Totality or Bust!

 

"Totality or bust!"  The caption on the back of the GMC Jimmy read.  "See you in the Smokies!"  Apparently someone was taking the solar eclipse fairly seriously.

Judging by the traffic moving on Sunday afternoon, a lot of other folks were in the mood to see the sun blocked by the moon for about two and a half minutes.  Of course, it's pretty easy to block the sun.  I did it just the other day with my hand, I think you could use a piece of paper, and every evening, around sun down, the earth itself blocks the sun from our eyes -- what I like to call a "terrestrial eclipse."

Now, for those who have lived through a "terrestrial eclipse," they will tell you that it is a sight to see.  It gets much, much darker than during your standard solar eclipse, the stars come out, and sometimes you can even see a full moon visible.  In addition, no special glasses are needed to look at the sky during it.

I suppose all of this begs the question "What is the significance of objects coming between the sun and the earth?"

In the ancient times, when people worshiped the sun it was a big deal.  The sun was getting sick and that spelled death and destruction within the realm.

These days, we understand all sorts of things.  We know that the earth goes around the sun and that the moon goes around the earth.  We know that solar eclipses are a spectacle to be marveled at through NASA approved, cardboard framed solar glasses.  We know that the end of the world may be coming, but not because of the eclipse.  We know that the traffic after a solar eclipse makes it feel like the end of the world.

I think of all of this and it comes to my mind that this is very much like our relationship with God.  He is our sun and the One on whom we depend.  At the same time, there are times when it feels as though there is darkness between us and Him.  There are periods when our prayers seem to go no farther than the ceiling.

It is easy in these moments to believe that God is truly distant from us, that He no longer cares and has abandoned us to the whims of an uncaring Universe.

Nothing could be farther from the truth.  Instead, it is only on our side that He can't be seen.  On His side, He continues to shine as brightly as ever and He still hears and answers our prayers, regardless of how "high" we think they are going.

In the midst of the darkest eclipse we can know without a doubt that God is still there and He has not changed one iota.

The darkness, however deep, is only temporary.

Herod the Great

"And now," said our guide.  "We are going to go aaaaaaaaaalllll  the way to Caesarea!"

As we drove north of Tel Aviv, he proceeded to tell us a little about the countryside we were passing through and then as we approached Caesarea, he told us more about that city.  "This was the new port that Herod the Great built to replace the old port of Jaffa.  It was a modern city when he built it, a Roman city.  It was the place where the Roman governors would rule from later on."

He went on to tell us more about the place we were about to visit, but one man's name became a theme:  Herod the Great. 

I had thought when we visited Israel that we would see a variety of sites, some from the time of Jesus, some maybe from the time of King Hezekiah, and some older, dating to the times of King David and Solomon.  More than anyone else, though, Herod's impact is still seen.  Whether it is Caesarea, the Temple Mount, or the Masada, the things he built remain -- at least to a certain extent.

Herod built cities and palaces.  He spent vast amounts of wealth and time building these and to what purpose?  I suppose to leave a legacy.

At the same time, when you travel to the places where massive stone structures were erected, all that can be seen now is rubble.  In some places, the modern Israelis have set up pillars that had fallen over with the passage of time and reconstructed walls from the rubble -- enough that one can still judge the greatness of these works in their day, but little else.

It reminds me a little of the poem of Ozymandias, by Shelley.  "Look on my works, ye Mighty and despair!"  Ozymandias is telling the mighty to despair because of the vastness of his works, but the reality is that they need to despair because none of his works survived.

Herod's legacy is found more in the stories of his cruelty and his bitterness.  Not the sort of thing that a few walls in the desert can cover up.

It seems as though many of the "great" men in history tried to build things that people would remember them by.  Large homes, huge tombs, and various buildings have been left behind, even as their names are largely forgotten.

It strikes me that another king who lived at very much the same time as Herod the Great has left a much bigger legacy.  Jesus Christ built nothing that we can see today, wrote nothing personally, did not even own His own home -- and yet, He impacted more lives than anyone else in history.  It was the way He came and lived and the way He died that speaks to us.

None of us will probably leave behind us huge monuments as a legacy or even vast sums of money for our heirs to waste in frivolous ways, but that wouldn't mean much anyway.  Far better to live each day as Jesus did, loving people who won't appreciate it and giving our all for them.

How people remember us is dependent not on what we build, but on who we are and who we follow.

From India?

"So," the lady said to me.  "I heard you're from India?"

"Well, close," I answered her.  "My family actually moved to the area from Indiana."

"Oh," the lady said.  "I thought you talked awful good for someone so far away."  She paused.  "And I heard you're a Mormon?"

"I'm a Mennonite," I replied.  "I guess both of those do start with the letter 'M,' though."

I suppose I am the talk of Brookneal and there have been more than a few conversations about the new doctor.  But this one highlights one of the problems with gossip.  For, something that begins with a factual story can turn into a fanciful tale that is only partially related to the truth.

More than that, gossip is a sin that is dangerous, not only to the person being talked about, but also to the person sharing the "news."  It is just awfully easy to go from sharing honest information to the place where we are saying hurtful things about a person.

Our words and thoughts should always begin with love.

It is easy to think that this is a small town problem, but the truth is that I think all of us struggle with this at one time or, another.   At the same time, God doesn't appreciate it when we share juicy stories about others, even if they are completely true.

Much less if we are repeating stories about the new Mormon Indian who is currently seeing patients in Brookneal.