Bani Adam


Tim Woodcock writes: This poem was recently passed around at the school where I work. I don’t know anything much about the poet, Saadi Shiraz, other than he’s a very big deal in the Persian tradition. As the note that accompanied the poem when I first encountered it earlier in the week said, the metaphor of “the limbs of one body” applies especially well during this time of a global pandemic. 

Bani Adam

The children of Adam are limbs of one body
That in creation are made of one essence.
When life and time hurt a limb,
Other limbs will not be at ease.
You who are not sad for the suffering of others,
Do not deserve to be called human.

by Saadi Shiraz, 1258
translated from Arabic


  

Comments

  1. travis wincklerApril 5, 2020 at 10:51 AM

    Thanks for sharing this, Tim.

    In sacred solidarity with you and all suffering right now. - Travis

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ways of staying connected

Tim Woodcock writes: In these strange times, under the shadow of Covid-19, our economy is temporarily stripped down to the basics. The shopping malls are empty but the parks are full. Our workplaces, schools, and community organizations are migrating into our homes. Everything feels off-kilter. Churches worldwide are asking themselves how can they operate in the absence of regular services and the use of a physical building. This blog is an attempt to make an online space in which the Second Pres. community can stay connected and can offer each other spiritual sustenance and encouragement. I'd like to invite people to share their spiritual insights related to the pandemic experience: spiritual revelations, great and small; new appreciations and evolving understandings; reflections on what you've been reading and watching recently; hopes for the future. If you have an idea of something you'd like to write about, please drop me a line at timwoodcock [AT] speedpost.net .
Read more

A Tale of Two Basins

Image
Mike Willock writes: Moving from the Maundy Thursday service in Niccolls Hall to the sanctuary where the Stations of the Cross are displayed, I was struck by two contrasting uses of a basin and water for washing. The basin in the Last Supper was used by Jesus, as described in John 13: “Jesus got up from the table and took off his robes. Picking up a linen towel he tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a washbasin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he was wearing. … After he washed the disciples’ feet, he put on his robes and returned to his place at the table. … If I, your Lord and teacher, have washed your feet, you too must wash each other’s feet. I have given you an example: Just as I have done, you must also do. ... I give you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, so you must also love each other. This is how everyone will know that you are my disciples, when you love each other.” The other basin was used by Pon
Read more

Thoughts on the Kingdom and the "Kin-dom"

Image
 Tim Woodcock writes:  It has been only been ten days since King Charles III was crowned. As a Brit, people have asked me about it multiple times since then. Do I like Charles? Am I a fan of the royal family? Does the pomp and circumstance of the occasion make me glow with pride? My thoughts and feelings on this are so complex and contradictory that trying to write a coherent response seems impossible. So instead here are some impressionist bullet points, firstly on the British royal family, and secondly on the idea of kingship plays in the modern church.          The verb is “crowned,” people! It is not as I heard it on a reputable news source, NPR, recently – “coronated.”           King Charles – not very inspiring, is he? I suppose you can say he will grow into the role and it’s simply impossible to please everyone as a monarch, especially as a monarch in the modern world. Queen Elizabeth II’s stature as a dignified, fair-minded, and beloved queen grew incrementally over the dec
Read more

Labels

Show more