April is the Cruellest Month
Jonah 1:5
"Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god, and cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it of them. But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep."
T.S. Eliot wrote in his poem "The Waste Land" that April is the cruellest month. This opening stanza captures the spirit:
"April is the cruellest month, breeding, Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing. Memory and desire, stirring, Dull roots with the spring rain."
Although I was not an English major in college, and only recently read "Catcher in the Rye" (which shows my untutored nature), I see this poem as identifying April as too late for winter but not quite summer. Rain comes, the ground gets soggy, and we slosh around. Apathy sets in..waiting out the rain, hoping for the sun. This part of spring is squishy and flaccid.
Although I am not sure that I agree entirely that April is the cruelest month, apathy is indeed cruel. The harsh winds and snow of January and the stifling heat and humid breezeless nights of August are at least are strong in their contrariness. April, and apathy, can be cruel in the indifference.
In the human realm, apathy is far from a neutral emotion. When Jonah went down below deck, he checked out. Guilty as hell, he wanted to get deep in the boat, and bury his conscience.
Sleep, like an Oxycontin pillow pill, was a narcotic; to sleep off guilt, pain, disappointment, and anger. If a poem was to be written about Jonah's actions up until the storm on the seas, it would be "Waste Water." But God used to storm to crash into his stupor. He does the same to us...pain causes us to cry out and that is surely better than a yawn in the face of life's trials. Awake Stoicism is not a Christian virtue; neither is profligate sleepiness.
Easter falls in April this year. I wonder on the day that Jesus was crucified what the people's response was...some thought Jesus was getting his due; others thought that he was an innocent man not deserving crucifixion. For the vast majority that day in Jerusalem, I think that the typical response was "So what." It was just another day. As we enter Lent, let us repent of not caring enough about God, others, ourselves. Thanks be to God that He cares for us.
"Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god, and cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it of them. But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep."
T.S. Eliot wrote in his poem "The Waste Land" that April is the cruellest month. This opening stanza captures the spirit:
"April is the cruellest month, breeding, Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing. Memory and desire, stirring, Dull roots with the spring rain."
Although I was not an English major in college, and only recently read "Catcher in the Rye" (which shows my untutored nature), I see this poem as identifying April as too late for winter but not quite summer. Rain comes, the ground gets soggy, and we slosh around. Apathy sets in..waiting out the rain, hoping for the sun. This part of spring is squishy and flaccid.
Although I am not sure that I agree entirely that April is the cruelest month, apathy is indeed cruel. The harsh winds and snow of January and the stifling heat and humid breezeless nights of August are at least are strong in their contrariness. April, and apathy, can be cruel in the indifference.
In the human realm, apathy is far from a neutral emotion. When Jonah went down below deck, he checked out. Guilty as hell, he wanted to get deep in the boat, and bury his conscience.
Sleep, like an Oxycontin pillow pill, was a narcotic; to sleep off guilt, pain, disappointment, and anger. If a poem was to be written about Jonah's actions up until the storm on the seas, it would be "Waste Water." But God used to storm to crash into his stupor. He does the same to us...pain causes us to cry out and that is surely better than a yawn in the face of life's trials. Awake Stoicism is not a Christian virtue; neither is profligate sleepiness.
Easter falls in April this year. I wonder on the day that Jesus was crucified what the people's response was...some thought Jesus was getting his due; others thought that he was an innocent man not deserving crucifixion. For the vast majority that day in Jerusalem, I think that the typical response was "So what." It was just another day. As we enter Lent, let us repent of not caring enough about God, others, ourselves. Thanks be to God that He cares for us.
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