"Serenity is no longer wishing you had a different past."
That's a line from the movie 'Sound of Metal' we watched last week. I am still processing it. Great movie.
I'll come back to that in a bit, but first there's a continuation to the 'Brueggemann thing'. If you recall, last week I started reading an old book I had from Walter Brueggemann ("The Message of the Psalms"). I opened it on April 7, and stuck inside was the receipt from the day I'd bought it (and when we heard Brueggemann speak) on... April 7, 1997. Like that wasn't crazy enough...
Yesterday we were talking to our son. He informed us he'd recently gotten hired as an adjunct professor for the fall semester at Columbia Theological Seminary. Guess who was the long-time professor of Old Testament there? Yep, Walter B.! I didn't have the nerve to ask if he found this out on April 7th. :) By the way, the boy will be teaching Intro. to Ethics, while he continues to work on his Phd. At the moment he is TA-ing a course in Pastoral Care at Emory/Candler.
While we are extremely proud of both our kids, there was a bit of sadness this weekend. One of my cousins kids took his life. His mom found him in his apartment where he'd hung himself. I can't imagine the horror. Although, when I hear of a suicide I usually feel a sense of relief on behalf of the deceased. Their suffering has ended. Of this I am glad.
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So, back to the movie...
A main premise of the movie, and the deaf community where it takes place, is that deafness is not something to be fixed; it's not a handicap. As the counselor says, "We're looking for a solution to this (pointing to his head), not this (pointing to his ears)."
The counselor in the movie is trying to help Ruben come to grips with himself, by finding peace within. He challenges him to stop trying to fix himself... To be able to just sit, and be. At one point he says,
"I wonder, uh, all these mornings you've been sitting in my study, sitting, have you had any moments of stillness? Because you're right, Ruben. The world does keep moving, and it can be a damn cruel place. But for me, those moments of stillness, that place, that's the kingdom of God."
When I think about all the work my son is putting into his schooling, and all the work my daughter puts into raising her kids... Stuff like that makes me super proud as a parent... not because of what they've achieved, but because of who they are. That makes me feel good.
In contrast, I can only imagine how many times my cousin's son heard, "Why don't you get a job"... or "Why don't you do something with your life"... or "Why don't you make something of yourself"... And it's not that I knew him, but I've heard those things insinuated by others. And you wonder: did he know?
...
Sometimes we can spend so much time and effort searching for inner peace, when all the time it is right here within us. It's not something we can achieve, but only something we can realize. Can you "Be still"?
[to be continued... and it may or may not include Brueggemann]
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“The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” - Mark 1:15
1 comment:
Amen to all that.
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