3 July 2006

A new month brings a new section from "Gravity and Grace" by Joseph Sittler. This one is Language: Allure and Boundary.

In the process of being idiomatic, new Bible translations have subtly but importantly modified many dimensions of the older versions. Remember the beautiful observation, "Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin" (Matthew 6:28 KJV). We don't talk much about "toil" any longer; instead we go to work. One modern translations reads: "Look at those lilies." That is a quite different statement. With the former construction, the language lies tenderly upon the things referred to. Love, affection, and tenderness are inherent in the language.
Then, too, the word consider has an intrinsic warmth that the word look cannot manage.

The vision or experience of the Reign of God calls for language that will attempt to bring us as much of its fullness as is possible. At times, those words will be how we will make it through the day. A phrase that is used to speak of the love of God and yet it is more than simply saying "God loves you" may be just what is needed to stand up and enter the day at hand. I think of the opening line from the lesson of this Sunday from Lamentations: "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases." On those days when I seem to have given up and really would want to call it quits because I cannot see any really good reason for moving on, to be reminded of the "steadfast love" that never ceases will do much more to grab hold of me than "God loves you." Then again, "God loves you" might just be the word for another moment that no other word will fit. One of the reasons I love to take part in the liturgy is that we are invited into language that flows from our tongues that is language we usually would not use. I'm not talking about "old English" (although it can work for me). Instead I am considering the poetic ways in which we sing of justice, mercy, peace, and those words make more sense when the poetry matches music. And yet...it is language that is not always the most common in our daily lives.

Connection: In a day of face paced e-mails and quick communication, surprise us with a few lines of well-crafted verse to make a point we would usually walk by.

Within the great expanse of your Reign, O God, there are more points of glory and light than we are able to comprehend. And yet, when we consider you great love, it is as though we are spinning under a midnight sky filled with stars; the view is beyond us and our lives spin underneath the wideness of your glory. Keep us aware of your presence that pulls us beyond ourselves into the vast openness of your mercy and love. Amen.