Magic Words

Interesting how old memories suddenly come to life years and years later.  I have one memory which is but a tiny incident, clear as a bell in my brain even though threescore and ten years ago – almost ancient history. I was in elementary school, one room country school house, grades one to eight and a few grade nine correspondence students, grand total of about 30 farm kids all in one room. I think I was in grade four, and one day our teacher was in conversation with the grade oners. “What is the magic word?” “Please.” “Yes, let’s all say it together." Just like that all the rest of us, everybody in that one room, we got to enjoy the little ones cheerfully repeating their life lesson. Nobody could deny they were learning a good thing.

Magic words; they do something hard to explain. It’s sort of an access code, a password to inspiration? motivation? picker upper? Whatever the descript, there are more examples that come to mind. I am aware of a word – words - that have become magic recently just because of habit. I take a walk every morning. Almost every day there will be at least one or even several encounters with people walking their dogs. Interesting, you can almost tell whether a person is anxious or confident about the creature at other end of the leash. I intentionally try for a little face contact and a greeting with the human if it seems right. On almost all occasions, even if the human is cacooned, I follow with another greeting, “Hi pooch.” That is followed by a little chuckle or other pleasant sound from the human and the winning look or tailwag from the canine. Then it is an occasion, perhaps to be followed by some pleasantries conversation or just lighter steps each continuing on our way.

And yet … even as I can think of a few more examples there is a waning thought, and the discerning reader may also be thinking so. It’s not only words! Several of my recent blogposts lean towards the giftedness of silence and the futility of noise especially in repeated restaurant or watering hole settings, where words are mere tools of restlessness. Words uttered at high volume and multiplied ad nausea are not magic. They are irritating, suggesting to me that I best broaden out this image of magic. Yes, magic moments are fully there in those several occasions just described, but magic exists in a context way beyond words, and probably worth looking at.

In my Bible is a telltale about words. In Genesis 11 God needs to deal with overt ambition among those early humans, fancy schemes and plans leading to no good, "Come, let us go down, and confuse their language there, so that they will not understand one another’s speech" (:7). On that occasion, although words may have been important in accomplishing many tasks, a great disservice was rendered when coming with questionable motivation from the wrong source.

I remember another incident, a college classroom setting, this a number of years later, but also kind of once upon a time. It is Dr. David Schroeder [i] explaining something about movement of time. I see him sitting beside his desk in front of the class speaking in his gentle plodding manner, fully focused on the lesson of the day. Nobody was bored in this full classroom of young adults as he spoke. There is kronos, time moving along (tik tok tik tok), and there is kairos, an occasion which is a special moment somewhere in that time flow. It may be an incident, an inspiration, healing, or even a crisis or disappointment. It is a blic in time, perhaps beyond comprehension but somehow recognized as special. Words cannot quite describe it. The Bible, of course is not a mere chronology of events; it is a recording of those significant moments. [To this day an invaluable lesson. I wish many of today’s Christians might have been in that classroom on that day]. Perhaps we can think of kairos moments as magic moments - slightly more inclusive and perhaps more accurate than magic words.

I am in need of one of those moments, any day soon would be fine! The daily news is not good. I read headlines in New York Times and at times find myself relieved that so far the President of the United States has not yet curtailed this historic informative news publication. The era of us good lifers, post WW2 baby boomers, is nearing its end. A new way is descending on us (possibly WW3)? Interestingly as I write these words, U.S. and Russian Presidents are in meeting in Alaska, the northernmost state once purchased from Russia – providing for all to see an image not so remote from Donald Trump’s proffers of purchasing Canada. 😬 Among all these high-power games and sabre rattling I find myself in many minority opinion-casts; family members and friends, fellow Christians rising up in offensive defense whenever I state my apprehension about the autocrat the Americans have re-elected for themselves, now in office and indeed as dangerous to democracy as predicted. I write now in slightly more contentious times than at beginning of these blogs a few years ago when I promised lightheartedly I would “say it as I sees it.” Is there a kairos or magic moment?

Given the current socio-political environment along with both fearmongering and also avoidance stances, there are options. In recent conversation with a friend we agreed that we have reason for thanksgiving. Options are a luxury we still have; many in this world do not  (e.g. Ukraine, Gaza, South Sudan). Mostly we still have the freedom to worship God, the One above many names, who is ”from everlasting to everlasting” as cited in Psalm103:17 and a whole number of other places. Even among us believers we are many-striped in our devotion, including those who hail once more the end of time, not at all unlike one of the variances proclaimed back there in the sixteenth century [ii] and a number of times since. In these times-a-changing (again), and even as I appreciate those simple "everlasting" words, I hope and pray that we not be so busy philosophizing, predicting, and doing things that we miss the kairos moment.

I am ready to begin a kairos exchange, looking for ‘blics’, perhaps little testimonials about a life-changer moment either personal or observation of something happening around us. If a moment comes to mind and you are willing to share on this platform, I would enjoy reading it in Comments below. If you prefer a personal note, I am also there in FB Messenger. Please?

Addendum

It is now several days after I pressed the publish button. This morning's Bible reading revealed to me an error in my 'thinker' and therefore a slight miscommunication in this post. My request for a kairos exchange is a mistake - and similar to an error made by the disciple Peter after Jesus was transfigured before them on the mountain.  A very convincing kairos moment, I would say, including an appearance by the Old Testament Saints, Moses and Elijah. As recorded in Matthew 17, Peter the high-energy slightly impulsive disciple so cozy and so convinced about this divine occasion that he offers to build a couple of booths (:5 RSV, shelters NIV) for Jesus, for Moses and for Elijah - just to make it all very clear! "No need, no need", my wife and I both agreed as we talked about this scripture. Mountain top experiences need not be demonstrated with statues or buildings or smart headlines or...  and neither do kairos moments need to be lined up in a kairos exchange, 😌 I thought to myself. Even with that transfiguration drama, the invitation to the disciples, and to us, comes from within a cloud, ‘This is my Son, the beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!’ (:5b). The best way is simply to speak with one another of what the Beloved may be telling us. 

[i] David Schroeder (1924 – 2015) longtime professor at Canadian Mennonite Bible College (now CMU). See more on topic in one of his publications, Learning to Know the Bible (Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 1967).

[ii] William Loewen, Free Radicals, a historical podcast highlighting events from the fringes of church history. https://www.freeradicalspod.com/.