Walpurgisnacht is that point in the year’s cycle when the fabric stretching between these Shadowlands and That Which Is To Come was traditionally believed to be at its thinnest. In our bright shining world of IPhones and HDTV most Christians dismiss all this as superstition, and maybe they’re right. But if they turned off the lights for a few hours tonight and went for a walk somewhere beyond their comfort zones, who knows? Perhaps even the most certain might just for a moment reconsider...
It’s also the evening on which Hitler, Goebbels and a few other loathsome and cowardly toads killed themselves and their families. Which not just signifies the terrible end of a terrible chapter, but also points to something far greater. Something that should give us all courage: no matter how invincible any dictator may appear, or how insurmountable and overwhelming the bureaucracy, or even just how monocultural, nepotistic and unchallengeable the Family Firm; only God lives forever.
Flowers will always break through cracks in the pavement,
and only Love endureth.
and only Love endureth.
5 comments:
I bow my head and pray.
Thank you.
It's odd---I actually drew in my breath when I read your line that suicide could be a cause for celebration. I don't think I can go there...not even for Hitler. (And I keep thinking of all the little Goebbels children...)
But I agree that knowing God lives forever, and that God is loving, merciful, and gracious, should give us courage.
Doxy - thank you for pointing this out to me - at that point what was posted didn't convey what I meant at all.
I normally write something like this in Word so that it can be tuned for a few days before going up, and the "celebration" was a vestige of my struggle to convey the notion that ultimate judgement occurs only in forgiveness and redemption. Thus even a Hitler experiences 'Hell' through being by Christ confronted with the reality of his own transformation and salvation.
All of which is an awfuly esoteric thing for an ex-fundie like myself to be thinking through - hence the edits and re-edits, and in this case, the shoddy merging of two paragraphs resulting in my implying something I'd never intended. Certainly there's no point at which I've ever wanted to suggest murder/suicide is ever anything other than a tragic and horrible darkness involving an evil beyond comprehension.
On a brighter note, the beauty of the web is that it allows one to edit after publication, which can at least help mitigate any damage done. For now I've changed the line to read "Which not just signifies the terrible end of a terrible chapter". This may well not be final: time permitting I'll keep thinking about what I'm trying to say, and may well revise this further. In which case I'll put a note here in the comments explaining what's been done.
Sorry for any offence caused, and please accept my assurance that I never intended to imply we should be rejoicing in the slaughter of any child - I was thinking particularly of the murder of Goebbels' children when in using the terms "loathsome and cowardly toads" of their parents and associates. Thanks for pulling me up on the error, and please let me know if this correction still fails to sufficiently clarify things.
Don't worry, my friend! I wasn't offended by your original line so much as I was surprised by my reaction to it.
Maybe my reaction had more to do with my ex's recent implication that it would have been better for HIM if I had killed myself....it would have devastated him had I done it when I felt so desperate, but with two years of hindsight, I believe he might now actually celebrate it.
So...no harm, no foul. As my Dear Friend is fond of saying, when someone has a really strong reaction about something, it's time to ask "What's REALLY going on here?" I suspect this was All. About. Me. ;-)
Pax,
Doxy
Alcibiades, are you aware of the Malvina Reynolds song of the 1960s?
I grew up singing it:
God bless the grass that grows thru the crack.
They roll the concrete over it to try and keep it back.
The concrete gets tired of what it has to do,
It breaks and it buckles and the grass grows thru,
And God bless the grass.
God bless the truth that fights toward the sun,
They roll the lies over it and think that it is done.
It moves through the ground and reaches for the air,
And after a while it is growing everywhere,
And God bless the grass.
God bless the grass that grows through cement.
It's green and it's tender and it's easily bent.
But after a while it lifts up its head,
For the grass is living and the stone is dead,
And God bless the grass.
God bless the grass that's gentle and low,
Its roots they are deep and its will is to grow.
And God bless the truth, the friend of the poor,
And the wild grass growing at the poor man's door,
And God bless the grass.
And God bless you, too, Alcibiades, and all of your fellow Christians in Sidney.
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