Tehachapi News

It was a point well made by Richard Harris in the film “Unforgiven,” that while shooting an American President did not take all that much of exceptional fortitude the gun would tremble in the hand of a would-be assassin being overwhelmed when faced with the awesome royalty of a true monarch. A president is only a man but a king or queen; ah, as Harris noted that is quite something else.

One of my favorite hymns is “How Great Thou Art,” and it comes readily to mind when viewing the stars reminding of the awe the Psalmist expressed when he considered the heavens. But unlike the awe one might have for some unapproachable earthly monarch, when I consider the heavens and the works of God there is a feeling of kinship with the Lord and Creator of the universe and one that affirms my belief “this world is not my home, I’m only passing through.”

Of course it’s only natural at my age to start hearing the flutter of angels’ wings and start singing “Swing low sweet chariot” or “Take my hand precious Lord.” But so long as I still have my faculties I continue to be impressed by the majesty of Creation and take a great interest in this as well as the often lunatic antics of my fellow creatures here on earth.

After all, the only thing any of us have in these mortal bodies is “now” and that too quickly becomes the past. It was only a few ticks of the clock ago that I was a child enjoying all the strength of youth and now suddenly as though by some trick of Legerdemain I’m old. How was it possible such a thing should have overtaken me so unawares? Alas, neither I nor any of my companion oldsters have come up with an answer to that question. All we know is time seems to pass all too quickly, and the present moment together with memories of the past is all we have, and as Jesus pointed out the evil of the day is sufficient so I’m not as inclined as I was as a youth to give my strength to an uncertain tomorrow. I fret enough just rolling out of bed in the mornings now to face another day. As Bette Davis so well said “Getting old is not for sissies.”

As to the news of the day, Thoreau had a few well-chosen words on that topic: “Sham and delusions are esteemed for soundest truths, while reality is fabulous… petty fears and petty pleasures are but the shadow of the reality.” And just how “real” are the pretentions of those that seek the leadership of America, not to mention all the things so many people seem to believe important to their lives that will only pass away as though of no account and the people are often left wondering why they ever thought such things important.

Henry recounts the story of an oriental messenger when asked about the news from his master told a philosopher “My master desires to diminish the number of his faults, but he cannot come to the end of them” and elicited the response from the philosopher “What a worthy messenger! What a worthy messenger!”

While I feel a kinship as a child of God there is no denying the majesty of the Creator and have concluded I have no questions for God, but am of a mind as the old hymn “Farther along we'll know more about it, farther along we'll understand why; cheer up my brother live in the sunshine, we'll understand it all by and by.”

As master of myself in this mortal body I can do no better than that messenger’s reply about his master, attempting to diminish the number of my faults but unable to come to the end of them. But as a child of God, it isn’t the faults that will condemn me because love, especially in a family, covers a multitude of sins. I believe Jesus was a man possessed of much insight about God, and his comments about a “heavenly father” belies any theology that teaches we are under the rule of some wrathful tyrant.

There is supreme majesty about God as I believe, something no earthly ruler can begin to approach. But notwithstanding such majesty it is our relationship as children in the family of God that matters, and we are not required to kneel before some potentate consumed with a sense of their self-importance. Children are not required to do so of earthly parents, and I don’t believe God either wants or demands this of his children. However, this is my view of what family represents though it differs from some cultures and certainly differs from many religious views. And unlike the despots and tyrants of this evil world system there is a unique majesty to God that invites us to take part as family not servants.