It reminds me of how clown cars unload their bags before the circus starts in Washington these days. And to think that some of these people are otherwise intelligent.
When I hear this word, I think of Eliot Ness after he finally locks up Al Capone. Exhausted by his relentless pursuit of the gang, he finally says, “What I see is what I see.” He has become corrupted by his tactics, corrupted by his justice, and turned into the very thing he opposed. (At least, that’s what the movie script suggests.) Nietzsche famously said, “Don’t stare too long into the abyss, or the abyss will stare back at you.”
Simone Weil said instead:stare Into the abyss. ” Her words were, “Grace can only enter where there is a vacuum for it to be received, and it is grace itself that creates this vacuum.” Emptiness makes room for the unknown. Knowing too much and sticking to what you think you know can be worse than knowing too little and being blind to new possibilities.
This burden of knowing is depicted in Chesterton’s collection of short stories. The man who knew too much. He plays a great protagonist who unravels incomprehensible mysteries and daily predicaments. While others marvel at his insight, he remains cynical and burdened by the truths he uncovers, truths that are too difficult to bear or share.
Weil’s warning about fearing the “abyss” of the unknown reveals how, like Chesterton’s detective, we are weighed down by our own answers. Today, many people are quick to jump to conclusions about UFOs and other mysteries as long as they are unknown. A good conspiracy theory is better than being bored or stuck at a dead end.
The Christmas story begins at a dead end. Jesus was born not in majestic Jerusalem, but in Bethlehem, a desolate village where “there was no room in an inn.” The best accommodation was a simple stable with lots of straw and the air thick with the smell of hay and cows.
Christmas is a joyful celebration that defies expectations. Happiness is temporary, but joy is resilient and deeper than emotions. Joy born in obscurity, as embodied in the sacrifice of Jesus, can endure, as in “enduring the cross for the glory that was set before it.”
“The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness did not dispel it.” We close our eyes wide and watch. (John 1:5, 10) Jesus did not come to be God, but to open our eyes and show us the way to see. Poets understand. “The earth is packed with heaven, and every bush is ablaze with God, but only those who can see take off their shoes; the rest sit around and pick blackberries. ” Goalkeeper Chesterton said, “The world will not starve from a lack of wonders, but only from a lack of wonders.”
We are divine beings created from the earth. We are dust and God. Human beings came from “humus,” which became words, bone of bone, and flesh of flesh. “Word” means power, the power that fills the world unabated. There are no empty spaces. Every abyss is already a blessing.
The psalmist said: “Bless the Lord, O my soul, for all that is within me bless his holy name.” He said, “All that is within me is good.” I didn’t say it. all It means greed, anger, hatred, resentment, everything, no matter how bad. Breath suggests praise—hidden treasure—Everything about me, both good and bad.
For example, “greed” is not just an evil. It’s a human impulse, and it can be harnessed for good. Paradoxically, private vices can also lead to public good. Our job is to make that happen and channel that energy. [*]
In T.S. Elliott four quartetssin is called politelyas in the story of Joseph in the Bible, meaning of use, necessity. The jealous brothers left him to die of thirst in a dark hole in the desert. Joseph survived and became ruler of Egypt, saving the country from famine. God is not causeAlthough sin and evil Purpose It says, “What they intended for evil, I used for good.”
Christmas is a light in the darkness, in the void, in the desert, or in the stable. It makes sense to wrap yourself up under a tree, but happiness comes and goes. Joy “bears the cross”, endures for something greater. Christian tradition is at its best with the celebration of Holy Communion on Christmas Eve, the sharing of the body and blood of Christ, a reminder of the sacrifice that reveals the promise of joyous perseverance and salvation.
Gaze into the abyss, fall into a hole, or be trapped like Joseph my own A clown car may be as bright at night as it is during the day. Other poets express this differently. He was undergoing cancer treatment and was told he could go for a few mile walks every day, but not during the day because the medication made direct sunlight unhealthy. After his first walk, he wrote: “This morning, the sun was standing at the end of the road, waiting for me.”
Even on the worst day, it’s already Christmas. Beauty and grace are performed whether we feel it or not. The least we can do is try to be there.
notes and reading
[*] “Greed can be exploited. . . God does not cause evil, but uses it for good.” – repeating Bernard Mandeville’s famous quote fable of the beesa work that thinkers like Adam Smith and Karl Marx found compelling, that private vices can produce public good; “take advantage of” differs in that it focuses on intentional relief. Mandeville argued for the unintended consequences of selfish actions. Here, a higher power actively recycles acts of evil for good.
> Closer to home. “Use the ‘abyss’ effectively”? – You’ll see right away. Washington’s elites are now promoting the deliberate creation of an “abyss,” in stark contrast to Nietzsche and Weil, who sought to work with existing reality for the greater good. These leaders love chaos. they want it. It must be destroyed in order to rebuild democracy. From CNN political analyst Stephen Collinson this morning (December 19): “Walter Isaacson, in his biography of Elon Musk, describes the president-elect’s new super buddy philosophy as ‘take risks.'” Learn by exploding things. revision. Repeat. ” Steve Bannon says the same thing. Like Musk, he’s not a fool, more like a man who “knows too much,” but gleefully utters sarcasm. Citing his 1997 book, “The Fourth Transition,” Mr. Bannon said, “Forests need fire, and rivers need floods.” (“Bannon’s worldview: Dissecting the message of the “Fourth Turning Point”” jeremy peters new york times – April 8, 2017).
Simone Weil (d. 1943) – Albert Camus called him “the only great spirit of our time.” Flannery O’Connor considered her a saint. See especially Weil. gravity and grace (1947, Kindle 2024) and The need for roots (1949, 2024). Also Notea tri-monthly e-journal launched in May 2021 that explores Weil’s life and legacy.
Nietzsche – beyond good and evilAphorism 146. (1886, 2023) – A philosophical masterpiece that criticized traditional morality and conventional wisdom.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning – Aurora Leigh VII (1856), lines 821-822. Browning called it “the most mature of my works, and the work that contains my highest convictions about life and art.” – “Aurora Leigh” and other poems by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1996).
Gerald Manley Hopkins – “The Greatness of God” (1918), Norton English Literature AnthologyVol. No. 2E (2012), 1319-1320. – The devastation of the earth and the daily miracle of rebirth.
Mary Oliver – Dedication: Selected Poems (2020). Oliver also says, “The world surrenders to your imagination, calls to you like a wild goose, is harsh and exciting, and announces again and again your place in the family of things.” I did.
chesterton – The man who knew too muchespecially “The Face in the Target” (1922, 2024) from “The Man Who Knew Too Much.” -”Not enough wonder… – trivial things (1909, 2012). With legendary wit and erudition, Chesterton explodes the myth of “ordinary.”
Joseph – From Genesis 37 to the end of Genesis 50.
Joy “bears the cross for the sake of the glory that was set before it.” – Hebrews 12:2.
“Words” became flesh… – See at least This overview Recent translations of the New Testament by David Bentley Hart. Hearts belong to the “all of the above” category. He is a fiction writer (including children’s books and ghost stories), essayist, cultural critic, philosopher, religious scholar, and theologian. His linguistic expertise spans Western and Eastern traditions across 15 languages.
“This morning, the sun was standing at the end of the road waiting for me.” – Ted Kooser A Winter Morning Walk: 100 Postcards to Jim Harrison (2015). Kooser served as U.S. Poet Laureate from 2004 to 2006. He is the author of 12 books of poetry and several nonfiction books.
“Beauty and elegance…” – Based on the novel by Annie Dillard, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek (2007). Pulitzer Prize. like rachel carson Silent Spring, Tinker Creek Pilgrim It is considered one of the great natural science books. Dillard finds the sacred in the smallest details of the natural world.
> Self-promotion – Christmas Grace (Crazy Gift) Written by William C. Green (2013). A study of the Twelve Days of Christmas, based on a folk Christmas carol first published in England at the end of the 18th century. Whether or not carols were originally intended to convey faith with symbols, it’s always about the (crazy) gifts we’ve been given and what that means for the gifts we share. was emphasized in a playful manner.
Snitch #164 – Extreme Limits
Source: 2 + 2 = 5 – williamgreen.substack.com
