The book recommended for Advent this year (in the parish Bookshoppe) is an anthology of writings, almost each of which catches my eye and holds my attention, especially a short essay by Kathleen Norris titled "Annunication." The church of which Father Nicholas Vieron of Memphis was the Pastor is named Annunciation. In his Greek class (which starts again January 18 ~ you've got to attend!) Fr. Nick points out that "Annunciation" sounds much better in Greek (phonetically, "ee van gell ease moo" -- say it three times, quickly) than in English, where the correlative word "announcement" comes to mind way too quickly. Point being, "announcement" is too prosaic, dull and functional to be able to carry the weight of such good news as the "annunciation" to Mary (nine months before Christmas). Susanne Langer, in her book Philosophy in a New Key, advances her thesis that the very sound of a word contributes to our understanding of its meaning. Fr. Vieron would agree. "Ee van gell ease moo" speaks of joy and mystery, if you can read between the lines and "feel" that word's "value" or "weight." Hard to find mystery in the word "announcement;" isn't the purpose of an announcement to clear up and dissipate confusion and mystery?
Kathleen Norris (NPR interview here: www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/episodes/march-13-2009/kathleen-norris/1343/ ) makes a parallel point: "...Modern believers tend to trust in therapy more than mystery, a fact that tends to manifest itself in worship that employs the bland speech of pop psychology and self-help rather than language resonant with poetic meaning -- for example, a call to worship that begins: 'Use this hour, Lord, to get our perspectives straight again.' Rather than express awe, let alone those negative feelings, fear and trembling, as we come into the presence of God, crying 'Holy, Holy, Holy,' we focus totally on ourselves, and arrogantly issue an imperative to God. Use this hour, because we're busy later; just send us a bill, as any therapist would, and we'll zip off a check in the mail. But the mystery of worship, which is God's presence and our response to it. does not work that way."
It's an extraordinary essay: she moves immediately after this to an example of how not to deal with birth control education among inner city teens, to European art, to the Christmas story. Final point being, for me, that in order to grasp the significance of Christmas we need to re-embrace the very basic concept of mystery. How are your mystery skills? Who really prefers "announcements" to "ee van gell ease moos?" Who would prefer "therapy" to "mystery," when "therapy" and self help by comparison, unless they point to mystery, are just simply, well, boring. And ineffectual. Poetry, art, music are not, in this view, escapes from reality, they are a way into the deep realities among which we live and move, and have our being. GKS
Kathleen Norris (NPR interview here: www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/episodes/march-13-2009/kathleen-norris/1343/ ) makes a parallel point: "...Modern believers tend to trust in therapy more than mystery, a fact that tends to manifest itself in worship that employs the bland speech of pop psychology and self-help rather than language resonant with poetic meaning -- for example, a call to worship that begins: 'Use this hour, Lord, to get our perspectives straight again.' Rather than express awe, let alone those negative feelings, fear and trembling, as we come into the presence of God, crying 'Holy, Holy, Holy,' we focus totally on ourselves, and arrogantly issue an imperative to God. Use this hour, because we're busy later; just send us a bill, as any therapist would, and we'll zip off a check in the mail. But the mystery of worship, which is God's presence and our response to it. does not work that way."
It's an extraordinary essay: she moves immediately after this to an example of how not to deal with birth control education among inner city teens, to European art, to the Christmas story. Final point being, for me, that in order to grasp the significance of Christmas we need to re-embrace the very basic concept of mystery. How are your mystery skills? Who really prefers "announcements" to "ee van gell ease moos?" Who would prefer "therapy" to "mystery," when "therapy" and self help by comparison, unless they point to mystery, are just simply, well, boring. And ineffectual. Poetry, art, music are not, in this view, escapes from reality, they are a way into the deep realities among which we live and move, and have our being. GKS
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