Spiritual Quote of the Day (1 Samuel, on How God Made Himself Known to the Prophet)

“At that time Samuel was not familiar with the LORD, because the LORD had not revealed anything to him as yet. The LORD called Samuel again, for the third time. Getting up and going to [the priest] Eli, he said, ‘Here I am.  You called me.’ Then Eli understood that the LORD was calling the youth. So he said to Samuel, ‘Go to sleep, and if you are called, reply, Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.’ When Samuel went to sleep in his place, the LORD came and revealed his presence, calling out as before, ‘Samuel, Samuel!’ Samuel answered, ‘Speak, for your servant is listening.’ Samuel grew up, and the LORD was with him, not permitting any word of his to be without effect.” — 1 Samuel 3:8-10, 19 (New American Bible)

Like so many of the stories in the Bible, this one exerts a mysterious but powerful hold on my imagination. Like Samuel, many of us, for the longest time, go through life unsure when and how we are being called by God, and for what purpose. But the task remains for us to remain open to His call—to let God know that we are listening.

It is Samuel’s marvelous power that God would not “any word of his…be without effect.” That is the gift all writers wish for, in their way.

The image accompanying this post, “Samuel Mistakes God's Call” (depicting Samuel approaching Eli), was created by the great Pennsylvania painter and illustrator N.C. Wyeth (1882-1945)—not only an extraordinarily vivid artist himself, but also father and grandfather of others with similar gifts: Andrew and Jamie, respectively.

Spiritual Quote of the Day (Book of Joshua, on How ‘God Will Be With You Wherever You Go’)

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”—Joshua 1:9 (New International Version)

Thanks to my friend Leslie for bringing to my attention this quotation. Not a bad thought for the first Sunday of the new year, don’t you think?

(The image accompanying this post is The Book of Joshua Chapter 1-1, from Biblical illustrations by Jim Padgett, courtesy of Sweet Publishing, Ft. Worth, TX, and Gospel Light, Ventura, CA. Copyright 1984. Released under new license, CC-BY-SA 3.0)

Photo of the Day: JFK Center, Israeli Lounge

When I visited the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington this past November, I did not, much to my regret, get to see the African Lounge, and the Russian Lounge simply left me—well, cold. But as soon as I entered the Israeli Lounge, I was impressed—scratched that, overwhelmed—by the level of its detail and its palpable sense of history.

As the name of the room suggests, and like much else I saw in this DC landmark, this was a gift from a foreign nation: in this case, Israel. What you see here is the ceiling, with 40 wooden panels, showing musical events described in the Old Testament: Joshua at the walls of Jericho, David playing the harp, Miriam dancing triumphantly, and a choir on the temple steps.

Those who come into this space—80 standing for cocktail receptions, 60 for seated dinners—can’t help coming away with a feeling of awe, I firmly believe.