There seems to be much talk today in the way of “vigilance, sobriety, alertness.” On every side sounds some call towards activism. We are come to the breaking of the epoch, it seems, and all around are horns sounding, calling us to action. Activism —of some ill-defined, generic and weary kind— has become our corporate steady-state. Uncountable for me are the number of recent sermons, essays, forms of punditry, videos, media posts of various kinds, etc. which begin along the lines of “it is important for us, in this moment to make sure we…” followed by some call to action…
Read moreWise fool
Sauron, dark Lord of Mordor, is a “wise fool.” His knowledge and cunning is great, but he reckons wrong because he reckons only according to his own scales — of power, control, and anxiety. Sauron learns that the Ring is abroad and calculates carefully:
Read more“He supposes that we are all going to Minas Tirith [the great stronghold city of the “good guys”]; for that is what he himself would have done in our place. And according to his wisdom, it would have been a heavy stroke against his power. Indeed he is in great fear, not knowing what mighty one may suddenly appear, wielding the Ring, and assailing him with war, seeking to cast him down and take his place.”
It was a hobbit hole and that means comfort
p/c Lucas Gruwez via unsplash
J.R.R Tolkien begins the Hobbit by telling us that Bilbo was a hobbit who lived in a hole in the ground, though not a muddy or dirty hole but a very homely and welcoming one for “It was a hobbit hole and that means comfort.” I’ve spent the weekend in airports across the country, in the ICU, in a beach condo in Destin Florida, and will return home shortly to Honolulu. That is to say, I’ve seen a lot of things that fly under the banner of “comfort” all while praying the daily office and reading The Lord of the Rings (which I read every four years during he election cycle). All of this has given rise to a question in me, “What is comfort?”
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