Sunday, May 15, 2011

 

Sunday Reflection: Degas and God



I sometimes use the painting above when I teach. I love the Degas pictures it, and it reminds me of the humility I see in the best Christian lawyers (and, frankly, the best non-Christian lawyers, too, just as often).

The woman is pleased with the hat she is getting... she is going to go to a party or show, and people will compliment her on the great hat, and she will smile and say "Thank you!" Yet, she did not make the hat. She didn't even pick it out. The person who did is in the painting, in the upper left, but her face has no details; what good she does, she does in the shadows as the client is the focus. That shadowed figure... that is the lawyer at her best. When we do our best work, often no one knows it but ourselves, and others get the acclaim.

That humility, to me, has come to encompass the need to not feel that I control everything. There was a time when I tried to change things through force of will, but now I accept a more humble role where God is allowed in. For example, I worked for months to put together the trial of Christ at the Church of the Holy Comforter in Richmond. I thought that I would create something deep and meaningful, but what really happened was that I connected that church with Jeanne Bishop, who became a beloved and transformative force in that congregation. I did something well, though not the way that I thought, and that is all to the good.

When we control everything, plan every word, where could God possibly enter in? The confidence of that milliner, of the good lawyer, of the great preacher, is sometimes in those gaps, in trusting uncontrolled space which, perhaps, is already full beyond our wildest dreams. Vocation, love, faith... there is a way in which at their best they are all a trust fall: waiting that split second, falling, hoping for those arms to catch us, our heart to leap, and the world to change.

Comments:
Astonishing. And you are able to write like this on the road? Made me catch my breath. I have found that trying to be in control or trying to assume control,really trying to be God without his wisdom and perfect love slams you to the pavement at the speed of sound. And it is good,because only then can you look up to see Eyes full of Light and succor. The Impressionists are all about light. It floods their paintings. Going to Giverny is a holy pilgrimage. One is able to see the light that flooded the eyes of Monet,feel his presence,feel his joy. And this is what acknowledging the Light does for us.It is a light we cannot produce,but only channel,only bow to,only praise. Thank you for this meditation today.
 
I love this...
 
Mark, having witnessed all you did at Holy Comforter and how you had a profound impact on our parish, I am not quite sure what you are commenting about. You have me pulling at my graying beard on this one.

Nonetheless, among the many traits that I admire about you … I admire your humility, your support, and advocacy of others, and your willingness to put yourself out there … to engage challenging issues in the public forum. Jeanne: There is no real place for comparison here. There were several magical moments with Jeanne … in particular, a deeply moving one no one saw coming … naming her sister’s murderer. She is a hard act to follow, as well as to proceed. And so are you. Your hard work, your poignant reflections, and your willingness to stick your neck out and initiate all this … made it happen. We were gratuitously profiting from, and learning from, the way the Holy Spirit inspired you to conduct a trial and write a book while @ Baylor … and by extension to make us grapple with both the death penalty and our faith in troubling, deep, complex, meaningful, and enlightening ways. You did something more than well; you did something remarkable. Your sermon on the Transfiguration in March was blessing unto itself. BOTH you and Jeanne connected with our parish in deeply transformative ways.

Mark, without you …
 
CraigA: beautifully said....
Osler: See?!?!.....
 
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