2023.12.24 WITHNESS—A Day In The Life Of A Very Fine Preposition, Lyn G. Brakeman, Spiritual Lemons, blog post

Here's a story. It’s a true story told many years ago at Christmas by the then dean of Washington National Cathedral. Do not worry, the story is not a preachy/teachy sermon! Still, it might make you feel whole for no good reason. 

Prepositions, as you know, are small words, such as to, with, of, for, before, after. Such wee words play a very important role in the world of words, because they connect one thing to another, and put us in touch with deeper meaning. WITH is a  joining preposition. 

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Once upon a time in the late 1970s in the dimming dusk of evening in a very grand cathedral there happened a very tiny event—one worth telling over and over for no rational reason. 

Cathedrals as you know have extraordinarily high vaulted ceilings and many sparkling stained glass windows. There is a VERY long center aisle connecting the east end, where the sun rises and the altar stands, to the west end, where the sun sets and where there is an enormous round stained glass window called the Rose window, because of course it resembles the beauty of a rose blooming, bursting flamboyance all over. 

Once upon a time in the late 1970's, the Very Rev.Francis Sayers, stood in the shadows of the side aisle and waited for the final tour to end so he could close up and go home. As he strolled down the side aisle towards the west end, listening to the soft drone of the tour guide, something unusual caught his eye. He stopped. He saw a wee lass coming slowly down the long aisle. She was attracted to the circle of light made by the setting sun shining through the Rose window and shining onto the floor below. She walked slowly at first, turning to look back at her mother who would probably not approve of her straying.

But this child could not resist the light. She walked faster now down the long aisle. The dean watched. She reached the edge of the circle of light. She stood. She dipped one toe into the light and drew back.

The child stood in that crucial moment where the cataclysmic joy of disobedience meets the droning comfort of proper obedience. Which way will she choose? The dean watched. 

Now she stepped fully into the light and began to dance, slowly at first then faster, swirling and twirling.

Her mother suddenly noticed her daughter’s absence. She turned, then began to run down the aisle, calling for her daughter. When she reached the circle she scolded the child as any nervous parent would do. But the child kept dancing, turning her face to look up at her mother. 

“Mommy, Mommy, look. Look! I’m dancing with the light. I’m dancing with the light.” 

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This child dances WITH the light, not FOR it, as a performance, not IN it, as if to merge, but WITH it—joined, connected, together.   May we all practice WITH-NESS.