Today we are joined by guest blogger Jack Deloyht, a parishioner at St. Stephen's
Everyone in Life After Life, with a couple of
egregious exceptions, is someone I’d like to meet. They are sympathetic
characters, of both wonderful and very human spirit. It would be interesting to
know if it is really like this in a senior living facility. (I am not there yet
but I suspect I ought to be.) I wonder if dying is like any of the instances
described between the main segments of the story. I will be there in time and I
suspect I’ll find out.
It is
interesting to follow the back stories of each person profiled in the story, no
matter how brief the segment given to a characterization. I feel as if pieces
of these histories belong to my life.
Everyone in
this novel moves to a new beginning, including those who die. There are also
one or maybe two instances where the new beginning portends an unsalutary
outcome. Each character travels there with personal conflicts, even when they
are barely aware of them. This has helped my understanding of a recasting of
the Lord’s Prayer presented by John Philip Newell in a wonderful little book
entitled Ground of All Being, which
has beautiful photographs of a Celtic Christian retreat center in New Mexico
accompanying each line.
Newell recasts “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil,” replacing it with “Do not forsake us in our time of conflict, but lead us into new beginnings.” Reading Life After Life has given me insight as to why this recast may be a valuable and appropriate alternative version of the prayer.
Newell recasts “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil,” replacing it with “Do not forsake us in our time of conflict, but lead us into new beginnings.” Reading Life After Life has given me insight as to why this recast may be a valuable and appropriate alternative version of the prayer.
Editor’s
note: John Philip Newell, pictured above, is a frequent speaker here at St. Stephen's.The complete text of Newell’s contemporary version of The Lord’s Prayer
may be found below.
Ground of all being,Mother of life, Father of the universe,
Your name is sacred, beyond speaking.
May we know your presence,
may your longings be our longings in heart and in action.
May there be food for the human family today
and for the whole earth community.
Forgive us the falseness of what we have done
as we forgive those who are untrue to us.
Do not forsake us in our time of conflict
but lead us into new beginnings.
For the light of life, the vitality of life, and the glory of life are yours now and for ever.
Amen.
1 comment:
Thank you Jack, and thank you Gary on the Rector's page, for your wonderful comments about this book. I thought it was a terrific novel, which I had read even before it was chosen for the book blog (I am thrilled that Jill McCorkle is coming to speak). Three or four friends were not as enamored of the book as I was, and I noticed that no one seemed to be commenting on the book blog (including me--too timid). One friend I was positive would love the book gave up after 50 pages. So it was a joy to me to read Jack's comments and Gary's comments on the Rector's page. Thank you both.
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