Hi Everyone,
Our book club which met on Wednesday, July 29th was very relaxing. Cheryl, our host, provided us with her charming home along with delicious coffee and scrumptious dessert. Other members who attended in addition to Cheryl and me were Becky, Ginnie, Jody, Mary Beth, and Sharon. As everyone had read the book The Shack by Wm. Paul Young, our discussion at July’s meeting was very interactive. Also, given the religious nature of the topic, it was even a bit controversial. Both ingredients made for a very intellectual book club!
The Shack, it was agreed, was a pleasant read for everyone. Young’s writing style is descriptive enough without being redundant. Although the vocabulary made for fast and smooth reading, there were several vocabulary words worth adding to our word banks. A new addition to our book club will be a feature on unique new words, a good suggestion from Jody. Remember June’s words from the book The Elegance of the Hedgehog:
Kairos – a Greek word which means “the right moment”
wabi – a Japanese word which means “an understated form of beauty”
For The Shack:
fractal – which means “an irregular or fragmented geometric shape which can be
repeatedly subdivided into parts, each of which is a smaller copy of the whole. (Yesterday
when I was peeling an onion, I thought of it as a fractal.)
and also a few root words:
elo – a root which means “him referring to God”
ousia – a root which means “being, thing, substance”
I will post our new words on our blog each month, so they will be available for future reference.
Despite the easy readability, however, at times Young’s explanations of the spiritual realm are intangible. Cheryl and I agreed that we had to reread some passages several times to grasp a concept. For instance, it required some contemplation to understand what the character Sarayu, more familiarly the Holy Spirit, was explaining to Mack about good and evil. She pointed out that good and evil are not as transparent as we humans may think. On pages 136-138, Sarayu recalls the story of Adam and Eve. In choosing the apple they selected to be independent of God, free to be their own judges of what is good and what is evil. As a result of that first act of independence, we also have the choice of being independent from God which invariably means choosing to live in “darkness” or evil or choosing to live in “light” good. However, Sarayu leads Mack to see that there are no absolutes for good and evil, so humans are essentially incapable of accurately judging between the two. It is only by giving up this “independence” and trusting in the Spirit of God that we can return to the “Light” or “Good.” In this passage, Mack comes to see that perceivably bad things such as cancer and homelessness can ultimately be good, but still he struggles with the tragic loss of his daughter. In our book discussion we recalled very recent tragedies in our own communities: a KC student, Shyann Smith hung herself and a former KC alumni, Donna Double was killed on vacation in a motorcycle crash. Since only the Light can understand the good in such incidents of apparent darkness, the circle of contemplation continues.
In Young’s tale, or as Becky pointed out, allegory, we are encouraged to give up what Adam and Eve began, the authority to make decisions. On page 197 Sarayu, the Holy Spirit, states, “I am always with you… you will learn to hear my thoughts in yours.” This is our grace. Although, Sarayu warns Mack, “be willing to reexamine what you believe. The more you live in the truth, the more your emotions will help you see clearly. But even then, you don’t want to trust them more than me.” The word “trust” is the key, trusting that the Spirit is always with us and trusting that the Spirit will help us to discern. The word is a verb, which requires action. On page 205 Sarayu says, “I will take a verb over a noun anytime.” God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are verbs, ever active, every alive, and our trust in their essence must be as vigilant, active. In our acts of trust, Sarayu offers verbs of expression: confessing, repenting, living, loving, responding, growing, reaping, changing, sowing, running, dancing, singing … For something to move away from darkness/ evil, to light/ good, a physical action must occur. During our discussion, we explored our inadequacies as parents, the active roles we played in our children’s lives and the veritable outcomes. For us, the call to “trust” is vitally important and ever so difficult when we consider the consequences of our parental acts. It is only through “trust” that we can take comfort that our actions will ultimately lead to the light.
The Shack is spilling over with thought provoking ideas on God and living. If anyone would like to add to or dispute my interpretations of the book, please respond on our blog at http://www.tsmithKCWWBC@blogspot.com/. This book opens up the opportunity for endless dialogue. For instance, my mother-in-law hated the book. She felt it was sacrilegious. Can anyone find a “justifiable” passage where Young refutes standard Christian beliefs? Negate or support her opinion on our blog.
Our next book club will meet on Thursday, August 27, 6:00 P.M. Our host, Allen Dodd, welcomes us to enjoy discussing our book A Thousand Days in Tuscany by Marlena de Blasi at a notable area winery, the Foxburg Wine Cellars, http://www.foxburgwine.com/about_foxburg. As close to Tuscany as some of us may every get, we will chat under the grape arbor on the cellar’s covered patio. Also, plan on dinner at the winery as we will order ala Italia from the local pizzeria and consume wine from Alan’s house selections.
Thanks to all of you who have made this book club a monthly celebration of friends in books. We will soon be approaching our five year anniversary in October, a milestone!
Yours in Reading,
Tammy
