Stop your running The ground you're standing on is holy ground Sy Katherine Seckman Martha Graham is a great American doneer, and placed with Stravinsky ond Picasso in terms of her important contributions ta C)l)r culture. She hos given us great donees, donces about the complu and parodoxicol noture of
C)l)r
lives, intricate,
dramatic, passionate donces .. . And yet, one of the mast important things in her work is simplicity, not simple in terms of simple.minded Of easy, but simple (simplicity) in terms of culling through to the
essentials.
In 0 mavie entitled Dancer's World,
Mortho Graham talks obool simplicity. "II's the simplicly of which the poet speaks," she soys, "costing no less than everything." When I first begon teaching at the University of Redlonds in Colifornio, the lpeOker ot the opening convocotion centered his remarks oround 0 text I hove since come
to love: "And God soid to Mose�, SlOp yoor running. The ground you are standing on is holy ground.' "
I
u� to urge my husbond to
preach sermons on this text-whenever he wos searching for ideas, , would volunteer: "And God said to Moses, stop yoor running.
The ground you ore stonding on is holy
ground." And I smiled to myself to think thot rhol old text, ond thol ideo I hove loved for well over len years, should come bock to help me orticulote to you some of the precious lessons of my summer, ond the lost months of Jim's life. Simplicity. Quiet. Stopping oor I'\Iflning and giving reverence to the pioce where we are ond the people we ore. For 011 our reading ond studying ond work, ond for 011 the greot insights we hove during our lives, the essentiol truths-ancient truths, whic:h the Foith tells us every lime we gather for worship.We can spend 011 our lives trying to understand those truths fuily, but it is not wisdom thol is hidden from us. "If I speak in Ihe tongues of men and of angels, but hove not love, I om a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. ,. "love one another, even os He first loved us." We ore shoped by the people, the ideos, the God thot we love. I read Mm\ewhere thot most g,eot writen-ond I suspect thol holds true for
simple slory of God's love for us. The essence of the slory has to do wilh
Groce and loving, and the coli 10 ourselves, embody tkat grace ond love.
Two poslon, clossmates'of Jim's from seminary, come to visit us this summer.One
hidden from us either. There was no need 10 frantically reod and reocl to discover, now
thot he knew he W(lS dying of cancer, what life is all about.
No, we were reminded simply 10 live each
of our days fully·each doy os a gift,
ortists and perhaps even people in
asked if Jim kad any new theological
because our lives are gifts. We kave no
insights. Hod ony great theological truths
guolontee of a "normol" lifespon.none of us
only one or two moin themes.They moy or
foc.ing death square on? Jim tkaught fOI a
generol, spend their entire lives wriling obout
may nol reoli!.e thot in the procen of their work, but looking bock the recurring themes become opparent. I om quite sure this is Irue for poslors, who spend their lives lelling and retelling the some story.ond that retelling is not boring·it
been discovered since Jim was suddenly moment, and answered simply that there were
no
new insights, but it was as though
his senses were open to the world in on
inlense way he hod never experienced before.
He wos secure in the Iheologicol lruths of
i$ born with 0 birthright to 70 years of life.
Each cloy we need to be potient with our
lives, indeed to take it 0 doy at a time· not
living for the moment·but truly In the
momenl, il is indeed Irue that God will provide us with what we need for the Iriols of each day. There are moments in OUI lives·momenb
is a grlKJt and huge t:hallenge.o great tosk 10
his life·he'd �pent long years reading and
of deep sorrow, or deep joy, great serenity
call
talking theology.ond those insights ore nol
or beouty or outrOQe or insight, when time
2
Ui
each day 10 be renewed by thol