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WS 717 “Bright and Glorious Is the Sky”

The creation account gives surprisingly little attention to the stars. It tells us that on the fourth day God made lights and placed them in the sky, but it calls our attention mostly to the sun and the moon. The stars almost seem to be just mentioned: “He made the stars also.” Yet the stars, too, are called God’s lights “set in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth.” (Genesis 1:16-17)

The stars in God’s creation have a prominent place in this Epiphany hymn by Nicolai F. S. Grundtvig (1783-1875). The stars in the night sky make it “bright and glorious.” They make the high heavens “radiant.” When God set them in the heavens, He made them so that their rays of light incline to the earth and “beckon us to heaven above.” They lift our thoughts from earthly things to God the Maker of all things.Read More »WS 717 “Bright and Glorious Is the Sky”

Resolutions Worthy of Resolve

COVER STORY – NEW YEAR

Sometimes more is less and less is more. Consider the word resolve. The word mostly conjures up positive images. To resolve is to make a firm commitment to fix a problem or to fill a deficiency. From the same Latin root comes our word resolute—also basically positive. Someone who is resolute is determined and focused. Yet it all seems to fall apart when we lengthen the word to resolution, especially when we add “New Year’s” to it. The whole concept of “resolve” and “resolute” just seems to fade to nothing when we talk about “New Year’s resolutions,” which are more like political promises than firm commitments. No one really expects anyone to actually keep New Year’s resolutions. There’s routinely no true resolve there. And sometimes that’s a good thing.

I once watched a bird try to fly into our living room. The little guy had way more resolve than intellect. The problem was the clean window that he just couldn’t seem to figure out. Over and over again he would throw himself at the window, only to be met each time with an invisible barrier and a sickening thud. From time to time he would pause as if to consider the prize, each time evidently determining that our living room was just about the greatest place he could imagine, and that entrance thereto was well worth the pain and effort.

The problem, of course, was more than just the window. Had the little guy actually achieved his goal, his life would have been instantly and immeasurably worse. We had no desire to have our living room redecorated in white. The window, which he no doubt regarded as his enemy and the source of his frustration, was actually his best friend.Read More »Resolutions Worthy of Resolve