Of Our Humanity and Inhumanity

While searching for poetry for the upcoming Spring program at SMS, I came upon some thought provoking pieces. I don't know the history behind them, but I thought I would share two that really caught my interest. Enjoy!

MAN'S INHUMANITY TO MAN

Many and sharp the numerous ills

Inwoven with our frame;

More pointed still, we make ourselves

Regret, remorse and shame;

And man, show heaven-erected face

The smiles of love adorn,

Man's inhumanity to man,

Makes countless thousands mourn.

Robert Burns

This next one is a woman I identify with. I am assuming that at some level we can all identify with her. The crazy part is that we often think it actually works to hide...even from God's love.

THE WOMAN I AM

The woman I am

Hides deep in me

Beneath the woman

I seem to be.

She hides away

From the stranger's eye--

She is not known

To the passers-by.

She goes her way,

The woman I seem,

But the woman I am

Withdraws to dream!

The woman I seem

Goes carelessly--

When love goes by

Does not seem to see.

But the woman I am

Knows sudden fear...

And hides more deeply

When love draws near!

For love might look closely

Perhaps...and see

Her beneath the woman

I seem to be!

Glen Allen

This poem reminded me of one of my favorites. I did an analysis of this poem in World Lit class. Powerful stuff. And way too true.

WE WEAR THE MASK

WE wear the mask that grins and lies,

It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,—

This debt we pay to human guile;

With torn and bleeding hearts we smile,

And mouth with myriad subtleties.

Why should the world be over-wise,

In counting all our tears and sighs?

Nay, let them only see us, while

We wear the mask.

We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries

To thee from tortured souls arise.

We sing, but oh the clay is vile

Beneath our feet, and long the mile;

But let the world dream otherwise,

We wear the mask!

Favorite Verses from Isaiah 54

The words of a loving Father to a desolate child...

v.4 "Do not be afraid; you will not suffer shame. Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated. You will forget the shame of your youth and remember no more the reproach of your widowhood."

v.7,8 "For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with deep compassion I will bring you back. In a surge of anger I hid my face from you for a moment, but with everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you," says the Lord your Redeemer.

v. 9,10 "To me this is like the days of Noah, when I swore that the waters of Noah would never again cover the earth. So now I have sworn not to be angry with you, never to rebuke you again. Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed," says the Lord, who has compassion on you.

Preservation....

Tonight on the way home from school I was texting...I know, I shouldn't have been. I looked up and saw a deer right in my path. Hit the brakes, swerved to the right. As I did so the music playing caught my attention, "The Lord shall preserve you from evil..." Coincidence? I'd like to think not!

Aftermath and Shame

The aftermath of the FB arts colloquy has been quite brutal in the processing department. (For all you artists out there who did not take it in, you really did miss out!) I guess colloquies are not about providing the much desired answers, but rather, serve as a means of keeping our mental and spiritual faculties on alert. I came away feeling that I have more questions than ever before. There were many good things proposed. Many thought-provoking questions asked. I left challenged and stirred to continue wrestling with the questions.

More specifically, I was challenged by the thought that too often we live out of shame about who we are. Every human being faces this (if you haven't, feel free to challenge me) in some area or another. It may be shame about who we are or what we have done. But for this time, I want to think about the shame that can surround the Anabaptist.

I remember vividly the feeling of walking through town and being afraid to meet the curious eyes of people walking by me. I perceived that they viewed me as strange, peculiar, and possibly even a little stupid for buying into such a strange mentality. What was worse--I was thinking those same things about myself. I couldn't imagine what I could possibly have that I could offer to that person. I felt peculiar. And I was ashamed of it.

The obvious fact of the matter was, I didn't have to look the way I did. There was nothing to keep me from moving on and leaving my church and community. It was a choice I was making. Even after I felt sure of the "call" to remain a Mennonite, I still balked at the fact that I felt so different. Sometimes I became angry because I felt like an odd-ball. Then a very wise person said to me, "You are choosing to do this." No one, not even God, is forcing you to be a Mennonite! Suddenly I had to take responsibility for my own choices, and I realized that since I am called here, I need to be happy being here! This is not something I have to do. I could just as easily be a Christian in a different church. God could use me in other places. This is a gift God has given me. I was raised in a unique situation for a special purpose, even though I do not always understand the purpose! It is also a gift I can give back to Him. He has asked so little of me. All I need to do is follow Him. If that means me looking a little different, is it really the end of the world?

All good stuff! Then I decided to go to college. And a panic attack erupted! What were people going to think? Would these preppy little kids be okay with who I am? Am I okay with who I am?

Enter: another wise person. He said simply, "Don't be ashamed of who you are." Those words have carried with me in the last six months like no others. There is such profundity and truth in realizing that we are a part of who we are created to be, and believing that we have something to offer those around us. I hope that I continue to grow in this. There are still moments where I feel afraid of what people think. I have the same vanity issues as everyone else.

I wish for everyone that we could really come to know who it is that we are created to be. Don't misunderstand this to mean who we want to be. Too often we want to be some perfect person. In reality we are fallen human beings. We will NEVER be perfect. When we are who we have been created to be, we get to be alive in the middle of our falleness. We get to be part of the bigger picture. We get to help build the kingdom of God. Why spend time wanting to help build in some other person's shoes? Who has God made you to be? Does He have a calling on your life right now? Go for it! Embrace it! Know that out of it, you have something to offer the broader community.