The sun breaks through

by chuckofish

I have seen the sun break through
to illuminate a small field
for a while, and gone my way
and forgotten it. But that was the pearl
of great price, the one field that had
the treasure in it. I realize now
that I must give all that I have
to possess it. Life is not hurrying

on to a receding future, nor hankering after
an imagined past. It is the turning
aside like Moses to the miracle
of the lit bush, to a brightness
that seemed as transitory as your youth
once, but is the eternity that awaits you.

“A Bright Field” by R. S. Thomas (1913–2000) 

The painting is by Jacob Van Ruisdael – “View of Haarlem from the North West with the Bleaching Fields in the Foreground” c.1670-1675.

P.S. This is a wonderful response to the Michigan State University shooting by Kevin DeYoung. “As long as there is sin and suffering in the world the gospel will be relevant. Is there more hostility to authentic biblical Christianity than a few decades ago? Probably. But people are still people. They don’t want to be scared, and they don’t want to die. They need forgiveness, they need comfort, they need hope. They need Jesus.”

And Brett McCracken makes a good point here: “In a twist Salvador Dalí and Luis Buñuel likely never saw coming, the avant-garde has, in the 21st century, become middlebrow ennui. Subversion has scaled up like Starbucks, going stale in the process. This means “normal” starts to feel unexpectedly radical…In an age where amoral excess is the bland standard, disciplined restraint is the flavorful exception.”

Have a good day. Read some poetry. Think for yourself.