Nunc Dimittus

Illustration: The Ghent Altarpiece, Jan van Eyck. One of the greatest masterpieces of the Northern renaissance.

Luke 2:25–32 (KJV):

25 And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him.
26 And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ.
27 And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law,
28 Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said,
29 Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word:
30 For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,
31 Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people;
32 A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.

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This is a parable of the Work.

There are times in a work when the moment has come to understand the parables not as allegories about things that happen, but an illustration of the laws.

Every generation of a work where something real forms is called in some way at the end of its life to a task it is not worthy of, and does not know how to accomplish; and they must undertake that task knowing that they will not live to see the results of their efforts.

The task is now clear.

We are as dandelions that have flowered in the glory of the sun; light has shone upon us and through the coarse exteriors of our being and entered us; but it is in the nature of light that none can own it, for it owns itself—and all of us.

It is now time to understand not just Nunc Dimittus, but also the parable of the sower:

Matthew 13:3–9 (KJV):

3 And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;
4 And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:
5 Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:
6 And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.
7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:
8 But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.
9 Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Today, I say this:

Let us turn our ears and listen. It is time for every person in the work to turn their hearts and minds towards this task. For many of us the end is quite literally near. We must open doors and sweep. We must blossom and scatter. We must take care to seek good soil and clement weather, avoiding rocks and desert, and we must let the good seed of our work loose into the wind there, for it is what we have been asked to do—a task to be undertaken not with trepidation and fear, but with love and courage.

Take every scrap of love you can find—
it is not rare, but we see poorly. 
Be generous with it, 
for we are not sound vessels, 
and love which is not soon shared 
grows stale in us. 

Spread it far and wide, 
knowing we will not be here to see its fruits—

nay, its new shoots can only grow 
from the earth of the bodies which we leave behind. 

Do this in trust 
and the confidence of consecration; 
it is not a funeral but a circumcision, 
not communion yet—

that will come much, much later—

but a baptism.

For now, 
let go the love 
so dearly earned. 

Go forth into the world with it 
and help new hearts and minds to be.

Warmly,

Lee