The Rabbit Room

Thank you so much for this. Eric for making the art in the first place and taking the time to stop and notice the random and easily overlooked objects that make up so much of the background of life and letting them have their moment to be seen, and Shige (sorry I don’t know how to put the accent mark…but I know it should be there) for calling attention to what he did and the beauty and importance of the overlooked and forgotten things that tend to blend in. Since my life this week has been incredibly grey (lots of pain…little interest, nothing meaningful happening that I have noticed..not literal grey) this is a very timely review….it inspires me to look again more carefully. If I am able to pay attention there will be beauty even in the monotony, subtle beauty is still beauty. Thanks to you both for the reminder.

Three cheers to all of this. I’m so grateful for the Rabbit Room, and for this vision of membership.

All true, and beautifully written.

As AP says during the BTLOG show after reading Scripture, “This is the Word of the Lord.” Thanks be to God.

Luke 9: The Samaritans “did not receive him…And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, ‘Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?’ But He turned and rebuked them, and said, ‘You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.’ And they went to another village.”

2 Corinthians 5: “For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again. Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

That said, there is a time to use force.

The timing of this post feels a little uncanny. It was just two or three days ago I was musing on the original “Battle Hymn,” on these same concerns you laid out here. I’m not even sure what got me thinking about it, who knows when I even last heard that song, which I grew up with. But something brought it to mind, and for the first time I realized how at odds the militant tone is with the one that Jesus usually took. Suddenly this song, this relic of my church upbringing, was disturbing to me. That last verse’s identification of the soldier’s death in battle with Christ’s death for us is just chilling.

And now, a couple days later, I find this piece, and you’ve not only affirmed all those thoughts and gone beyond them, you brought the gift of Assad’s answer, which I didn’t know about till now. Thank you! Jesus showed us that humble hearts willing to suffer in love are victorious even over marching ranks and swift swords.