“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.” —John 1:5.
Work in progress: Light Shines in the Darkness
Some of us can hear these words with hope, two thousand years after John’s gospel was first written. These words come as a ray of hope, like a flashlight’s beam bursting into a collapsed mine to let imprisoned workers know help and life-giving oxygen is on the way. For the people in the first century who lived under the Pax Romana—the peace of Rome—not everyone had the same rights and privileges as the citizens of Rome. The conquered lands, including the nation of Israel, were under military occupation and suffered brutal taxation and unfair application of the laws.
More importantly, obedience to the emperor and the empire was required, which for the Jewish people meant making a sacrifice in honor of the emperor. Because this act would acknowledge a human being as a god, the Jews were between a rock and a hard place. If they denied the emperor, they were unpatriotic. If they sacrificed to him, they committed blasphemy against their God. After all, we find one of the great commandments in Exodus 20:2-3:
“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land ofEgypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me.”
We take religious freedom and expression as a given here in the United States, since the first European settlers to these shores came here with the express purpose of worshipping God in their own way. Unfortunately, they also persecuted the next groups who arrived and who worshipped differently. After gaining independence from England, America has been one of the few nations of the world in that one of its core values is to honor every faith tradition and allow each person to worship freely (or not) God as they want.
Insisting on the priority or preference for one religion isn’t historical or grounded in our constitution. We find this in both Article VI of our Constitution, which prohibited religious tests for federal office holders, and in Article I of the Bill of Rights:
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
In this present time, when certain groups of Christians (Christian Nationalists) want to claim an alternative history of our national origin and our national destiny, they also are trying to rewrite our history to make it fit their purposes. This elevates their religious group above others and gives them preference over other Christian denominations as well as other faiths and nonbelievers. When these other groups become persecuted or marginalized, the whole suffers, while a few prosper.
The situation was much the same back in the first century CE, when tax farming was a corrupt practice in the Roman provinces. A family bought the rights to a tax area, collected whatever they wanted, and gave the due to Rome. The rest they kept as profit. No wonder folks hated the local tax collectors: they were not only greedy, but they colluded with the occupation. The priests in the temple made sure they never rocked the boat, so they could keep up their rituals and practices of the law, both scriptural and secular.
Therefore the people yearned for a savior, a messiah. In every age, in the stillness of the night, in the darkness of despair, when hope was flickering to an ember, a voice of a prophet would arise. These prophetic voices weren’t often heard, but occasionally one voice would pierce the gloom like a bright light in a dark cave. When a prophet speaks a true word from God, people recognize it as true because it speaks the truth of God, reminds people they belong to God, calls the people back to God, and tells them the consequences of their resulting behavior. Prophecy isn’t just about fortune telling.
Poets are often the prophets of their age. The first stanza of William Butter Yeats’ Ode speaks both toward that first century past and to the second coming:
“Turning and turning in the widening gyre The falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere The ceremony of innocence is drowned; The best lack all conviction, while the worst Are full of passionate intensity.”
Final State: The Light Shines in the Darkness
If we lose hope, if we give up on the hope of redeeming our world and ourselves, we will fall into despair and nihilism. These emotions are not good. We won’t listen for the still small voice of God in the dark and quiet spaces anymore. We won’t hear the voice of God in the weed growing in the crack in the pavement of the sidewalk as we go about our daily tasks. We will fail to hear the promises of new hope and new strength when the crocuses pop through the snow next spring.
Art and poetry keep us connected to the magic and mystery of the Spirit of God. A steady diet of news and television is a soul killer. If you find your attitude going south, I recommend you limit your news consumption to two hours or less per day. Replace those other hours with sunlight, exercise, cooking, a new hobby, fiction reading, journaling, or whatever. If you keep getting drawn back into the distressing activity, remember to let go, and return to a better activity. Optimism and a sense of hope will carry us further than negativity will. As Isaiah 6:13 says,
“Even if a tenth part remain in it, it will be burned again, like a terebinth or an oak whose stump remains standing when it is felled. The holy seed is its stump.”
Or as my daddy always said, “Don’t let the bad guys grind you down.” Of course, this sentiment had some bad medical school Latin he and his friends translated when the going got tough and the sleep got short in his younger days. “While I breathe, I hope,” is “Dum spiro spero,” in Latin. It’s been one of my favorite sayings. Night doesn’t last forever, and morning will come. Dawn will break! There will be a new day and a fresh opportunity to do at least one thing better. To make a difference in one person’s life, to make a difference for the good for someone, somewhere. I may be just baking cookies to bring to overworked volunteers somewhere, who are doing good for others, but I can bring a bright light to someone’s day today. I don’t have to save the entire world.
If I can be a ray of light for someone today, I might give them hope. Hope is a gift. We should share it freely. Then hope would grow and “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness—on them light has shined.” (Isaiah 9:2).
Joy, peace, and light,
Cornelia
Faith of Our Forefathers (May 1998) – Library of Congress Information Bulletin
The first bright light of creation must have been an awesome sight. Of course, only God was there to see it or hear it. The earth was a formless void, and darkness covered the face of the deep. Genesis 1:3 tells us, “Then God said, “Let there be light;” and there was light.”
John Martin: The Creation of Light, Mezzotint, 1825, Royal Collection of the Arts, London.
I have often wondered if God’s creation of light was accomplished with sound. If at one time only darkness existed, then suddenly light appeared, would this sudden change happen like an atomic bomb flash? Not with the bomb’s destructive evil and force, but with the creative and life-giving energy of God’s power and love. While scripture tells us we hear God’s voice in the sheer silence (1 Kings 19:11-12), this is after God has created everything which we humans might worship instead of God. When God first created light, what was the power behind God’s words?
George Richmond: The Creation of Light, Tempera, gold, and silver on mahogany, 1826, support: 480 × 417 mm, frame: 602 × 539 × 66 mm, Tate Gallery, London.
Maybe no one cares, for if no one is in a forest to hear a mighty oak fall, can we say it ever made a sound? Just because human beings weren’t created yet does not mean the light did not come into existence or make a noise. We might as well say bombs are not leveling towns in Ukraine and Gaza merely because we are not running from the falling bricks and dust. Yet, we can see the pictures on television and know these facts as true.
We are in a trickier situation when we try to find information to prove the existence of the creation of the first light and the facts of its origin. We are certain light was created, for light now exists. Tracking light’s history to its birth story is the challenge!
The Creation of Day and Night, by Francisco de Holanda, De Aetatibus Mundi Imagines, 1543.
When the Old Testament says God created light, the ancient readers understood this word to mean a special light, not the light of the sun, moon, or the stars. God created these lesser lights on a later day, so they possess a different form of light from the first light. The early Hebrew philosophers distinguished between chomer, matter, and tzurah, the form or function of an object. A raw material has chomer, matter, but once it’s made into an object, it acquires the form or tzurah.
Michelangelo’s The Separation of Light from Darkness, (c. 1512), the first of nine central panels that run along the centre of the Sistine Chapel ceiling.
At the beginning of creation, nothing had form. It was all matter. Then God created the Ohr Ha-Ganuz, or the Hidden Light. This special light played a critical role in Creation. Just as regular light allows us to see and relate to our surroundings, the Hidden Light enabled the different elements of creation to interact with one another. It dispelled the initial state of darkness when all objects were isolated and disconnected from one another. Through this special light, the universe’s myriad objects acquired purpose and function and were able to work together towards a common goal.
About 13.8 billion years ago, our universe ballooned outward at an incredible speed. Everything we see today, which was once packed tightly together, expanded in a roiling mass of light and particles. It took 380,000 years for this hot, dense soup to thin and cool enough to allow light to travel through it. This first light, dating back to the formation of early atoms, we call the cosmic microwave background and we can still detect it today.
Creation: Bright Beam, stage 1
The Advanced Simons Observatory in the Atacama Desert in Chile is on the forefront of research for detecting cosmic microwave background radiation to give us a better picture of the early universe, its evolution, and the many phenomena within it. Beyond the cosmic microwave background, they will hunt for and study the birthplaces of distant stars, the contents of interstellar dust, exo-Oort clouds—spherical shells of ice and dust at the edges of solar systems—and several other phenomena. But, given the unique capabilities of this observatory, they are also open to finding some unexpected and unexplained puzzle pieces in the universe that we did not know we were missing.
Creation: Bright Beam, stage 2
Before there were any stars or galaxies, 13.8 billion years ago, our universe was just a ball of hot plasma—a mixture of electrons, protons, and light. Sound waves shook this infant universe, triggered by minute, or “quantum,” fluctuations happening just moments after the big bang that created our universe. The question we first asked, “Did the creation of light make an audible sound?” is related to the “cosmic wave background radiation” that the observatory in the Chilean desert is seeking.
Although scientists call this moment the Big Bang, it was not a loud explosion. Instead, it was more like an imperceptible humming because this first moment happened when the universe was denser than the air on Earth and sound waves could travel through it. This covered the first 100,000 to 700,000 years. As the universe cooled and expanded, the sound waves grew longer and and the sounds lower. As the universe continued to expand, the wavelengths became so long the sounds became inaudible to the human ear.
NASA Sound File Magnified of Big Bang Microwave Radiation
For this sound file, the patterns in the sky the Planck Observatory observed were translated to audible frequencies. This sound mapping represents a 50-octave compression, going from the actual wavelengths of the primordial sound waves (around 450,000 light-years, or around 47 octaves below the lowest note on the piano), to wavelengths we can hear.
Creation: Bright Beam, stage 3 in the studio
Maybe as you read this, you wonder, why do artists have an interest in science? This is an attribute of artists from Leonardo in the Renaissance down through the Impressionists who studied the play of light and atmospheres on surfaces in the 19th century. Today we know the speed of light means we are always seeing a “late arriving sunbeam.” The speed of light gives us an amazing tool for studying the universe. Because light only travels a mere 300,000 kilometers per second, when we see distant objects, we’re always looking back in time. If we the universe clock backwards, right to the beginning, and you get to a place that was hotter and denser than it is today. So dense that the entire universe shortly after the Big Bang was just a soup of protons, neutrons, and electrons, with nothing holding them together.
Lentil and ancient grains pasta soup, held together by melted cheese—metaphor for the early universe
The moment of first light in the universe, between 240,000 and 300,000 years after the Big Bang, is known as the Era of Recombination. The first time that photons could rest for a second, attached as electrons to atoms. It was at this point that the universe went from being opaque, to transparent. The earliest possible light astronomers can see is the cosmic microwave background radiation. Because the universe has been expanding over the 13.8 billion years from then until now, those earliest photons were stretched out, or red-shifted, from ultraviolet and visible light into the microwave end of the spectrum.
Today we have tools unavailable to the 15th or 19th centuries, but what we have in common is the human mind. Because we are created in the image of God, we have the same desire to create and shape our world and to understand our place in it. For some people, they find placing their trust in God’s absolute power over all creation and events as a way of understanding the problem of good and evil in the world. This justifies suffering and allows them to ignore the plight of the poor. Prosperity religion, which preaches the good prosper and the bad suffer, is a classic example of this theological belief. We United Methodists believe in doing good to all people, as often as possible, with all the means we can. As the gospel says in Matthew 25:37-40—
Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’
We know Jesus as the Light of the World (John 8:12)—
Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.”
Perhaps this ancient light of creation has not yet reached everyone who reads these words. I can only guess they ignore even the voice of the Old Testament prophet Isaiah (58:10):
“If you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday.”
The sun will always shine when we help others. The light of Christ will burn bright in us to burn away our gloom and despair when we give a hand to others who are in need. Their lives will be brighter in turn. We often turn away from people in hard circumstances because we do not want to face the prospect that we one day might need a hand up. This strikes at our self image of invincibility and self sufficiency. We keep remembering “God loves a cheerful giver.” If we think only of this part of the verse outside of its context, we might think God only loves the giver. God also must love the one in need to provide the blessing for the giver. As we read in 2 Corinthians 9:7-8—
Cornelia DeLee: Creation: Bright Beam, acrylic on canvas, 16” x 20”, 2024.
“Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work.”
As an old mentor of mine taught me, “Don’t do all the work for your people. You’ll rob them of the blessing of serving the Lord.” None of us can replace the eternal light of Christ, which has been traveling to us since the dawn of time, although the Light has been with God since before time began. This Light is even now permeating the universe, in a prevenient journey to the furthest distances of creation. There is no place the Light will not go before us. Even as we attempt a return to the moon and hope to go to Mars in the future, the light of Christ has already gone before us.
If this does not give you hope in what many think is a dark and despairing world, refocusing on the Light with us instead of the darkness that always seems so near might help to change your attitude.
In the dead heat of summer, our gardens aren’t putting forth the fruit of our planting. Maybe the animals of our neighborhood have made their too frequent nightly visitations, so our harvest is skimpy. We can forget God is a both a creating god and a recreating god as well. The first words of the alternate NRSV translation of the Bible’s first book Genesis (a word meaning “origin”) are—
First stage: string, fabric scraps, and under painting
“When God began to create…”
In the old KJV, Genesis 1:1 reads—“In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth.”
I appreciate even more the next verse from Genesis 1:2—
“The earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters.”
Alternate translations read— “while the spirit of God or while a mighty wind” swept over the face of the waters. This reminds us nothingness and darkness aren’t problems for God, who is able to bring glorious light to any situation.
Psalms 139:12 speaks of the nature of God:
“Even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is as bright as the day, for darkness is as light to you.”
I’ve lived for over half a century with chronic depression, so I can recognize darkness, not only in my own life, but also in the lives of others. Most of my ministry and even my secular work was done with a calling to bring others to the light of hope and confidence that anything was possible.
In art classes, I asked my students to trust in ABC—Attitude, Behavior, and Consequences. If they had a Positive Attitude, they would have Positive Behavior and work on their assignments. If they worked, they would see Positive Consequences or Improvement over time. Asking people who’ve been told they can’t do art to believe they can learn even if they aren’t “talented” is a big ask, but if they have faith in this promise, they discover it’s true.
When I sold insurance, I asked people to trust in the idea of making a small sacrifice now to prevent a greater loss later. Also, if they had no loss, they shared in a community to underwrite the group losses and keep the cost of protecting their own property low. Not everyone has the light to see this benefit of community, but for those who do, I could help keep their consequences from being a disaster.
Second stage: overpainting, printed circles, and added ruler lines
When I entered the ministry, I discovered congregations who had lost their faith in the God who could make something out of nothing This began with the creation story, the choosing of the nation of Israel to be God’s people (even though they were once no one’s people), and feeding them in the extended wilderness wandering before they arrived at the promised land. The Bible is full of examples of God’s providing more when people have too little to sustain them: Elijah and the widow of Zarephath, the feeding of the crowds with a few fish and loaves, and the water turned into wine. These modern people didn’t have a “recreating faith” that God could work in their lives today, just as God had once worked in the lives of others in the days of Christ.
That is what we call a “dead faith,” or as John Wesley put it in his notes on the New Testament at 2 Timothy 3:5— “An appearance of godliness, but not regarding, nay, even denying and blaspheming, the inward power and reality of it.”
It’s dead, because the Spirit isn’t at work in it. I used to tell my beloved evangelism professor, the late Dr. Billy Abraham, the first place we needed to do evangelism was in the local church, because folks hadn’t heard the good news. If they weren’t excited enough to have a living faith, they wouldn’t go out and spread the good news to others.
I’ve never been a cheerleader, although I did have some time in my high school pep squad. I was more often involved in making the football banners and pep posters for the other sports activities. Also debate team took up much of my time. One of the best practices I learned in debate was positive points sell better than negative ones. Also, it’s better to make the same point over and over with different facts and examples.
When I say our God is a creating and recreating God, I can point to the beautiful verses of John 1:1-5—
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.”
In the beginning was the Word
As believers in the Holy Trinity, the Word made flesh is Christ, so he was co-creating with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit from the beginning. By virtue of the incarnation, Christ takes on our flesh to redeem us and make us whole again. This comes to completion through the cross. When we place our faith in Christ’s act of love for all creation, we are made one with Christ, and one with God. The Holy Spirit brings us ever closer to the true nature of Christ, until we’re perfected in love of God and neighbor.
I painted on unprimed canvas, just to see what would happen. Also, because I knew the paint surface would be different than the usual texture on the primed canvas. After I painted several different colors in blocks with the scrap pieces of cut canvas used as “masking tape,” I decided to use a mix of iridescent gold and silver acrylic paints to glaze over the under painting. I also added some circles and straight lines. I’ve collected a few jar tops recently, I used some string elements, and I had a school ruler left from my last teaching job back in the 1980’s. (Yes, I keep things. They are tools of the trade. My Sears Craftsman staple gun from art school finally died after half a century of use.)
I’ll be working some more of these experiments for a while. Creating and recreating our lives is what keeps us new every morning. As someone who has been renewed and recreated more than one time can attest, along with the prophet Jeremiah,
“For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the LORD, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.” (29:11)
Joy and peace,
Cornelia
John Wesley’s Notes on The New Testament, 1755:
2 Timothy 3:5—“holding to the outward form of godliness but denying its power. Avoid them!”
In the Bonnie Tyler song, “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” her rock and roll soul pines for a young man as she sings:
“Every now and then
I know there’s no one in the universe
As magical and wondrous as you.”
Love struck teen heart ballads tend to elevate the beloved to a high pedestal, while hymns lift the praises of God to the highest heavens. If we look at John Wesley’s Notes on the New Testament, one of the doctrinal standards of the United Methodist Church, his commentary on 2 Corinthians 4:6 (KJV) is instructive:
“For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”
We might be more familiar with this verse in the NRSV, a more modern translation, which wasn’t available in the middle of the 18th century:
For it is the God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Bailey’s Ring, from an earlier total eclipse over the South Pacific Ocean
Wesley’s commentary in his Notes on this text is succinct:
For God hath shined in our hearts—The hearts of all those whom the God of this world no longer blinds.
God who is himself our light; not only the author of light, but also the fountain of it.
To enlighten us with the knowledge of the glory of God—Of his glorious love, and of his glorious image.
In the face of Jesus Christ—Which reflects his glory in another manner than the face of Moses did.
What do the Total Eclipse of the Heart and Paul’s words to the Corinthian community have to do with art and faith? We’ve just experienced, what was for most of us, was a once in a lifetime experience. The last time a total solar eclipse was visible across the entire continent was in June 1918, when a total solar eclipse was visible from Washington to Florida, according to the US parks service. Nearly 100 years passed until this present Great American Eclipse.
At the 1878 total eclipse, Maria Mitchell led the Vassar College eclipse party, an all-female expedition from that pioneering women’s institution, which came to Denver in an era when science was a male bastion. Even higher education was deemed risky for the “fairer sex.” In 1873, the prominent Boston physician Edward H. Clarke had warned in an incendiary book titled “Sex in Education,” that the recent push for female colleges and coeducation could undermine women’s health by taxing their brains and causing their reproductive organs to atrophy — leading to “a dropping out of maternal instincts, and an appearance of Amazonian coarseness and force.” Nearly 150 years later some men still concern themselves with outmoded and 19th century views on women’s health concerns.
Eclipse as seen through the hands
I drove over four hundred miles to Kentucky in 2017 for the prior Great American Eclipse and got to stay home to see this second Great American Eclipse in my own front yard. Some folks couldn’t have been bothered about this current grand event, while others were convinced God was informing America of her impending doom. Moreover, multiple conspiracy theories abounded, none of which came true, of course. For instance, the world didn’t come to an end and our cell phones still work. Even the electric grid held up, even though the sun didn’t shine for all of a few minutes as the shadow traveled at over 1,600 miles per hour as it raced along the path of totality. This wasn’t even Y2K, which we all remember was a nonstarter at least and a dud at best.
Eclipse over Niagara Falls, 2024
In art class Friday Tim and I talked about the experience of this celestial event. We humans often elevate our own importance when we measure ourselves against one another and the works of our hands. When we go out into nature, we’re faced with the grandeur of God’s creation, especially when we visit the Grand Canyon or Niagara Falls. In Psalms 19:1, we read:
“The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.”
We see the beauty of nature and feel a warmth in our hearts. Our spirits soar. This intimacy with nature is one of the reasons we send our children to our United Methodist Church Camps, not just because they’ll have a great Christian experience, but because they’ll have that faith experience in nature with trusted leaders. I still remember my adventures and experiences in nature at those camps as part of my spiritual journey.
Towering Cumulus Clouds
Even in seminary, when I was having difficulty with some of my courses, I could go for a walk on the campus under the tree lined walks and search the skies for hopeful signs. Sometimes I saw the towering cumulus clouds in the Texas sky as a sign God was with me “in the cloud by day.” In those times of difficulty, even the cloistered realm of preparation seemed like a wilderness journey, but I was glad for a guide.
Bill Maxey, from Nebraska, taken at Hot Springs, AR.
When I was actively serving as a pastor, sometimes I just had to get away. I’d drive until I found some nature, a national park, national forest, or some fields outside of town. If it was a hot summer, I looked for some deep woods and cool shade to shelter me. In the cool spring, I drove until I found flowers. Maybe this is why I retired to a lake in a national park. I don’t need a big house, since I’d rather go out into nature instead.
Totality on Lake Hamilton, with sunset in the west, outside the path of totality
It was the heat of summer in 2017, so you’d think I’d remember the temperature drop right before the eclipse was halfway through. This year I was on Lake Hamilton, and the breeze off the lake combined with the cooler air was decidedly noticeable. When we entered totality, the lights on the Highway 70 bridge and at Bubba Brews automatically came on. The distant sky in the southwest, outside the path of totality, looked like a summer sunset. My neighbors and our visitors from afar were cheering.
Bill Maxey: multiple exposure of the Great American Eclipse, 2024
Not everyone can make an artwork that expresses their emotions as well as the shapes of the image. We can learn the rules of perspective and color, but then we have to learn to let our heart rule our head. This is what I call an “artistic leap of faith.” When we were young, we accepted the basic ideas of Christianity. As we got older, life happened, and we might have begun to struggle with our childhood beliefs not being equal to our adult needs. If we keep our childlike faith, we risk losing our faith. If we are able to wrestle with our faith and find a new and more mature faith, we can handle the major challenges of later life. As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13:11-12—
“When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known.”
Tim’s Partial Eclipse painting using red, blue and brown to build the sky
Tim experimented with mixing colors to get richer depth. Using the Prang watercolor palette, he mixed the red, blue, and brown to get the black sky of the eclipse event. The red orange of the sun has some brown in it too. He layered the colors with multiple strokes, with a nod to Van Gogh. He worked from a photograph I brought. I pulled many of them off the internet, and many of my friends sent me some too.
Cornelia: Total Eclipse of the Sun
I worked on an image I’d taken from my iPhone. I had placed one of my eclipse glasses over the lens and was wearing another pair. It wasn’t that easy to get the sun lined up with all that blocking! My image looked a lot like a fried egg or an eyeball. I used several jar lids to get the circles painted cleanly. My dark sky is red, blue, and violet. The shape of the corona was not distinct, due to the quality of my camera. NASA has a very high-resolution image, which breath taking. Our tax dollars at work are bringing great scientific research and development to benefit us in everyday life, such as solar panels and heart implants.
NASA: High Resolution Image of the Total Eclipse
Thomas Merton, in No Man is an Island, in a chapter called “Being and Doing,” wrote—
“We cannot be happy if we expect to live all the time at the highest peak of intensity. Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance and order and rhythm and harmony. Music is pleasing not only because of the sound but because of the silence that is in it: without the alternation of sound and silence there would be no rhythm.”
I was a bit exhausted after all the excitement of this big event. I’d met new people from three different states, visited around our patio, and been gifted crystals that had been dug from Mt. Ida and “energized by the eclipse.” I’m not a crystal person, but I understand from those that are these crystals are “special.” I was feeling every bit of my new age as the calendar flipped over for another year.
But today is another day, I had a night to sleep, and we had fun in art class. As long as we find joy in life, we know we’re alive. Our joys aren’t just collections of peak experiences, but some are the joy of the assurance of God’s enduring presence in our later lives when our youthful vigor has left us. We need to remember just as the moon eclipses the sun, once it passes, it also reveals the sun’s glory. One day this Bible verse from Philippians 3:21 will be true for each one of us, who has a heart full of love for God and neighbor:
“He will transform our humble bodies that they may be conformed to his glorious body, by the power that also enables him to make all things subject to himself.”
Joy and peace,
Cornelia
Bonnie Tyler – Total Eclipse Of The Heart Lyrics | AZLyrics.com
What is the purpose of an art class? Why does anyone learn to speak a foreign language or take up a craft or sport they’ve never attempted before? We must want to explore some unknown universe or get out of our comfort zone, or as my old favorite television series would announce weekly, “to boldly go where no one has gone before.”
Light of the World Icon: Stencil effect
There are art classes and then there are Art Classes. Just as we shouldn’t make up our minds about a subject or a food until we experience it directly, we can have an open mind about a novel event, rather than rejecting it out of hand. Many of us have lived our lives under judgmental circumstances, dealing with rejection and disappointment at not being the best. “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby,” the NASCAR themed film of redemption and finding one’s purpose in life, stars Will Ferrell, whose father crippled him with this tragic life message:
“If you ain’t first, you’re last. You know, you know what I’m talking about?”
Near the end of the movie, Ricky Bobby learns this all was just crazy talk:
Ricky Bobby: Wait, Dad. Don’t you remember the time you told me “If you ain’t first, you’re last”? Reese Bobby: Huh? What are you talking about, Son? Ricky Bobby: That day at school. Reese Bobby: Oh hell, Son, I was high that day. That doesn’t make any sense at all, you can be second, third, fourth… hell you can even be fifth. Ricky Bobby: What? I’ve lived my whole life by that!
According to Baseball Reference, Ruth’s 183.1 career WAR — combining his value as a hitter and pitcher — is the highest all time, well ahead of Walter Johnson’s 164.8. For reference, the highest mark among active players is Albert Pujols’ 99.6 WAR.
We call this living out a “bad script” our ancestors have written for us. We see it all the time in the movies and on television. We read about it in novels and in comic books. For the most part, people don’t change their wicked ways, but get the consequences they’re due. The bad suffer and the good prosper. Or we read fairy tales in which the good little children get rewarded, or the unjustly treated ones are raised up, like Cinderella. These are the popular stories, but not the biblical tales. The book of Job calls this “retribution theology” into question, as does Jesus in the New Testament.
Annie French (1872 – 1965) Scottish: Cinderella and the Ugly Sisters, About 1900 – 1910, Pen and ink, watercolour and gold paint on vellum paper, 23.50 x 21.50 cm, Scottish National Gallery of Art.
In the Bible, God sends prophets, not only to call the people to account (critique their actions or behavior), but to offer the hope of a better future if they return to God and God’s ways (positive changes in behavior). In this way, a good art teacher is like a biblical prophet, who offers both positive and negative critique on the artwork. The teacher also offers “hope” or suggestions on how to improve the work. Teachers aren’t telling the person they don’t measure up, only that they need more time invested in making art to be able to bring their own artistic vision into reality.
Mike on Being the Light in the World
If we expected babies to chew steak from the moment of birth, the world would be a lonely place. If we expected these same babies to get up right away and “bring home the bacon” to buy their own steak and potatoes, they’d starve. Babies aren’t meant to walk before they crawl, nor or they chewing meat before they drink milk or pablum for a year or two.
Bacon Cake: Oh, Baby! I hope that’s REAL BACON!!
Someone who comes to art class should always come to learn something more, no matter how much they already know. I’m always learning new ideas and techniques. The act of making art is always an act of exploring new territories. We also grow by sharpening one another. Folks in the class are always excited to see how each other approaches the subject each week.
Mike’s May 2022 class work shows he’s been learning some things.
Only the apocalyptic writers in Scripture had a fixed view of the future. For them, God had given up on humanity. We humans were too far gone, too broken, and had destroyed God’s world beyond our weak means to repair it. Their only hope was for God to create “a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.” (Revelation 21:1)
Gail went the extra mile with Cri-Cut lettering
Of course, this isn’t a prediction of a certain time, but it’s a future hope for all times. It’s the hope all we creative people have every time we face a blank canvas, a pile of found objects, or a bag of scrap cloths. We also do this when we pull together a dinner before we go to the grocery store, and we take some of this and that which we have in our cupboards and refrigerators. We’re going to make something new! We do hope the Spirit of God descends to make this an inspired concoction! And if it doesn’t work out, we always know our salvation isn’t at stake over a single random supper creation. If I’m hungry enough, I’ll eat anything. Or there’s always peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
Leftover Doughnuts and Sausage Bread Pudding Bunt Cakes
I was reading Richard Rohr’s Enneagram commentary on the American people. He says America is a nation of Threes: competitive, striving, always looking for success and improvement. When we hit a down cycle, and economics tells us we always have ups and downs in our economy, Americans act like we’ve been insulted. This doesn’t happen to us—to others maybe—but not to us! We’ll look both for a scapegoat and a savior, but never realize these conditions are a natural part of life.
Always be the best YOU. There’s never going to be another one just like YOU.
Likewise in groups, we’re always judging who got more, who has the most status, who’s preferred, and who’s on the out. We’re even liable to self-select to be on the outer group if we believe we won’t measure up, just to spare ourselves the shame of being found wanting. Joyce Rupp has a great poem about this very topic:
WE CAN LOVE THE IMPERFECT SELF If I wait to be perfect before I love myself I will always be unsatisfied and ungrateful.
if I wait until all the flaws, chips, and cracks disappear I will be the cup that stands on the shelf and is never used.
Magic Teacup Cake from Alice in Wonderland
If we’re faithful scripture readers, we know God never chooses the best persons to do God’s work. When we were children, we saw these characters as heroic figures, just as we saw our parents as great and invincible. The Old Testament records how Moses was a murderer, Joshua was afraid, Amos was a lowly shepherd, and David was an adulterer. Not exactly Perfect Role Models, but transformed people can do God’s mighty deeds if they let God work God’s purpose through their lives.
This word doesn’t mean what the headline writer thinks it does.
In Art Class, we don’t reject “poor work.” We aren’t a factory producing widgets. We have other goals: art appreciation, learning about colors, learning to see more clearly, developing a creative mind, and developing drawing skills. Art is a unique visual language, so learning how to render a three-dimensional form onto a two-dimensional surface takes some time and practice. Developing our own voice is the step beyond mastering the basics of artistic vocabulary. As I used to tell my parents at back-to-school night, just enjoy whatever your child brings to you! If you leave your “critical parent” at home, and bring your “inner child” to Art Class, life is way more fun!
Mike’s Christmas Card Collage
We’re currently on holiday sabbatical at Oaklawn UMC, but classes will return in the new year. We meet in the old Fellowship Hall at 10 am to noon. We always have coffee, and on occasional days, a tasty treat. Our class will begin working in watercolor beginning on January 5, 2024. I don’t charge for the class instruction, but each person should bring their own supplies. Supplies needed are:
Prang Oval 8 watercolor paint set with brush
Prang Oval 8 watercolor paint set (containing brush)—on line at Walmart and Amazon. This has best color and pigments. I found a prime deal on Amazon for $3 each if you buy 3, free shipping.
Watercolor paper pad 9” x 12” or larger (90 lb or heavier)
Tall plastic container for water (iced tea glass size plus)
Babe Ruth’s Top 10 career statistics— Shohei Ohtani produced 9.1 total WAR during his spectacular two-way campaign in 2021. Even he maintained that level of performance for 20 consecutive seasons, he would still be 1.1 WAR short of matching Ruth. https://www.mlb.com/news/babe-ruth-s-top-10-career-statistics-c163792958
NOTE: This extraordinary story comes from Arguable by Jeff Jacoby, an opinion writer for the Boston Globe, on December 12, 2023. I’m sharing it with all of you because even in the worst of times, even with the least of resources, if we have faith in God, we can be a light unto the world.
In his transcendent prison memoir, “Fear No Evil,” Natan Sharansky tells the story of his nine years in the Soviet gulag, a fate to which he was sentenced for the crime of wanting to emigrate to Israel. Even now, 35 years after it was published, it is an amazing read, a great narrative by a great man who refused to be intimidated by his captors. The more the KGB tried to berate or punish him for his Jewish pride and Zionist yearning, the more joyfully and fearlessly Sharansky embraced them.
To mark this week of Hanukkah, consider this extraordinary incident recounted in “Fear No Evil.”
Davis Stark Design, Architectural Digest 2017
Sharansky was in the Siberian prison camp of Perm 35 and Hanukkah was drawing near. Intent on observing the holiday as best he could, Sharansky had a menorah constructed from some wooden scraps. A few candles were found, and each evening Sharansky lit his menorah, reciting the blessing, and describing to his fellow prisoners — none of them Jewish — the story of the Maccabee rebellion long ago. On the sixth night of Hanukkah, the authorities confiscated his menorah and candles. When he demanded to know why, a prison guard claimed that the menorah was made from “state materials” and therefore illegal.
Sharansky declared a hunger strike. “In a statement to the procurator general,” he recounts, “I protested against the violation of my national and religious rights, and against KGB interference in my personal life.”
Two days later, Sharansky was summoned by Major Osin, the prison camp warden. Osin wanted the refusenik to call off his protest before the expected arrival of an inspection committee. In that case, Sharansky said, “Give me back the menorah, as tonight is the last evening of Hanukkah.” He promised to end his hunger strike if he was allowed to light the candles.
Davis Stark Design, Architectural Digest 2017
But a protocol for its confiscation had already been drawn up, and Osin couldn’t back down in front of the entire camp. . . . I was seized by an amusing idea.
“Listen,” I said, “I’m sure you have the menorah somewhere. It’s very important to me to celebrate the last night of Hanukkah. Why not let me do it here and now, together with you. You’ll give me the menorah, I’ll light the candles and say the prayer, and if all goes well I’ll end the hunger strike.”
Osin thought it over and promptly the confiscated menorah appeared from his desk.
When Sharansky said he needed eight candles, Osin took a knife and cut the candle into eight stubs. Then, with amazing audacity, Sharansky said that the ceremony required everyone present to stand with head covered, listen to the blessing, and answer “Amen.”
Osin complied. He stood behind his desk, donned his major’s cap, watched as Sharansky kindled his eight candle stubs, and then waited for his prisoner to recite the blessing. Speaking in Hebrew — which Osin, of course, did not understand — Sharansky recited a blessing he had composed himself: “Blessed are you, O God, for allowing me to light these candles. May you allow me to light the Hanukkah candles many times in your city, Jerusalem, with my wife, Avital, and my family and friends.”
Then he had a brainstorm.
Inspired by the sight of Osin standing meekly at attention, I added: “And may the day come when all our enemies, who today are planning our destruction, will stand before us and hear our prayers and say ‘Amen.’ ”
“Amen,” Osin echoed back. He sighed with relief, sat down, and removed his hat.
Sharansky writes that he returned to his barracks “in a state of elation.” Who can doubt it? What magnificent chutzpah! What a triumph of the spirit! And what an uplifting reminder that even in the depths of the gulag — even in a time and place filled with the enemies of Jewish faith and freedom — those who refuse to fear can turn the table on their oppressors and dispel the darkness with a candle’s light.
From Book Blurb: For anyone with an interest in human rights—and anyone with an appreciation for the resilience of the human spirit— he illuminates the weapons with which the powerless can humble the powerful: physical courage, an untiring sense of humor, a bountiful imagination, and the conviction that “Nothing they do can humiliate me. I alone can humiliate myself.”
Hachette Books: Use HOLIDAY23 for 20% off site wide until 12/31. (Order by 12/13 to get your gift under the tree!)
This link also has links to other retailers. Price is set by publisher.
Nativity at Night by Geertgen tot Sint Jans, c. 1490, after a composition by Hugo van der Goes of c. 1470; sources of light are the infant Jesus, the shepherds’ fire on the hill behind, and the angel who appears to them
The damaged Drobytsky Yar memorial near Kharkiv, Ukraine after reportedly being hit by Russian artillery fire, on March 26, 2022
As the days grow shorter and the nights lengthen, the chill air adds to the darkness of our world. We can give into this dour outlook, especially this year with devastating wars in Ukraine and Gaza, or we can light a candle against the gathering gloom. Cultures across history have seen the time before year end as an opportunity for reflection, concern, or fear. Others have found reasons to rejoice.
Rainbow Menorah
Hanukkah (inauguration) is the eight-day Festival of Lights, which occurs in 2023 from sunset December 7 to December 15. It’s a moveable festival, for in 2024 the holiday will occur from December 25 to January 2. The Jewish calendar is a lunar calendar, not a solar calendar. This holiday celebrates the rededication of the Second Temple after the victory of the Maccabees over the Seleucid Greeks in 164 BCE. On discovering in the temple a vial of unpolluted oil, with only enough to light the candle for one day, this oil kept the candle burning for eight days. To commemorate this miracle, faithful Jews now light a special menorah with nine candles. The ninth candle is called the “helper” or “shammash” candle. The root word is from the Hebrew for “servant.”
Helping Hand Menorah
While not everyone is Jewish, all persons can learn from the menorah and the shammash candle. We may have only a little to give, but with God’s help it can be multiplied many times over. We can all be a helper candle, and bring a light to the candles who need a light. Many in this season experience a loss of some kind. Some are mourning a loved one, others have broken relationships, or have lost jobs or status. We are not our jobs and we aren’t our paychecks, but we are the beloved children of God. God will love us when everyone else turns aside. God will remember us when others forget we are alive.
Perhaps these darkening days at the end of the year are why people in all parts of the world have brought fire and light to this time of the year. The Yule Festival in German and Scandinavian countries was part of the pagan festival incorporated into Christianity’s Christmas celebrations. It likely began as a winter solstice or year-end celebration. “Yule” became a name for Christmas about the 9th century, and in many languages yule and its cognates are still used to describe that holiday.
Father Christmas and the Yule Log
The burning in a giant fireplace of a large Yule log until it’s reduced to cinders is one of my favorite mythic memories of the season. Alas, growing up in the Deep South, gas logs were the closest fireplace equivalent, and these were the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. We rarely turned on the flickering colors of these blue flames because cold nights were few and far between.
By 336 CE, the Christian church in Rome celebrated Christmas on December 25, which coincided with the Roman winter equinox festival of Saturnalia. In medieval England, Christmas was a 12-day festival involving all kinds of revelry, from plays to wild feasts to pageants celebrating Jesus’ birth. Music, gift giving, and decorations all became the norm. Anyone who’s been in a choir singing “The Twelve Days of Christmas” with its repetitive “and a partridge in a pear tree” has those ancestors of ours to thank. Some traditions never die!
Our family stitched and sequined one exactly like this.
Christmas is better known for decorated trees, however. The use of evergreen trees and wreaths in religious ceremonies dates from ancient Roman times, if not earlier. However, the first documented use of a tree in a winter Christmas celebration wasn’t until 1510. In that year, members of a merchant’s guild in Riga, Latvia, placed a tree in the town square. They decorated it with flowers, ribbons, and dried fruit. After the festivities—which included the singing of songs and dancing—were concluded, they burned the tree as a great bonfire to close out the celebrations.
The Grinch Torches Whoville’s Christmas Tree into a Bonfire
Christmas trees gained popularity in Germany and other parts of northern Europe by the 1700s, but the practice of decorating a pine or fir tree during the holiday season remained virtually unknown in the English-speaking world prior to the 19th century. When Queen Victoria married her German cousin Prince Albert in 1840, the Christmas tree became widely accepted and practiced throughout the British Isles.
1836 edition of The Stranger’s Gift: A Christmas and New Year’s Present
In the United States, the practice of placing a decorated tree inside the family home was most likely introduced by German immigrants who arrived soon after the Revolution. The otherwise unassuming volume seen above, the 1836 edition of The Stranger’s Gift: A Christmas and New Year’s Present, is significant for it’s the first book printed in the Americas containing an image of a Christmas tree. Franklin Pierce in 1856 was the first president to erect a tree in the White House. In the United States, Christmas wasn’t celebrated with much gusto until after the Civil War, which reinforced for many the importance of home and family. In 1870, after the war’s end, Congress made Christmas one of nation’s first federal holidays.
Franklin Pierce in 1856 was the first president to erect a tree in the White House.
Light has always been a part of winter festivals, with their signature long, dark nights. Electric Christmas lights are a modern spin-off of the old-fashioned candles that Germans and Scandinavians placed on their trees. Thomas Edison, inventor of the lightbulb, also invented the first strand of lights and hung them outside his Menlo Park, New Jersey laboratory in 1880. In 1882 his business partner, Edward H. Johnson, created the first Christmas tree illuminated with colored lights. In 1895, President Grover Cleveland placed multi-colored electric lights on the White House tree. Since electricity wasn’t available except to the wealthy, most people didn’t have electric lights on their trees at home. Not until the end of the 1920s were electric lights affordable for the average family.
Fast forward to the 1950’s and the postwar period of rural electrification and large family gatherings, colored electric lights of every kind were readily available to the middle classes, not just the wealthy. This was the era of big bulbs and bubble lights, but in a few years, inexpensive miniature colored and white lights imported from China would become popular. Now even single parent households could decorate both the house and tree to their hearts’ content.
Untitled (Lux in tenebris inest—Light in the darkness) Elisa Sighicelli 2003/2003
The lights bring out our hope of what’s good and wonderful in this world. Christmas and Hanukkah are times when the light burns bright, even when the days are dark. If these holidays didn’t exist, we would need to invent them, for we need the reminders of what is light and good in the world. As Baruch prophesied (5:9):
“For God will lead Israel with joy, in the light of his glory, with the mercy and righteousness that come from him.”
While we don’t know exactly what the Christmas star was, one theory is it was a conjunction of Jupiter, Regulus and Venus. Another possibility includes a set of conjunctions of the planets Jupiter and Venus, and the bright star Regulus. In this case, the mythologies associated with the objects become important. Jupiter in Hebrew is known as ‘Sedeq’, which is often translated as meaning righteousness. Jupiter is also often viewed as being the ‘king’ of the planets. Regulus is Latin for ‘prince’ or ‘little king’, and Venus is often viewed as a symbol of love, fertility and birth. Therefore, the combination of these objects close in the sky could have led to the interpretation of the birth of the ‘King of Kings.’ We do know Matthew records the visit to King Herod:
“After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” (2:1-2 NIV)
Gerrit Dou: Astronomer by Candlelight, oil, late 1650s, J. Paul Getty Museum
The magi were astrologers, those who studied the heavens for the star signs of rising and falling influences in the ancient world. Herod died soon after their visit, but not before he tried to consolidate his power. He meant his dire deeds to benefit himself, but God spared his son by sending a message to Joseph in a dream to flee to Egypt with Mary and Jesus. The magi were warned not to return to Herod also. This one who John wrote about in the opening chapter of his gospel (1:5):
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
Gerardo Dottori: Nativity, 1930/1930, Museum of modern art
As we celebrate the holidays of light this year, remember to be a “shammash”, or a servant of light, and don’t let this present darkness overwhelm you. Your one light shining may be the brightness that brings someone safely home. Today I wore my bright pink exercise pants, even though I’m sinusy and achy all over. I made at least one person’s day when I said, “They’re stretchy, so I can eat more Christmas cookies!” We spread the joy even when the Grinch has stolen ours. This is a way of taking the darkness back, by making others feel better.
“Gloom begets gloom,” my daddy always said, “so if you wake up on the wrong side of the bed, it’s best to go back and get out on the other side.” Some folks today don’t have much of the Christmas or holiday spirit, for they’re only looking at the dark side of world events or at the shrinking purchasing power of their dollar.
Unemployed people sold apples on the street corner in the Great Depression
Since the Civil War, the United States has endured thirteen depressions or recessions large enough to get noticed by those who study such things (see list below). This is an average of one about every dozen years. Of course, those of us who experience these events don’t have to study them, for we directly participate in the event. As the old saying goes, “If my neighbor loses his job, it’s a recession, but if I lose my job, we’re in a depression.” Instead, we plan for them and expect the good times won’t last forever.
Because we human beings are wont to think “our situation is unique,” we’re also great at forgetting the lessons of history. The first lesson is life is cyclical and what goes up will come down. The second lesson is what goes down will eventually go back up. My long experience suggests when folks are in the “down cycle,” they forget upward progress is possible. In college we used to joke, “been down so long, it looks like up to me!”
It’s always darkest before the dawn.
Some say recessions are “necessary” in economic cycles to remove excess, reprice assets, and tame risky behavior. None of these negative factors would exist except for human greed. When Mary and Joseph went to Bethlehem to register for the census, they were also enrolling for the purpose of taxation. The Romans practiced tax farming in their provinces. Whoever had the account had to raise a certain amount for the empire, but could keep whatever excess they raised for themselves. Excessive taxation on the conquered land and people stoked their hopes for a messiah to rid them of this evil. No wonder the signs and wonders attending the birth of Jesus were fulfilling the ancient prophecies, as Matthew wrote (2:6):
‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.’
Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem. Star over the Grotto
In the times of darkness, we always look to the light as a reason to hope. As the magi saw a star rising in the east and believed an important person would arise in the land of Israel, we today look for glimmers of light to give us hope for the day to come. Some people see the wars, earthquakes, and crookedness of people and think we’re entering the end times. Churches and radio preachers are making hay with the Book of Revelation, forgetting it was a specific book written for a unique audience and time. We have been in the “end times” since Christ arose from the dead. As Matthew (28:20) records his words to the disciples in Galilee:
“And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Since we’re always with Christ, we will always have his light, as Zechariah prophesied in Luke 1:78-79–
“By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
The famous Banksy’s Armored Dove of Peace, the painting of a peace dove wearing a flak jacket. The dove is painted on a wall near the separation wall between Bethlehem (Palestinian Territories) and Israel. Nov. 18, 2023.
In the midst of wars in the Ukraine and in Gaza, where people are suffering and dying, we can lose sight of the vision of light and peace, while we focus on darkness and death. The Christian community in Palestine, which usually hosts hordes of Christmas pilgrims in Bethlehem Square, won’t be celebrating this holy season this year in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. Instead, they’ll set up a small nativity scene covered with rubble. It’s a reminder when the Christ child came into a suffering world over two thousand years ago, his birth was a hope for the oppressed and the poor. Every Christmas we have the opportunity to care for those who struggle to make ends meet.
Great Depression family at mealtime
In the Great Depression, families lost homes, farms, and lived in shantytowns called Hoovervilles. President Hoover spoke of a childhood Christmas memory:
“I do vividly recollect a Christmas upon that farm when the sole resources of joy were popcorn balls, sorghum, and hickory nuts; when for a flock of disappointed children there were no store toys, no store clothes; when it was carefully explained that because of the hard times everything must be saved for the mortgage. The word ‘mortgage’ became for me a dreaded and haunting fear from that day to this.”
1950’s Christmas Tree: we kids were Team Tinsel, but the folks were Team Ornaments. Our tree never looked like this!
I have some ancient memories of the cyclic hard times experienced by my family. I recall the late 50’s Eisenhower influenza recession dimly because it was the only time I ever saw my daddy cry. We had a brand-new Ford station wagon, but couldn’t afford to drive it except on Sundays. My dad brought money home daily from his office, so mother and we kids would walk to the local grocery to buy food the next day. He cried because he kept his office full of patients, but half of them couldn’t pay for his services. Mother was very practical and reminded him, “This too would pass. Trouble is only temporary.” In the fall, she took a schoolteacher position to help out. That Christmas we hand decorated sequins on felt shapes the “Twelve Days of Christmas” for a tree skirt. I passed this extravagance on to a nephew when I downsized my home.
We decorated the early days more than the later days. Time management wasn’t our best gift, but we had a great time doing this together.
I also remember the 1970’s economic slowdown very well. I got married during this time. After my husband and I bought our silver wedding rings, we had $16 left in our pocket. I was certain we had jumped off a height with no parachute, but we somehow managed day to day. To keep up “appearances,” we gave away some of our wedding gifts as Christmas gifts to other family members. I thought it was wrong, but now I realize I don’t care about those items today. I was more concerned about “saving face,” since someone might recognize we were regifting. We managed with food from our organic garden and meat from a deer my husband harvested in the autumn. But I no longer eat tuna casserole, having lost my taste for this staple of my poverty years. Gifts aren’t important, but people are.
The 1980’s had a slump related to the oil embargo. When oil money dries up, art teachers lose their jobs, as do all the other “frivolous employees” elsewhere. I got an insurance sales position, with a guaranteed six-week paycheck. I was amazed I had a talent for sales, but I was good at discovering needs and matching products to people’s ability to pay. My best sales close was, “If you’re not here to provide for your family, how will they be able to keep their current lifestyle?”
Having a simpler Christmas this year? Consider an alternative tree…
I lost my house to foreclosure during the 1990’s subprime mortgage crisis. I lost my credit cards and almost lost my daughter to suicide. I learned some things are more important than achievements or possessions. In the depths of the worst of times, gifts aren’t necessary. Being a light for others, helping others, giving yourself to those who need hope in these seemingly hopeless times is important. During this time, I drew hope from God’s words to Nathan in 2 Samuel 7:5-6—
“Go and tell my servant David: Thus says the LORD: Are you the one to build me a house to live in? I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent and a tabernacle.” I drew hope, for if God didn’t need a permanent home, but stayed with God’s people, then if I had no home title, God would still go with me wherever I laid my head.
Christmas Lights on Church Street
As a people, we always want to tie God to a place or to locate the Spirit to a site, but God is always bigger than our imagination and our attempts to circumscribe God’s existence. We want to restrict God’s love to a few, but God insists on loving those from whom we look away and exclude. In the midst of the chaos of my losses and suffering, I discovered God was calling me to the ministry.
Gislebertus: Flight into Egypt, 1120-1130, Stone Capitals at St Lazare, Autun, France.
Why does God call the least, the last, or the losers to God’s work? God wants to be glorified, not the person who does the work. God needs people who understand suffering and have been seasoned by it, rather than hardened by it. The wounded know the wounds of others, but they also know the path to healing. This is why we find the Christ child in a stable, not in a palace; and have shepherds and foreigners come to visit, but not his family or friends. It’s also why the Holy Family flees to Egypt as refugees to avoid Herod’s death sentence for the Jewish newborns. If we’re having a less than “perfect” holiday this year, perhaps we’re only having a bad hair day in comparison to the suffering of that first Christmas.
When I get to struggling, for the aches and pains of age are catching up to me, I can get in a low mood thinking, “I used to pop out of bed and do 12 things before lunch.” Now I need six cups of coffee to get my lunch going! Of course, I’m past my platinum anniversary and my hair color matches my age. On days like this, I look to Paul’s admonition in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, which rings across the ages as a clarion call:
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
I wish each and every one of you a Merry Christmas and a Wonderful New Year. I plan to take a sabbatical from my Rabbit-Rabbit series in 2024, since I’ve neglected my sci-fi blog and my pandemic project quilt needs stitching together. I’m going to work on my art more and write about the spiritual intersections of the creative life.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
Joy and Peace, Cornelia
You can keep up with my other writing and thoughts:
List of depressions and recessions since the Civil War:
the Panic of 1873,
the Great Depression when 13 million people were out of work,
a recession after WWII,
another after the Korean War,
the Eisenhower influenza recession in 1957-58,
a recession in the auto industry in 1960-61,
and another year long recession in 1970-71 under Nixon.
In 1973, OPEC quadrupled oil prices, and that shock along with the stock market crash sent the world economy into recession.
In 1980, energy prices continued to rise, so when the Federal Reserve raised interest rates to curb rising prices, the economy contracted. Once again, unemployment rose to 11% and business output suffered.
We had a recession in the Gulf War from 1990-91, and then maintained the longest period of economic growth in American history up until
the Dot Com Bubble in 2001. The tech-heavy NASDAQ ended up losing nearly 77% of its value and took over 15 years to recover its losses. September 11, 2001 wasn’t a sunny day for the stock market or for America. Many people have had a pessimistic outlook on life from this date forward. It changed how we see ourselves.
In 2008-2009 another recession hit hard, making it the longest economic downturn since World War II and the deepest prior to
the following COVID-19 Recession of 2020. The former was triggered by the subprime mortgage market collapse, while the latter was the quickest and steepest of them all. While more than 24 million people lost their jobs in the US the first three weeks of April 2020, this shock was quickly ameliorated by government interventions, such as zero interest, income payments and other supplements.
This shortest day of the year is the Winter Solstice, which is on Wednesday, December 21, at 4:48 P.M. EST, in the Northern Hemisphere. Some think of this as the Longest Night, but I’m a person of the light, not the darkness. I always prefer to look to the light, no matter how dim or feeble it may seem.
Be the Light
Yet darkness is a necessary experience in our lives. We do not yet live in the land of the “unclouded sky” or the heavenly realm:
“And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb.” —Revelation 21:23
Kindness is a warm fire
In the darkness, growth often happens: germination and rooting are two types of unseen activity that help produce the plant we see above ground. Without adequate light, the visible plant won’t thrive. So both darkness and light are at work to produce fruit in our lives.
“We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” —Romans 8:28
Rejoice! The days will get brighter soon!
The Winter Solstice in Hot Springs is at 3:48 pm CST on Wednesday, December 21, 2022. In terms of daylight, this day is 4 hours, 37 minutes shorter than the June solstice. In most locations north of the equator, the shortest day of the year is around this date. The good news about the Winter Solstice is the days will begin to lengthen, although imperceptibly at first: one minute, four minutes, seven minutes, ten minutes, thirteen minutes, sixteen minutes, and so on.
In Scandinavia, the Norse celebrated Yule from December 21, the winter solstice, through January. In recognition of the sun’s return, fathers and sons would bring home large logs, which they would set on fire. The people would feast until the log burned out, which could take as many as 12 days. Today we recognize the source of the “Twelve Days of Christmas” song in this festival. The Norse believed that each spark from the fire represented a new pig or calf that would be born during the coming year. Prosperity for all in the New Year!
In this present darkness, a small light still shines brightly
In this time of stress and strain, grief and gripes, let’s look to the in-breaking light, and the renewal of life and love. Here’s a “Winter Solstice Chant” by Annie Finch, for your pleasure:
Vines, leaves, roots of darkness, growing, now you are uncurled and cover our eyes with the edge of winter sky leaning over us in icy stars Vines, leaves, roots of darkness, growing, come with your seasons, your fullness, your end.
Rice Krispy Stonehenge
Of course, if you can’t get your travel plans together at the last minute to visit Stonehenge, England for the winter solstice celebration, you can always make Rice Krispies Bars in the shape of the ancient monument. The recipe link is at the bottom of the page. Hint: don’t turn the heat up high or your treats will be hard. Due to high carbohydrate count, one “pillar” of Stonehenge Krispies is actually two servings.
Welcome to December! While I was writing this blog, it was Black Friday in November, when many rabbit families were either shopping in person or online. I once did this with my dear rabbit mother, for she loved to shop. As a child of the Great Depression, the thrill of giving gifts, however small to all her friends, was a joy denied to her while growing up. Today we rabbits aren’t so much into giving gifts, but in sharing experiences. We’re making different choices. We aren’t rejecting our forebears’ decisions, but we have different values. As the writer of Ecclesiastes 3:1 reminds us, everything has its time:
“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.”
Christmas Gift
The holiday season begins earlier and earlier, or maybe I’m just an old rabbit having a fever dream. Last year the supply chain snafus were the Grinch that stole Christmas. Some of you rabbits may have been in a FIFA World Cup worthy soccer scrimmage last year at a big box discounter while trying to score one of the few PlayStations that managed to make its way from China to America on one of the large container ships that wasn’t lost at sea or stuck in the Suez Canal. The good news is the resulting logjam at the shipping docks has since been cleared and all the major retailers expect to get their holiday goods on time, compared to only 53% in 2021. We rabbits aren’t getting this news, however, so about half of us are pessimistic about being able to find our desired gifts in stock.
On March 23 2021, the containership Ever Given ran aground in the Suez Canal, blocking all traffic going both ways.
As a young rabbit, I learned about Murphy’s law from the “Rambling Wrecks from Georgia Tech, who were all one heck of an engineer.” If you’re not familiar with Murphy, his law states, “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong,” and the corollary law is “It’ll go wrong at the worst possible time and cause the most damage possible.” One would think these engineers were all chronic pessimists who saw the proverbial water glass half empty, but they would claim they’re just realists. Murphy’s Law simply reflects the natural fact we can’t control outcomes or people. Since the results of future actions can’t be avoided, you always should prepare for the worst and rejoice if the best happens instead.
Murphy’s Laws
I’ve always been fond of Murphy’s Law, but never more so during the holidays. Holiday festivities always include people, activities done only once a year, and often larger, unsupervised groups (often including alcohol), which means Mr. Murphy is often an uninvited guest. How he manages to sneak in, I have no idea, but he’s shown up in my rabbit den or kitchen more than once. Maybe he has an affinity for my rabbit clan, or perhaps he’s drawn to chaos and confusion. I’m not saying my rabbit family is a rowdy bunch, but we’ve always been loud and active. There’s not much difference between a whirlwind, a tornado, and my two brothers.
Grand Rabbit Wisdom
I don’t remember Murphy appearing at my Grand Rabbits’ celebrations, but they were of the generation who believed “little rabbits should be seen and not heard.” I imagine they showed Murphy the door if he dropped by. Likewise, when my mother began hosting the holiday meals, the Murphy drama of “anything that can go wrong will go wrong at the worst possible time” also never happened. My mom took on a drill sergeant’s precision when she produced the roast beast feast.
Not my tree, not my cats, but same Murphy result
When I bought a little house, Murphy made himself welcome. I invited friends over to decorate the Christmas tree. We stepped back to toast our creation, but the tree crashed forward to the floor, as if it were taking a bow in response. Our toast interrupted, we set the tree upright, tied it to the window handle, and resumed our toast in peace. One day I’ll tell you about my experiences of raking the roof on that little house before the rainy season set in each fall.
Murphy wouldn’t leave me alone. I moved to Texas, bought another little house, and my dear mom and dad invited themselves and my brother’s family over for a holiday feast. She pushed all the potato peels into my starter home’s basic garbage disposal and turned it on. If “Anything can go wrong at the worst possible time and cause the worst damage possible,” my dear bunny mom discovered it.
“I don’t understand; my disposal at home will handle all this.” “Yes, mother. You have a real, custom house, not a starter home. This is a baby disposal.”
Then we got the wastebasket, the pliers, and I put on my plumber’s hat. We pulled out the clog, drained the water, and put it all back together again. Mom was traumatized. Mom kept apologizing, but I reminded her, “It’s no big deal. It won’t happen again. And we have food to eat. We’ll laugh about this one day!”
Murphy still visits me on occasion. But I’ve learned to prepare for him to limit his damages. This thanksgiving I had a friend for dinner. They made a bathroom visit before they left. When I went there, I found the faucet still running and I wasn’t able to turn it off. Water was all over the floor and inside the original cabinet from 1965. I turned off the water under the sink, thinking I was glad I’d asked my plumber to give me new shutoffs when I put the new faucet in. The old ones had froze shut. I’m now brushing my teeth in the kitchen sink, but that’s all right. I’ll probably have to replace this whole thing, all for the demise of a $5 faucet washer. This is Murphy’s Law in a nutshell. Santa will have to visit Lowes or Home Depot for my Christmas gift this year. I hope I’ve been a good rabbit, as the saying goes. And my stocking is extra big.
Christmas isn’t the only holiday of December, although an estimated $942.6 billion in holiday retail sales in the United States might cause us rabbits to think otherwise. One study found that 60% of workers were more distracted and less motivated as the Christmas holidays approached, with some workers even saying this feeling started as early as November. Likewise, during the holiday time many employees will take off to spend time with family or just to enjoy the holiday. That cuts into productivity as well. We have our own Mr. Scrooge in our rabbit towns too. I have any number of rabbit buddies who need time off to hunt and be alone in the woods for a bit. I begrudge them not, as long as their spouses can take care of holidays uninterrupted.
Postal Worker delivering packages
The coming darkness of the Winter Solstice causes people all around the world to light fires and burn candles to overcome the gloom. We’ve done this for ages and in many places. In fact, humans may have observed the winter solstice as early as Neolithic period—the last part of the Stone Age—beginning about 10,200 BCE. The Romans celebrated Saturnalia, a winter solstice celebration dedicated to the Saturn, the god of agriculture, wealth, and time. While it began as a one-day celebration in early December, this pagan festival later expanded into a riotous weeklong party stretching from December 17 to 24.
Robert Macpherson: Roman Forum—Temple of Saturn, 1850s, J.Paul Getty Museum
The Temple of Saturn, the oldest temple recorded by the pontiffs, had been dedicated on the Saturnalia around 497 BCE on a site originally occupied by an altar to the god. Due to the link between Saturn and agriculture, the original source of Rome’s wealth, the temple was also the repository for the State Treasury, or the Aerarium Populi Romani, which was located beneath the stairs under the high podium. It also contained the bronze tablets on which Roman law was inscribed.
Saturn with Harvest Scythe
The woolen bonds, which fettered the feet of the ivory cult statue of Saturn within, were loosened on the festival day to symbolize the god’s liberation. On this festival day, after a sacrifice at the temple, the people held a public banquet attended by both slave and free persons. An image of the god was placed as if in attendance at this meal, or a lectisternium (reclining on a couch), a tradition which Livy says was introduced in 397 BCE. (Others date this to 399 BCE.) The practice was introduced as a specific emergency response to a natural crisis: extremes of temperature occurring in both summer and winter had given rise to a devastating plague that had proceeded to ravage the population. It was celebrated from December 17 to 23, ending on ending on the Dies Natalis Solis Invicti, or the birthday of the Unconquerable Sun.
Not only were public rites celebrated with all the splendour then available, but Livy goes on to describe the general tenor of the private celebration in the late 1st C BCE (around the time of the birth of Jesus Christ):
“They also celebrated the rites in their own homes. All through the city, it is said, doors stood wide open, all kinds of food were setout for universal consumption, all comers were welcomed, whether known or not, and men even exchanged kind and civil words with personal enemies; there was a truce to quarreling and legal action; even prisoners were released from their chains for those days, and they hesitated thereafter to imprison men whom the gods had befriended.”
Roman coin with a image of of Marcus Aurelius on obverse and on reverse, a lectisternium associated with an atonement meal, c 167/168 CE. Münzkabinett, Berlin
This ritual meal was commonly shared by the worshippers, in contrast to normal sacrifice, which distinguished human from divine portions. In other words, in the Lectisternium the gods were not only present in spirit, but in form, and they shared in the ritual meal.
The question we have to ask is how did Saturnalia move from a feast of appeasement to reduce harm to the people, to the debauchery which most history books write about today? The powers that be tried over the years to limit the length and celebratory excesses of the season, whether they were civic or religious powers. I suppose they had no counselor rabbits to advise them of Murphy’s Law: “Very little work will get done in the holiday season, and what does manage to get done will most likely need redoing in the New Year.”
Beaker with Inscription, “Rejoice Much,” 1st century AD, Eastern Mediterranean. Glass, 3 1/16 × 2 7/8 in. The J. Paul Getty Museum, 2004.35
By the 1st CE, Pliny, the Roman historian, was holed up in his room during Saturnalia, while the rest of the family celebrated the feasts, hijinx, and tomfoolery. In the 4th CE, the Christian church decided Christ’s birthday should be celebrated in the winter near the solstice, instead of in the more likely time of spring. The first reference to December 25 as the Nativity of Jesus occurs in a section of the Chronography of AD 354 known as the Calendar of Philocalus, which, even by this late date, still identified December 17 as ludi Saturnalia. By this time, some of the traditions of Saturnalia had already transferred into the Christian era. These were the green decorations of holly, a plant sacred to Saturn, in people’s homes; the small gifts of affection for all comers; the feasts; and the welcoming of strangers with fruit treats and nuts. Upending social conventions for a while reminds us God has no favorites, unlike our stratified social structures of the past and present.
Monogramme of Christ (the Chi Rho) on a plaque of a sarcophagus, 4th-century AD, marble, Musei Vaticani, on display in a temporary exhibition at the Colosseum in Rome, Italy. / Photo by Jebulon
December 17 was recognized as the date of the Saturnalia as late as 448 CE, when the ecclesiastical calendar or laterculus (“list”) of Polemius Silvius noted it as feriae servorum (“festival of the slaves”), a festival now deprived of its pagan significance. By the eighth century CE, church authorities complained how even people in Rome were still celebrating the old pagan customs associated with the Saturnalia and other winter holidays. The Temple of Saturn was largely destroyed in the mid-fifteenth century, so all that remains today is six of its Ionic granite columns crowned with a frieze thought to date to approximately 30 BCE.
As we approach the solstice time and the season of the Lord’s birth, we give thanks along with the gospel writer of John 1:5—
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.”
Along with all my bunny friends and family, I hope you all remember what my little daughter said about that “Luke guy, who had such a big part in the Christmas Eve service” the year she learned to read:
“By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” — Luke 1:78-79
Holman Hunt: Behold, I Stand at the Door and Knock , 1854, Kebel College, Oxford, England
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