Wednesday, February 11, 2004

Do you ever wonder, gentle reader, about moments of greatness? I don’t have a solid definition for you, obviously, but certain flashes of history seem exemplary: when Spenser first wrapped meter to thought and knew something worked; when Bill decided to drop out and craft the very piece of software through which we’re talking; when Elgar hummed a few snatches of his latest work on his way home.

These moments also play out in sermons well crafted, arguments resolved, love returned–all those quiet little pauses. When the moment comes, does dinner taste different? Do people laugh more easily? Does the weather seem warmer? And when the moment passes, what then? What will you find as seas monotonous roil heartily around you, swallowing and spitting out your sailboat with an honest fury? Question after question after question, like exclamation marks bent over in anticipation.