Phone Surprise
It was Thanksgiving afternoon; the incoming call was from my son’s mobile. “Well, happy Thanksgiving,” I said. On the other end, chuckles. The voice was not my son’s. “Who is this?” I asked; more chuckles followed. I have several grandchildren and, over the phone, I can’t tell their voices apart. But I guessed: “Is this [and I said a name]?” “Yes!” he shouted, his voice full of the pure pleasure of a seven-year-old who has pulled off a trick, a surprise.
I asked him how first grade was going, if he was starting to read books. I had recently sent him an “I-Can-Read” Bible (sight unseen, ordered from Behemoth); wondering if it was too hard for him, I asked if he had been able to read it. He said, “It’s right here,” which neatly sidestepped the question. My guess is that it’s still slightly beyond him (but not for long).
I asked if he had read any more horse books. He said no, but though I couldn’t tell for sure, I felt he said it a bit sadly. I had given him a horse book last summer. We had read about half of it before I left. Later I got a letter that he had dictated to his amanuensis (i.e. his mother) about the ending of the book: the horse dies from some bad feed. The ending was sad, and so was he. There are a lot of books in that ranch-boy series and I think he would like them; they are tough books, and he is a tough boy who can weep for a poisoned horse.
I enjoyed our conversation, and he seemed to want it to go on forever; I had finally to ask if his father was near by. Had it been up to him, we might still be talking.
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Do we ever get enough of talking, we humans? Heaven is the realm of true communications—and hell is a place where there’s nothing to talk about, and no one who wants to be with anyone else. I think it might be a picture of heaven, to get to talk forever with someone who doesn’t want to hang up the phone, and with whom most of the delight is just hearing the voice.
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Out & About: Sunday, Dec. 14, I am to preach at Church of the Epiphany in Richardson, Tex., in the morning. At 4 p.m. I am to preach at St. Matthew’s Cathedral in Dallas, for the Eucharist of the day—morning services being canceled on account of the marathon.
Sunday, Dec. 21, I will give my concluding talk on Augustine's Confessions, with special focus on Book VIII. This is also at St. Matthew's, and begins about 10:20 a.m.
On the Web: Matthew Lee Anderson (a moral theologian of sound mind!) has an interesting short piece, “Beyond Cheap Gratitude,” which ends marvelously with one of the great prayers of the Anglican tradition. You can read it here:
https://matthewleeanderson.substack.com/p/722-beyond-cheap-gratitude