Hope and the Imagination
Hope and the Imagination.
“Hope is the thing with Feathers”
‘Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all,
And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.
I’ve heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.” (Emily Dickinson, 1861).
When speaking poetically of songbirds, I simply had to include this ethereal love song, a beautiful piece of bluesy jazz released in 1998, sung by one of the great voices of the last century, Eva Cassidy:
SONGBIRD with lyrics ….. performed by Eva Cassidy – YouTube
In this short poem, she is using a figure of speech as she encourages readers to think about the quality of hope. Hope is like a bird, she says indirectly, that has found a resting place in each person’s soul. Hope is a bird that sings without a human vocabulary, without the words of intellectual analysis or straightforward logic. Hope is not something we have to define, Emily seems to be saying, but hope is something important that can be described as we chase down its meaning. Hope is a song that sings to our spirit and not directly to our intellect. Songbirds are able to sing triumphantly even in the midst of a windstorm, without words to explain exactly what the song is about. Her testimonial to the resilience and mystery of hope speaks to a bird’s ability to confidently sing at the darkest part of the night, just before dawn. The songbird sings with certainty that the sun will soon rise, that the new day will begin. The bird is completely filled with hope in what will certainly happen soon. Emily did not know this about birds in her observation about birds “singing the tune without words and never stops at all,” but one of the most astounding facts discovered in recent bird-brain research is that songbirds each have a voice box fully awake during their REM sleeping patterns, which allows them to quietly rehearse the songs they are going to sing the next day! Birds sing in their sleep! Not only that, but when male and female mates sleep together, they each rehearse their songs in harmony for the next day!
Paul McCartney – Blackbird （Abbey Road studio LIVE）
Approaching Truth from the Side. In this poem, Miss Dickinson is following her own advice that she has said elsewhere, “Tell all the truth, but tell it slant.” When we want to present truth, she is saying, come at it sideways and not head-on. A blunt statement of raw truth will not be readily understood, she says, and truth instead deserves a more indirect approach that will be more effective at grabbing our attention. Truth is better able to be taken in by each of us from the side, through the imagination, through figures of speech, illustrations, stories, art, poetry. Our imagination is our intellect at play. So, come at the truth at different angles and not straight on, she is saying. So in her “Hope” poem she has come at it sideways, at a slant, through the helpful metaphor of a bird, helping us to better understand the nature of hope. One wonders if her ‘bird’ in this poem might been referring to the eagle, since biblically the quality of hope is so directly applied to the eagle.
“They who patiently hope in the Lord by weaving together aspects of their lives with Him, will find their strength renewed. Trusting in the Lord, they will be able to lift off and soar like the eagles. When they are running their race, they will never get winded or weary; when they are walking through life, they will never become tired or give up.” (Isaiah 40:31).
The Crucial Role of the Imagination. We use our imagination to see the unseen with our mind’s eye, which leads to creative understanding and giving shape to truth. The fired-up imagination, then, is needed to follow Christ, not to mention artistically create and empathize compassionately. Faith is dead without works, but the desire to trust God will never even be sparked without imagination. How else can we be “certain of what we don’t see?” How else can we “understand that what is seen was not made out of what was visible?” (Hebrews 11). How can we recognize unseen God’s presence in this world, or follow his invisible path, without a vivid, sharpened imagination? The Christian Faith does not have to be learned through the scientific method! In many ways, faithlessness is a failure of the imagination. And the wise preacher and teacher of the Word knows that once you capture the imagination of a listener, then the rest of that person is likely to follow right along with it. Unfortunately, the Christian church, as well as most educational systems, have starved the imagination with an overemphasis on didactic analysis. That’s a pity for everyone concerned.
“We have been saved (“sozo”) by hope. Yes, our salvation is by this hope, groaning inwardly as we await the redemption of our bodies. But hope that is seen is not really hope, for who hopes for what he sees? Who hopes for what he already has? But hoping for what we do not see means eagerly waiting for it with confident, patient endurance.” (refer to Romans 8:19-25).
METAPHOR. Jesus loved to inspire the imagination through His clever use of metaphor. He knew that the Jewish mind was accustomed to the use of metaphor due to the dominance of the Hebrew Bible. Generations of Jewish people were raised in a culture steeped in the myriad of metaphors in their Scriptures. They knew that people are like sheep, that God was similar to an eagle, that kings resemble shepherds. So Jesus jumped with both feet into this particular part of speech… Faith is like a mustard seed; a teachable heart is similar to fertile soil; building a faithful life resembles house construction. The Jewish audience was well-trained to engage their imagination so they were able to make the connections between one thing and another thing that has similar characteristics. In the Gospel of John, Jesus successfully used metaphor in all His “I AM” statements. He helpfully connected qualities of an everyday common object to His mission and status as the divine Messiah. He unpacked His nature in ways that the imaginative people of Israel could understand: I AM the Bread of Life; I AM the Light of the World; I AM the Gate for the Sheep; I AM the Good Shepherd; I AM the Resurrection and the life; I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life; I AM the True Vine. These simple metaphors, as with other more complex ones, were brilliantly spoken by Jesus to deepen their understanding of who He was and what He did. Parables were extended metaphors, and in other cases He went in the other direction and used one-liners as well. Jesus was a true master of capturing the imagination by cleverly saying that one thing is like another. Jesus was the master of metaphor.
God’s Feathers. Emily Dickenson seemed to be quite taken by birds and feathers and what they could represent, and for good reason. It doesn’t take long to see in Scripture how God Himself is often represented by birds and feathers. The Holy Spirit was hovering over creation before the action even started, “God’s Spirit brooded like a bird above the watery abyss.” (Genesis 1:1-2). And Jesus once wished He was a mother hen, collecting His wayward and lost chicks under His wings to protect and defend them (Matthew 23:37). And then of course, the psalmists had a favorite picture of God as a sheltering bird, and all of us finding refuge under the shelter of His wings:
- “My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise You with joyful lips, when I remember You upon my bed, and meditate on You in the watches of the night; for You have been my help, and in the shadow of Your wings I will sing for joy. My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me.” (Psalm 63:5-8).
- “He who dwells in the secret shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, ‘My refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust.’ For He will deliver you from the hidden trap of the hunter and from the deadly curse. He will cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you will find refuge; His truth and His faithfulness are a shield and armor for protection.” (Psalm 91:1-4).
- “Wondrously show your merciful love, O Savior of those who seek refuge from their adversaries at Your right hand. Keep me as the apple of Your eye; hide me in the shadow of Your wings.” (Psalm 17:7-8).
- “How precious is Your merciful lovingkindness, O God! The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of Your wings. They feast on the abundance of Your house, and You give them drink from the river of Your delights. For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light do we see light.” (Psalm 36:7-9).
- “Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in You my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of Your wings I will take refuge, till the storms of destruction pass by.” (Psalm 57:1).
More Metaphors for Hope in Scripture. Biblical writers also tried to tell the truth about hope at a slant, indirectly, through metaphor:
“Hope is a Helmet” (1 Thessalonians 5:8), protecting the mind. The importance of hope has been resurrected now by neuroscience. Brain research has uncovered the importance of hope to the degree that there is now a branch of neuroscience that is called “the science of hope.” Here we are in the 21st century, confirming that in the 1st century St. Paul was right on target when said that hope protects the mind. We now know that the emotion of hope protects the brain, like a helmet worn on one’s head. Science has proven that our brain was made to function much more effectively when we engage in hopefulness. Creator God made our brains to run best on the fuel of hope. One neuroscientist puts it this way, “Hope is as vital to the human brain as the oxygen we breathe.” (Professor Terry Small).
“Hope is an Anchor” (Heb. 6:19). A hopeful view of the future will tie us to eternity with God. Our hope is an anchor for the soul. This anchor is firm and secure. This is interesting, because it’s upside-down. This isn’t an anchor that goes down from above to the depths below. No, hope is an anchor that is first lodged up above in heaven, and then tied to us here below. This anchor is actually secured in heaven, and so it keeps us connected to heavenly matters, to eternal virtues, to the everlasting person of Christ. The anchor up there keeps you tied to the will of God down here. Hope will connect us to an anchor in glory, keep us tethered to that which will not diminish and fall apart here on earth. Keeping our hope alive will us anchor to life eternal.
“Hope is a Springboard” (Col. 1:5). Once again, Scripture talks about hope with the helpful use of metaphor. St. Paul says that love springs from the hope that is stored up for us in heaven. Hope is a springboard for love. When we embrace the future with hope, we are able to embrace the present with love. Love jumps out of hope, and love for our neighbor, love for our enemy, love for the stranger, love for God. If we can imagine a diving board at the swimming pool. Imagine love right now, today, approaching that board. A little timid, a little unsure of what is to come. And imagine that love having the courage to walk out on the diving board of hope, and jumping into the water with confidence and assurance. Hope is that diving board for love. Confidence in the future because of God’s goodness produces love, eagerly and joyfully anticipating good things around each corner. Hope is like a resurrection of the heart of love. Hope is a springboard.
Yes, as Emily Dickinson believes, hope is like a bird. And as Scripture contends, it’s also like an anchor, a helmet, a springboard. Tell all the truth, but tell it slant. Looking at truth by engaging the imagination will help us to better understand the truth of hope.
“How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of the Angel Armies! I languish, yes, I faint with longing to enter the courts of Yahweh. With my whole being, body and soul, I will shout joyfully to the living God! Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow builds her nest and raises her young at a place near your altar, O Lord of Hosts, my King and my God! What joy for those who can live in your house, always singing your praises.“ (Psalm 84:1-4).
I Wish I Were a Bird. This intimate follower of the Lord poetically describes desperate longing to be in the Temple, the house of God, as a permanent resident. He describes how even birds like the sparrow and the swallow are able to build their nests in the little crevices between the stones of the Temple walls. The psalmist is jealous of these birds who have the joys of living at the House of worship, singing their songs and raising their young. The psalmist presents himself as a fervent lover of God who yearns to dwell right there at the Temple, just like those birds!
If I Was A Bird – Mission House & Dee Wilson (Official Live Video) (youtube.com)
(A poignant song inspired by Psalm 84):
Lyrics: This is where I wanna be, Right inside Your house. This is where I wanna be, Right inside Your house.
If I was a bird I would make my nest, In the rafters of Your sanctuary, I, I don’t ever wanna fly away. No I, I don’t ever wanna fly away.
I know where I belong, Right here by Your side. I know where I belong, Right here by Your side. To open fields and peaceful streams I know that You are leading me. And I, I don’t ever wanna run away. No I, I don’t ever wanna run away. No I, I don’t ever wanna run away. No I, I don’t ever wanna run away.
Happy are those who dwell in the house of God. Can I get an amen! Happy are those who dwell in the house of God. Can we say it again! Happy are those who dwell in the house of God. Can I get an amen! Happy are those who dwell in the house of God. Can we say it again!
David said I’d rather have one day in your house than a thousand anywhere else. David said I’d rather have one day in your house than a thousand anywhere else. So, my soul says I’d rather have one day in your house than a thousand anywhere else. I’d rather have one day in your house, I’d rather have one day in your house than a thousand anywhere else, than a thousand anywhere else.
Happy are those who dwell in the house of God. Happy are those who dwell in the house of God. Happy are those who dwell in the house of God. Happy are those who dwell in the house of God.
I’d rather hold the doors, I’d rather sweep the floors than be anywhere else but here. Anywhere else but here. I’d rather hold the doors, I’d rather sweep the floors than be anywhere else but here. Anywhere else but here.
Happy are those who dwell in the house of God. Happy are those who dwell in the house of God. Happy are those who dwell in the house of God. Happy are those who dwell in the house of God.
(Written by Jessica Ray Langdon).