Vision

I have spent most of my life acknowledging the importance of Christ’s birth, apart however, from the traditionally specified time of year. Because of this unique experience, I am able to view all the associated cultural and religious accoutrements from a different perspective than those raised with early memories of the season. This morning I came across a song that I’d heard of before, but never read all the words to. Noting the time that this song was written makes me wonder what the author, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, would have penned were he alive today:

I heard the bells on Christmas day

Their old familiar carols play,

And wild and sweet the words repeat

Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And thought how, as the day had come,

The belfries of all Christendom

Had rolled along the unbroken song

Of peace on earth, good will to men.

Till ringing, singing on its way

The world revolved from night to day,

A voice, a chime, a chant sublime

Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And in despair I bowed my head

“There is no peace on earth,” I said,

“For hate is strong and mocks the song

Of peace on earth, good will to men.”

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:

“God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;

The wrong shall fail, the right prevail

With peace on earth, good will to men.”

Historical Note: This hymn was written during the American civil war, as reflected by the sense of despair in the next to last stanza of the current, common presentation (above). The original stanzas 4 and 5 (below) speak of the battle, and are usually omit­ted from hymnals:

Then from each black, accursed mouth

The cannon thundered in the South,

And with the sound the carols drowned

Of peace on earth, good will to men.

It was as if an earthquake rent

The hearth-stones of a continent,

And made forlorn, the households born

Of peace on earth, good will to men.

Last Friday, I had the unforgettable opportunity to visit the exhibit of the Dead Sea Scrolls, hosted by the Pacific Science Center in Seattle, Washington. An advertisement I read says it all, “2,000 years in a cave - 105 days in Seattle”. The exhibit runs September 23, 2006 through January 7, 2007. It is housed in 12,000 square feet of switch-backed corridors which are lined with hundreds of historical artifacts and photos documenting the scrolls, from their creation to their discovery and subsequent restoration and interpretation. The tour begins with a short video detailing some of the main historical events, with commentary from respected archaeologists and history experts. Then you are handed a cell-phone-shaped audio device on which you enter the numbers corresponding to each photo or artifact you encounter on the tour. Dubbed “a self-guided audio tour”, it works pretty well and beats straining to hear the traditional human tour guide. Of course no other personal electronic devices are allowed. The scrolls themselves are situated at the very end of the tour in a dimly lit room. People speak in hushed tones as they make their way from one climate-controlled glass case to the next. The scroll fragments are periodically lit with special fiber optic lighting to slow the aging process and possible fading from exposure to light. Segments from various books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Isaiah, Ezekiel, and the books of Psalms, along with the sectarian scrolls outlining the importance of specific ways of life for the Essenes, the people who wrote the scrolls are displayed along with their English translation. It was an incredible experience for me to be able to see parts of the Bible that physically predate modern versions of our English Bible, the 1611 KJV Bible, even the original Greek language Masoretic Text and Textus Receptus from which the KJV was translated! If you find yourself near Seattle, I highly recommend the tour. Very educational and inspiring.

I have been perusing a truly wonderful site focused on Christian character building and discipleship.  Noblecall.org has some incredible articles including: Three Elements of a Noble Calling, Training a Genius, Making Your Home a Ministry Center, and much more…  If you have the time, I encourage you to check it out.  You will come away the richer for it.

My sister recently purchased the album Find Us Faithful (AP860) from Altar of Praise. The recording mentioned contains some excellent work from a technical perspective… male vocals with piano, but beyond that, I found the title song speaking directly to me. Here are the words penned by Jon Mohr:

Find Us Faithful
by
Joh Mohr

We’re pilgrims on the journey of the narrow road,
And those who’ve gone before us line the way,
Cheering on the faithful, encouraging the weary—
Their lives a stirring testament to God’s sustaining grace.

Surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses,
Let us run the race not only for the prize;
But, as those who’ve gone before us,
Let us leave behind us
The heritage of faithfulness,
Passed on through godly lives.

After all our hopes and dreams have come and gone,
And our children sift through all we’ve left behind,
May the clues that they discover,
And the memories they uncover
Become the light that leads them to the road
We each must find.

O, may all who come behind us find us faithful;
May the fire of our devotion light their way.
May the footprints that we leave
Lead them to believe;
And the lives we live
Inspire them to obey.

O, may all who come behind us find us faithful.

The words “the road we each must find” has been an echo in my mind. Especially the last few years sifting through the ideals, morals, and perspectives that make up my childhood and youth and claiming the principles of true, living, breathing Christianity for myself versus simply obeying the things I was taught and with childhood simplicity believed were the fabric of reality. I am truly blessed with the knowledge that God has given me and the personal experience of relationship with God and His people. I feel overwhelmed when I think of the responsibility I have to live up to that knowledge and “run the race that is set before us”.