Leo Tolstoy begins his famous novel with these words (literally, an opening line):
All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.
I've never thought about it in the context of Eph. 5:22-33. She is definitely not a submissive wife. At the same time I am not sure that Karenin was ready or willing to die for her... And that's what makes their relationship unique - as Tolstoy said - to create a beautiful novel.
DEATH and RESURRECTION TUNNEL
We talked recently about the crisis in life. I said that if a person or a community goes through death and resurrection a proper or biblical way the level after the resurrection is higher than the one they entered the tunnel of death.
Job goes through his trials and tribulation and loses
everything. But at the end of the story, he gets everything doubled (cp. Job
1:3 vs. 42:12).
Jesus, being God incarnate, was able to teach like no other,
heal people like no doctor, even raise people back to life. Yet, after His
resurrection He comes back to His disciples in a glorified body – walking
through the walls, this was the body He was accepted into heaven at
Ascension.
Leo Tolstoy presents the similar idea in his “War and
Peace.” He describes the return of Russian people back to Moscow (beginning of
chapter 14, vol. 4, part 4). Here is the excerpt:
Within a week there were fifteen
thousand inhabitants back in Moscow, within a fortnight twenty-five thousand, and so it went on. The
total rose and rose until by the autumn of 1813 the population exceeded that of
1812. (Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace, trans. by Anthony Briggs, New York, NY:
Viking, 2006, p. 1236).
Crisis belongs to life. We almost die taking the final exams
before graduation. We came to the school as students, and leave – if
everything, all the trials and tribulations, were passed properly – as
graduates: bachelors, masters, or doctors.
Tomorrow, March 28, 2024, is Maundy Thursday - Thursday of the Holy Week. This day the Church is celebrating the institution of the sacrament of Holy Communion. I always had reverent attitude for Eucharist. So, it should not be a surprise that running across the following passage I decided to take it as a blog post. The picture of the Zion's altar and Holy Communion set.
