All the objectives for this journey to Maine have now been met. I enjoyed a bowl of clam chowder yesterday for lunch. The lobster meal is off my plate—quite literally--and it was lobster as only Maine can provide. We went canoeing through the Audubon Scarborough Marsh (finding the Amazon in Maine) and yesterday visited Portland Head at Fort Williams, watching the Atlantic crash against the rocky shores. It is now time to depart Maine, taking our time as we travel through NH, MA, CT, NY, NJ, PA, and finally to our home in MD.
It is not surprising that I often think in the words of hymns when I see something and want to express my feelings about it. This happened yesterday when we visited Portland Head. As I stood along the rocky shore watching the Atlantic crashing into the rocks, and seeing the lighthouse high above, the words of “Let the Lower Lights Keep Burning” echoed in my mind.
“Brightly beams our Father’s mercy from his lighthouse evermore
But to us he gives the keeping of the lights along the shore.”
Love and mercy are at the heart of all things—“Brightly beams our Father’s mercy from his lighthouse evermore”—even in the midst of hurricanes and tornadoes. These natural disasters are the same as the waves of the ocean that just naturally batter the rocky shores of Maine. We cannot change the raging waters of the oceans or stop the storms of life, “But to us he gives the keeping of the lights along the shore.” We have the responsibility for what happens along the shore!
“Let the lower lights keep burning…” is our work, our duty, and our responsibility “along the shore.” Leonard Cohen put it this way:
“Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
That’s how the light gets in.”
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