Hello everyone,
In case you hadn’t heard1 there is a new documentary coming out about the 2004 Red Sox, Those Who Broke the Curse of the Bambino. I have seen one clip so far: the bit about the fight between Jason Varitek and ARod.
My commentary:
The Part Where There’s an Essay: It All Turns on…Imagination
In his Jefferson Lecture “It All Turns on Affection,” Wendell Berry defines imagination:
The sense of the verb ‘to imagine’ contains the full richness of the verb ‘to see.’ To imagine is to see most clearly, familiarly, and understandingly with the eyes, but also to see inwardly, with ‘the mind’s eye.’ It is to see, not passively, but with a force of vision and even with visionary force. To take it seriously we must give up any notion that imagination is disconnected from reality or truth or knowledge. It has nothing to do with clever imitation of appearances or with ‘dreaming up.’
I’ve written about imagination lots of times before (here’s one), but I was recently struck by another example of it in Scripture: the imagination of Joseph.
We are used to thinking of Joseph as a dreamer; he had visions and dreams all his life. His foresight about ruling over his brothers certainly didn’t help their resentment of his status as the favorite son. His interpretations of Pharoah’s dreams saved a great nation from famine. Notable though these occasions were, this was not imagination; Scripture is clear that these visions were sent by God for a purpose.
However, faith and imagination work in unison as Joseph gives instructions for his burial. He ought not to be buried in Egypt, he says; his bones should leave with the Israelites and be buried in the Promised Land (Genesis 50:25). Hebrews 11:22 calls this tremendous faith on Joseph’s part. Amidst all the righteous and faith-filled things Joseph did in his life, this alone is what he is commended for in the “Hall of Faith.”
Generations later, the Israelites honored his wishes (Exodus 13:19).
Consider for a moment the imagination—the “force of vision” as Mr. Berry would call it—required for Joseph to give these instructions. He was an official in the court of Pharoah and brought his family into the country late in his life. His generation would die; many Israelites would follow. One day, when the descendants of Jacob were seemingly everywhere in Egypt, a new king would arise, “one who did not know Joseph.”
You might know the story from there.
Consider also the faithfulness of the Israelites who passed this bit of their history down, even as they were enslaved. Even though he was raised in Pharoah’s court, by the time he was leading Israel out of Egypt, Moses knew the wishes of Joseph. He knew because of the faithful retelling of families. There would be a time, they imagined, when they would return to the land of their fathers. There would be a time when Joseph’s casket would come with them.
Joseph felt so strongly about this that he made his family swear an oath to him that they would do it. This was no unrealistic, preoccupied boy; this was a man taken with faith and foresight enabled by imagination.
For the Anglophiles
From Very British Problems, a real entry from Elton John’s diary:
Reads & Listens of the Week
I have enjoyed Alan Noble’s recent series on TS Eliot. The most recent entry is “How Must We Build? With a Sword and Trowel.”
My gardening guru, Julie Witmer, interviewed her husband, James D. Witmer, author of The Big Old Garden stories (and also our fearless leader over at Story Warren!). His children’s books are charming, and they’re inspired by the garden at Havenwood.
Sharon Says So has a new voting information tool right here. It’s uncluttered and easy to use. You can check your registration, look at what is on your ballot, and see deadlines for early and absentee voting.
On the response of local pastors to the tensions rising in Springfield, Ohio: “We do know in about five weeks the election is going to be over … and we’re going to be left trying to sew up the tears.”
I desired dragons with a profound desire. Of course, I in my timid body did not wish to have them in the neighborhood. —JRR Tolkien, on his childhood
Unless you are, like me, an attentive Red Sox fan, you probably hadn’t heard.
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