Look around. Even with the sun radiantly bright, our world
is dark.
How many years have humans considered themselves at the top
of the earthly chain of being? Science estimates homo sapiens have existed for
200,000 years. Creationists say we’ve been here, at most, 10,000 years.
That immediately introduces the first dimming shadow :: the
constant conflict between contrasting beliefs, whether based in science or in
religion.
Then we blink, and we’re onto another argument. Which
religion? Methodist? Presbyterian? Baptist? Orthodox? Lutheran? Catholic?
Muslim? Buddhist? Hindu? Shinto? And all the people I’ve offended because I
didn’t mention their religion.
Humans can argue about raising a family, budgeting for
expenses, politics, politicians, climate change, whether the change is cyclical
or anthropogenic, diet, exercise, sleep deprivation, big Pharma, vaccines,
green spaces, carbon footprints, and more and more and more and more.
That list barely grazes the debatable differences we have
with each other. Shadows upon shadows create a darkening world.
Then we remember cancer and other diseases, the bad health we
suffer from our own causes and the poisoning that the modern industrial world
causes. Drug abuse and depression and other psychical injuries can destroy our
interest in the world, damaging us as much as disease does. We haven’t even
touched upon digital addictions.
Count all of these shadows, and our world is dark.
What gives us light? What gives us Joy?
Hope. Promise. Unconditional love. Peace. All embodied in
Christ our Savior, the Light of the World.
Christ’s all-powerful light casts the darkness away.
“Christ whose glory fills the skies / Christ the Everlasting
Light / Son of Righteousness Arise / And triumph o’er these Shades of Night.
“Come, thou long awaited one, / In the fullness of your
love, / And loose this heart bound up by shame, /
And I will never be the same.
“So here I wait in hope of You / Oh my soul’s longing
through and through /Dayspring from on high be near / And daystar in my heart
appear.”
That is our Joy, the theme for this third week of Advent,
our third candle. Without Christ Jesus, we have no hope, no peace, and no joy.
Christ brings them all into our darkened world.
The Joy that overwhelms this week is represented by the
variety of Chrismons featuring crosses.
Christianity has many different versions of the cross: the
plain Latin cross, the Celtic Cross, the Papal Cross similar to the Cross of
Lorraine and the Russian Orthodox Cross, the Cross Pattee and the Maltese
Cross, the Macedonian Cross, and a new cross to me the Jerusalem Cross, which
is a square cross with four smaller crosses, each in a quadrant, representing
the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
These can all be Chrismons, but I want to highlight seven
other crosses for this Advent week.
First, the draped Passion Cross, which needs little
description, only that the drape is often purple, for Christ’s royalty. Then
the Victory Cross, which is a cross atop a golden globe, representing Christ as
ruler over the world. Third is the Jerusalem Cross, mentioned earlier, as well
as the Cross with an evergreen wreath, representing Christ’s everlasting and
eternal victory over sin and death. Fifth is the Celtic Cross. The Celts, the
first Christians in Britain, maintained a Christian presence in Britain through
pagan Viking domination and eventually won the pagans to salvation. Sixth is
the Fiery Cross. As the Burning Bush reminds of Old Testament Moses, the first
redeemer, the Fiery Cross points to Christ as the great and final redeemer who
gives us access to the holy ground of Heaven. Seventh and finally for this week
we have the Crowned Cross, for Christ is king. Jesus rules over all, from the
highest royalty to the lowest person, over all creation. He is our prophet, our
chief priest, and our king, and all power in heaven and earth has been given to
him, Matthew 28:18.
The Writing Connection of More
All of these crosses cover the spectrum of what we believe
about Christ. A full range of His life, His commission to us, our faith in him.
A spectrum is not just a catalog list but an abundance in
use throughout a work, so that it seems the writer intends an event to occur or
for a character to notice a sign or warning. The whole of the world within a
book has united, whether that is mystery or mystic, prophetic destiny or doom.
A spectrum can be a catalog when it’s a list of clements
dropped into a blog or any nonfiction work and in longer stories to show
options available, either offerings, plenty after famine, or a character’s
discernment when selecting.
One of the best stories that I’ve ever encountered to use
the spectrum is “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst. At the climax of the story,
a primary character is linked in multiple ways to the ibis of the title, but
many more birds occur in the story. (You can find the story online; it is a
wonderful teaching story for students and student writers.) One of the first
birds mentioned is a cardinal, a red bird which in a small way foreshadows the
connection of Doodle to the ibis. A pivotal early moment is crowned with the
statement “Hope no longer hid in the dark palmetto thicket but perched like a
cardinal in the lacy toothbrush tree.” An owl nesting in an unused coffin
stored in the barn loft represents wisdom that comes with death. As the climax
nears, a hurricane tears through the farm, described as a “hawk ripping at the
entrails of a chicken”. In the passage leading to the climax we see white
egrets of purity and the black crows of death. These are only a few of the
birds in the story, a wide spectrum that serve various purposes.
The spectrum of prophetic birds only becomes apparent when
we reflect on the story after the climax. The story is long enough (it takes
about an hour to read aloud) that the mention of birds only registers as we
finish. We walk away from the story only to have the characters and events,
theme and details haunt us. Over my years of teaching high school, I had
multiple students return years later to ask about the story so they could share
it with others.
All uses of spectrum should do that: create lingering
memory, from crosses that represent the joyful gift of a loving Christ to
dropped incidents of birds that become important in a single story’s message.
Next week will be our last post for the Advent season, with
the Advent Candle of Love. Until then, write on.
TIMINGS
00:00 Opening
00:40 Content
03:37 Chrismons
05:42 Writing Connection
08:48 Closing
Total Run Time = 9:48
LINKS
Video https://youtu.be/tNEFbTp5lC4
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