G.K. Chesterton and Shadows of Our Lives

On the Calendar today we recall the gifts of Gilbert Keith Chesterton.  According to his biography in Holy Women, Holy Men:

Born in 1874, Gilbert Keith Chesterton was one the intellectual giants of his day, and was known for his writing that spanned fields as diverse as literary criticism, fiction and fantasy, satire, and Christian apologetics. Chesterton often blended elements of such genres together, as indicated in his famous novel The Man Who Was Thursday, which combines a mystery plot with Christian imagery  and symbolism.[i]

The Gospel for today is from Saint John[ii] and tells of Jesus calling Phillip, “Follow me,” says Jesus to Phillip who immediately tells Nathaniel.

“Can anything good come out Galilee?” is Nathaniel’s guarded response.

“Come and see,” responds Phillip.

Follow Me. Come and see. These are powerful invitations. When we look at ourselves in the mirror, do we see Nathaniel staring back at us or do we see Phillip? Never mind that almost immediately Nathaniel matches Phillip in his enthusiasm for the Son of God, the King of Israel. Rather it’s his gut reaction compared to that of Phillip’s that garners my fascination this evening. What in my spiritual life causes me from answering the call to follow Jesus in those moments when I see Nathaniel staring back at me from the mirror? Browsing my local public library yesterday, I wandered as I always do, into the audio collection and came across a new release CD by sing-songwriter Spencer Day.

While I am known for relying on my instinct and my love of tech things, there are certain things for which  I still hold an affinity for holding and experiencing the whole of idea. I am this way very much about books and CDs. I am glad I checked out this particular CD. There are a number of songs, most of the lyrics of which Day wrote himself or collaborated on. One such song that has quickly enamored itself to me is Shadow Man.

Anywhere that I try to run

My shadow’s runnin’ too
Anytime that I find the sun

He clouds my sky of blue
Any place that I go to find a little piece of mind
You can bet that my shadow man is never far behind

Whether it’s day or night
Whether I flee or fight
He is as constant as the dark side of the moon

He’s always haunting me
Until I learn to be with him
He’ll never let me be
So I’ll find the door and turn the key
I’ll step into the darkness

And I’ll set my shadow free

Everyone got a dirty secret somewhere deep inside
Everyone got a Jeckyll hidden underneath their Hyde
We take a look at our past and all the monsters we became
We been hidin’ in the shadow and the shadow is to blame

Whether it’s day or night
Whether I flee or fight
He is as constant as the dark side of the moon

He’s always haunting me
Until I learn to be with him
He’ll never let me be
So I’ll find the door and turn the key
I’ll step into the darkness
And I’ll set my shadow free
Step into the darkness and I’ll set my shadow free
Step into the darkness and I’ll set my shadow free[iii]

            I am pretty confident that G.K. Chesterton, given his love of the power of the pen is smiling down on these particular lyrics. When I look in the mirror and acknowledge the hesitation of Nathaniel staring back at me, I know it is because of the shadow in my own life.

            As I listened to the CD The Mystery of You, I read the liner notes. Spencer Day notes “the making of [this cd] and the past few years that led up to it, have been a profound, strange, challenging and wonderful time.” On his website, there is more extensive biography in which he talks about how much of his lyrics have come both out of the dark periods of his life and the periods in which he experienced the greatest feelings of hope. I find that in my creative writing, much of best work has come out of the darkest periods of my life. Both Day and I, in this regard, join the ranks of countless other artists including such geniuses as Van Gough, Poe and others and many others known and unknown – published and unpublished.

            One of the most profound resonations of these lyrics is the acknowledgement that until we confront that shadow in our lives, it will always be not only with us, but dominating us. And we don’t leave the shadow. Rather once we acknowledge it, instead of a goal of abandonment, our goal is to companion with it. Companion with the dark parts of our life.

            The times that I look in the mirror and see Nathaniel rather than Phillip, I know it is a period of time when I am trying to deny that part of me that I don’t like to admit exists. There are times that I am impatient with people with less technological skills than I. I forget that there are people with much better technological skill than I who have immense patience with my learning. There are times that in an attempt to purely look at a situation from a logical perspective, I gloss over someone’s feelings too rapidly.  I forget the lessons that my favorite character in the Star Trek universe, Spock has long strived to balance, the logical and emotional perspectives.  These are the times that I know I see my shadow. I know I see Nathaniel in the mirror.

           

“Come and see,” Phillip tells Nathaniel. Phillip tells us. Can we acknowledge the shadow in our lives? When we do acknowledge it, then we will be able to “come and see.” Let us pray.

            -dmeo, ww

                                   

O God of earth and altar, you gave G. K. Chesterton a ready tongue and pen, and inspired him to use them in your service: Mercifully grant that we may be inspired to witness cheerfully to the hope that is in us; through Jesus Christ our Savior, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

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[i] Holy Women, Holy Men: Celebrating the Saints. Biography of G.K. Chesterton and Collect of the Day. Pages 424-425. Copyright 2010 by Church Publishing, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

[ii] John 1:43-51. Retrieved from Oremus at bible.oremus.org

[iii] Shadow Man Lyrics courtesy Songs of Concord. Copyright 2013 by Spencer Day. Used by permission. All rights reserved.