PASTOR DAVE’S MUSINGS FROM THE HEARTLAND

September 22, 2024

MIRROR OR WINDOW?

In his first lecture about Sacred Texts of the World (The Great Courses) Professor Grant Hardy invites his listeners to look through the lens of a window rather than a mirror.  When we look through the lens of a mirror, we see reflected back to us our own way of looking at the world.  Professor Hardy is particularly concerned with what he describes the “Protestant bias.”  By this Grant means “looking at other faiths through the lens of the Christian Reformation: assuming that scriptures are at the heart of a religion, that the oldest texts represent its purest form, and that those documents can best be understood through textual criticism, historical analysis, and translation.” (Lecture #2). Such a bias would give a rather skewed view of Hinduism.

For Professor Hardy one needs to look at other religions through the lens of a window.  We need to strive to see the world as the practitioners of other religions see it, not as we see it.  Such an approach can offer an important window into understanding global politics, thought, and culture.  By looking at the world through a window, we may well find that we learn as much about ourselves and our own beliefs as we do about others.

We spend most our lives looking at the world through the lens of a mirror.  This helps up process our daily activities without having to consider each one individually.  Our mirror reflects our standard responses to a variety of situations and makes our lives run more smoothly.  Unfortunately, mirrors do not do well with unique experiences.  We do not have anything in our data bank to help us respond.  For the most part we just ignore unique experiences unless they force themselves upon us.  I expect it is possible to live our entire adult lives without looking at the world through the lens of a window.

Louis Armstrong in his 1968 recording of What A Wonderful World reminds us of what we might discover if we spend some time looking at our world through the lens of a window.  “I see trees of green … Red roses too I see em bloom … For me and for you And I think to myself … What a wonderful world.”

                “I see skies of blue … Clouds of white Bright blessed days … Dark sacred nights And I think to myself … What a wonderful world.”

                “The colors of a rainbow … So pretty … In the Sky Are also on the faces … of people … Going by I see friends shaking hands … Sayin .. How do you do They’re really sayin … I love you.”

                “I hear babies cry … I watch them grow they’ll learn much more … Than I’ll never know And I think to myself … What a wonderful world.” (Louis Armstrong)

In his letter to the Corinthians the Apostle Paul writes “When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult I put an end to childish ways.  For now, we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face.  Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known (I Corinthians 13:11-12).”  Now we can only understand God as in a mirror dimly, but one day we will be able to see him through the lens of a window that will allow us to see Him face to face.  One day we will have all of our questions addressed.

Today, as we look at our world through the lens of a mirror, we have those experiences where we catch a glimpse of the wonderful world that we can see through the lens of a window.  May each of us experience more and more of such times!

(Comments may be sent to davidh15503@embarqmail.com.)