On Contentment

Not Kipling...

This, from the pen of Robert Louis Stevenson, is my fav from any poet not Shakespeare or Kipling :-)

EVENSONG

THE embers of the day are red
Beyond the murky hill.
The kitchen smokes: the bed
In the darkling house is spread:
The great sky darkens overhead,
And the great woods are shrill.
So far have I been led,
Lord, by Thy will:
So far I have followed, Lord, and wondered still.

The breeze from the enbalmed land
Blows sudden toward the shore,
And claps my cottage door.
I hear the signal, Lord - I understand.
The night at Thy command
Comes. I will eat and sleep and will not question more.

Stephenson wrote that heartfelt piece (as he wrote Requiem) after long years of ill health, financial and critical setbacks and during his struggles for justice for the Samoan peoples. Now, that's contentment. A well-crafted film of Stephenson's life is one I'd gladly pay theater prices to see. (Operative words: well-crafted.)

Aside: I had lost track of this for almost 30 years, after gifting a book with my one copy to someone just discovering a love of poetry, and had only my memory of the poem. I regularly (I now see) misquoted it to the tune of two wrong word choices *sigh*. Now, thanks to the good folks at Gutenberg.org and elsewhere, it's at my fingertips day or night.

Cruci-fix

Hard Medicine for a Hopeless Case

Now edited to include the whole thing and *bumped* to Easter Sunday

Cruci-fix

A springtime day; a windy hill:

A man had come to die.

Torture done, the crowd grew still:

He breathed out one last sigh.

Prince of life; Creator-Son--

Died on Calv’ry’s tree:

Lord of all creation,

Crucified for me!

Then all the shadowed sway of earth

Groaned aloud in pain--

That God, who came in humble birth,

Had died for mankind's gain.

Prince of life; Creator-Son--

Died on Calv’ry’s tree:

Lord of all creation,

Crucified for me!

But as the heav'ns in darkness raged

And oceans foamed and roared,

Christ, the Son, would not be caged,

So, from death's prison soared.

Prince of Life; Creator-Son:

Victorious, the battle's won.

©1993 David W Needham

"Save" the Ten Commandments?

Who says they need "saving"?

Every time someone sends me one of those "Save the Ten Commandments" (or other such) emails, I delete it, often after answering the email with a few reasons why it's the wrong fight.

Cal Thomas, one of the few unabashedly conservative Christian (as opposed to a political conservative who claims some "Christian" values) mainstream columnists has a good column that pretty well sums up my own position:

Read the whole article here.

A small taste:

Christians, who sometimes seem so bellicose about these things, believe Jesus Christ fulfilled every one of the Ten Commandments and thus became the perfect "Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). Christians also believe "a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ" (Galatians 2:16) and "all who rely on observing the law are under a curse" (Galatians 3:10). They believe anyone who wishes to be judged by the law falls short and is condemned.

If Christians believe such things, why would they "settle" for the posting of the Ten Commandments through which they believe no one can be saved? Why not lobby for the display of their favorite verse: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16)? The display of that verse on public property would surely be ruled unconstitutional, but at least Christians would be consistent with what they actually believe.

What puzzles me is the extent to which those who want government to endorse their faith seem ready to compromise their true beliefs in order to receive an honorable mention from the state.

Indeed. Of course, most "Christians" in our culture are "cultural Christians" and not believers. (And even many who claim to be believers are Pelagians in word and deed: where's St David when you need him?) Most need the props of the state and society to either directly support them or to rebel against in order to find support for their "faith."

Regardless of ACLU, Congress, local wackadoos or anyone else, we are to obey even illegitimate laws, unless they seek to prevent obedience to God, in such things as worship, witness and daily life of faith (the last two, of course, being really just aspects of "the worship offered by mind and heart." Rom 12:1 NEB). Witness Peter and John when forbidden to heal, eh?

"Save" the Ten Commandments? "Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my word shall not pass away." Luke 21:23 Let those who attack the Word first pull down heaven itself. (In their dreams... )

St David's Day

DEWI SANT, written March 1, 1994 in honor of St David.
CLICK on the graphic for a full-sized view.

The text, tune and harmonies are as extemporaneously written. I've not done any editing for content or to redact either the text for poetic improvement or the music or text for better prosody. It stands as I first "heard" it. St David's evangelistic efforts, his combat of the Pelagian heresy, etc., are all reflected in the text, and placed in the context that he demonstrated that he considered to be of first importance: Christ and His work. This great 6th century missionary to Wales is a worthy model for us all, IMO, and he and all those who went before and followed after him in similar endeavors deserve our greatest respect.