Weekend Update 1/16

Rejoicing in “the fundamental givenness of creation”

That’s a photo of all of us down at Twin Lakes Park this past weekend; we were offering the Outdoor Blessing of the Waters along with our sister community, St Mary’s Romanian Orthodox parish.

The quotation is from a fine writer, Jeffrey Bilbro, who was commenting on the work of still another fine writer, Wendell Berry. Here’s the full quotation:

Properly attended to, creation acts, not as a mirror of our desires, but, rather, as a window through which we attend to the Creator and are seen by him. It is this fundamental givenness of creation that calls for an iconic mode of perception. Rather than reducing other creatures to the limits of our conceptual framework or the scope of our desires, we should stand before this unforeseeable gift of others, attempting to receive their being in its fullness. (Virtues of Renewal: Wendell Berry’s Sustainable Forms, p 32)

Mr. Bilbro does a great job of expressing what we were doing out at the lake: by attending to that creature in the fullness of its being, we were also placing ourselves before the Most Holy Trinity, and all of us were seen by the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Transcending the “limits of our conceptual framework”

I also thought about Mr. Bilbro’s observations when I was reading the report about St Eanswythe’s Waterway that our dear friend, Dr. Andrew Richardson, shared with us. Because the story that has come down to us about the waterway is that our Kentish Holy Woman somehow made water run uphill.

Of course, water doesn’t run uphill. We all know that.

But when we spend significant amounts of time doing what we did this past Sunday—interacting with the “unforeseeable gift of others”—then the limits of what we think we know start to shift. And when we are willing to let our fellow creatures be as open to the Most Holy Trinity as we would like to be, we begin to realize that “being in its fullness” contains all sorts of possibilities.

Acquiring “an iconic mode of perception”

Of course, looking at the world—and everyone in it—in that way requires lots and lots and lots of practice. That’s one important reason why we Orthodox spend so much time in the Divine Services.

But since all of us also have families and jobs and Stuff that has to be done, we here at Come See Something Beautiful want to provide you with other opportunities to learn that “iconic” way of looking at this creation.

And what better way than to look over the shoulder of a master iconographer as he goes about his work?

We’ve already shared with you a video from our friend and colleague, Martin Earle (Christ in Glory carving). The video that is included with this post comes from our friend and fellow parishioner, Baker Galloway.

We are tremendously grateful to both Baker and Martin for allowing us to share in their work in this intimate and personal way. At CSSB, our hope is that you will watch these videos frequently, and that this world will become for you, a “window” by which you can see all the way into the Kingdom.

Responding to “this unforeseeable gift”

There’s lots of things you can do to express your gratitude for all the ways in which the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit draw us ever closer: you can pray for the sad looking person who is sitting in the car next to you at the stop light; you can feed a stray cat; you can visit your fellow parishioners who are in nursing homes—and check on their roommates, as well.

And you can support the work we’re doing in Cedar Park, Texas. Because, by building a temple, we are providing folks with an opportunity to experience, in a profound way, that “iconic mode of perception”. The amount of money we need to raise is going to test “the limits of our conceptual framework”, but with your prayers (Akathist: PDF/video) and your donations…

well, let’s just put it this way…

we’re gonna make some water run uphill.