Robert Samuelson of the Washington Post writes on " three familiar mega-trends lie at the core of America’s political and social stalemate."
Love is long-suffering
““Love suffereth long,” or is longsuffering. If thou love thy neighbour for God’s sake, thou wilt bear long with his infirmities: If he want wisdom, thou wilt pity and not despise him: If he be in error, thou wilt mildly endeavour to recover him, without any sharpness or reproach: If he be overtaken in a fault, thou wilt labour to restore him in the spirit of meekness: And if, haply, that cannot be done soon, thou wilt have patience with him; if God, peradventure, may bring him, at length to the knowledge and love of the truth. In all provocations, either from the weakness or malice of men, thou wilt show thyself a pattern of gentleness and meekness; and, be they ever so often repeated, wilt not be overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good. Let no man deceive you with vain words: He who is not thus long-suffering, hath not love.”
John Wesley on Predestination
“Our blessed Lord does indisputably command and invite “all men everywhere to repent” [Acts 17:30]. He calleth all. He sends his ambassadors, in his name, “to preach the gospel to every creature” [Mk. 16:15]. He himself “preached deliverance to the captives” [Lk. 4:18], without any hint of restriction or limitation. But now, in what manner do you represent him while he is employed in this work? You suppose him to be standing at the prison doors, having the keys thereof in his hands, and to be continually inviting the prisoners to come forth, commanding them to accept of that invitation, urging every motive which can possible induce them to comply with that command; adding the most precious promises, if they obey; the most dreadful threatenings, if they obey not. And all this time you suppose him to be unalterably determined in himself never to open the doors for them, even while he is crying, “Come ye, come ye, from that evil place. For why will ye die, O house of Israel” [cf. Ezek. 18:31]? “Why” (might one of them reply), “Because we cannot help it. We cannot help ourselves, and thou wilt not help us. It is not in our power to break the gates of brass [cf. Ps. 107:16], and it is not thy pleasure to open them. Why will we die? We must die, because it is not thy will to save us.” Alas, my brethren, what kind of sincerity is this which you ascribe to God our Saviour?”
Leaving a legacy
Surfing YouTube the other night (come on, admit it. you do sometimes too), I came across a video that brought back fond memories.
It was 1984. I was a senior in high school at the time, and was watching tv one evening when a commercial for the United Negro College Fund was aired. The commercial was sung and narrated by a black woman named Leontyne Price. I had no idea who she was, and her style was very different from anything I had ever heard on the radio, around the house, or at church. It was unmistakably operatic.
Photo by Jack Mitchell
I was stunned. I remember walking into the kitchen where my folks were talking and asked, "Hey, who is Leontyne Price and what is she known for?" My parents had no idea who she was either, to which I replied, "Well, I don't know who she is either, but boy howdy that woman can sing!"
In the coming years I would learn much more about Price's career and contributions to music. It was my delight to be able to hear her in recital several times. My wife and I last heard her at her farewell recital at the San Francisco Opera house in 1994, if I recall correctly. Her lower register had become a bit husky by that stage in her career, but anything in the middle through top of her range was simply astounding in beauty.
As much as for the beauty of her voice, Leontyne Price should be remembered for her dedication to leaving a legacy. A winner of 19 Grammy awards, the National Medal of Arts, a Kennedy Center Honor for lifetime achievement in the performing arts, and the National Medal of Freedom, to mention but a few, she was also the first African American to sing a leading role at the La Scala, the premier Italian opera house in Milan.
Price was also the first African American to appear in a leading role in a televised opera. This occurred during the 1950s when bigotry and racism against African Americans were still openly expressed and tolerated. Because of the color of her skin, multiple NBC affiliates boycotted the performances, refusing to show them in their broadcast markets.
Miss Price was a frequent recitalist and concert soloist throughout America and Europe. In the 1950s-70s, long before there were "The Three Tenors," Charlotte Church, Josh Groban, or Andrea Bocelli, there was Leontyne, a true operatic superstar.
She leveraged that stardom on others' behalf everywhere she could. In the south of the 1950s, where tickets were sometimes not sold to blacks, or seating was sold on a segregated basis, she absolutely refused to perform at any venue which did not operate with equal access to all regardless of the color of their skin. Because of her popularity, venues had no choice but to change their mode of operation where she was contracted to appear, or they didn't get the contract.
In later years she became a counselor and advisor to many of the great singers who followed her. Renee Fleming, Kathleen Battle, Denise Graves, Jessye Norman, Leona Mitchell, and Barbara Bonney have all spoken of how encouraging and inspiring Miss Price was during their careers. She has worked with students in conservatory masterclasses around the world, and became recognized not just as a world class singer but also as a world class teacher.
Leontyne Price could've been like so many performing artists today, like so many successful people today in general. She could have luxuriated in her substantial earnings, lived opulently, and basked in the rosy warm glow of the adulation of thousands. She chose something different.
Leontyne Price chose from the beginning to be the kind of person who gives back to others. She chose to use her talent, her influence, and her connections to make a difference in the lives of young singers and especially enjoyed her work with young students from disadvantaged backgrounds. In that, more importantly than her discography, she remains an inspiration and an example to others.
Opera Friday
Because if there isn't any such thing as Opera Friday, there should be.
While on the subject of Pavarotti's signature aria, Nessun Dorma, does anyone else remember the year he was supposed to sing at the Grammy's but cancelled at the last minute due to illness? R&B legend Aretha Franklin went on in his place with only a very short, single rehearsal with the orchestra. Some called it an abomination, some called it camp. I thought it had a certain greatness.
Friday blessing for my law enforcement friends
Blessing
May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you,
wherever He may send you.
May He guide you through the wilderness,
protect you through the storm.
May He bring you home rejoicing
at the wonders He has shown you.
May He bring you home rejoicing
once again into our doors.In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Celtic Prayer of the Northumbria Community
Blessing or doom?
Stephen Wilkes for The New York Times; Woolly Mammoth, Royal BC Museum, Victoria, British Columbia
The New York Times has a fascinating article about the possibility of restoring extinct animals to existence and in sufficient numbers to create breeding populations. I'm of two minds about it all. On the one hand, how amazing and wonderful would it be to again see passenger pigeons, dodos, great auks, or mammoth? On the other hand, as a life-long science fiction nerd I know exactly where that inevitable leads--Ragnarok!
Stephen Wilkes for The New York Times. Passenger pigeon, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University.
Joe Carter on Christians in favor of state coercion
Joe Carter has written two well-reasoned pieces, here and here, on the strange spectacle of Christians (notably Powers and Merritt) in favor of the government coercing Christians to violate their religious beliefs and use their artistic skills and gifts at same-sex "weddings."
Carter's argument is powerful and worthy of consideration. I especially liked his caution of where consistent application of Powers and Merritt's views could well lead us:
Please stop arguing that Christians should be forced to violate their conscience unless you are willing to be consistent in its application. On this issue, what our culture accepts cannot be used as the standard. Fifty years ago, racism was tolerated while sexual sins were publicly denounced. Today, the situation is reversed. Many Christians (surprisingly, even some Anabaptists) are now willing to argue (or at least imply) that the state should be able to force Christians to serve at celebrations of sexual sin. Yet, these same people will likely balk at claiming that we should be forced to serve celebrations of racial sin.
If, like the Pharisees, you want to bind the conscience of all believers to a standard that is difficult, if not impossible, to support by Scripture, the least you can do is to argue for its broad application. Tell us that the white baker is not only obligated to serve a same-sex wedding but that the African-American baker is obligated to bake a cake for the Aryan Nation's national convention.
If you want us to follow your legalistic argument, then at least have the courage to follow it to all its logical implications.
Absent fathers
Lois M. Collins and Marjorie Cortez report in The Atlantic,
More than half of babies of mothers under 30 are born to unmarried parents. The divorce rate among those who do marry exceeds 40 percent, according to the 2012 State of Our Unions report.
These statistics play out most often in the form of absent fathers—or the arrival and departure of serial father figures involved in romantic relationships with a child’s mother. (Moms still usually retain custody in a breakup or divorce.) Twenty-four million American children—one in three—are growing up in homes without their biological fathers, the 2011 Census says. Children in father-absent homes, it notes, are almost four times more likely to be poor.
This national epidemic of absent fathers, whatever its myriad causes, is a tragedy. When it happens among Christian men who ought to behave differently it also becomes a scandal.
“There is nothing terribly difficult in the Bible - at least in a technical way. The Bible is written in street language, common language. Most of it was oral and spoken to illiterate people. They were the first ones to receive it. So when we make everything academic, we lose something.”