None of us knows who this fine young man is, but someone knows him, I know that much, because this young man who did not grow old, is missed by his son who is now a father, husband and a friend of mine, perhaps even a brother….
That son – does that matter? He is not a nameless, faceless son. He has a name, and he has a wonderful face… but his beauty is his heart and soul, which is seen in the things that he loves, the ones he loves.
Let’s get back to that photo… I have a father… who did not keep getting old, he passed away in 2012. All my photos of him… I don’t have any like this one.
There are those who warn us not to translate the murmurs of the heart into words… but instead leave them there in the misty ambivalence of a dreamt kind of world…
I love a photo like this, precisely because I don’t know the little fellow.
I’m a father of 5, grandfather of 7… what photos of me do my children muse over? Or do they?
It’s in the bottom left hand corner. So any of you know what that is? That happens when a bunch of photos that have never been put into an album, get damp, and stick together. This photo looks carefully extracted, to minimize the damage, father’s image is preserved. I have a pile of photos like this, that’s how I know…
I’ve lied a little bit, you know? I know a little more about the young man here. I know a little from his son… but what’s that to you?
Oh, my fine young man… what if you’d met up with the Lord Jesus Christ… and dared to walk up a little closer to him to say,
“Rabbi, where are you staying?”
He’d have turned toward you and replied,
“come, and you will see.”
…and maybe you’d have grown old, maybe you’d have lived only long enough to leave your mark on the world, like Bonhoeffer –
But then again, you did, I know his name, it’s your loving son… he met up with Jesus, and he’s making a difference in the world around him… I hope you read that right… He (Jesus) is making a difference in the world around him (my friend)
Running Down Vimy 