Refreshment
After a full day on Thursday of ETS (Evangelical Theological Society) meetings and a late night getting into my hotel for the SBL (Society of Biblical Literature) I was ready for a wee bit of perspective before launching into a weekend of more meetings.
I love visiting Washington, D.C. (And I’m not really a city person).
I got up early and went to the Library of Congress to renew my researcher ID and spent a few hours in one of the reading rooms doing some research. Then on my way out I spent some time admiring the beautiful mosaics and artwork in the great hall (if you have not seen the Jefferson Building of the Library of Congress, you have no idea what you are missing).
I just happened to notice a gallery exhibition… the St. John’s Bible!
This is a modern day manuscript (almost finished) which is just stunning to see in person. The parchment pages are large and creative and astounding to see. Seeing it in person is so different than seeing the reproductions (even the good ones). There is a three dimensional aspect of the lettering and in particular the gilding and artwork that cannot be appreciated unless you are right there. The gilding is marvelous. As someone who has a drawer full of agate burnishers, leaves of gold, and little pots of other kinds of gold, I can tell you that this work is meticulous and beautiful. I envy the modern-day scribes and illuminators who were able to work on this project. I’m re-inspired to get out the calligraphy materials.
There were no crowds, so I could leisurely look at all the details of the manuscripts on display. The work draws you in and you experience the Word in a very evocative and sensuous way. I could almost cry.
Alas, I needed to leave, so I started walking down the street to my next destination. But on the way I passed the Botanic Gardens. I was lured inside. The scents of the different greenhouses are astounding. I felt like I did when I first stepped off the plane in Molokai. You are overwhelmed by the scent of orchids in one garden, by the heavy, misty, mosses in another, and by the desert dryness in yet another.
And all this is free. Well, actually, it isn’t. Our tax dollars pay for it. The American People own these gardens. That means (in some way) it is my garden! And for that I am grateful. It was just so wonderful to take a few sumptuous moments to sit and close my eyes and take the scents all in. And then to open my eyes and look at the delicate varieties of blooms and massive leaves of other plants. I wonder what Solomon’s gardens would have been like.
I finally did make it to the convention center and got my “At-a-Glance” guide to the next few days. And I’ll enjoy taking in those papers and meeting with people. But, oh, how wonderful to have had the chance to see that Bible and smell that garden. Those are the reminders of why I study the details and write the papers and memorize the vocabulary.
November 24th, 2006 at 6:21 pm
You were in D.C.!?
November 26th, 2006 at 2:19 pm
I like ‘your’ garden! And does that mean that the Library of Congress is ‘your’ library too? And now that I’ve paid all of $3.57 in taxes, are they mine too?
How exciting - I shall have to go back and visit them!