Of Ents and Hobbits

This week I am taking a summer course at Regent College. I had looked forward to spending time in Vancouver and sitting in a classroom with other students, but it is now a virtual course. I will interact with the professor and fellow classmates via Zoom like so many other meetings and courses. It is a reasonable facsimile, but still second best for a course, especially as I recall the beauty of the UBC campus in late June.

 

One of the textbooks for the course (The Cultivated Life, Susan S. Phillips, InterVarsity Press, 2015) purposely mixes metaphors and refers to spiritual growth as being both rooted like a plant in a garden and a journey in which we continue to progress and get closer to our distant destination. She speaks of needing to stop and put down roots, wait and listen, and to spend time in Sabbath; but she also speaks of needing to progress and take a next step. She uses the image of “a tree that walks” to convey her meaning.

 

One of her illustrations looks to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa in 1995 in which she says the country and the world paused in order to heal and seek forgiveness. The chair of the commission was Bishop Desmond Tutu and he allowed the process to take its full course.

 

“He brought people to a holy stop, lending compassion to the process and marking it with awe. He was the walking tree of Scripture, planted by streams of living water and walking the way of truth. He cooperated with the divine Logos that shelters and gathers as well as speaks…. Any morally or spiritually significant conversation must be preceded and followed by listening.”[1]

 

These words of being rooted, listening, conversing, and walking the way of truth are exceptionally valuable for me at this point in my life. Presently, I have wrapped up one job and have not yet settled into a next role. My usual tendency to “hurry” and “do,” is getting in the way, when I know that what is needed right now is to “slow down” and “be.” I am reminded of one of Tolkein’s tales (told within the Lord of the Rings Trilogy) in which two Hobbits, Meriadoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took, enlist the help of the Ents, (the Ents are themselves walking trees). The Ents convene an Entmoot, or meeting of the Ents, and Merry and Pippin are anxious for a response; but the Ents, known for their slow deliberations in which they may take several months to come to a decision, test the patience of the Hobbits who sense that a quick decision is necessary. The interplay between impatient Hobbits and deliberating Ents must be much like my own impatient pleading before God. In a time when I have been given space to rest and Sabbath, without worry of food on the table or roof over my head, I find my anxious mind whining about what the future holds, what my next role will be, and how I will survive. God, the ever patient, deliberate provider, hears my pleas and knows that there is yet time and encourages me to have patience and to use this time to be better rooted knowing that there will be plenty of time for moving on to the next thing.

 

Am I alone in this? I think not. This time in our culture has trained us to move with frenetic pace, as we are always on, always working, always responding, always seeking to enhance our image, and always looking for more. The deliberate, intentional, cultivated life is a necessity that is easily crowded out by the “tyranny of the urgent.”[2] As with most of the writing on this blog, this is first a call to myself to live an intentional life, and then secondly to you my reader to consider this need in your own life as well. Today can be a day for listening, waiting, and rooting in the deliberate, cultivated life. Let us commit to it together.

---

[1] The Cultivated Life, Susan S. Phillips, InterVarsity Press, 2015, chapter 4.

[2] Charles E. Hummel phrase.

Rest in the Grace of the World

I have been sensing a tendency toward fear and depression both in my own soul and in the words of those around me. I am considering these words by Wendell Berry and what they might mean to all of us at this point in history.

“When despair for the world grows in me and I wake in the night at the least sound in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be, I go and lie down where the wood drake rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds. I come into the peace of wild things who do not tax their lives with forethought of grief. I come into the presence of still water. And I feel above me the day-blind stars waiting with their light. For a time I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.”
― Wendell Berry, Sex, Economy, Freedom, and Community: Eight Essays

Violet

You have got my heart on a string.

I haven’t even met you and you

You have got my heart on a string.

You are brightening my senses

Ignoring all my defenses

You have got my heart on a string.

You’ve a name that makes me think light,

Posies and roses, sun-beams bright

Wonderland, daisy chains, starlight

And beautiful indigo night

You have got my heart on a string.

I haven’t even met you and you

You have got my heart on a string.

You are brightening my senses

Ignoring all my defenses

You have got my heart on a string.

Your walk is noble, full of grace

Hold your head high as faith you chase

Fill up a room yet take no space

Til all can see the better place

You have got my heart on a string.

I haven’t even met you and you

You have got my heart on a string.

You are brightening my senses

Ignoring all my defenses

You have got my heart on a string.

The moon calls birds to fly, depart

Violin strings that pull a heart

Love’s the grace that feels like a dart

My bond with you will never part

You have got my heart on a string.

I haven’t even met you and you

You have got my heart on a string.

You are brightening my senses

Ignoring all my defenses

You have got my heart on a string.

For Violet Alice Smith born September 6, 2015

The Heart is Full

Upon this day, my heart is full
The fam’ly tree that once was two,
Now has branches fully pulled,
And bowed and stretched and turned askew

The stems are laden with the fruit
And fill the soul with rev’rent bliss
The outflow of two hearts that grew
As sealed upon the lips that kiss

A little girl has come today
To add more joy and fill the way
With toys and strings for all to play
Oh Katie love, we bless this day

Oh maid’n love and knightly power,
We turn our hearts in holy praise,
To give the scent of sweetest flower,
And hands that stretch and fully raise.

Oh mystery of all complete,
We wonder at these gifts we take
Fully blessed with life replete,
On this your day, our precious Kate.

A little girl has come today
To add more joy and fill the way
With toys and strings for all to play
Oh Katie love, we bless this day

Love, Love, Love
Love is in this home
Love, Love, Love
Love is in this home

A little girl has come today
To add more joy and fill the way
With toys and strings for all to play
Oh Katie love, we bless this day


Welcome Kate Evelyn Mitchell.

Inland

I discovered a great new album last night: Inland by Jars of Clay. Released in August of 2013, this collection of songs sounds as good as previous albums like Who We Are Instead (2003) or Much Afraid (1997). The lyrics are mysterious, poetic, and haunting. They speak to the condition of every human soul. They speak of angst, pain, loneliness, depression, joy, and love. Here is a sample of the album; the song is called "Loneliness & Alcohol."

"Loneliness & Alcohol"
Written by Dan Haseltine, Charlie Lowell, Steve Mason, and Matt Odmark
(listen to it here) 

The sound of television creeping through the halls
Left in the wild like a tree pulled from the dirt
You fill the sky with burning arrows from your heart
Throw your bottles out to sea and watch them float away 

Tell me of the world you’re leaving
While you’re swinging like a wrecking ball
You bury all your love in secrets
And loneliness in alcohol 

Hide your diamonds in the dirt in careful rows
Let your doubt unravel all their, all their pretty bows
‘Cause your heart is broken by the things you love
And your light, it carries but it’s not enough to change the weather 

Tell me of the world you’re leaving
While you’re swinging like a wrecking ball
Bury all your love in secrets
And loneliness in alcohol 

You get buried under all these lines, all this light, all these lies
You get buried under all these lines, all this light, all the time 

Tell me of the world you’re leaving
While you’re swinging like a wrecking ball
Bury all your love in secrets
And loneliness in alcohol 

Tell me of the world you’re leaving
While you’re swinging like a wrecking ball
Bury all your love in secrets
And loneliness in alcohol

Other songs on the album are equally strong and I find it hard to choose favourites but certainly "After the Fight" and "Human Race" are in the running; but how could I leave out "Reckless Forgiver." You will have to choose favourites for yourself. Check out the whole album at their website: www.jarsofclay.com.

A Good Wife

My wife and I celebrated Valentine's Day with a group of friends last night. We had a chocolate tasting at Xoxolat (pronounced shṓ-shṓ-lặ). Who knew there were 400 notes of flavour in chocolate? Following this we walked down the street to enjoy delicious curries at Atithi Restaurant. During the course of the evening we men were encouraged to propose a toast to our wives. Here, said better than I said last night, is my toast to Maureen.

There are many wonderful things I could say about Maureen. Some of you know her from her job where she is well-paid to pay attention to detail and make the lives of busy executives run smoothly. She is extremely good at what she does. But for many years she did her greatest work as a mother who cared for our three daughters and made our home run efficiently. There are many ways I could honour her but I think that one of the greatest tributes I could bring to her is the fact that our grown daughters love her. To have adult children who continue to love her and look to her for advice is a tremendous blessing. I too also blessed to be in love with this woman after 31 years of marriage. Please raise a glass in toast to Maureen!

"A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. . . . Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her . . ." Proverbs 31:10, 28.

Walking in the Dark

For a few years now I have developed a practise of walking in the dark. What I mean by this is I like to go for walks at night in places that are as dark I can find. Living in a large urban centre like Vancouver means that even when I go for a walk at night there are still plenty of city lights. So in my quest for darkness I find myself walking in places like beaches, parks, and the Iona Jetty (one of the best places in Greater Vancouver to see the stars). When I lived in Calgary, one of my favourite places I would go for a night walk was a retreat centre near Calgary called King's Fold. At night one could hike the river valley with just the light of the stars to guide you.


Night walks heighten my senses and allow me to listen better, smell more, and detect things I might normally miss. One must overcome a sense of fear for we are often taught to be afraid of the dark and there may in fact be some real danger. The valley of the Ghost River at King's Fold is home to predators such as bears and cougars and so my ears were constantly tuned for the snap of a twig when I walked this valley. Yet, such fear and heightened awareness can be a metaphor for life.


The life I live in Canada is really quite safe and secure. Most of the time I organize my life in ways that protect me and minimize my exposure to danger or the risk of loss. I have my keys and locks to keep out the "bad guy," "bogeyman," and "terrorist." I have my vitamins and disinfectants to protect me from disease and bed-bugs. I have my life insurance, RSPs, and stock investments to placate my fear of the financial future. I am fortunate to have so much. Many in the world have none of these things. They survive and thrive without all of these protections. Could I do as well if I were to lose all of my security blankets?


Walking in the dark reminds me that I am small and fragile in a big world of danger. It reminds me to put my trust in the right places. It causes me to pray and trust and love and hunger for something more. It reminds me that life is about risk; it is about taking chances when every fibre of my body cries for comfort and security. Where would I be if I had never taken a chance? Where would I be if I had taken more chances?


Walking in the dark reminds me that there are more sources of light than streetlights, sunshine, and flashlights. There is inner light which is a reflection of light that is far greater. There is a light in which we can walk that will bring light to any dark place.

No longer will you need the sun to shine by day, nor the moon to give its light by night, for the Lord your God will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. - Isaiah 60:19 New Living Translation (NLT)


This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin. - 1 John 1:5-7 New Living Translation (NLT)

We Do Not Lose Heart

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 Today's New International Version (TNIV)

Mud Pies

Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires, not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.*

*C.S. Lewis – The Weight of Glory, 1949.

Thirsty for Wine

John 2:1-11.

According to the gospel of John the first miracle of Jesus was to change water into wine. I have often wondered why this would be the first miracle Jesus would choose to perform. Why would he not heal someone or raise someone from the dead? Wouldn’t calming a storm be a more fitting first miracle? Verse 11 tells us that the result of this miracle was that Jesus revealed His glory and His disciples believed in Him. Wouldn’t a healing have been a better foundation for faith? Why did Jesus choose to turn water into wine for a crowd at a wedding who had already drunk enough wine to not notice the quality of the wine they were served (verse 10)?

The hosts had run out of wine. This was a serious breach of hospitality in middle-eastern culture and Jesus’ mother was concerned for the wedding party. This would not look good for them and might have had longer-term relational impacts in the community. Despite Jesus’ initial words (verse 4), He also shares His mother’s concern and decides to do something about it. It may not yet have been the precise time for God in the flesh to reveal His glory in a miracle but He shows compassion for this human situation. So He brings out a 750 ml bottle of table wine and adds it to the banquet table. No, He decides to supply the party with at least 450 litres of wine (the equivalent of 600 bottles of wine). And it is good wine; the best wine that had been served that day and maybe the best wine that has ever been consumed.

Jesus uses the six stone water-pots which were normally used for the Jewish custom of purification (verse 6). In contrast to their usual solemn and legalistic use, Jesus uses them to make wine, which as Psalm 104:15 says “makes man's heart glad.” He blesses a wedding with a gift of joy and ushers in a new joyful Kingdom of God on earth. Wine is freely offered in an abundant supply just as His own blood will one day, when His time has come, be poured out for all.*

Jesus looks deeper than the immediate needs of humans and offers abundance for our true needs. I know that I can joyfully trust Him to supply my true needs.

*Some thoughts in this paragraph have been gleaned from RVG Tasker in the Tyndale Commentary on The Gospel According to St. John. Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 1977.