bierkergaard

With J.D. Salinger's passing, I read "Catcher in the Rye" recently. It is the only time I have read the work...I am not sure how I dodged it through all of my formal education. I may or may not be smart....one thing is beyond certain, I am formally educated. As a novel with enduring power, the book speaks to the struggles and conceits of adolescence. Struggles with family, peer group, adults, sexuality, education, and meaning, are big themes. Articulating the tragic beautifully is hard to do artistically, without being buried under the rubble of ruin. Salinger succeeds in a "grand" fashion. Couldn't resist using the word "grand" given Caulfield's vehement distaste for it. "Grand. There's a word I really hate. It's a phony. I could puke every time I hear it." Conceits, in that Holden Caulfield is one of those teens who is very prenatural observant about the failings and foibles of others--especially those older--yet he himself

Luke 14:14 "And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. You will be repaid at the resurrection of the just." Been feeling like Hans Brinker with the wooden skates of late. We live in a neighborhood of people with snowblowers. Lina and I are Luddites....we do our snow removal by hand with a shovel. In general, Lina and I do not have the arsenal of tools and equipment for fine suburban living. If we were Swiss Army Knives, we are talking the basic model with a knife and not much else. Before moving to Lancaster, Lina lived in a maintenance-free Condo in Princeton. I lived in Columbia. In her Condo, all outside maintenance was done by the Association. In Columbia, nobody really cared. Same result. Outside of a mower, we are talking a steep drop off of technology. Our neighbors to the left have a pretty nice array of such tools like a power washer, a snowblower, an electric hedger, and etc. Us, we have early suburban Stone Age rocks. These neighbors are very generous

Is 1:18 "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." The first chapter of Isaiah is basically God convicting His people of sin. It is far beyond accusatory. In verse 18, God extends the offer of grace. Then, He warns what is going to happen to His people if they do not accept the offer of forgiveness. Read it...it is not pretty. Snow is a picture of divine forgiveness. It comes pure and white from heaven like frozen spiritual manna. We can't dictate to the cold, the clouds, and to the snow where it is to fall and when. It comes down, we receive. Simple. There is always a cause and effect when God's grace takes a hold of us. This inevitably leads to the fires of Hell in our souls being chilled. There should be an external manifestation of peace like coolness resulting. We can't chill the brimstone alone. Or efforts are futile and fooli

Mt 25:33 "And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left." Been thinking about this teaching of Jesus. Trying to figure out why goats are sent to the left. I kind of like goats. There is a farm close by where I, on occasion, feed them hay. They don't seem particularly wicked. In fact, compared to sheep who are kind of generic-looking and dull, goats are pretty cool...they are colorful and have hip beards and spots and all. Probably would be funner to go to a loud and crazy goat party. The sheep would all probably sit around and play board games and drink Pepsi, nibbling on Nilla wafers, all night. What is it about goats that make them doomed for Hell? The best I can discern is that goats are independent. They do what they want to do. Sheep, for all of their stupidity, at least know one thing well. They follow...except for the really stupid one, who wanders off and gets lost. But, Jesus does not speak of 99 sheep out of a 100 getting lost. It is