Seemingly random randomness

"Just sing the songs that wake the dead..."

Hi howdy hello!

I’ve been trying to write a post about something I learned recently that was really cool but am having such a struggle finding my way into the story. I’ve started several times but nothing is clicking.

(stuck. stuck. stuck!)

But hey, there are lots of other things in my heart. Things I’m learning. Music I’m listening to. Books I’m reading. And especially the lessons. So, let’s meander for a moment 🚶🏼

One: What happened in Gethsemane?

The Agony in the Garden by Corrado Giaquinto

You may not know who Sam Brown is. I love his writing and also follow him on Twitter. He’s also a medical doctor! And most importantly, the husband of the astonishing Kate Holbrook, who sadly passed away last year. He also teaches Sunday School, and recently shared some thoughts about what the Savior suffered for us in Gethsemane. I’ve thought a lot about what he wrote, and wanted to share a few of my favorites (you can read the entire thread here.)

Basically, the question is "why was Gethsemane so painful for Jesus?" One traditional story has been that he was undergoing a kind of electric-chair-at-higher-than-high-voltage substituted penalty for our sins.

I want to honor that story, not least because it takes sin so seriously, and in my experience sin really does warp us in so many ways. Still I struggle to wrap my mind around that notion that Jesus reaches out in advance of his death, hoping to love as the master who serves (the waiter at the Last Supper, in his imagery from Luke 22) and in response he gets strapped into an electric chair. Not because I believe that sin is an obsolete construct or because I believe that God doesn't care about sin. It just doesn't compute for me as deeply real rather than just a textual resonance with the scapegoat of ancient Israelite religion.

What I'm exploring in recent years is the possibility that in Gethsemane, Jesus was reaching the height of his powers of Love. Specifically, that in Gethsemane Jesus is finally and fully able to love each one of us. And loving people is hard. It is painful. Those we love die. They betray us. They betray themselves. And they hurt. How they suffer! And loving them means experiencing all that pain. All of it. There is no real love that does not embrace the pain.

So if the goal of Atonement is the bringing together in love of perfect God(s) and imperfect humans, then maybe what matters is that in Gethsemane, Jesus -- holding both divine and human natures in his one body with its beating heart and respiring lungs and its spirit vaster than the world we know -- loved us. Everyone one of us.

So powerful, right?

Two: The song I can’t get out of my head (quite possibly because I keep listening to it 😏)

Right now this is my personal “song of the summer.” It just hits right. Or in the words of the 18-year-old I hang out with, it “slays.”

Hey kid
Just sing the songs
That wake the dead then
You keep them ringing in your head, yeah
You gotta get it off your chest
Don't worry about the mess

As someone trying to be a maker of things, I need this kick in the pants, and often. You gotta get it off your chest, Don’t worry about the mess.

Yeah…the do the work thing.

Three: Speaking of that 18-year-old…

Photo credit: Gingersnaps Photography)

She’s on fire, this girl. Just graduated with honors. Just got back from spending three weeks in Taiwan. Just got a calling in Primary. Currently reading The Book of Mormon in Chinese. But the best part is watching her develop her own relationship with the Savior. It’s a powerful, sacred thing to watch. Bonus: The Spirit is working on her parents too, teaching us how to stand back and watch the Savior do what He does best: Shepherd.

Four: Do you know about this podcast?

A few weeks ago I discovered The Latter-day Saint Women podcast. I’m hooked.

My current favorite episode. Love the story about the $.99 Frosty!

Five: The Parable of the Slope

This was one of my favorite General Conference talks from the past few years, and now there’s a new video that highlights Elder Gilbert’s powerful teachings that “in the Lord’s timing, it is not where we start but where we are headed that matters most.”

Six: One of my most favorite weeks of the year…

During the last week of June each year, the men and women called to serve as mission leaders all over the world gather in Provo for several days of training before beginning their three years of full-time missionary service.

Happily, The Church News publishes highlights of each message shared by members of the First Presidency, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and other leaders. This is a wonderful way to find out what is on the Lord’s mind when it comes to sharing the gospel.

Seven: My wife knows how to take amazing photographs

I give you Ginger Snaps Photography, good People of the Substack.

Eight: Send For Me

Another song I keep returning to is The National’s Send For Me. Not sure why I like it…but that’s the thing about songs, right?

Nine: Leonardo Da Vinci

Earlier this year Ginger and I had the amazing opportunity to travel to Europe. The last place we visited was Milan, Italy, where we were able to see Da Vinci’s The Last Supper (more about that experience in an upcoming post.) I was so inspired by this privilege I decided to read Walter Isaacson’s recent biography about Leonardo. I was stunned by the story of this true genius and literal Renaissance man. If you are looking for a story about the power of curiosity and persistence, this is one to add to your list.

Ten: (mostly) shameless plug

(In case anyone has actually made it all the way to this point…)

Hey, most of you know I published a novel earlier this year called the least sparrow. Big thanks to everyone who has supported me by buying the book and writing a review (Five ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️!)

If you’re looking for a quick summer read with an uplifting message, consider the least sparrow, exclusively on Amazon.

That’s it for now. You’re awesome. Thanks for following along.