Those Were The Days
By J. Grant Swank Jr. (05/09/08)
One of God's gifts is memory. That does not mean that all of our recallings are worth anything; but it does mean that we can choose to recall those mind-photos that are warm and friendly.
As I walk around the Lakes Region, there are many such pictures that come into focus--a mom-and-pop store in New Gloucester where I liked to linger even after making the purchase, a favorite picnic spot alongside Sebago Lake, a tuck-away meadow complete with cows on the edge of North Windham.
With that, I make a time slot to think back to other places, other times. It is the memory present the Lord has slipped into our selves if we wish to meander through its corridors.
One special place in time to me is a classroom. There G. Earnest Wright stands before the chalkboard. He is lean and quick to move to right and left. He has a witty smile with flashing eyes that can break up a class in a mega-second.
Dr. Wright taught Old Testament. With that, he made old like new. There was nothing antique about his subject. He breathed his curriculum. And more importantly, he knew how to invite students into his reverie.
Dr. Wright was more than professor. He was active believer. From his classroom he walked into the world to serve others in Jesus' name. Therefore, it was not difficult for Dr. Wright to make practical application of his syllabus.
I was but a green leaf then. And I was scared to death of Harvard. What did I know about scouting out Harvard Yard let alone know where to park so as not to get a ticket in Cambridge? And Widener Library. It was as vast as any midwest plains.
Mornings I walked into Harvard Memorial Chapel for those who wanted to begin the day in prayer. Then off to classes. At noontime, we pulled out our lunch bags to eat sandwiches in the downstairs lunchroom. For chapel, we gathered in the upstairs within the plain environs for worship.
But it was when under Dr. Wright's tutelage that I came alive. I marveled at his intellect. But more so, I was taken with his spiritual commitment. Not all faculty had such; but this Old Testament fellow knew there was an eternal soul to care for as well as a degree from Harvard Divinity School.
I got the HDS BULLETIN today. Scanning its Faculty Notes I searched for one professor's name that rang a memory bell. Sad for me, all the names were brand new. Not a veteran among them.
So I did a bit of "adding up the score". Paul Tillich, religious guru magnet back then, no longer breathes on the planet. Reinhold Niebuhr, once our campus patron saint, has slipped away from us forever. James Luther Adams has slid behind the curtain.
I even read that past Harvard President Nathan M. Pusey died not too long ago. Kind remarks reflecting on his impact were printed in the Bulletin.
Yet there is one prof who admirably stands out above all the others in my memory bank--G. Earnest Wright. Man of integrity. Christian of worth. Believer of conviction.
That got me to getting a bit personal. And at this juncture I invite you to join me.
What believing influence on others do you and I make that will outlast us? What impress are we having for an eternal good?
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