Who Ever Heard of Maundy Thursday?

When I grew up, we always went to church on Maundy Thursday. It was an important day to my father, and it's an important day in my current denomination.

But many Christians don't even know what it is.

Maundy Thursday commemorates the Last Supper. That's when Jesus and his disciples celebrated the Passover meal in an upper room and Jesus initiated the Lord's Supper (also called "Holy Communion" and "the Eucharist"). The same meal where Jesus told his disciples that they were to serve one another and washed their feet as an example to them.

The commonly accepted derivation of the term "Maundy" is that it comes from the Latin word "mandatum," meaning mandate or commandment. After washing the disciples' feet, Jesus told them, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another." (John 13:34 ESV)

Jesus left the upper room with a heavy heart. He knew he would be crucified the next day, but he did it for us because he was our servant.

And our Lord.

That's why I celebrate Maundy Thursday.

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The picture is called "Christ Washing the Feet of His Disciples," and the artist is Nicolas Bertin. The painting was created sometime around 1720 or 1730 as an oil on panel.

A Non-Review of "The Bible"

I don't watch shows about lawyers because the inaccuracies drive me crazy, and I've purposefully avoided watching "The Bible" on the History Channel for similar reasons. I do, however, have Christian friends who watch it, and their opinions differ.

Some enjoy the program and have told me they find the series true to the text. Others think it concentrates too much on the violent episodes in the Bible to the exclusion of stories that show a loving God. Or, as Lutherans would put it, they think the show contains too much law and not enough gospel.

Whether I agree with the approach or not, I can understand it. Violence sells, as they say. Normally that's a bad thing, but maybe it isn't this time. To those of us who know it well, the Bible is an exciting book. Still, it is easy to portray it in a boring way, and boring doesn't capture viewers. Violence does. And if that's what it takes to get someone interested, I'm all for it. Especially if viewing the series makes people curious enough to ask questions and read the source.

Besides, God can use anything for His purposes.

So even though I'm not watching the show, I'm glad others are.

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The picture is titled "David Slaying Goliath," and the artist is Peter Paul Rubens. The painting was created around 1616 as on oil on canvas.

Spring Forward, Fall Back

Spring forward
To save an hour of daylight.
Put it in the bank
Until the dark of winter.

Fall back
Into the evening gloom.
Open the vault
To lengthen the days.

 

Empty the treasure chest
Of sunlight and illusion.
Evening hours borrowed from morning,
And then returned.

No hour gained,
No hour lost.
Each day still with twenty-four
To run it's course.

Minds are easily deceived,
But you can't fool Mother Nature.

Poem © 2013 by Kathryn Page Camp

Spring picture © 2011 by Kathryn Page Camp

Fall picture © 2012 by Kathryn Page Camp

 

Criticism or Critique?

These two words, criticism and critique, share a dictionary definition but often create opposite emotions. Many people view criticism negatively but critique positively.

Both should be positive, even when they are negative.

I belong to several groups that exist to encourage and, yes, to criticize. To criticize the material, that is, not the person.

The Highland Writers' Group is an in-person critique group that meets weekly to critique members' works in progress, and Calumet Toastmasters is a Toastmasters International club that meets semi-monthly to listen to and evaluate members' speeches. I also have an on-line critique partner who is most helpful of all. The picture shows me with Celeste when we met for lunch during my vacation last summer.

There are two things I've learned (among many, of course). First, if I want to improve my craft, I can't be sensitive. Second, if I want to improve my craft, I must be sensitive. The definition to avoid is "quick to take offense; touchy." The one to embrace is "responsive to external conditions or stimulation." (These two definitions of "sensitive" come from the fourth edition of The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language.)

Several years ago, I was writing an overtly Christian novel and sharing it with the Highland Writers' Group for critique. I found myself constantly irritated by the criticism from one member. He appeared to be antagonistic to Christianity, and most of his comments showed that he misunderstood what I was trying to say in this paragraph or that one. My immediate reaction (in my head, not my mouth, fortunately), was "You aren't my audience. Christians will know what I mean."

Then I went home and thought about it. Yes, he wasn't my intended audience, and maybe a Christian audience would understand what I wrote. But maybe it wouldn't. Equally important, what if a non-Christian picked up the book and read it? Better to reword a few paragraphs than to risk being misunderstood.

With minor variations, this experience has been a theme in the critique experiences I have found most helpful. If I quickly take offense and discount the criticisms, I don't learn anything. But if I think about what was said and respond offensively rather than defensively, my writing is the better for it. Yes, I still reject some of the suggestions I receive, but not until I have considered them carefully.

Because even negative criticism can be a positive experience.

For Love and Art

My Valentine's Day gift for Roland didn't arrive until last week. I knew it was going to be late, but it was worth it.

When we were at the sailboat show several weeks ago, we saw some artwork at a booth for The Crystal Cave. Gorgeous, but expensive. You send them a picture of your sailboat or your favorite lighthouse or bridge or city skyline and they engrave it on glass. When the salesman said they could engrave our boat with the Mackinac Bridge in the background, we were intrigued.

In our new piece of art, you can see every detail, including Roland at the helm. (I took the picture of Freizeit from the breakwater at the Hammond Marina several years ago. The Mackinac Bridge is from an image The Crystal Cave already had.) Our new art piece sets into a stand and is lit from below, sending a soft glow into the room when the rest of the lights are off.

I love it. I love my husband, too.

And the best Valentine's Day gift is one we can both enjoy.

Accusing Eyes

Last week I mentioned the workshop I presented on poetry as an agent of social change. During the workshop, I asked students to write their own poems about social responsibility. I don't believe in asking others to do what I won't do myself, so I wrote one, too. Actually, I may have cheated a little, because I wrote mine in advance and took time to polish it so I could use it as an example.

Here is my poem.

  Accusing Eyes

Screams wake me
To visions of her eyes.
Haunting eyes
Crying without tears.
Behind thin walls
Mine close in sleep. 

Not my nightmare.

Bruises cover arms
Exposed to summer sun.
Pleading eyes
Stare into mine.
Clumsy, her mother says,
Always bumping into doors.

Not my business.

Sirens wake me
To flashing red lights.
Covered eyes
Carried through corridors.
Accident, her mother says.
Murder, the cops reply.

Not my fault. 

 © 2013 by Kathryn Page Camp

A Boring Subject?

Last Tuesday I presented a workshop on poetry as an agent of social change. Actually, my contribution was a breakout session from a larger workshop presented by the Indiana Writers' Consortium (in which I am actively involved) in partnership with The Writing Center at Purdue University Calumet.

The workshop was part of PUC's One Book/One University project, where freshmen read and discuss The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. Most of the sessions the students have attended over the academic year concentrated on the medical and ethical issues raised by the book. Our workshop looked at how creative writing techniques can be used to make a difference in the world.

Written as creative non-fiction, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks takes the complicated and often boring subjects of cell culture and scientific research and turns them into a fascinating story about one cell donor and her family. The book explores the ethical issues involved when taking living cells from a donor without her consent and using those cells to produce medical advances that benefit millions

When I first volunteered for this project, I did not look forward to reading the book. Medical issues sounded about as dense and dull to me as legal issues sound to most of you. But I soon found myself drawn into the story, and I learned things I would have tuned out if they were part of an academic or medical treatise. This book proves what H.L. Mencken said: "There are no dull subjects. There are only dull writers." Rebecca Skloot is not a dull writer.

So if you want to expand your mind without being bored, I recommend The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.