HOW THE GLORY OF _____ IS TRANSITORY!
Mundi/Bundy, writ by a fundy, right?
"Thus passes the glory of the world." The Catholics do not have the market cornered on Latin phrases-they may co-opt something for a religious sham piety performance, but us non-Catholics can do some co-opting of our own.
The glory of the world...whilst traversing the internets this past week I was struck by the two images I've put together above.
Thelma Todd was beautiful, vibrant acting on film, a gifted comedienne...and she died at age 29 back when my Dad was five years old.
Charley Chase, the gent to Thelma's left, left the world before his 47th birthday.
And then we have Ed O'Neill added not only for the 'Bundy' bit in the title, but because of how he has changed in his 66 years from the brash young actor of "Married With Children" in 1987. He makes 66 look 76.
That's the point, friends. We ALL get older; we wrinkle and get the pains and aches and thinning hair...if God allows us more than the 29 years that Thelma Todd was Graced with.
Philippians 1:21-24 (HCSB)
"21 For me, living is Christ and dying is gain.
22 Now if I live on in the flesh, this means fruitful work for me; and I don’t know which one I should choose.
23 I am pressured by both. I have the desire to depart and be with Christ—which is far better—
24 but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for you.
The Apostle Paul was conflicted-he loved the work he was doing for Christ, but he desired the better thing: to be free of this world of trouble (and wrinkles and pains and aches and thinning hair), to enter into
the presence of Christ, into His Peace and Heaven.
I'm with Paul-it will be better to be with Christ THERE than live for Him HERE. But while I am here, as my gloria transits, and I become older...I Praise God for every day that He gives me. I am grateful.
May God be as kind to you.
10 comments:
If you click on the picture you can really see the detail of both Todd's face and Ed O'Neill's.
The Chase/Todd pic is from one of my favorite sites, http://moviemorlocks.com/
I 'googled' O'Neill for his picture-he really has changed quite a bit, as have we all.
If Christ were to return soon, it would be wonderful-yes, there will be Judgement, but as one who loves Justice (while recognizing that I am a sinner, saved by Grace)I can see that the Judgement of God is Just.
May God have Mercy on you also.
Isaiah 40:6-8 (HCSB)
"6 A voice was saying, “Cry out!” Another said, “What should I cry out?” “All humanity is grass, and all its goodness is like the flower of the field.
7 The grass withers, the flowers fade when the breath of the LORD blows on them; indeed, the people are grass.
8 The grass withers, the flowers fade, but the word of our God remains forever.”
Ain't it the truth?
T'is.
How much of the commerce of this corrupt world has to do with the glorification of the young and beautiful and the denial of that inescapable fact that we turn into old and not beautiful?
There will be no business for 'plastic surgeons' (a horrible title) in Christ's Kingdom.
If there ARE movies being made then-I have no idea-they won't be obsessively focused on imperfect but beautiful young actors considered 'stars'-there will be no "stars"-no glorified humans getting the honors due Christ.
I'm looking at you, Twilighters.
Does the name Arthur Guiterman mean anything to you?
The tusks which clashed in mighty brawls
Of mastodons, are billiard balls.
The sword of Charlemagne the Just
Is ferric Oxide, known as rust.
The grizzly bear, whose potent hug
Was feared by all, is now a rug.
Great Caesar's bust is on the shelf,
And I don't feel so well myself.
Or, if you prefer, you can have a more highbrow version...
Thanks for reminding me of a couple of favorite poems.
My pleasure, Lu. Don't know Guiterman, but he sounds kind of Ogden Nash-y.
Minds are funny with their connections-the other day I was reading comments at another blog and someone commented in a style that reminded me of "Archy and Mehitabel" by Don Marquis. He wasn't trying to sound like Marquis, but my brain made a connection.
That Shelley poem reminded me of one of mine, and I was going to add it here until I dug out the papyrus and actually read it. Now I remember why I gave up writing poetry.
I'm not much of a poet myself, and the theme has been well covered. I'm also calling to mind the songs "Dust in the Wind" and "Let's Get Together" -- the latter one of my crunchy-granola-peacenik favorites.
P.S. I know the Guiterman poem only because my high-school poetry textbook presented it and Shelley's together. I'm a big fan of Nash, too. As far as I'm aware no one else has ever rhymed the word interpolate. I am not making this up.
Complete coincidence-one of my cats is named Nash.
Reading Ogden Nash's critique of Byron's Assyrians put me in mind of Mark Twain's critique of J.F. Cooper:
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~hyper/hns/indians/offense.html
Never read any Cooper. I'll have to try sometime to see if I agree with Twain. Have you ever read Twain's essay "The Awful German Language"? If you've never studied German, don't bother, but if you have, it's hilarious.
What I love about Nash, though, is the glee with which he shatters every poetic rule -- meter, scansion, rhyme -- while still ably making his point. (In another poem he rhymes gyrate with pirate, which he spells pyrate in honor of the occasion.)
I have a compilation of Twain sitting next to me-"The Awful German Language" is in there; I'll read it tonight...
"Punch, Brothers, Punch" is also in there, and
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1876/06/the-facts-concerning-the-recent-carnival-of-crime-in-connecticut/306240/
which I assume you already know, as it's one of his better reads.
No, I don't know that one. Another addition to my already lengthy reading list.
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