Gilead: Light Within Light

I just finished reading a deeply beautiful and wise novel. Gilead, by Marilynne Robinson, is at the very top of The New York Times list of The 10 Best Books of 2004 -- and deservedly so. The novel is at times humorous, at times moving, at times profound. Gilead is written in the form of a letter, written in 1956 by a 76-year-old pastor, John Ames, to his 7-year-old son (his son by a marriage to a much younger woman). The letter explores the aging minister's relationship with his own father as well as his grandfather -- who were both also ministers, and who came into conflict during the Civil War (the grandfather advocated, and participated in, violence against slaveholders). Ames' relationship with his best friend, who is struggling with the effects of aging, is at the heart of the novel, as well as his relationship with his best friend's son -- a "prodigal" who challenges Ames' reluctance to provide easy answers to the theological questions that burden him. ("Is that what you do when some tormented soul arrives on your doorstep at midnight? Recommend Karl Barth?")

The novel goes off on theological tangents at times (which I found to be fascinating), but it always returns to the heart. Here's a small excerpt, written as Ames is preparing a sermon about Hagar and Ishmael being cared for by the angel in the wilderness:

The moon looks wonderful in this warm evening light, just as a candle flame looks beautiful in the light of morning. Light within light. It seems like a metaphor for something. So much does. Ralph Waldo Emerson is excellent on this point.

It seems to me to be a metaphor for the human soul, the singular light within the great general light of existence. Or it seems like poetry within language. Perhaps wisdom within experience. Or marriage within friendship and love. I'll try to remember to use this. I believe I see a place for it in my thoughts on Hagar and Ishmael. Their time in the wilderness seems like a specific moment of divine Providence within the whole providential regime of Creation.

"Light within light" could also be a metaphor for this deeply meditative novel. Gilead is a meditation on Providence and on trusting in Providence even when events in our lives -- or our relationships -- are difficult to understand.

Darrell
www.WildFaith.com

P.S.: You can read an excerpt from Gilead at The New York Times website (requires registration, which is free).