God took him outside and said,
“Look up at the sky
and count the stars
— if indeed you can count them.”
Is not God in the heights of heaven?
And see how lofty are the highest stars!
He determines the number of the stars
and calls them each by name.
Who is this that appears like the dawn,
fair as the moon, bright as the sun,
majestic as the stars in procession?
This is what the Lord says,
He who appoints the sun to shine by day,
who decrees the moon and stars
to shine by night ...
"only one thing is needed."
+ Genesis 15:5; Job 22:12;
Psalm 147:4; Song of Songs 6:10;
Jeremiah 31:35; Luke 10:42
As we look forward to the 4th of July holiday weekend, perhaps there is more than fireworks to marvel at. The God of the universe is an attentive God and the wonder-filled and whole-making Story He is writing for us is worthy of our quiet attention.
This post features a few reflections from Chapter 5: Active Life: A Slower Pace in a Faster World in Leighton Ford's The Attentive Life.
In a faster world
we could use a slower church –
or at least churches that help us
to slow down and pay attention.
We live in an age of
continuous partial attention.
+ Linda Stone
Ruthlessly eliminate hurry.
+ Dallas Willard to John Ortberg
Only one thing is needed.
+ Jesus
(see Luke 10:38-42)
 |
| NASA "Celestial Fireworks" for 25th Anniversary |
One Who Paid Attention:
Kierkegaard's Lanterns,
Fireworks and Stars
Kierkegaard's Lanterns,
Fireworks and Stars
The Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard wrote two small parables that illuminate our human condition of speed and inattention.
Parable of Lanterns & Stars
A certain rich man traveled in a finely appointed carriage, with lanterns on each corner of his vehicle to light the road around and ahead. He went his way in satisfaction and security, assured that his wealth provided him with a good life. One day along the road the rich man passed a poor peasant who had no carriage to carry him, no lamp to light his way. Yet while the rich man pitied the poor peasant who had no money to buy all the creature comforts, the poor peasant could see the stars, which the rich man himself missed because he was blinded by his lamps.
Parable of Fireworks & Stars
Another Kierkegaard parable compared fireworks to the stars. Displays of fireworks hold our attention with increasing levels of dazzlement. They start at a modest pace, then become louder, with more and more rockets exploding in multiple directions, showering more brilliant colors, going ever higher into the night sky, until with one final burst of noise and brilliance and color it is all over. The creators of fireworks shows, said Kierkegaard, have to produce more and more artificial excitement to keep us entertained, but with the stars it is far different. We can, if we will, lie on our back on a hill gazing into the night sky, hour after hour, and always there is more to see in the unchanging canopy of the stars overhead, more almost magical attraction, more sensing the mystery of the stars whose message in light was sent to us from millions of years past, more drawing of our souls to consider the vastness of eternity and the meaning of time.
Stars are like messengers
sent by the Creator
who also made us,
to lure us into pondering
the meaning of it all and
to consider the great end of our lives.
(Fireworks are like the diversions
we create to keep us
from facing the reality of our lives.)
We need to understand
the great sweep of the Story of God
and how our story with its small "s"
relates to God's Story.
sent by the Creator
who also made us,
to lure us into pondering
the meaning of it all and
to consider the great end of our lives.
(Fireworks are like the diversions
we create to keep us
from facing the reality of our lives.)
We need to understand
the great sweep of the Story of God
and how our story with its small "s"
relates to God's Story.
 |
| Calm & Stars by Yongsung Kim |
Maybe I've been the problem,
maybe I'm the one to blame;
but even when I turn it off
and blame myself,
the outcome feels the same.
I've been thinking
maybe I've been partly cloudy,
maybe I'm the chance of rain. And
maybe I'm overcast, and
maybe all my luck's
washed down the drain.
I've been thinking about everyone,
everyone, we look so lonely ... But
When I look at the stars,
when I look at the stars,
when I look at the stars,
When I look at the stars,
I see Someone else.
I see Someone else.
When I look at the stars,
the stars,
I feel like myself.
the stars,
I feel like myself.
Stars looking at our planet,
watching entropy and pain; and
maybe start to wonder how
the chaos in our lives
could pass as sane.
I've been thinking about
the meaning of resistance,
of a hope beyond my own, and
suddenly the infinite and penitent
begin to look like home.
I've been thinking about everyone,
everyone, we look so empty ...
(Chorus)
Jesuit Gerard Manley Hopkins termed the inscape of things – the deep reality of creation known only to attentive eyes and hearts in the landscapes around. In all of life there is:
The things that don't matter can be regarded with indifference and forgotten. The good things of life take priority. But the best and deepest are discovered only through attentive waiting.
"Only one thing is needful."
+ Jesus
May God give us grace to wait, be attentive, observe, and behold with our eyes, both our physical as well as with the eyes of our heart, what He as the King of the universe is doing in us, through us, and around us.
Links to other City Notes (CN):
Christ is all,
Rev. Mike “Sully” Sullivan
