Ille epistula est divisa in partes tres. Ten points to everyone who gets the reference. Ten points of sad, sad Latin-knowing geekery. Excessive education or no, the post is indeed tripartite, and it is divided thusly:

1. Reflections on CPE
2. A few thoughts on Till We Have Faces by C. S. Lewis, and
3. A magical third part, made up of delightful photograms scattered throughout the posting, taken from my excursion with my goddaughter Miss Ketturah Sloan to the Philaselphia Zoo.

And so, I submit for your consideration, a web log empostation.

I.

As you may or may not have guessed, CPE continues to be a part of my life. Like a bad cold, I can’t seem to shake it, and I have a sinking feeling that I will be metaphorically coughing (that goes out to you, Dr. K) for another four weeks, minus one day. As I write this e-ssay (see how clever that is?), I am on call at the hospital, one Thomas Jefferson Univerity Hospital, and I even just got back from a page. Did you miss me? So, now that I’m seven weeks into CPE, and am starting (ha) to run out of steam, I heard something today that has reframed what it is that I’m doing here. In a discussion on grief and the presence (or non-presence) of God, one of my colleagues in the program made the observation that for many of our patients, we the chaplains are the only concrete symbol of God’s presence in their suffering. This is not to suggest that we all have giant messiah complexes or that we each believe that we are Christ come again, but rather that if we are to take the Christian message seriously, and actually think about what baptism means, then we have to realize that God is acting through us to be with these people. For my own part, I have always experienced God most closely through other people. A lot of the time, they probably never knew that’s what was going on for me, but that doesn’t matter: God knows what God’s doing.

So, thinking about my work in such a way, that I am privileged to relate to these patients strictly and explicitly on those terms, as a potential instrument of God’s love in their lives (that, indeed, is the whole work of the chaplain), I am somewhat renewed in my energy for the next four weeks (minus one day). Does this mean I’m magically un-exhausted, or I suddenly love the idea of being a hospital chaplain? No, of course not; don’t be silly. But it does mean that I have a new appreciation for the work here, and it’s something I’m happy to be doing, even if I don’t exactly enjoy it.

II.

One of the best things about this summer has been the Septa train that obligingly carries me from Swarthmore Station to Market East Station and back again each day. I am obliged to the Septa train for providing me with approximately eighty minutes every day during which time I can do little but read. And read I have. My pile of read books grows apace, and lo, it is glorious to behold.

The latest addition to said pile is C. S. Lewis’s Till We Have Faces. It’s not one of his better-known books, but by connoisseurs of his work it is considered amoing the best. Indeed, my English teacher in high school valued it as one of the finest works of twentieth century fiction. My own opinion is, how shall I say, more moderate.

The novel is a retelling, indeed somewhat of a “this is how it really happened” version, of the Greco-Roman myth of Cupid and Psyche, form the perspective of the oldest sister. Ever a man of his age, Lewis’ often brilliant insights into human nature are often sadly obscured by an often unnecessary gender-essentialist language. (That is, talk of “women are this way, and men are this way”). If those comments can be excised from the manuscript (and they usually can without any real damage to either the content or quality of the book), then the insights he has into some of the primary forces of human nature are remarkable. Thankfully, I think that, at least in this book, Lewis’ spiritual and philosophical insight may serve to soften somewhat the impact of his paternalism, by rendering them in the context of a greater divine reality. [Man, Lewis would be so very, very upset by what I’m writing right now.]

As Lewis composes it, the story becomes a multi-layered fable describing the struggle of the mind over the passions, and the troubled relationship between rationalism and mystericism. Neither rationality nor mystery is categorically repudiated or unquestioningly praised, but a dogmatic adherence to either (the -isms) is justly criticized. At its strongest, Till We Have Faces provides a subtle and nuanced examination of the (post)modern western tug o’ war between the process of rational analysis and the potent and mysterious symbolic language of religion. The title line, which comes near the end of the book, and which can really only be understood after the preceding 280 pages, encapsulates a theology and philosophy of profoundly humane and insightful dimensions.

I heartily recommend the book, especially the last thirty pages. Whatever you do, though, don’w skip to the end. Read the whole book, which itself is a shining exapmle of Lewis’ spare, beautiful style, looking forward to the final theological / philosophical climax.

Having set aside Till We Have Faces, I have picked up A Letter of Mary, the third installment of the Mary Russell & Sherlock Holmes novels. If you haven’t read these, and you’re reading this web log, you really should. I can almost guarantee you’ll enjoy them. The first is called The Beekeeper’s Apprentice, and they are all (unsurprisingly) written by Laurie R. King (an alumna of GTU+CDSP, by the bye).

III.

The photograms above presented repesent the following animals: The Hippo, the Giant Elephant Shrew (whose nose and legs are of prodigious, even absurd length), the More Reasonably Sized (though markedly tank-like) Elephant Shrew, the Elephant, the Coati, the Meercat, and the Harvest Mouse (who would kill you as soon as look at you).

I should also mention before I finish that I very much appreciate your comments. I am unclear as to why they are not showing up on the “Comments” link for each post, but they are collected in the “Comments Feed” found at the bottom of the sidebar. We have all our experts looking into the problem, and we hope to have regular service back very soon.

Peace and Love.