IrishOboe

I am reading "The Princess and Curdie" by George MacDonald with a friend and this time around I am recording quotes that I like.  There are too many of them, but they all make me think.  This is for my reference, but also for anyone who is interested and likes to reflect.  Discussion is welcome.

Listening is a skill, a discipline, and I’m only beginning to train myself in it.  This is an ode to the listening ears I encountered today.  I mention the people of today by name but this is a thanks on behalf of all, to all those who open their ears and simply listen.

I know it is too early to be thinking of next lent, but I saw a painting in the Orsay Museum that really spoke to me.  The painting is by Jean-Léon Gérôme and is titled Jérusalem.  I think since my blog is for personal use only I am allowed to reproduce the painting, but to be safe I won’t. [My sis check up on it so now I've postd it.  I'll take it down if someone knows I should] They have the whole collection online so please follow this link to their website to see it at a decent size.  Of course the full effect can only be experienced in person, but I still think you might get something out of it.  Here is some information on it, also from the museum’s website.  Before I tell you my thoughts I will give you the chance to look at the painting and tell me what you see.  BTW, a poster of said work would be a welcomed belated birthday present . . . ;)  It was fun for me to fall in love with a painting that isn’t famous (well, I’d never heard of it).  I suppose one day I will shed the need to always shrink from the popular, but currently it still gives me pleasure, much as I enjoyed seeing the major works.  Of course the pleasure is increased since the work received much criticism at the time.  Oh how sophisticated I am!  (Don’t be fooled.  What I failed to mention is that I’d never heard of Gerome before.  In fact, that goes for most of the artists in the Louvre and the Orsay. . .)

I’ve heard Christians present the work Jesus did on the cross as follows.  Imagine you’ve been convicted of some crime, let’s say rape.  You go to court and the Judge finds you guilty and gives you life in prison.  Then all of a sudden, this person (who happens to be God) named Jesus jumps into the room and says, “I’ll serve the time for this guilty man.  Let him go free.”  Jesus pays the price, and the guilty man goes away with his guilt wiped away and he is supposed to be so grateful for what Jesus has done for him that he follows him with joy for the rest of his life, never raping again.  Of course, if he does happen to rape again (which we’re told is likely to happen), Jesus will be there again to pay the penalty.

I find this a perfectly horrific picture of a God.  To be fair, I don’t think the people who use this “paid the price” analogy really mean exactly this, but that’s what it appears to me to boil down to.

What good has this done?  Is the rapist any better off?  Is the judge satisfied?  What about the girl he raped?

I’ve finally had the time to read the two articles Jon linked to in the comment section of God’s Blessings.  Thanks for the contribution.  I’ll jealously request that next time anyone links to an article I’d love to hear a sentence or two about what you think about it so I know what to look for and how to relate.  But even without such hints from Jon I found plenty to comment on.

I'd be in big trouble if I forgot this day.  If I have time later I'll record a tune and share it with you, but here's something more important.  In St. Patrick's honor I'll post one of my family's great favorite hymns: "St. Patrick's Breastplate."  The hymn is a translation by Cecil F. Alexander of a Gaelic poem by St. Patrick. The words in this hymn make praise songs and even most hymns sound weak.  What kind of god do we serve?  Read and see the God St. Patrick believed in.

I bind unto myself today
The strong Name of the Trinity,
By invocation of the same
The Three in One and One in Three.