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| Sunset Over The Dead Sea in Israel |
I recently read Ernest Gaines' A Lesson Before Dying for a seminary class. In this book the author unleashed a gripping and symbolic work on a host
of enduring challenges as transformation hovered. In
the novel’s various scenes, themes of love, family, faith, and expectations
pierce the pages with lessons displayed in courage and testimony, then
ultimately degrees of transformation for each character. From reading the
actions of Grant, tortured teacher, to Jefferson who anxiously awaits execution,
or Reverend Ambrose, conflicted support provider, the relevant question
emerging for me is: How many learn what they’re supposed to learn between their sunrise and sunset? Taking place in the backdrop of familiar segments of
racial realities, the African American journey around human identity and
dignity, transcends place and time in Gaines’s words.
What struck me the most in this book, weaving in these
segments and themes, shows up in a conversation between Grant and Jefferson on
p. 193 as Gaines writes, “And that's all
we are Jefferson, all of us on this earth, a piece of drifting wood, until we -
each one of us, individually- decide to become something else. I am still that
piece of drifting wood, and those out there are no better. But you can be
better. Because we need you to be and want you to be. ” At this point I cried as Jefferson cried: a
transformative moment for reader, character and work with rich symbolism
appeared. I thought about a conversation with my late favorite uncle about five
years ago on the topic of family challenges, especially during crisis, where
some don’t step up but instead rest in their ‘ this is how I am’ stance. My
uncle’s statement was, “Sometimes it’s time to be something else.” A situation now calls for this new posture as
was the case for Jefferson, to walk to his earthly finality as a man, for his
godmother Miss Emma, the community and himself, and not take on the hog label
which his persecutors attached to him. Throughout his imprisonment, Jefferson
had many drifting thoughts, one noteworthy as the context for the time of his
execution led up to the Easter holiday, as he repeated the
phrase, “And he never said a mumbling word.” In the end Jefferson had learned to be strong in the Lord, modeling certainty
in his identity as a man and the bravery of Jesus on his journey to Calvary, to
fulfill the expectations of his Father. Actions which left transformation for
those on the edge of this narrative such as the deputy Paul as a witness to
Jefferson’s execution, ‘saw the light’ in the jail’s own ‘Damascus Road’
experience, and shared Jefferson’s bravery in the end with Grant. Then the
ultimate story for the preaching and believing community emerged.
On a death bed or tragic accident or sudden
illness, has one grasped the totality of those Believers Instructions Before Leaving Earth (BIBLE)? The inevitable journey
after our drifting days, we can only hope we learn the critical ones that God
has for us to learn, packaged for us; being open to the process.
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