By Greg Jones
One of my favorite passages of Scripture is coming up this Sunday — Hebrews 4:12. It says, “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” I love this.
When I was a kid growing up in Washington, D.C., I was fascinated by the precincts around the Capitol, Washington Monument and White House. My dad’s office was always downtown, and there were many “boring” Saturdays, when I would have to tag along with him while he was slaving away in the office. In those days, I was allowed to stroll around in the neighborhood and explore a bit. The White House was nearby, and a host of other interesting statues, buildings and monumental structures all over the place.
There is one particular monument that always mesmerized me as a boy — the flaming sword memorial at Constitution Avenue and 17th Street, N.W. This giant golden sword rippling with tongues of fire — it dropped me in my tracks every time I went by it. And it is always what I think of when I hear Hebrews 4:12 — “the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword.”
Like most children, I was prone to mystical notions as a boy. I had a very deep appreciation for awe, and wonder, and spooky stuff. Being surrounded by enormous monumental buildings and incredible statues and memorials fed my creative imagination without question. To be regularly able to sit and stare at giant flaming swords of gold, or eat a hot dog by the Capitol dome, or go to church at the National Cathedral — these all fed the realm of soul and spirit. And of course it is in there that faith, belief and wonder pour out.
What are you doing to penetrate deep into the heart of your creative imagination — that fertile soil where the implanted words of God go to grow and change you?
The Rev. Samuel Gregory Jones (‘Greg’) is rector of St. Michael’s in Raleigh, N.C., a trustee of General Seminary and the bass player in indie-rock band The Balsa Gliders — whose fourth studio release is available on iTunes. He blogs at Anglican Centrist.