The Soul of Friendship

As you live your life, do you want to be accompanied by God?  Throughout the day, do you want to enjoy a sense of his presence?  In Philippians 4:8-9, Saint Paul writes that if we do two simple things, “the God of peace will be with us.”

(Please note:  the two things are simple, not easy.   There’s a difference.  Easy implies that there is little or no real effort involved.  Simple things can be very difficult, even though they do not involve a lot of complexity.  Solving a quadratic equation is neither simple nor easy.  (At least, for me.)  Hoisting 200 lbs. over your head is simple, but its not easy.  On the other hand, folding a piece of paper is both simple and easy.   You get my point?)

Okay, so what are the two simple things we can do, so that “the God of peace will be with [us]?
(more…)

In George MacDonald’s great fairy tale The Princess and the Goblin, Princess Irene’s friend Curdie wards off the goblins with a simple practice:  he recites rhymes.  Curdie’s sing-song words strike the evil creatures like a  flurry of swords and they flea from his presence.

Admirers of MacDonald’s story know that it is more than a fairy tale.  The author (whose works inspired a certain atheist named Clive Staples Lewis to consider whether the experience of joy and wonder might be evidence of a Creator) intended to enchant his  readers, young and old, with a captivating moral truth:  though life is fraught with trouble, we can find safety in God’s love.

It has been eighteen years since I read The Princess and the Goblin in my Modern Mythology class at Wheaton College.  But the lesson that goblins are repelled by reciting rhymes has stayed with me.  And I thought of it as I sat down to read Philippians 4:4-7 and heard Saint Paul’s triumphant cry echo in my heart:

“Rejoice in the Lord always!  I will say it again:  rejoice!”
(more…)

At one time, I might have been confused—or even offended—by Saint Paul’s words in Philippians 3:17-21. But now that I’m a Catholic, I’ll give the apostle to the gentiles a good ‘ol fashioned baptist ‘Amen!’ Because he shares a strategy for holiness that my Protestant brethren—if they really thought about it—might find utterly scandalous. What is that strategy?

Focus on someone other than Jesus.
(more…)

During my sophomore year at Wheaton College, my roommate Erin Ahnfeldt had to write a paper for his Literature of the Western World class.  Writing papers did not come easily or quickly for Erin, who often stayed up pulling all-nighters to finish his assignments.  But what Erin lacked in speed, he surely made up for in discipline and diligence.

That night, I went to sleep around 10:30 p.m. as Erin had just begun composing the first paragraph of his fifteen page paper.  Throughout the night, I would wake up from time-to-time, hear his now-obsolete and outdated Smith-Corona electronic word processor beep, chirp, and hum as he methodically, but slowly pounded out his paper, and I’d check in with him:

“How’s it going, Erin?”  I’d ask.

“Alright,” he’d answer with a sigh.  “I’m on page 7.”

As the night passed into the wee small hours of the morning, Erin became more and more exhausted; his face ashen, his eyes bloodshot.

As the sun began to rise over the western suburbs of Chicago, and its rays began to flood our dormroom, I woke up to hear Erin let out a huge sigh and I heard him say, “Finally.”

But then, something strange:

I heard the flip of a switch.  A click.  And a word processor powering down.

There was a pause.  Silence.

“Oh, no,”  Erin said.  “Oh no oh no oh no.”

Erin?

“Oh.  No.”
(more…)

I’m not ashamed to admit it.  I’m a fan of Anne of Green Gables.  And I thought of that story when I read Saint Paul’s words in Philippians 3:1-10.

Both Anne of Green Gables and Anne of Avonlea tell the story of how a precocious orphan with red hair named Anne Shirley came to be adopted by Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert, a brother and sister in their fifties who live together at Green Gables, a farm in Avonlea on Prince Edward Island in Canada.  Anne is bright, quirky, and extremely imaginative.  And she has a way of getting herself in trouble.

Anne of Green Gables recounts Anne’s adventures in the country school and in the local community.  She excels in her studies, aspires to be a great author and English professor, and dreams of traveling the world.  In the meantime, though, she maintains a fierce rivalry with Gilbert Blythe, whom she “hates” because on the first day of school, he teased her about her red hair.  By the end of the first book, however, her anger subsides and the two become friends.

Anne of Avonlea is where the plot really gets good.  After graduating from high school, Anne begins teaching at Avonlea school.  Soon after, she attends Redmond College, where she excels in academics and is courted by the darkly handsome Roy Gardner.  By this time, Gilbert Blythe has professed his love for Anne:

Anne Shirley: You just think that you love me.

Gilbert Blythe: Anne, I’ve loved you as long as I can remember. I need you.

He has always love her, but she does not recognize her closeness to Gilbert as love.  She rejects him ultimately because her vision of love is rooted deeply in sentimental fantasy and feelings.  And her aspirations and ambitions keep her from recognizing what she has in Gilbert.

After Gilbert falls deathly ill with typhoid fever, however, Anne finally wakes up.  Thankfully, Gilbert recovers.  And in a scene that causes me to pump my fists and cheer, Gilbert’s persistent love finally pays off:

Gilbert Blythe: It’ll be three years before I finish medical school. Even then there won’t be any diamond sunbursts or marble halls.

Anne Shirley: I don’t want diamond sunbursts, or marble halls. I just want you.
(more…)

Who would you award the Heisman Trophy if the criteria included humility, servanthood, and holiness?

For those of you who don’t know, the Heisman Trophy is awarded annually to the player deemed to be the most outstanding player in collegiate football.  Past recipients include Roger Staubach, Tony Dorsett, Bo Jackson, and Barry Sanders.  More recently, winners include Eric Crouch, Carson Palmer, Sam Bradford, and of course, Tim Tebow.

It goes without saying that winners of the Heisman Trophy must be athletic.  They must excel in running, passing, or catching—or, more likely, a combination of all three.

College football is not unique in its commitment to giving awards.  Nearly every group or sub-group in society has its own system for recognizing excellence.  We all know about the Nobel Peace Prize that the Swedes and the international community bequeaths upon the person who “shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity among nations.”  And we know about the Pulitzer Prize given for achievement in newspaper, online journalism, literature, and musical composition.  But have you ever heard of the Carl E. Akeley Award, given for excellence and achievement in taxidermy?  Or the Kor Memorial Scholarship granted by…the Klingon Language Institute?  (One must not be fluent in Worf’s native tongue, but you certainly have to be a Star Trek fan.)
(more…)