When wonderful things don't happen that should have, or could have happened, it is a great tragedy.
By the time many of you read this a great tragedy will have occurred.
Before we dig into the details, let’s agree on what the definitions of tragedy are. There may be more than two types but for our purposes today we will confine ourselves to two.
The first is type is the most common that we see on the news. It’s the type where when the news anchor comes “on the air” he/she/it tries to “keep themselves together", but can not because the tragedy is too overwhelming. They choke back tears. Try to compose themselves.
It’s like the time that Cessna two seater crashed into the cemetery on the mountainside. All were lost. Rescue crews recovered bodies for days. Many lives lost.
A tragedy. Some bodies were hard to recognize.
The other type is the “Tragedy of the UnDone”. (Which is a phrase we are coining today. We meaning me. Coining meaning we invented. Today meaning today.)
The Tragedy of the UnDone is when something could have been done but wasn’t - for whatever reason - and the fact that this act wasn’t done resulted in nothing; but could have resulted in great good, had it happened. Clear?
So for example. Had Beethoven not written music but instead been a plumber that would have been a great tragedy. But we would never had known about it because it didn’t happen.
Had Babe Ruth deduced to play basketball instead of baseball we never would have heard his name.
So some things, because they didn’t happen are a “Tragedy of the UnDone”.
Today such a tragedy began to unfold but will not become UnDone for a couple of days.
In other words it could still be done, but it won’t be not done for a couple of days.
It started with a text from one of the pastor’s of our church, to Pam, asking if we could light the Advent candle at church on this Sunday. (It may become clear to you as we unfold the events of today from here why the text was sent to Pam and not me.)
I was raised in a Southern Baptist Church and also attended churches of other denominations, and didn’t know what “Advent” was until I came to Northern Indiana. Here we have more lethargical churches, or is it liturgical churches. One of those.
Before Christmas here Christians prepare for Christmas by observing Advent.
At our church there are things done in observation of Advent, one of them being the lighting of candles at the front of the church. Every Sunday some person comes up and lights a candle. Each candle represents something… like love, joy, hope or other really good things. Last week one of the men lit a candle for the opening of deer season.
Pam received a text today from one of the pastors of our church asking if we would light the Advent candle on Sunday. (Yes I know I said that already, but I’m just repeating and reinforcing it so you can follow along better.)
We were in the truck when the text arrived and Pam read it to me and asked if I wanted to do this and I said “no”.
So what followed was a vote and the “yea’s” won, which means the “nay’s” lost. So I said something like; can I just go and stand there. I promise to be good. I’ll just stand with my arms to my side. I tried to show her in the truck but it was hards, since I was driving. She said no I had to do something.
I asked about lighting the candle with a flaming bow and arrow. (Actually only the arrow is flaming, not the bow.) I saw that done once in a movie. A flaming arrow flew across a big room and lit some candles. She said no to that also.
I told here that in the movie that the arrow lit many candles in one pass of the flaming arrow, so just lighting one candle should be “a ciche”. It would be really "cool" I told her.
But she still said, “no”.
Really having people light candles in an enclosed environment like that is not a good idea. In Missouri they won’t allow some people to handle fire without prior mental examination. Don’t ask me how I know this.
So then I asked if I could use my torch. I have a propane torch that I use to get the fireplace logs going. It has a six inch long flame that is blue and the thing makes a wonderful shoooshis type sound. And it has this self lighter gizmo. What an impression that might make on the congregants!
She said “no” to this also.
She said we had to figure out a verse to read, having to do with peace.
Peace.
I want to read one of those Old Testament verses where God sends the Israelites out to smote people. I “quoted” a verse from the Old Testament for Pam (as best I could remember it).
“Thou shalt go out and smit thine enemies. Thou shalt smit with a mighty smiting. You shall go forth with a rod and smot. Thy enemies will flee before thee and thee will possess the land!”
I was just getting into my deep smotting voice and before I finished she said, no. Again.
She said that there were no verses about smit, smoting or smitten and that if there were, that none of that was about peace.
And I said, well… you didn’t hear the end of the verse… “And after smotting thy enemy and possessing the land there will be great peace.”
I wanted to add, “So there”, but thought better of it.
But that didn’t work either.
I asked if I could recount the story where the person had the jaw bone of an ass and cleaned up the bad guys and again she said that wasn’t peaceful.
So as you can see all the good stuff is off limits to me on this coming Sunday.
One Sunday a week ago a lady went up to talk on the platform, stage thing and they asked her questions about some women’s event. A dinner I think, for women. She had her four year old daughter with her. I think her name is Paige and every time this little girl could she tried to get off the stage. If her mom shifted her weight from one foot to the other, the kid bolted. If mom stopped for a second to consider the question being asked the little girl headed stage right and had to be restrained. It was great fun to everyone except maybe mom.
Pam said to try to be at least as good as Paige.
I’m pretty sure that after our discussion the truck I’ll be standing with my arms pointed straight down. I’ll be looking down at the floor.
But the point is that the church is missing a real opportunity to see the Advent candle lit with a flaming arrow, shot from halfway down the row of the center aisle of the sanctuary. What a sight that would be!
If this situation isn’t rectified shortly I won’t be able to acquire the correct supplies necessary to have a flaming arrow and bow at my disposal. The YouTube videos have already been of great help on how to make a flaming arrow. So I’m nearly ready.
…but… I fear...
A tragedy of the UnDone is about to happen.
This post was originally posted in the days before Christmas 2023. And there was a great undone tragedy.
©David L Arment