ROSALIND
By no means, sir: Time travels in divers paces with
divers persons. I'll tell you who Time ambles
withal, who Time trots withal, who Time gallops
withal and who he stands still withal.
ORLANDO
I prithee, who doth he trot withal?
ROSALIND
Marry, he trots hard with a young maid between the
contract of her marriage and the day it is
solemnized: if the interim be but a se'nnight,
Time's pace is so hard that it seems the length of
seven year.
ORLANDO
Who ambles Time withal?
ROSALIND
With a priest that lacks Latin and a rich man that
hath not the gout, for the one sleeps easily because
he cannot study, and the other lives merrily because
he feels no pain, the one lacking the burden of lean
and wasteful learning, the other knowing no burden
of heavy tedious penury; these Time ambles withal.
ORLANDO
Who doth he gallop withal?
ROSALIND
With a thief to the gallows, for though he go as
softly as foot can fall, he thinks himself too soon there.
ORLANDO
Who stays it still withal?
ROSALIND
With lawyers in the vacation, for they sleep between
term and term and then they perceive not how Time moves.
.....
ROSALIND
Well, Time is the old justice that examines all such
offenders, and let Time try: adieu.
______________________________________
Last week, I went to DFW's best burger joint -- The Love Shack -- with a friend of mine and her family (If you have never been there, go and get the Dirty Love Burger. It will change your life.). I had never met her family before, but since she speaks loudly, proudly, and incessantly about everything, it was a pleasure to finally meet the much ballyhooed family. Her father is an Anglo-Catholic (Reformed Episcopal Church) priest and since I come from a conservative, evangelical background, I was curious to find out how this "denomination" was different and/or similar from the Catholic and Protestant traditions.
As I indulged myself in a half brisket, half prime tenderloin burger, topped with a fried quail egg and a tasty "love sauce", as they call it, I became acquainted with a faith that worships like the Catholic tradition but with important doctrinal differences (If you are interested in the details: http://tinyurl.com/26pdzlj). One of the main goals of the REC is to unify the Body of Christ.
When he mentioned this goal, I asked him what it would take to accomplish unification. His answer, in short: Time. He realized that change in the church takes time. He mentioned that the young priests and leaders become discouraged when the unification process fails to occur in the present. But as Rosalind in Shakespeare’s As You Like It, “Time is the old justice that examines all such / offenders, and let Time try.”
For Shakespeare, Time is a transcendent mechanism that tries all of mankind. Furthermore, Time is a tool used by God to accomplish His will. “Time” will bring about the unification of the Church and it is our job, as followers of Christ, to see that the Church is on the path to unity, even if we never see it actually occur.
Why, on this blog about working at a summer camp, am I talking about Time?
I needed a reminder that my desire to change the hearts and minds of students does not happen on my own time. In reality, it happens in God’s Time. My responsibility as a Christian lies in the teaching of truth so that they at least recognize the path of Christ. God, in his Providence, will change their hearts. Even though I feel like the young maid Rosalind mentions when I work with students, I realize Time will continue to run its course in spite of how I feel. In essence, trying to enforce Time's hand promulgates the American ideal of instant gratification. But instant gratification leads to a false transformation veiled in behavior modification. True transformation, tried by Time, changes hearts through Christ which in turn changes behavior.
Thank God for his sovereignty! If my will be done instead of His will, things would get ugly. The world would be one extravagant masquerade.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Sunday, May 2, 2010
A recurring theme in my life right centers around this question: what do I value? In preparation for the summer, I have been reading academic journal articles on Education to see what they think are some of the necessary attributes for a teacher when they teach students from low S.E.S. families. The most frequently referenced attribute a teacher needs to have: a love for learning.
Not only was this referenced in articles, but it was also mentioned in an educational forum I attended last week for class. The forum speakers were Dr. Louise Cowan, one of the most brilliant literary minds and Dr. Diane Ravitch, one of the leading historians on American Education. Both of them claimed teachers' enthusiasm in their own learning rubbed off on to their own students which enabled them to be more successful in school.
Do I disagree with these sentiments? Of course not, I think they are right on the money. But the bombardment of this solitary theme over a one week period caused me to reflect a little bit on my own life. As a future teacher, do I value my own learning? Leading up to my experiences at UD, I would say emphatically and consciously (sad to reflect upon) NO! At the present moment, though, I would say I do value learning -- but I still slip into days and weeks where I don't.
So, of course, I got down on myself a little bit knowing that I'm not where I need to be, yet. But the one thing I do know, reading about what I need to become and listening to brilliant people talk about the virtues of teaching, helped arise in me a passion to become a great teacher. This whole project of building an academic, 6-8th grade, curriculum for the summer helped fuel the desire, as well.
As I reflected upon what I value as a future educator, I also applied the question to another important area of my life -- my faith.
I'm not going to lie, it is hard to live the Christian life as a college student. It is almost as if the majority of Christians who go to college end up devaluing Christ for a period of 4 or so years (including me). The shape and form of devaluing looks a little bit different for everyone: some by excess booze, some by sex, some by pride, some by selfish ambition, some by lack of love, and the list goes on forever....
For me, my devaluation of Christ probably takes the shape of an ugly, 3 headed monster of some sort, contrived from the latter three vices I placed in the above list. Fun ones, huh? Not really.
Okay, to continue on the theme...So, if a teacher is someone who loves and values learning, what is a Christian and what does he/she value?
Of course, I think learning can be apart of the definition of a Christian because God gave us the ability to use our brain and reason and think logically so the more we learn, the more we become who he wants us to be. But, I think that is more a correlation than anything else.
What is at the heart of it, then? It must be, and has to be, Love. No matter how many good deeds I do, no matter how many times I go to
I think this song sums this post up nicely in that it represents the Grace God gives to us in spite of constantly devaluing him:
Daily I could look at the gold
And the fine, fine silver
With which You have adorned
My arms and neck and fingers
So I was called beauty in the eyes
These gifts assured me You were mine
So I was called beauty in the eyes
Of my God and the angels
Yet I sold all the jewels that You gave to me
And I used all the cash on other lovers I’d see
Hoping that none would discover this feat
Of the muck and the mire I’d continue to feast
Daily I could take in the scent of the fragrance You’ve sprinkled on me
And all the clothes made of cashmere You give cause’ You call me lovely
Daily I could look at how fair I was because of You
Instead I’d forget what You’ve given and living for suitors I’d choose
Still I remain treasured in the eyes
Still I remain treasured in the eyes
Still I remain treasured in the eyes
Of my God and the angels
Yet I sold all the jewels that You gave to me
And I used all the cash on other lovers I’d see
Hoping that none would discover this feat
Of the muck and the mire I’d continue to feast
Do not spare the rod how I long for faithfulness
Tell me once again of Your grace and woo me in
Let not these lovers be more attractive than You God
Remind me of love, remind of You, Jesus all of You
Still I remain treasured in the eyes
-Called Beauty by Jenny & Tyler
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