I am an avid reader of the New York Times. I have a
subscription on my Kindle and I read the Times most every day. Part of my
attraction to the New York Times, frankly, is their technology. On the Kindle,
the Times arrives electronically everyday before 5:00 a.m. and it is very easy
to read, easy to navigate, it is beautifully organized, and there are no ads.
Maybe more important, I like the New York Times because of the writing. The
writing of the New York Times is outstanding. I aspire to be a writer; and I
deeply admire good writing. I have this fantasy that maybe if I read good
writing I will be able to write good writing.
On August
31, last Saturday, there was an obituary on the Front Page of the Times for
Seamus Heaney. I had never heard of Seamus Heaney. Obviously, Mr. Heaney was
Irish. He was awarded the 1995 Nobel Prize for literature. Mr. Heaney was a
poet. In Ireland ,
Mr. Heaney, this article reported, achieved almost rock star like celebrity
because of his poetry which named the Irish predicament. Mr. Heaney has been
quoted in speechs by President Clinton and recently by Vice-President Biden
when he spoke after the Boston Marathon bombings.
Vice
President Biden used these verses from Mr. Heaney’s poem titled The Cure of
Troy:
History says, Don’t hope
On this side of the grave.
But then, once in a lifetime
The longed-for tidal wave
Of justice can rise up,
And hope and history rhyme.
Those words
jumped off the page, or I should say out of my Kindle, at me. Those words sent
me scurrying to my computer to google on Mr. Heaney and read more of his
poetry, and find out more about his life.
Hope and
History.
I have
thought a lot about hope and history. In our Presbytery, we are really good at
history. Our Great
Conewago Church Gettysburg Church
has that famous historical name “Gettysburg ”
front and center in its identity. History lives in our Gettysburg Church Big Spring Church in Newville is one of the oldest churches with
one of the oldest cemeteries in Cumberland
County Paxton Churches Derry Church ,
one of the oldest churches in Pennsylvania ,
has kept an authentic structure of an old Session house, protected under glass,
and now in their parking lot. This old structure is original and dates from the
1730s. During the summer, it is visited almost daily by the tourists that are
in town to visit Chocolate World and Hershey
Park
But what
about the other end of Mr. Heaney’s verse; what about hope. Hope, at times,
seems to be a challenge for us. What are we going to do about hope? What are we
going to do about the future? I imagine sadly that no new members will
enthusiastically get excited about joining the Gettysburg
Church because Lincoln sat there for an hour 150 years ago.
I imagine sadly that no new members will enthusiastically get excited about the
Great Conewago church because of the many civil war soldiers that were cared
for in this space. What are we going to do about hope? What are we going to do
about the future?
It was
reported that Mr. Heaney’s poetry, over his life time, helped heal the nation
of Ireland .
Really? Wow! How can poetry heal a nation? Is it possible for us, in these old
churches, to find a new hope? Is it possible for us in these old churches, to
claim our history in such a way that a glorious, bright new hope springs forth?
Is it possible for hope and history to rhyme.
Once again,
Seamus Heaney:
History says, Don’t hope
On this side of the grave.
But then, once in a lifetime
The longed-for tidal wave
Of justice can rise up,
And hope and history rhyme.
