Epics of the Shepherd King

 

“Every sane sort of history must begin with man as man, a thing standing absolute and alone. How he came there, or indeed how any thing else came there, is a thing for theologians and philosophers and scientists and not for historians. But an excellent test case of this isolation and mystery is the matter of the impulse of art” (Chesterson).

Origin stories, the first known pieces of written artistic expression, began with the creation of man. The unformed clay of man is sculpted into the divine image or imago dei of its creator and given life by one or more divine, immortal beings. Epic stories move within the framework of the creation narratives to illuminate the life of one or more heroes for the people to follow. Among those who preserved the creation and epic stories were the Babylonians and the Hebrews for whom the material and supernatural histories were indistinguishable. Although mystical elements reside inside these stories, they are the best records we have of the distant past. These earliest epic stories have served to set the foundation for the ancient Mesopotamian civilizations in their organization of people, their land, and their laws, and influenced how they chose their leaders. Oppressive leaders tended to rise to power, yet these epic narratives show that people longed for a shepherd king to guide them to an ultimate path of peace.

To read more click here.

Song of Songs| An Allegory of God's Gracious Love For His People

In a Biblical love story from long ago, written to celebrate the enduring affection of a pastoral king for his bride, could there be a deeper meaning? This is the question that I asked while reading through “Song of Songs” for my World Literature class this semester. We’ve analyzed the ancient Creation/Destruction stories, Epic stories, Romance/Realism stories, and Metaphysical/Speculative stories. 

Read more here.

Psalm 139| a personalized paraphrase

Psalm 139| a personalized paraphrase

by C.S. Griesë
 
You have investigated
everything about me;
You know it all, O Lord—
every single detail.
 
Even my resting and rising,
You understand,
all my routines and ways—
though You dwell in heaven.
 
Before I think of something
wise or foolish to say,
You know all my utterances
and the reasons why I say them.
 
You are before and after me,
above time and space.
You surround and bless me—
with no beginning and no end.
 
Where can I escape your Spirit,
the constant companion beside me?
 
If I traveled to the outermost rim
of the undiscovered universe,
You would be there.
 
If I rested in the depths of the earth,
with heat, rock, and shadow,
You would be there.
 
If I could catapult from one end
of earth to the other,
In both those places,
Your guiding hand would find me.
 
If I lamented, “This pit is too dark,
too far from the goodness of God,”
You would brighten the darkness
with the light of Your goodness.
 
For You created my very essence
when the spark of light flashed
in my mother’s uterus—
and two genetic codes intertwined.
 
For the rest of the poem, click here.

Pandemic Pantoum| How Did We Survive?

Pandemic Pantoum| How Did We Survive?

by Chanda Singleton Griesë

The way forward is the way back
Car lines snaking around the park
To bring life and light to death and black
Waiting for their turn to toe the mark 

Car lines snaking around the park
Searching for ways to stop the spread
Waiting for their turn to toe the mark 
To not be counted among the dead 

Searching for ways to stop the spread
We all took sides, our family and friends
To not be counted among the dead 
Whatever precautions, it all depends

We all took sides, our family and friends
On differing points, we didn’t meet
Whatever precautions, it all depends
To reconcile was no small feat

On differing points, we didn’t meet
Some of our dearest friends were lost
To reconcile was no small feat
And we are still counting the cost

Some of our dearest friends were lost
After restrictions were lifted
And we’re still counting the cost
Our community had shifted...

read more here

Who is God?| How His Identity Shapes Mine

My heart goes out to teens who feel lonely and overwhelmingly confused, not knowing how to find their place in this world. At age 13, I only cared about school—making good grades, trying to make cool friends, and avoiding being bullied. Apparently, teens nowadays struggle with the same things but have exponentially more mental health issues. I wonder if it has something to do with our culture’s complete removal of the guardrails for identity (Sy Rogers speaks to this here and here). When I was in middle school, everyone was trying to figure out their identity by finding a sport, or a club, or a friend group they wanted to join. I wasn’t sporty, didn’t have transportation for afterschool clubs, and had trouble making friends. I felt pretty lost and alone.

In middle school, in my utter loneliness, one of my few friends shared with me something I’d never heard before—the gospel. She said that I needed to believe in Jesus to be saved. Her statement left me bewildered and confused. I did not have even the faintest clue what she was talking about.

I owned a Bible, but didn’t know how to read it. My grandmother at times, brought me to church with her, but I didn’t understand why Jesus was so special. I viewed the picture on the church wall of Jesus with a shepherd’s staff in one hand and a lamb on his shoulders. Why did people worship this Shepherd God? Why did they pray to Him?

On the night that my friend shared the gospel with me, the fear of God hit me. I couldn’t sleep. I was afraid of God’s immensity, his power, his holiness. Somehow I knew that if we missed up even once, we sinned and deserved to be punished for our sins. I didn’t want to be punished by a holy and powerful God. But at the same time, Jesus was the Shepherd God. He was gentle and welcomed children. How could Jesus, who is God, love me if I had sinned?

Jesus was gentle and welcoming but also holy and powerful. He never sinned. He calmed a storm with just his command. He healed people. He brought the dead to life. I didn’t know if Jesus would accept me, but if he did, I wanted to identify myself as a Christian. I found Bethany Baptist Church in the yellow pages who sent someone to pick up unchurched kids and teens in a little bus and brought them to Sunday School.

Every Sunday, I attended church, but the fear of God kept me from ever praying. I thought he would strike me dead for my sins if I tried to enter his presence in prayer. I was granted a scholarship to go to the church summer camp and the gospel was explained more clearly to me during the time of teaching. Jesus was the Lamb of God. He was the perfect sacrifice for the world’s sins. When he died on the cross, he died to pay for our sins. His resurrection proves that he was God and he was victorious. All I needed to do was trust in him.

My fears were alleviated. There was a way for me to be saved. Trust in Jesus. The last day of camp, I decided to pray for the first time in my life. I pictured the Shepherd God, Jesus, when he died on the cross for all the bad things that I had ever done or ever will do. He was my sacrifice and He lives forevermore. I identified with His death and resurrection for the payment of my sins and my new life in Him (2 Corinthians 5:21).

I identified as a Christian.

My loneliness was replaced with the felt presence of the ever-watchful Shepherd God who promises that He will never leave me nor forsake me (Hebrews 13:5).

My journey of knowing God and following Him has consisted of learning to study the Bible with with older, wiser brothers and sisters in Christ who have discipled me. Attending church in a large assembly has also been important. It is a picture of how life will be in eternity with the unity in diversity of worshipping Jesus.

Over the years, I’ve learned that Jesus is indeed the Shepherd God, but He has so many more names. He is God the Son. For our God is a triune God—God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Jesus brings us to the Father and we have received adoption through Him. The Holy Spirit awakened us to faith in God, dwells in our heart, and helps us to live as Christians (Ephesians 1:3-14).

Knowing the names of God helps me to know and understand who He is. Knowing His names helps me to envision His invisible attributes, to know what I can ask for in prayer, and to conceive how deserving Christ Jesus is of all my worship and devotion. He is God.

Last week, I shared 31 names that we’ve been given as followers of Christ. Today, I will share with you, dear readers, 31 Names of God in the Old Testament Hebrew and the New Testament Greek that I also meditate on and pray through each day of each month. I know that I am never alone and that a holy and powerful God has had mercy on me and called me His own.

Feel free to copy and print your own and meditate and contemplate the wonderful names of God.

A Fine Magpie| Who Names What She Sees #naturepoetry

 

A Fine Magpie
by Chanda Singleton Griesë

Some things are gray, others are pied
How comforting to know there is such a thing
as black-and-white—an objective "notion" that
doesn’t change like shifting shadows in culture wars
Art is good if it is beautiful, ordered, sublime
Good is true if it does what is right all the time
Truth is beautiful, for on its bars hangs the universe
not like the random throw of Yahtzee dice
nor the mimicry of the shiny magpie
whose pert words, cocks her head side-wise
while she parrots all she hears without
the knowledge that holds water
Now, there’s a fine kind of magpie
who knows enough to name
exactly what she sees

Stanzas|An Audio Rendering of the Classic Poem by Anne Brontë

Anne Brontë, as drawn by her sister, Charlotte

For my birthday this year, I wanted to do some things that stretched me. The first challenge presented itself at the county spelling bee for adults at my local library. Tragically (yes!), I only progressed to the second round. Apparently, quandary has two a's, not one.

Somehow the idea sprung into my head to contribute an audio-recording to librivox.org, a free online depository of audiobooks in the public domain. I had been reading through the Brontë sisters' classic novels, including Jane Eyre by the eldest sister, Charlotte, Wuthering Heights by Emily, the middle sister, and the lesser known, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by the youngest sister, Anne. I knew the sisters also composed poetry, so what better way to break into the audiobook scene by selecting a short poem to read? It just so happens that Anne Brontë's birthday is only a day away from mine, and her complete set of poems was in development. I chose a good-sized poem and learned the in's and out's of Audacity's software before submitting my best rendering, which you can find in the Librivox recording of Anne Brontë's Complete Poems collection here.

Stanzas 
by Anne Brontë

Oh, weep not, love! each tear that springs
In those dear eyes of thine,
To me a keener suffering brings
Than if they flowed from mine.

And do not droop! however drear
The fate awaiting thee;
For MY sake combat pain and care,
And cherish life for me!

I do not fear thy love will fail;
Thy faith is true, I know;
But, oh, my love! thy strength is frail
For such a life of woe.

Were 't not for this, I well could trace
(Though banished long from thee)
Life's rugged path, and boldly face
The storms that threaten me.

Fear not for me—I've steeled my mind
Sorrow and strife to greet;
Joy with my love I leave behind,
Care with my friends I meet.

A mother's sad reproachful eye,
A father's scowling brow—
But he may frown and she may sigh:
I will not break my vow!

I love my mother, I revere
My sire, but fear not me—
Believe that Death alone can tear
This faithful heart from thee.

Zerona, October 1, 1845