Irony Becomes Her

Mining for Books

"This is the disciple which testifieth of these things: and we know that his testimony is true. And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen."

The apostle John's concluding remarks indicate his feeling of utter failure in representing the man he knew as well as any human could. Since Jesus was the archetype of humanity in every other way, we cannot expect him to be different in the area of biography. The four gospels included in the New Testament only give the brightest highlights of 33 years of life, the things the disciples probably regaled one another with in their "church services." Considering the bulkiness of some modern biographies of people half his age, we can assume that Jesus's life has only been represented to us in the most sketchy form, one which his twelve buddies probably scoffed at, nudging each other with knowing looks.

My understanding of this passage of John made some progress today, as we discussed how impossible it would be ever to record for posterity all the amazing stories from my granddad's life. His knack for storytelling makes his life a tantalizing one; you always want to hear more, and the delightful thing is, there is more and more and more. If he (and, I contend, everyone) has a life with such potential for excavation, imagine how John must have thrown up his hands and said, "Lord, help me" when he had written 22 chapters--hence the epilogue.

That didn't keep him from trying. It was important enough for John that the world knew something of the mind-blowing story he had heard, seen, and participated in. My current thoughts about Granddad give me just a taste of what must have gone through John's thoughts: "If only they could have some hint of how unspeakably amazing this man was, they would love him as I do. I will be forever cursed and shamed if I don't give my all to try to tell the story."

This reading of John's gospel simultaneously drives me and comforts me that Granddad's story can and will be told. I can give the highlights, the vignettes that have meant the most to me, and do my best to hold his character up to be honored. I can tell about his Mount Whitney stories, his bottle jack story, his Roe Baker stories, his cannery stories, his army stories, his poetry, his father-in-law stories, his teaching stories--the mere listing of them could fill a number of books. And Granddad is the first one who would say he is unworthy to touch the strap of Jesus' sandal.

So my jaw drops again at the wonder of Jesus. If what we have about him, which takes my breath away, is only a grain on the seashore of his being, how much more is left for me to seek and find in him? Enough for the rest of my mortal life and beyond. Amen.

posted by Lynn @ 8:22 AM