Reading Poetry From William Carlos Williams

I have begun reading poetry as part of a reading list I put together to read the great works of the past. Poetry, while being one of the main categories, has been neglected in my reading schedule for most of my life. 

So far Coleridge has hit my docket and now, Williams. I talked about Coleridge in a prior post. I enjoyed his work, it inspired me to think differently about the way I observe the world around me. It was a useful and inspiring reading experience.

I had no idea what to expect from Williams. While I thought I would receive a new way of looking at the world, which I did, I was surprised to find that writing what my response to Williams. 

His free verse seemed to fit inside my mind in a way reminiscent of my own patterns of thought. He observed an event or a picture or a person and he would create a poem around his experience with the moment. Sometimes eclectic, sometimes unexpectedly random and scattered, sometimes prescient of feelings and thoughts incongruent with the mentioned event. 

Because it is free verse, there is plenty of white space at the margins and I found myself trying at my own poems on the pages I was reading. I don’t attribute any greatness to them but I am happy to have been stirred to create alongside a creator. I read his thoughts put to verse and danced my own alongside his.

Grab a book of poetry and see what is stirred in you.

A Sermon on Shepherding

Here is a recent sermon on Yahweh as our Shepherd from Psalm 23. I hope it is helpful.

Also, a small plug for my favorite podcasting app.

1 Peter and the Beginning of America

I recently read an interesting question on Facebook about the founding of America. Based on the command of Scripture to “Honor the emperor” (1 Peter 2:17) were the Colonies right in declaring independence?

This is a fascinating question and one that is well worth the studying and pondering. This question seems to hold the assumption that America established itself as a christian nation and thus, if its beginnings were on the basis of not following Scripture, it is founded on ideas antithetical to the values it professed to hold. 

Christian Nation?

I will lay my cards out quickly. I think the assumption of a christian nation is revisionist. This is quickly confirmed by reading a couple histories of the founding or biographies of the leaders. Yes, we know the story of the Puritans and the Mayflower. But they were one of many colonies and not the first to touch down in America.

The fathers themselves were, by and large, not paragons of Christianity. There are examples of Christians among them, John Adams comes to mind, but over all their conviction was not to create a Christian Nation and it is doubtful that many were the type of stalwart Christians we often paint them to be.

So, straight away I have rendered the question pointless. But let’s walk through some more thoughts anyway.

Respectful?

Now, did they "honor the emperor"? In a snapshot look at 1776, we have a British colony that declares independence and strikes off on its on after a revolutionary war.

However, if we dig deeper we realize it is more complicated than that (as it usually is if we dig). The Colonies sat within the British Government which was a constitutional monarchy. For thousands of years, humans have been setting up governments with certain rules and roles for citizens and rulers. In this particular version, the monarch is not absolute and is under the law and the government includes a representative Parliament. 

Much of the grievance from the American colonies is that they were not given the chance to have representatives in Parliament. Essentially, they were saying that the government was not being run the way this government decided to run. The game was not being played according to the established rules.

In my estimation, the respectful thing to do in that situation would be to ask for representation, appeal to the king for changes, send ambassadors to talk through possibilities, set up intermediate governments to deal with the local issues, and ask for changes to be made according to the norms and rules already set up by the government.

The more I read American History the more I am surprised to find that the above happened and many times over. In fact, in the days before July 4, and the Declaration of Independence, a narrow vote was taken, and lost, to send yet another means for reconciliation.

The Declaration itself is a measured and orderly document listing the grievances of the people toward their king (it is not just its first two sentences). And if we are looking for respect, I am most struck by the fact that, as soon as there was a treaty signed between England and America, John Adams was appointed as Ambassador to England and presented himself before King George III to pay the respects of the United States of America.

Conclusion

I don’t believe we can hold the founding leaders of our country to the principles of Christianity as I don’t believe, by and large, they were Christians. However, they seemed to be working within the rules and norms of the government that were established before them. In addition, the amount of respect and deliberation that happened before declaring independence was surprising. 

However, let us remember, as followers of Christ the truth of 1 Peter 2:17 is still truth for us to follow even if we are nurtured in a culture of independence and the spirit of 76’. Often that will mean we go against the grain of our fellow citizens.

Sermon: We Should Throw Parties

New Life Church: Riverfalls: Matthew 9:9-13 | Engagement 101

Here is my most recent sermon. I hope it is a helpful encouragement to engage with our neighbors.

Download

Details

Details are hard. They take time to read. Sometimes the fine print is confusing or the technical terms are not readily known. Often times it takes a wealth of subject understanding to be able to use the details. And yet, I see time after time a detail or statistic or fact about some massively complex issue being cited as reason for outrage or fear or worry.

1 in 10,000 babies die from disease x

23 Million people will drop from health care coverage

There is a 1 in 5 chance a major earthquake will happen in the next 50 years

All of these statements can be causes of fear or anger when cited as a headline. But none of them give the ignorant reader the context to understand.

The first: 1 in 10,000 makes a mother think of her ONE baby and many people are not able to see that number as essentially 0 (.000001). This is just an example but you get the idea.

I can't tell you how many statistics of death or serious diseases I had to walk through during my wife's recent pregnancy. Each was presented as a reason for great alarm and ceasing some activity or consumption of a food or beverage.

The second headline: can we all just admit there are few people that actually understand health care coverage completely and one quick sentence cited in our favorite media outlet is a poor source for informing our opinion on a 200 page document? Or am I the only one that has frustrating conversations with my health insurance provider about the definition of “Maximum Out of Pocket Expense"? I have had to apologize too many times about my tone after talking with the customer service representative.

The third: the Big One… the fabled earthquake coming our way. I’m not even sure what to do with that information. Can we actually mitigate that? In 50 years? It sounds so catastrophic we should be praying to God for mercy.

I have only heard the stat used as justification to have earthquake valves installed on your gas meters. Because a residential gas leak is going to be a major concern if the Willamette Valley is flooded by a Tsunami.

Madison said in the Federalist Papers that "knowledge will always rule over ignorance." The lesson is two fold. If you want to rule, gain knowledge. Secondly an admonition, if one has knowledge a wise and kind person will wield it over the ignorant with grace and consideration for their good.

I was a service tech for an HVAC company for 5 years. I know the details of a gas furnace and it's inner workings far more than I want to. I am an expert. But every day I would simplify my explanation and give people the information they needed to make a decision about the heating source of their home. I explained what was needed for safety and effectiveness. And I never said in an alarmist fashion, “Your furnace is a metal box filled with multiple nozzles pouring burning gas and fumes at 1,950 degrees and your only protection between the deadly flue gases and you is several millimeters of aging steel.” It is true but it was not helpful. I know many people for whom that would have only caused them to lay awake at night or shut off their furnace for fear of death.

Instead, everyday, I knew it was my responsibility to educate for their good. Not my sale, not an added accessory. For their good. That is a hard task and one any leader, educator, writer, or influencer should take as a heavy load.

I am not asking us to avoid details but I would have us explain them and educate our listeners rather than propagate a fact that sounds like something worth clicking. Unfortunately, the ones that would listen to this plea are not the problem.

4 Thoughts on Joseph Campbell's Work

Joseph Campbell's work The Hero with a Thousand Faces is an interesting dive into comparative mythology. It was of keen interest in gaining a basic understanding of the metanarratives offered by many of the cultures and religions of the world. 

During the reading four thoughts came to mind. I will start with the most favorable.  

1. Story telling principles that resonate in our souls 

Campbell did a wonderful job of deriving the key pieces of many mythologies. These mythologies share many story points because they try to answer the same questions of the human condition. Because Campbell was able to outline and categorize them he gives us the framework for putting together and telling stories that will naturally resonate with us.

2. Overemphasis on human psychology over human condition

It was surprising to see him cite dream psychology and Freudian ideas in conjunction with the mythologies he was trying to synopsize. Rather than strengthen his ideas they weakened them as they placed the mythology at the needs of human psychology rather than the strivings to answer the questions of the human condition. 

His thesis was "Mythology is psychology misread as biography, history, and cosmology." For my money, this is far too humanist and neglects the work of looking into the mysteries each mythology is trying to plumb.

3. Not a fair representation of Christianity so I doubted his representation of all religions and mythologies

At the beginning of the read I thought I was being treated with a thorough and fair treatment of the world's various mythologies. However, once he cited the "stories and beliefs" of Christianity it became clear that it was woefully inadequate. In order to fit Christianity into his framework he had to quote outlier doctrine, late apocryphal writings, or modern sermons. 

Once I realized he did not give Christianity a fair representation, I was no longer confident the stories of Islam, Hinduism or various South American religions were being faithfully transmitted.

4. No treatment of the fact that some "mythologies" submit their stories as historical fact and should be evaluated under their assumptions

Due to his emphasis on psychology, Campbell completely dismisses out of hand that some religions and cultures proclaim their "mythologies" as factual stories. This is an unfair treatment and should be discouraged. 

While I agree with Campbell, that many of the world's stories agree, I disagree on the reason behind the agreement. The human race shares not just it's psychology but it's spirituality. We all possess a soul that longs for the eternal and in our most honest days we crave for answers to our broken condition. The similarities of our mythologies show us that we know we need rescue but sometimes are more willing to cling to our fictional creations rather than the realities they echo.

Community Welcomes Life

The day my boy was born, I was able to observe two distinct environments for birth. The latter was a hospital which we were transferred to because of a possible risk that turned out to be of no worry. The hospital is a place of risk mitigation, emergency help, and rescuing procedures. A place full of common grace, to be sure, but distinct from the former.

The former was a birthing center, surrounded by midwives. My wife labored in the birthing center for several hours before we were transferred. I had expected a comfortable environment with perhaps more of a hippie flair and mug of Chamomile tea. It was more comfortable but I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that it was a distinctly communal experience.

My wife, a first time mother, was surrounded by experienced women, many of whom had been through the same experience she was now going through. They knew what would be soothing and helpful. They could bring comfort and they could direct my wife to a posture that would be more effective for the baby. 

There was no fear in that room. There was work and anticipation. There was labor and excitement. There were experienced women helping my wife participate in a process that had been happening for thousands of years. There was a community of women helping to usher in life. 

It was a calm experience. Seemingly an antithetical word when one considers the very nature of labor, but the community made the environment a calm one. A calm one because they knew how life enters the world, they knew how contractions progress and how the tiredness slowly invades a mother's body. My wife and I did not know but they knew. And they were leading us in the process and we could trust them.

When the time had come to transfer, our community came with us. When I was praying en route, they were praying with us. When we went through intake and Leslie was issued a bed and an IV they did not leave us. Even though we had entered into the emergency medical environment, our community, that was helping welcome life, did not leave us. I felt shepherded.

My boy took an additional five hours in coming and our community never left. They were no longer in charge of the environment but they were, nonetheless, our support and help. Still our guide through the midst of uncertainty and exhaustion. They helped me welcome my boy to this place.

Epilogue

We met many many people in the hospital during our additional two days of stay, but we didn't feel surrounded in community. I didn't know the nurse that pushed my wife's wheelchair to the car. We drove home, uncertain how to do the right things to keep a child fed and breathing. 

The next day, our midwives came to our house to check in on Sennett and his tired parents. There was a knock on the door and I opened it to the two of them. I burst into tears. These were not just our caregivers. They were our friends. They were our community.

Prayer For My Boy

Giver of life and giver of grace, you have given me both in the form of this little boy. 

Such fragility, such beauty. 

You are creator and maker, knitting together the human form. 

Strengthen my hands to carry him and my mind to teach him. 

Save his little heart quickly and decisively that he may only be familiar with a journey toward the kingdom. 

While he shares much with me, spare him my brokenness. He will have his own to deal with and my burdens are too heavy. 

Show him your saving grace is lifting and that your salvation is light and full of joy. 

As his name describes, let him be one who is wise, fearing the Lord as the beginning of his understanding. Let him be a leader wisely leading sojourners from the eastern valley (that is away from eden) back to the garden that is a city where you dwell. 

May he always crave his future home and all his actions voice his longings. 

May his reflection be that of his Father for all to see. 

       Sennett Aeric Estep

       One who is wise, Leader, Dweller in the Eastern Valley

Messy Democracy

The other day I attended, with my wife, my first Neighborhood Association meeting. It was a fascinating experience. It was, at the same time, an effective practice of democracy and one one the most inefficient meetings I have attended.

The meeting took place a couple days before Christmas so it was attended by, what I can only assume, are the die hards of local involvement. All of them, except for two council observers, lived in my neighborhood and had deep seated ideas about what should happen in our neighborhood. 

We spent two hours deciding which 7 goals we should send to the City Council to represent the views and concerns of our neighborhood. The surprising part is that the 7 goals we ended on were already written down at the beginning of the meeting. We just sorted them. Two hours of sorting. 

While part of me was amazed at the slowness of consensus another part of me came to conclude that I was observing people that loved their neighborhood. LOVED their neighborhood. One could deride this care but I was looking at them as examples. I speak about the fact that, as disciples, we should love our neighborhoods but they were doing it. They were showing up to long meetings and working to ensure the parks and streets children play on are safe and maintained. They were trying to ensure that abandoned buildings and neglected streets were not forgotten. They were loving their city and its citizens.

Often times the care for the neighborhood each of these people had collided with the others. Different emphasis and different values. This caused longer conversation and a few misunderstandings and not a few tangents in topic. While this created a long endeavor, it only goes to show that these people were invested.

While inefficiency seems evident at this point, I think the effectiveness of the meeting should be lauded. In all its messiness, this was a perfect example of democracy in action. Any member of the neighborhood could have attended and voted at this meeting (We did and it was our first time). At this meeting, concerns and values were sifted through and everyone inputed. After 2 hours of disorganized talk, and many tangents, we arrived at a sorted list and all voted in agreement that these were the goals that would be sent to the Council. I was at the base level of democracy and it was fascinating. This sifting happens all the way up the government ladder. Neighborhoods influencing cities. Cities influencing counties. Counties and districts influencing states. States influencing a nation. 

While there is undoubtedly more efficient ways to govern there is not a more effective way to included everyone who is working to love their neighborhood.

Staying in the Middle

This is my third blog. All have been titled Musings from the Tent and all of them seem to have an ambiguity to them. I often say things like, "It struck me that...", "it seems to me that...", "perhaps it is more like..."

I realize this is out of a desire to not offend. But it also creates communication that is less clear or less persuasive. I undoubtedly have firm opinions about many things and welcome level-headed conversation about disagreements and different view points. 

From here on I am going to seek to write more pointedly, and hopefully not more polemically. And... I will leave the comment box on. If you disagree or want to point out a different idea or source let's talk about it. And, maybe, through conversation we can both learn and become more mature people than we were when we started.