March 17, 2024
Happy Saint Patrick’s Day! On this Sabbath day, here is a poem by George MacDonald (1824-1905), not an Irishman but a Scottish author, poet and Christian Congregational minister. Interestingly, he was also an influential mentor of C. S. Lewis and is a figure in Lewis’ novel The Great Divorce. May your day be blessed with living waters. ~ Rosemary
Sabbath Bells
Oh holy Sabbath bells,
Ye have a pleasant voice!
Through all the land your music swells,
And man with one commandment tells
To rest and to rejoice.
As birds rejoice to flee
From dark and stormy skies
To brighter lands beyond the sea
Where skies are calm, and wings are free
To wander and to rise;
As thirsty travellers sing,
Through desert paths that pass,
To hear the welcome waters spring,
And see, beyond the spray they fling
Tall trees and waving grass;
So we rejoice to know
Your melody begun;
For when our paths are parched below
Ye tell us where green pastures glow
And living waters run.
Spirit Reflections 
Rosemary, I found myself reading this poem several times trying to hear what it was saying. Much sense was not made of it all with one read,
As thirsty travellers sing, Through desert paths that pass,To hear the welcome waters spring, And see, beyond the spray they fling Tall trees and waving grass;
This passage befuddled me at first because I could not envision people with parched mouths singing in the desert. I would think One would conserve the voice. Then I realize this could be a metaphoric desert that I find myself living in at times. Where he urges us to keep moving towards the welcoming water that is moving so fast we actually hear it before we see it. Then seeing the results of all that come in contact with this water, the trees and waving grass. My take on this is to keep moving forward toward a positive life nurturing environment that will promote your growth.
Of course MacDonald is probably referring to the Living Water symbolism through Christ, but I think we physically place ourselves within an emotional or physical, Mental environment which is not conducive to LIFE.
Thanks for sharing, Debora
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Wow, you really gave this some attention. Thank you. I was drawn to the bells. I miss hearing them on Sundays.
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