for me is that the Stones still have it after all these years, but far more important than that, they love what they do. Throughout the film there are excerpts of interviews with each of them, and the same question comes up ad nauseum: “How long are you going to keep doing this?” You see pictures of them in every decade, being asked this question, over and over and over again. The answer is, they don’t know. All they know is they love it. They love to play the guitar and jam, they love to sing and perform, and they are doing it not for the money anymore but for the love of it. My guess is that they will do it until they can’t do it anymore. Richards put it this way: “Honestly, I’d do this job even if I were in a wheelchair.”

The more I thought about it as I watched the DVD for the second time, the reason it is so inviting or enjoyable is that you can see they just love what they do. And when you can see that, it is inspiring. How many of us could say that we love what we do? I don’t mean just the job you have, but the other things we do in life. I would like to think I could.

A Place at the Table

A few years ago I took a special trip with my friend Tim to the Palestinian city of Cana where I went to the church of the Wedding of Cana. It was a small area in this very populated city. In order to find the church we had to drive down narrow one-way streets until we arrived at our destination with very reasonable souvenir shops surrounding it. There were almost no tourists. I circled around the place and looked at the church and its well-kept gardens. It was very nicely done, but nothing that I would characterize as overwhelming or remarkable. It was beautifully understated. This is so often not the case in the Holy Land where most sacred spots and shrines can even seem a bit gaudy.

The miracle of Cana is traditionally the first miracle of Jesus that begins his ministry. There are many interpretations of the significance of this event, which range from a spat with his mother, to the miraculous power of Jesus, to the symbolism of the wedding occurring on the third day. There is much to draw from the story, and it remains part of the collection of the miracles of Jesus that were recorded in the Gospel of Matthew.


Years later, I made a visit on a member of my parish who, during the course of our conversation, told me that she had a dream about the wedding of Cana and the wine that Jesus had changed from water. She woke from her dream with a thirst that made here want to taste that wine. Then it dawned on her that she had already tasted it, at the altar on Sunday morning. When she related the story, I, too, was enlightened. Blessed and holy wine ready to be tasted… The Eucharist is a celebration of transforming wine that transmits the presence of our Lord. Thank you, Jill - that story will have an even deeper meaning for me. Keep dreaming…

Obama and the Weight of Glory

We have all witnessed over the past week the end of an astonishing campaign for president. I personally am attracted to both John McCain and Barack Obama, in different ways, and for many reasons. Obama’s election is historic, if only because he will become the first black president of the United States. This alone is something to feel proud about if you are an American. Our country has broken through a barrier that many had thought was unbreakable for decades, if that. So, I smile and feel happy to be part of this great country.

As I look forward, my mind flashes to Jimmy Carter who looks old, Bill Clinton who looks tired, and George Bush who looks much older than when he first started. The job somehow can do that to you. As I listened to Obama speak to the huge crowd in Grant Park, I noticed what might be a different tone in his speech. He seemed a bit subdued and serious at what was a happy occasion. I can only guess what he was feeling at that moment, and my guess is that in that sober speech he was beginning to feel the heaviness of the job ahead.

In one sense one has to say, “Who wants this job?” We have witnessed the greatest financial crisis since the Great Depression whose fallout is going to be enormous. The war in Iraq and Afghanistan remains with over 150,000 troops employed in Iraq. We are still heavily dependent on oil, and Americans still feel it every time we get a home heating bill or fill up our tank. We can talk about health care, climate change, immigration, and the future of social security. The list goes on and on as our auto industry sinks to a new low and US dollars find their way out of this country. It is a hefty list for anyone to tackle.

C.S. Lewis wrote an interesting address entitled The Weight of Glory. Every time I think of this address I also think of the brilliant movie The Unbearable Lightness of Being. In the end, both pieces of work point to the heaviness of responsibility and the demands that are required of people who want to live their life with a deep sense of integrity. Our lives can be poisoned when we seek to avoid the things that need to be done. The same is true with being president of the United States. Jefferson called it “splendid misery”. It is my hope that our next president Barack Obama will not fall prey to the temptations of avoiding the tough issues that face our nation. It is my hope that we as a people will let go of the anger, hatred, and animosity which has come to characterize the partisan nature of politics. I am tired of the endless hate that has spewed over the airwaves.

Let’s take on the weight of glory when it comes to our own citizenship and move beyond the labels of Democrat or Republican, conservative or liberal.

Art for a Forgotten Faith

One of the striking aspects of the power of the Judeo-Christian tradition is the art it has spawned through the centuries. I recall being at Chartres Cathedral and being mesmerized by the stained glass and the many subtle and not-so-subtle statuary and architectural design that went into that magnificent place. The same experience can come from hundreds of other cathedrals across the world, one in particular comes to mind which is the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. It doesn’t take much to see that faith has inspired artists like Chagall, Rembrandt, Matisse, Miró, Dalí, Goya, and countless others. From music to architecture, faith has inspired enormous creativity that moves the human spirit to ever-greater awareness of the beauty and wonder of the Divine in human life.


Today, spirituality and faith do not always seem to be the inspiring engine behind artistic creativity. Art has moved down a secular path. So, when I saw an article recently in the New York Times about an exhibition entitled “NeoHooDoo” at P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, I was surprised to read that faith once again pops up artistically in unexpected places. In our world today religious art is relegated to museums and, often, religious faith is relegated to a bygone era. I find it refreshing that faith may surface in the art and imagination of young artists who seem to find a spiritual touchstone in aspects of the religious experience. I find this more refreshing than some of the so-called Christian art produced by a wooden imagination locked in the past. As the article said, faith may be not so forgotten after all. There is little question that contemporary art is changing yet again, and in ways that are subtle, yet profound. Put differently, this art moves in a religious way because it asks, “old questions about unanswerables - who are we, who were we, where are we going, what can we be - in slightly new ways, and that’s a start.”


Perhaps our own artistic imagination could use a jump-start, too?

Decanting Your Life

This summer Kathy, Allison and I visited family and some friends in California. Of course, when your foot touches

the ground in California, a different feeling rushes into your body if you’re me. A host of memories trigger off lots of experiences in my mind as I spent a good part of my early life there, never even leaving the state. The sun always shines, it’s warm and has a feel of the Mediterranean. It also does not take long to realize that you’re close to the epicenter of the source of magnificent wine. You will notice right away that you can buy wine of all quality in any grocery store. You can even get great brands for less at Costco. By the way, wine is significantly cheaper in California than anywhere else.

In a short break from family obligations we, along with my sister and her grown-up children, took a trip to Napa - St. Helena and Calistoga which are both located in the heart of wine country. We had been there before, of course, and love it. The fun thing to do is to go wine tasting which now has become a bit pricey, but you can still have a great time for not too much money. We visited a couple of places, but one was on our list, Clos du Bois, that we had failed to visit in the past, and I, for one, was not going to miss it this time.

So we began our journey to the back roads of Napa with a winery map in hand, looking at signs and pointing to the many wineries. We still missed it and had to stop for directions. For some reason, this winery is nestled very out of the way of the major thoroughfare; even the signs for it proved to be misleading. However, like buried treasure, we finally discovered it. It is an elegant place and appears to be popular. All six of us snuggled up at the crowded wine bar - with my sister buying cheese and crackers to eat between tastings. Our tasting expert from the winery was charming and delightful, telling us in great detail the various aspects of each wine’s properties. She was so good that you almost didn’t need to taste the wine. At any rate, with seven generous pourings and a glass that said Clos du Bois on it as a gift and part of the $5 charge, I was very happy and, for no extra charge, our guide gave us a lecture on decanting the wine. There is a lot more to pouring it than one thinks. If it is not done correctly, you can miss a lot of the richness and quality of the actual taste of the wine. Pouring it a certain way and letting it breathe can be very important. 

To me decanting means setting the wine free from the bottle that has imprisoned it an and allowing it to be enjoyed. Elizabeth Gilbert has written a book entitled Eat Pray Love which is an interesting biographical journey in the area of spirituality. She has coined the term decanting your life. It gave me pause to think of life in terms of pouring a glass of wine and allowing it to breathe and in wine connoisseur language “blossom into a life of its own”, striking your taste buds and releasing its wonderful flavors.

To me, faith is part of the process of decanting your life, setting you free from those things that imprison you and prevent you from blossoming into the person you need to become. In a certain sense faith enhances your life by pushing you out of the narrow confines of fear and worry that prevent you from taking risks and growing in new ways. Leaving the safety and security of your comfort zone means you are pushed out into a world where hope and appreciation move you into unfamiliar territory and personal growth. You don’t have to be the sediment lying on the bottom of the bottle, yours can be a rich, full-bodied life.

Frugal Luxuries on Sundays

There is an interesting column in the New York Times entitled “The Frugal Traveller”.  He recommends traveling cheaply with a budget of €100 per day.  He gives lots of tips for lodging, meals, and transportation. I did notice two interesting responses to his column by readers who also made recommendations. This one brought a smile to my face:

Go to church!  Not for religious reasons necessarily - but for cultural ones.  See how the local people spend part of their Sunday. Listen to the service and the singing and the ritual in that native language. And, it’s free!

Of course, I am for going to church and for attending church for more than cultural reasons, but I do agree that it is a luxury. In today’s busy world people are cutting out this activity because it takes up too much time or they are too busy. I have always maintained that it is a luxury to be able to sit and meditate, pray, even sing. We do not often do this, especially not in community.  I mostly sing in the shower, so when I get to sing in church, it is a real luxury. If I get to hear a great sermon, it’s even better, although most time, I am the one who is giving it - I always hope it’s great.  

Sundays for many people are chores preoccupied with getting things done that they could not accomplish during the week. The concept of Sabbath/A Day of Rest is overlooked for the hurriedness of modern life. Maybe we are participating in a luxury, even if frugal, when we gather on Sunday mornings. I like to think so.