Suzanne Keen, Harvard PhD and English Department Chair at Washington and Lee University, told me on my visit there last fall that her students who have grown up reading Harry Potter are able to grasp and love longer narrative better than her students in the past. She shared this with a reporter at W&L in  the form of a “thank you” to Ms. Rowling for fostering her students’ appreciation of Dickens.

The article, which I hope very much you will read, explains how reading Harry Potter makes you a better reader of Dickens, i.e., the Hogwarts Saga’s long narrative, comedy amidst tragedy, complex plots, cryptonyms, word play, etc. I’d go further and mention Dickens’ gift for allegory or creating characters who are story transparencies for vices and virtues, the transfiguration of characters (positive and demonic), the topoi of literary alchemy, even his indoctrination of readers into a politically correct Romanticism (which might also just be called Christian charity?).

Did I mention the gothic melodrama and interior satire? I’m reading Dickens every night to my children to celebrate the gift of The Complete Works we received at Nativity. I’m loving reading Dickens through Potter-phile eyes, which is new to me, I realize, but will be the rule for Dickens readers for many decades — all those in Prof. Keen’s classes, certainly, and those on campus today.

I pressed her for some data to back up her anecdotal experience of the Potter Generations being more accomplished and sensitive readers than their older siblings and parents who didn’t, couldn’t have read Harry were. She shared two studies, both from the NEA: check them out here and here.

I have a lot more to say about Dickens, especially the Christmas novellas A Christmas Carol and the much less well known The Haunted Man. The first is a dramatic ring composition, written in fact as a song but really a round, and the second has several signs of being an alchemical set piece, not to mention a Weasley family look-alike. But more on that in the near future, time allowing.

My apologies to those of you who saw this post when it was only notes cut-and-pasted from emails. I pushed ‘publish’ instead of ‘save’ yesterday and had no idea this was live until comments started coming in. Your comments and corrections, of course, are coveted as always — especially if you can share your experience of classics post-Potter and how your vision and experience as a reader has or hasn’t been changed.

The idea that the Three Brothers in Deathly Hallows are story pointers to the Dark Lord, Severus Snape, and Harry Potter was discussed here in the weeks after the book’s publication in 2007. Alan Jacobs, however, I think was the first to publish the idea (if only as a hint) in his Christianity Today review of the series finale, ‘The Youngest Brother’s Tale.’

Many readers have already exclaimed that Harry’s final quest marks him as a clear Christ figure. This is wrong, seriously wrong, and I think J. K. Rowling goes out of her way to tell us so. People (characters in the books as well as readers) think that Harry is a unique person of unique power, but at a dozen points in the series we are clearly shown that he is not: he is called the Chosen One, but he is chosen by Voldemort, and Dumbledore emphasizes to Harry the sheer contingency of this choice. The work of the Cross is done by Christ alone; Harry always has help. (It’s worth emphasizing that while each of the Horcruxes is destroyed, each is destroyed by a different person.) At his moment of agony Christ was abandoned; at the end of his quest Harry is supported and comforted.

As my friend Jay Wood has noted, if Harry resembles a biblical figure it is not Christ but rather Stephen the Protomartyr. But the comparisons with Stephen are limited too: for a more precise analogue, I encourage you to rummage through your children’s books until you find an old copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard. Surely you have one. Read the story of the Three Brothers, and pay particular attention to the youngest. You’d be surprised what you could learn.

I have quite a few problems with Prof. Jacobs’ patronizing review of Deathly Hallows (read that here) but I hope he was pointing to this internal connection of Harry and the youngest brother by his condescending allusion above.

Your thoughts, please! Are the three brothers of the Beedle Bard’s tale the story-within-the-story telling the story’s heart before we get to that end in the proper story order? And what do you think of the Riley montage above? The floor is all yours –

Hat tip to Nadja for the foto link. See the Facebook page here.

Some fictional characters get their invitation to the perfect school by owl. For you, there's this e-mail from Kenyon College.

If your sense of humor and your sense of wonder inform everything you do, just go to owls.kenyon.edu, where you can learn more about Kenyon, one of the country's best liberal arts colleges. (And tell us about your perfect college, if you like.)

This message sent by admissions@kenyon.edu.
Kenyon College
101 Chase Avenue
Gambier, OH 43022

You opted in to this list from: We received your name from the College Board PSAT search or from your high school per results of the NRCCUA survey.

The Huffington Post yesterday put up a fun, provocative article, Should J. K. Rowling Win the Noble Prize? I urge you to read the whole thing and share your thoughts in the comment boxes below.

Here are three thoughts off the top of my head about this article and the possibility that Ms. Rowling might be honored this way:

(1) Would they be honoring her or she them? Forgive me for stating the obvious but the bloom is long off the rose of winning a Nobel Prize, outside of the so-called ‘hard sciences.’ What prompted this HuffPro piece, for an example beyond President Obama receiving the Peace Prize or Tom Friedman winning the Economics Nobel, was the revelation that C. S. Lewis nominated Tolkien for the Literature Prize and was turned down because Tollers “has not in any way measured up to storytelling of the highest quality.” As the author points out, the criteria for the Literature reward from Oslo seems at least as much political correctness and artistic obscurity as literary merit. If Ms. Rowling accepted the prize, it’s value in the eyes of the great unwashed reading public would skyrocket; they would know and have read at least one writer who was a Nobel Laureate.

(2) Does the Hogwarts Saga meet the Literature Prize’s criteria? Here is where it gets to be fun. Forget the actual criteria used by judges in Norway alluded to above. Do Harry’s adventures satisfy the standards that Alfred Nobel set down so long ago?

Jeff O’Neal writes:

In his will that established the prizes, Alfred Nobel wanted the Literature award to go to “to the person who shall have produced in the field of literature the most outstanding work in an ideal direction.” This phrase is as ambiguous as it is telling; the “ideal direction” of literature is not stated, but the award clearly is intended for authors whose work strives toward some kind of literary ideal.

I don’t think the phrase “in an ideal direction” is necessarily “ambiguous;” I’d say it has at least two obvious meanings and Ms. Rowling’s work satisfies both.

The first and more likely meaning is that Nobel was a man of his age, a logical-positivist, say, and a believer in material progress towards an ideal or perfected society. His funding the awards to assuage his conscience about the damage done by the invention of dynamite suggests this sort of leaning. Ms. Rowling, of course, is less naive and millenialist than any fin de siecle scientist but she is an “idealist” in her political progressivism and enthusiasm for the UK Labour Party.

More substantially, she is an idealist in the philosophical and historical sense of that word in being contra-nominalist, which is to say, a believer in transcendent realities which time-and-space things, persons, and events and art reflect and act as transparencies for their viewing and apprehension. She writes in the imaginative literature traditions of English fantasy and, as such, could be nothing but an author writing in an “ideal direction.” Imagination is the engine of her millenialism, after all.

If Ms. Rowling isn’t qualified for the Nobel Prize in Literature in this regard, no one is, even Tolkien.

(3) Why Shouldn’t She Win the Prize? Mr. O’Neal, the HuffPro reporter, loves the fact that the prize has little to do with writers successfully and artfully connecting readers and meaning. It’s a literature prize, doncha know, and that means it has to be given to someone, anyone, writing something literary, i.e., to a political poet or novelist who writes psychological prose or poesy for the academic set.

As such, O’Neal is obliged to note in off-handed fashion that Ms. Rowling is not qualified to receive the prize because she is a hack writer in genre, popular fiction. He says that “most readers of literature value” “aesthetic and topical demands” and Rowling “doesn’t write great sentences, and it would be hard to argue that the subject matter is hugely important.”

He argues, however, that she deserves the award because she is popular:

Put the artistic imperative aside for the moment and consider this: she is the formative writer for millions and millions of children. …. [T]he questions, characters, stories, and values in her work have resonated with the world.

And what more can books do than that?

You gotta love that “artistic imperative” bit being contrasted with “what books can do”! His ignorance of Ms. Rowling’s artistry, so that her poor abilities as a writer and the lack of merit in her genre(s) of choice are offered as something of a given to the hip crowd of HuffPro, are only matched by the complementary patronizing arrogance of saying, “but, hey, y’know, there is no meaning beyond democratic performance, so the best an author can do is great sales, so, go ahead and give her the Prize!”

Ignorance and arrogance are almost always twins, no? On the internet, it’s hard to find one without the other.

Again, those are my thoughts on the fly. I look forward to your comments and corrections about what I have said, as always, but more about your thoughts on Ms. Rowling’s worthiness to win the Nobel Prize for Literature.

I confess the story here about the great number of Great White Owl sightings in the United States didn’t really excite me. I’m not a ‘birder’ with a life list so the possibility of seeing birds that are a relatively rare sight in the lower 48 didn’t stir me to reschedule vacations so I could get to Hawaii (!) in order to see the bird there.

On the other hand, the ‘Shared Text’ aspect of this news is ‘in your face.’ Why does anyone care about Great White Owls now a days, beyond the hard-to-miss angelic symbolism? You got it: Hedwig.

People have always had a fascination with owls, but the book and 2001 film “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” in which a snowy owl named Hedwig first appeared as Harry’s companion and mail courier, thrust the species in the spotlight. Holt said the movie series helped land the winged creature a December 2002 National Geographic cover story.

“We were inundated with phone calls from people about all these kids wanting to have pet snowy owls,” Holt said. “It just went crazy for a while there.”

Right. I’d also note that these owls are magically intelligent:

There’s no good estimate on the size of their population. Holt recalls a study in which researchers working on a Canadian island found thousands of snowy owls one year, only to follow up the next year to find not a single one.

Pretty straight forward that is, right? Too many Muggle scientists on the island.

For me, though, the best part of this story was having an excuse to post the pictures of these magnificent creations at HogwartsProfessor. Maybe I will make that trip to Hawaii to see the Arctic Angel in the tropical paradise; if imagining them in the mind’s eye is this much fun, I’d love to see one in person.

Hat tip to George!

2011 was a wild ride, wasn’t it? Harry Potter fandom experienced the  ’end of the beginning’ when the last movie adapted from the Hogwarts Saga was released [for a longish explanation why this is an 'end of the beginning' rather than a 'beginning of the end,' read Harry Is Here to Stay]. The Hunger Games entered into an ever larger audience of readers, setting records for sales on Amazon’s Kindle ebook reader and receiving daily news updates from film sites in North Carolina. Twilight lovers, too, had a banner year with the wedding album and Renesmee birthing in Breaking Dawn, Part 1.

And we discussed it all here on HogwartsProfessor.com! Our faculty took shape this year with the official appointments of Elizabeth Baird Hardy, John Patrick Pazdziora, Louise Freeman, and M.Brett Kendall as full professors, James of TwilightNewsSite.com as an adjunct prof, and a gaggle of Guest posters with special insights about Harry, Katniss, Bella, and great reading in general.

The year ended with a MuggleNet.com feature interview with me about Ring Composition (you can listen to or read the transcript here). This sort of linkage always brings with it a relative flood of new visitors to HogwartsProfessor.com — ‘HogPro’ among friends — so, as welcome and means of introduction to what we do here, I’ve collected links after the jump for something like a ‘HogPro Greatest Hits of 2011′ page with links to outside sites and our vaults as well.

Welcome, newcomers, to the conversations about the 21st Century’s most popular and arguably its best reading and writing! Thank you, All-Pros, for a delightful year gone by — and Happy New Year!

For the much condensed overview of what HogwartsProfessor is all about, regardless of which books any of the HogPro faculty are discussing, check out ‘The Seven Keys to HogwartsProfessor.’ Eliade thesis, Shared Text, Ring Composition, Soul Triptych, etc.: the meaning of the foundation ideas are all there. For a crash course in how these keys work together, read the article ‘Harry Is Here to Stay.’

I just scrolled through the 2011 posts to pull out the set here; no doubt, I have missed the better ideas in my haste. Please nominate neglected gems in the Comment Boxes below!

Harry Potter:

Was Shelley’s Dr. Frankenstein an Alchemist? Introducing the ‘Potter as Pearl Harbor’ Thesis and, with that. Shelley’s Frankenstein: The Alchemy Chapters

Guest Post: The Connection of Ring Composition and Literary Alchemy in the Layout of the Seven Book Harry Potter Series

Little Women and Harry Potter: Jo Rowling is Jo March

Blasts from the HogPro Vault for Newcomers:

How does Ring Composition Work, Anyway?

The Secret Doctrine of The Secret Garden

John’s talk with TIME’s Lev Grossman about Harry

PodCast: What Constitutes Harry Potter Canon anyway?

Anne of Green Gables and Harry Potter

“I always thought of Dumbledore as gay.” [ovation.]

The Epilogue’s “All Was Well”: Context, Themes, and a Possible Literary Reference

Rita Skeeter Covers the Vatican

“But Obviously Dumbledore is not Jesus:” The Hogwarts Headmaster as Christ Symbol in Half-Blood Prince

Twilight:

Bella Swan and Edward Cullen Go to University: The Scandal of Teaching Twilight as Literature

Guest Post: In Defense of the Twilight Saga

The Host: Filming and Book Sequels Imminent

From the Forks High School Professor Vault:

Mrs. Meyer’s Anti-Cult, Feminist Story-Message

PodCast on Eclipse and Bree Tanner

Mrs. Meyer says Twilight is Meaningless?

PodCast with Mrs. Meyer’s Favorite BYU Professor, Steve Walker

‘Alchemists Everywhere!’ A Hog’s Head PubCast

What Twilight Means (an interview with TIME magazine’s Lev Grossman)

Anne of Green Gables and Twilight

The New Moon Posts: What is the Second Book Really About?

Twilight and the Future of the Novel: Thoughts on a WSJ Editorial

The Spectrum of Christian Opinion on Twilight

A Twilight-focused editorial in the Washington Post and damning the series with faint praise

A series of posts comparing the critical receptions Ms. Rowling’s and Mrs. Meyer’s popular series received

Hunger Games

Elizabeth Baird Hardy’s Hunger Games film posts

Three Good Reasons to Read Suzanne Collins’ Five Underland Chronicles: Gregor the Overlander Meets Harry and Katniss

From the Hunger Games secret chamber in the HogPro Vault:

Mockingjay Discussion 12: Real or Not Real?

Mockingjay Discussion 14: The Hunger Games Formula

Mockingjay Discussion 15: The Hanging Tree

Mockingjay Discussion 16: Katniss’ Meadow Song

Mockingjay Discussion 22: Ring and Mirror Composition

‘Unlocking Mockingjay: The Spiritual Allegory’ On Katniss as a Soul Seeking Perfection and Iconological Reading

‘Unlocking Mockingjay: ‘The Literary Alchemy’ On Literary Alchemy and Peeta as Postmodern Christ

‘Unlocking Mockingjay: Katniss’ Apotheosis’ On the Alchemical Arena and Katniss’ Perfection in the Inner Sanctuary

Various and Sundry

Why Read Fiction? A Perspective by John Patrick Pazdziora

Jane Eyre 7: A Lesson on Authorial Intent from Jasper Fforde’s Literary Detective Thursday Next by Elizabeth Baird Hardy

Come One, Come All (Maybe) to Erin Morgenstern’s Debut novel, The Night Circus by Elizabeth Baird Hardy

Charles Williams: ‘The Greater Trumps’

Why ‘Magician’s Nephew’ is a Great Choice for Next Narnia Film

Touchstone is a great magazine, period, and if you don’t subscribe, you really should. I read every issue cover to cover and always find something to make me think and re-think what I’ve thought. For example, where else but Touchstone can you read a critique of Jack London’s short story ‘To Build a Fire’ from the traditional lens revealing the four layers of meaning? David Haddon’s purpose in ‘Never Absolute Zero’ isn’t to advocate that lens — he works pretty hard to make the point that London transcends his atheism in his art — but he opens his critique with a short review of its value:

Dr. Louise Cowan, longtime professor of literature at the University of Dallas​, taught that an analysis of a work of literature is not complete until the critic has evaluated it not only at the literal, allegorical, and moral levels, but also at the anagogic level—the critic must evaluate the work’s relation to ultimate spiritual reality. Thus, at the two highest levels, we must compare the morality and metaphysics discernable in an artist’s narrative with the moral order discernible in what C. S. Lewis called the Tao (or Natural Law) and with the order of creation revealed in Scripture.

Those of you who have Spotlight or Harry Potter’s Bookshelf or even just the posts here at HogwartsProfessor know that this sort of reading, what we call iconological criticism after Northrup Frye, is a large part of what I’m after in writing for ‘serious readers’ of popular fiction. As such Mr. Haddon’s article was a delight to read and I encourage you to read it in full. He makes his point about London’s story being evidence of a perspective greater than the materialism of his professed politics and offers a different perspective on the anagogical than I have.

First, Dr. Cowan’s sequencing of the four layers of reading has the ‘moral’ following the ‘allegorical’ rather than preceding it on the way to the sublime or anagogical summit and Mr. Haddon’s interpretation follows her lead. Though traditional — Aquinas uses this sequence, for instance, as does Dante in his request for a ‘polysemantic’ reading of the Comedia – I don’t think these authorities justify bumping a ‘moral’ or tropological’ reading over allegory.

Why not? For one thing, Aquinas’ reading (after Boethius, I suspect) is not the sequence as it was given in the original, that is, the interpretation of Hebrew scriptures by Talmudic scholars. The acronym for these four layers in Hebrew and Aramaic was P-R-D-S (frequently ‘PaRDeS’ or “Garden” in Hebrew): P standing for pashat or ‘simple,’ R for remez meaning ‘hint,’ D for drash meaning ‘search,’ and S for sod or ‘hidden.’ And Aquinas and Dante are not married to the sequence of the last three layers, only to the distinction of the ‘literal’ and the ‘non-literal.’ I’d suggest, too, that what Aquinas meant by ‘tropological’ has more to do with what we understand as ‘allegory’ than with ‘morality’ as such, except in the interpretation of Scripture.

More important than the historical usage of iconological criticism, the switch of allegory before moral reading breaks the epistemological foundation of layered interpretation. As seen in the chart below, the three layers beneath the surface or historical narrative of any reading correspond to the greater knowledges beneath sense perception and understanding, namely, opinion, science, and wisdom.

The moral layer corresponds with ‘opinion’ rather than ‘science,’ that is, sure knowledge derived from reasoning, or, better, knowledge had by looking through data as transparencies to see the principle or law of which they are only symbols, i.e., allegory.

Mr. Haddon, however, because he reads ‘allegory’ as less than ‘moral,’ makes too little of ‘To Build a Fire’s anti-hero as Man per se rather than just one man in the frozen Yukon wilderness (about which inclusive idea of Man see another great Touchstone article, this one by Anthony Esolen).

C. S. Lewis famously despised allegory, (well, not really) at least when it was used to describe his fiction, because he understood the popular misunderstanding of allegory as mechanical connecting of story to ‘real world’ correspondences, ‘Big Lion is Jesus,’ ‘War of the Ring is WWII,’ etc., rather than symbolic or transparency-reading, alieniloquium, ‘One-thing-standing-for-another-thing,’ in which the signifier was the story element and the signified was something transcendent or at least much greater than historical events or persons.

Mr. Haddon, in following Dr. Cowan and Lewis after Aquinas, is forced to make the moral, the right and wrong of ‘To Build a Fire’ carry much more weight than it can. As allegory, however, of human hubris and life without the virtues, it works wonderfully, in itself and as passage to the anagogical reading Mr. Haddon makes.

I said I had two points and the second is less tendentious or pedantic, I hope.

Mr. Haddon rests his case on the story transcending Jack London’s materialist worldview, by which is meant de facto atheism, on London’s assertion that the character dies for lack of “imagination:”

London blunts the story’s suspense by explaining to the reader in advance why the chechaquo must die: “The trouble with him was that he was without imagination. He was quick and alert in the things of life, but only in the things and not in the significances.” Thus, he was “quick and alert,” not stupid; but he failed to appreciate the dangers of traveling alone when it was colder than 50 below because of his lack of imagination—and for this he dies. But London’s proffered interpretation strangely ignores the real reason for his protagonist’s death, which the narrative itself makes apparent.

Mr. Haddon may be right, in fact, I’m certain he is right in his thesis about the intentio auctoris here not being as great and perhaps being even contrary to the grander intentio operis found in ‘To Build a Fire.’ But he could also be misreading London when he writes, ““The trouble with him was that he was without imagination. He was quick and alert in the things of life, but only in the things and not in the significances.”

“Imagination” in the 19th century meant much more than it does now, especially in literary and theological circles. Coleridge famously equates the Primary Imagination as something akin to if not identical with the human spiritual faculty or capacity, the “heart” of the New Testament. It’s not just a cranial ability to conjure mental pictures or images without the benefit of incoming sense perception.

Read in this light, London’s describing him as a man “without imagination” who was unable to pick up on the “significances” is a pointer to the greater meaning of the story Mr. Haddon argues atheist London is unaware of, even denying. I agree with the critic in doubting that Jack London was writing to share a challenging and edifying story of Man separated from the “significances,” most notably, lacking humility before Creation and Creator.

I wonder, though, if Mr. Haddon, in his rush to suggest that atheists have no sense of the sublime, transcendent, or anagogical isn’t over-reaching and under-reading London’s artistry. His comment about imagination and the story structure of hubris vs wisdom makes me think Jack London was not unaware of his message, one that might not contradict the this-worldly politics of the author.

Read ‘Never Absolute Zero’ if you have a minute and let me know what you think; your comments and corrections are coveted as always. And, if you’re not a Touchstone subscriber, please give that a thought!

Some of the best conversations I have been part of at Harry Potter conventions the past few years have been with Andrew Slack, the head of the Harry Potter Alliance, and Travis Prinzi, author and fellow Potter Pundit, on the spiritual dimensions of the Hogwarts Saga. The details of these exchanges are all over the map but the insights and engagements of Messrs Prinzi and Slack have stretched most of my ideas of how to understand our favorite boy wizard’s adventures.

As much as I enjoy Mr. Slack’s company and admire the intentions of his Harry Potter Alliance’s book drives among other things, however, I haven’t been a big fan of the giants they labored to slay or admired the way they chose to demonize folks who disagree with them.

I was delighted, consequently, to learn that HPA has decided to “speak truth to power” to a foe that not only lives in the Harry Potter fandom house, but one that you could say owns the house fandom lives in, namely, Warner Brothers. This is a Goliath that could conceivably hurt the Alliance and its leaders.

I have been told by a reliable source, for example, that Warner Brothers has forbidden a notable Potter Pundit from visiting the Universal Studios theme park in Orlando, Florida. No big deal? Probably not; I’m guessing said Pundit could sneak in if s/he really wanted to. I mention it only to point out that the Big Kahuna is not above petty attacks to clarify who is part of the “in crowd” and who is on the outs with the power holders.

Forgive me again for thinking that this sort of thing matters to many of HPA’s membership and leadership. Hence my delight that they have taken a stand regarding the Chocolate used in making Chocolate Frogs that are sold at the Wizarding World theme park. It’s a principled stand for those who cannot defend themselves, children sold into slavery to pick cocoa, and a stand against a corporation that holds the biggest cookie jar.

I take my hat off, consequently, to Mr. Slack and the Alliance; I encourage everyone to buy the Fair trade Chocolate Frogs they are selling (at risk of inviting a copyright suit?) and to send a video Howler to Warner Brothers as the Alliance suggests. I’m not at all sure or even hopeful that this will sway the Warner Wizards one way or the other; I do want to encourage and support the Alliance in their principled stand against a powerful adversary. Three Cheers and my best wishes!

Start your 2012 out right! Resolve to read about Harry and Edward (or Bilbo and Batman?) at least one more time in the New Year — 10 (Research-Tested) New Year’s Resolutions, Culled from the Work of University at Buffalo Faculty

Resolution #6 – ‘Read More Fantasy to Combat Loneliness.’

Reading fantasies like the popular “Twilight” vampire series or the Harry Potter collection of novels helps to satisfy a need for human connection, according to the research of UB associate professor of psychology Shira Gabriel, PhD, and graduate student Ariana Young. When we become engrossed in fictional narratives we feel close to others in the comfort of our own space and at our own convenience, their research shows. “In our subjects, this led to a reported increase in life satisfaction and positive mood, which are two primary outcomes of belonging,” Gabriel says.’

For more, see ‘We Actually “Become” Happy Vampires or Contented Wizards When Reading a Book’

Hat Tip, Kitty!

As many of you know, I am an Orthodox Christian which means today is not what it is for most; Nativity for traditional Christians is still two weeks away. I live in a different world than most people in America in choosing to observe the liturgical calendar of the Church but I am not so far removed from reality not to note the Western Christmas season and all it means to my many friends here who worship on the Gregorian calendar. Joyous Noel to you all!

This year I received a Christmas poem from Beth Priest in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, which annual event, because she has sent them since I first ‘met’ her online years ago and because they are so good, has become a marker of the Philippian Fast for me. I share ‘Standing Still’  below with her permission in the hope that you find it as edifying as I did — and wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Standing Still

“In the Jesus child of Mary lives the almighty God. Wait a minute! Don’t speak; stop thinking! Stand still before this statement! God became a child! Here he is, poor like us, miserable and helpless like us, a person of flesh and blood like us, our brother. And yet he is God; he is might.”
~Dietrich Bonhoeffer

I am rushing, rushing, doing more,
I am rushing, rushing, wanting more,
I am rushing though my heart is sore,
I am rushing, rushing, rushing…

I am rushing this time to assist,
I am rushing this time to acquire.
I am rushing as though hopes consist
Of all I dream, desire and conspire.

I rush as though I think I know
The way each moment ought to go,
I rush like I can hold together
The world in all its weary weather.

I rush as though my life depended
On what I’ve said or done or mended.
I rush from one place to another,
I cram my heart with fuss and bother.

Till one day I am stopped. That’s all.
Just stopped before I start to fall.
A hand is held before my face.
It startles me, this hand of grace.

It bids me stop for a long while.
It bids me stand, not think of miles
To go and do before I sleep.
It bids me laugh. It bids me weep.

It points, this hand, across the years,
It gestures love and calms my fears.
It points me to a Child, a stable.
It points me to the One who’s able
To hold and know, forgive and mend.
It shows me joy that will not end.

I am stopping, stopping, stepping down,
I am stopping, stopping, slowing down.
I am stopping. Now an act of will.
I am stopping. I am standing still.
“O worship and adore!” The whispered call.
The quiet is enough. His love is all.

~Elisabeth M. Priest, Advent 2011

Thank you, Beth, for this poem!

Her Majesty the Queen also has some Christmas notes for her subjects you might want to read.