Dust Storms May Exist

    There are several highway signs of this sort: “X MAY Y.” Here in Texas I’ve seen “BRIDGE MAY ICE.” In New Mexico, down on I-10 there are warning signs: “DUST STORMS MAY EXIST.” One also sees signs warning “GUSTY WINDS MAY EXIST” or even, to return to the bridge, “ICE MAY EXIST.”

    Online commentators on these signs—an already too-large group that yours truly is joining, briefly—tend to take them as statements of fact. That is to say, they take “may” as meaning the same thing as “might.” By these signs, motorists are warned that, in the area into which they are driving at 80+ miles per hour, there might be dust storms or gusty winds or something else that would love to remove their vehicle from the asphalt. Signs prefer short words. “May” is shorter than “might” and, indeed, one of its meanings is to indicate possibility, something that might be. 

    But that’s not how I learned it in the second grade.

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    Our teacher had a paper apple tree on the wall, with paper apples labeled with words like “can” and “may.” If one of us asked, “Can I go to the bathroom?” the “can” apple would fall out of the tree to the ground. If someone then said, “May I go to the bathroom?” the apple would rise again to the tree.

    Lesson: “May” has to do with permission; “can” has to do with capacity. If I know how to play the piano, then I can do it. But if I’m visiting you, it’s another question whether I may play your piano.

    Well, the second grade is way back in my rearview mirror, but this lesson has stuck. When I see “may” I think permission is what is at stake. Quickly, I want to know who is giving permission for these dust storms to exist! Or more precisely, Why has our government taken it upon itself to tell nature what it may do?

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    All Christians should know that it is a perennial temptation of government to claim omnipotence. Yet in truth, governors, legislators, judges—all of them serve under God’s providence. They have limited functions. And in the end, they will cast their “crowns” at God’s feet. 

    We need to remember this, for many important reasons. I know the people who run the highway department do not really think they have power to allow natural phenomena. They do not grant permission for ice to form, and they do not allow dust storms to occur. Nonetheless, it is good for all of us to remember: Only God gives existence to anything. Everything that exists is so by his doing.

    Just as he told Job from the whirlwind, so he tells you: Gusty winds have his permission to exist. God permits things to exist that have the capacity to kill you.

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    Out & About: Important note about the upcoming “Good Books & Good Talk” seminar on Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World: We are meeting at St. Matthew’s Cathedral but in a new room in Garrett Hall, a different building than before, on Sunday, September 22, from 5 p.m. to 6:30. (Note: that same evening there is a service at 5 p.m. in the Cathedral itself.) For the seminar, come to the Garrett Hall door (opposite the cathedral, across the green close): on the digital call pad, select 2nd Floor St. Matthew’s, then press “Reception to call.” You will be buzzed in. Come up to the 2nd floor; we will meet in room 201.

    Our next seminar will be three weeks later, October 13, on Russell Kirk’s Old House of Fear.

    I am preaching the next two Sundays: on September 22 at St. John’s in Corsicana, Tex., at 9:30, and on September 29 at St. Matthew’s in Dallas at 9 and 11:15 a.m.


Hill Block Views

Heading east in the Hill Country from Johnson City, Texas, by accident but with no regrets I took a back route. I was on one of the highways that Texas numbers with “RM”—”ranch-to-market” perhaps; there are also FM highways that are farm-to-market roads, and maybe at some point the ranch lobby didn’t like being subsumed under “farms.” I found it narrow in many places, winding, with low speed limits, few cars, and great views. At one point it went through a state park and, near the end of that, went over a concrete wash—a little stream was running across the road, which there was only as wide as a single car. Yours truly wished he were hiking, so that he could enjoy more of the views and get some hill-miles under his belt at the same time.

Along the way was a warning sign: “HILL BLOCKS VIEW.” This was on an uphill, one that in truth was steeper than customary for highways. True to the sign’s promise, there was quite a view awaiting the topping of the hill. Had there been some bears playing bridge in the road, to stop in time would have been difficult even at slow speeds. Yet even bridge-playing bears would be less of a view than what was there: the expanse of trees, undulations of land and rock as far as one could see.

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I couldn’t recall ever seeing those warning words before. It is an interesting sign. It doesn’t say, “Slow down you idiot.” It promises something presently out of sight, and it lets drivers draw their own conclusions.

In that way, it seems to me, it was a spiritual warning sign. Folks, there are views coming that you can’t see yet. We don’t know what or when we’ll see them. There are things in life that block these views, but don’t think the views aren’t there. What should you do to prepare? Perhaps: slow down, read some Bible, say some prayers, make appropriate apologies, show some care.

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On the Web: You can file this under “Father Austin finally catches up with the 2010s”: I asked some friends about films that portray babies interestingly, and someone mentioned “The Boss Baby.” I got the DVD and watched it and . . . found it delightful. My reflections are posted here: https://humanlifereview.com/boss-baby/

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Out & About: It’s almost here, the first book seminar of the fall: The Good Books & Good Talk seminars resume on Sunday, September 22, to take up Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World. Our location remains St. Matthew’s Cathedral, but we will move to a new room in Garrett Hall, a different building than before. We start at 5 p.m. and wrap up at 6:30. Note: that same evening there is a service at 5 p.m. in the Cathedral itself. For the seminar, come to the Garrett Hall door (opposite the cathedral, across the green close): on the digital call pad, select 2nd Floor St. Matthew’s, then press “Reception to call.” You will be buzzed in. Come up to the 2nd floor; we will meet in room 201.

 

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The Rev. Canon Victor Lee Austin. Ph.D., is the Theologian-in-Residence for the diocese and is the author of several books including, "Friendship: The Heart of Being Human" and "A Post-Covid Catechesis.: