Tonight is the season finale of Survivor which, for all intents and purposes, marks the end of the 2023-2024 television season. Summer television is less an odd duck than it used to be, since reruns are mostly a thing of the past and new content is spread out over time. So there are still a few episodes of Doctor Who, a new Star Wars series, and the third season of The Bear to get us to and through June, which is nice. But good, old-fashioned network TV is over for the time being.
But this post isn’t (directly) about television, though maybe you could place it in the “mortal” category that this posts’s title suggests.
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Now that the Easter season is over (marked by Ascension Day and Pentecost Sunday), it’s time for ordinary time. And with it, a hopeful focus on some of the more ordinary aspects of life. I’m still thinking a few things through, and I have to admit that I’m not thinking very far ahead (as ordinary time runs up to Advent, which starts on December 1st (and that feels like a world or two away from now). So I’m taking the chunk from now until the end of June, when I make my way to the mainland to visit family and go for a retreat at Laity Lodge. I definitely have plans to do some deep cleaning (up and out). I’m hoping to do more evening walking than I have recently. And I’m planning on doing some basic things like doctor and optometrist appointments and car maintenance. But the thing that will guide me most will likely be my reading. So here’s the rundown of what I hope to read between now and the end of June.
+ Mortal Goods by Ephraim Radner. I’ve been a Radner fan for some time now (since his Time to Keep dropped in 2016). His style is always a little odd to me, but it’s also almost always worth it. In Mortal Goods, Radner is hoping to shine some light on the day-to-day realities that politics used to be concerned with. He frames the book with the concept of writing a letter to his children, which is always an interesting form of writing. I’m already a decent chunk into the book and have found it a good challenge. He’s doing his best to let faith frame the discussion without intruding in it too much (which is almost impossible).
+ Why Everything That Doesn’t Matter Matters So Much by Andi Ashworth and Charlie Peacock. I mentioned this book back in April as a possible read. The book by this husband-wife team is rooted in lived Christian experience and is topical, focusing on things that seem to line up well with Radner’s thinking. The book is a collection of essays with alternating speaker. So far, it seems wonderfully autobiographical, too.
+ The Diary of a Country Priest by Georges Bernanos. I’ve had this book sitting around for some time. It may have been a gift. It tells the story, via diary, of, well, a country priest. French. First released in the 1930s. I feel like it could sum up nicely some of the everyday, ordinary stuff that I hope to reflect on during this next month and change. When this one is finished (and it will mostly be bus reading, so it might be a while), I’ll likely start another book by Lief Enger.
+ Finally: The Deep Things of God by Fred Sanders. This is the “immortal” thing hinted at in this post’s title. And it’s a recent addition to the list. It’s a book of the Christian belief of the Trinity, which is something I think a lot about for various reasons (not the least of which is the approach the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal take to the Trinity in their podcast). I’m already a third of the way through the book: Sanders is a great writer. Some of the desire to read this is a way to honor the story of Pentecost, of course, but it’s about something more, too.
I’m sure other books will crop in between now and the end of June. But, for now, this is where I’m planting my “reading flag.” I’ll likely post reflections for each book throughout the summer when things come up (or when I need to write something out to make sense of things). I’m genuinely curious to see how each of these books supports the others. It’s always a cool gift when it happens.
I will, of course, hold off on judgment until the show actually airs (and I hope those boots end up being a little more yellow, for sure). It’s a gutsy move, bringing in a character that has never made it to screen before. Bombadil’s appearance in the early part of Fellowship of the Ring is both entrancing and distracting. But he’s also a fascinating foil for all of the ring-lust that happens in the story. I don’t remember seeing much of “the Stranger” in the recently posted teaser trailer, which I was actually glad about; I’d much rather spend time with the dwarves, elves, and people of Numenor. Either way, this looks to be an interesting (and somewhat unpredictable) season that we have ahead of us (and dropping at the end of August).
In the Eastertide narrative, today marks Ascension Day, forty days after Jesus’ resurrection and ten days before Pentecost. Erik Varden reflects well on the day in Entering the Twofold Mystery when, using Luke’s account of the moment in the book of Acts, he draws a parallel between God’s presence and guidance via cloud in the Old Testament (especially in connection with the Exodus, the Tabernacle, and the Temple. He writes:
I caught a late-afternoon screening of The Fall Guy yesterday. It is a great movie, one that works on practically every level. It really is the kind of movie you really want people to see: it’s funny, thoughtful, action-packed, and twisty in just the right way. Beyond that, the faces are familiar enough and a real affection for stunt work and for movies in general is palpable and, in a way, reassuring.
Space Enough, and Time 