[lit-ideas] Re: Fw: Re: Lighting Fools: Reflections on an Image in Macbet...
- From: JimKandJulieB@xxxxxxx
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 4 Feb 2005 08:31:45 EST
"She was always good company -- a little heavy with the lipstick maybe, a
little less than choosy about men and booze, a little loud, but great at a
party
and always good for a laugh. Then the prophet Hosea came along wearing a
sandwich board that read 'The End Is at Hand' on one side and 'Watch Out' on
the other. The first time he asked her to marry him, she thought he was
kidding. The second time she knew he was serious but thought he was crazy.
The
third time she said yes. He wasn't exactly a swinger, but he had a kind face,
and he was generous, and he wasn't all that crazier than everybody else.
Besides, any fool could see he loved her. Give or take a little, she even
loved him back for a while and they had three children whom Hosea named with
queer names like
Not-pitied-for-God-will-no-longer-pity-Israel-now-that-it's-gone-to-the-dogs so
that every time the roll was called at school, Hosea would be
scoring a prophetic bullseye in absentia. But everybody could see the
marriage wasn't going to last, and it didn't. While Hosea was off hitting the
sawdust trail, Gomer took to hitting as many night spots as she could squeeze
into a night, and any resemblance between her next batch of children and Hosea
was purely coincidental. It almost killed him, of course. Every time he
raised a hand to her, he burst into tears. Every time she raised one to him,
he was the one who ended up apologizing. He tried locking her out of the
house a few times when she wasn't in by five in the morning, but he always
opened
the door when she finally showed up and helped get her to bed if she
couldn't see straight enough to get there herself. Then one day she didn't
show up
at all. He swore that this time he was through with her for keeps, but of
course he wasn't. When he finally found her, she was lying passed out in a
highly specialized establishment located above an adult bookstore, and he had
to
pay the management plenty to let her out of her contract. She'd lost her
front teeth and picked up some scars you had to see to believe, but Hosea had
her back again and that seemed to be all that mattered. He changed his
sandwich board to read 'God Is Love' on one side and 'There's No End to It' on
the
other, and when he stood on the street corner belting out
How can I give you up, O Ephraim!
How can I hand you over, O Israel!
For I am God and not man,
The Holy One in your midst
(Hosea 11:8-9)
nobody can say how many converts he made, but one thing that's for sure is
that, including Gomer's there was seldom a dry eye in the house.
(Hosea 1-3, 11)"
"Peculiar Treasures", Frederick Buechner
Julie Krueger
========Original Message========
Subj: [lit-ideas] Re: Fw: Re: Lighting Fools: Reflections on an Image in
Macbet... Date: 2/4/05 7:02:40 A.M. Central Standard Time From:
_aamago@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx (mailto:aamago@xxxxxxxxxxxxx) To:
_lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
(mailto:lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx) , _lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
(mailto:lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx) Sent on:
-----Original Message-----
From: JimKandJulieB@xxxxxxx
Sent: Feb 3, 2005 10:09 PM
To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [lit-ideas] Re: Fw: Re: Lighting Fools: Reflections on an Image in
Macbet...
The God of the Old Testament needs to be understood with some semblance of
cultural contextualization, a nod at least to genres, and mitigated by
Hosea.
A.A. Amen. I'm all ears. Fire away.
Andy Amago
Julie Krueger
========Original Message======== Subj: [lit-ideas] Re: Fw: Re: Lighting
Fools: Reflections on an Image in Macbeth's "Tomorrow" Soliloquy Date:
2/3/05 9:07:57 P.M. Central Standard Time From: _aamago@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
(mailto:aamago@xxxxxxxxxxxxx) To: _lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
(mailto:lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx) , _lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
(mailto:lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx) Sent on:
-----Original Message-----
From: Robert Paul <Robert.Paul@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Feb 3, 2005 4:35 PM
To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [lit-ideas] Re: Fw: Re: Lighting Fools: Reflections on an Image in
Macbeth's "Tomorrow" Soliloquy
On His Blindness
When I consider how my light is spent
E're half my days, in this dark world and wide,
And that one Talent which is death to hide,
Lodg'd with me useless, though my Soul more bent
To serve therewith my Maker, and present
My true account, least he returning chide,
Doth God exact day-labour, light deny'd,
I fondly ask; But patience to prevent
That murmur, soon replies, God doth not need
Either man's work or his own gifts, who best
Bear his milde yoak, they serve him best, his State
Is Kingly. Thousands at his bidding speed
And post o're Land and Ocean without rest:
They also serve who only stand and waite.
A.A. His God is loving, accepting God who demands little. Certainly not
the God of the Old Testament.
Andy Amago
------------------------------------------------------
Robert Paul
The Reed Institute
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