Advent speakers

‘SUPERNATURAL LOVE’

is focus of two-part Advent Forum

GARDNER CAMPBELL EXPLORES THIS REMARKABLE POEM

It is rare that a single poem explores the central mysteries of the Incarnation, from the strangeness of our own embodiment to the wonder of God’s loving, sacrificial choice to become human, Emmanuel. “Supernatural Love” is one of those rare poems. Written by Gjertrud Schnackenberg, one of the greatest American poets of the last 100 years, “Supernatural Love” tells the story of a four-year-old girl whose intuitions send her father, a history professor, on a search for knowledge that can explain his young daughter’s visionary insights. The poem is written very simply, as a first-person story told by the young girl, but the universe that her story opens to the reader is breathtaking, unforgettable.

Join Dr. Gardner Campbell this Advent as we experience this remarkable poem together, illuminating our own questions, intuitions, and discoveries through the story “Supernatural Love” tells. He will speak in the Sunday Forum at 10:10 a.m. on December 5 and 12.

SUPERNATURAL LOVE

By Gjertrud Schnackenberg

My father at the dictionary-stand Touches the page to fully understand The lamplit answer, tilting in his hand

His slowly scanning magnifying lens, A blurry, glistening circle he suspends Above the word “Carnation.” Then he bends

So near his eyes are magnified and blurred, One finger on the miniature word, As if he touched a single key and heard

A distant, plucked, infinitesimal string, “The obligation due to every thing That’s smaller than the universe.” I bring

My sewing needle close enough that I Can watch my father through the needle’s eye, As through a lens ground for a butterfly

Who peers down flower-hallways toward a room Shadowed and fathomed as this study’s gloom Where, as a scholar bends above a tomb To read what’s buried there, he bends to pore Over the Latin blossom. I am four, I spill my pins and needles on the floor

Trying to stitch “Beloved” X by X. My dangerous, bright needle’s point connects Myself illiterate to this perfect text

I cannot read. My father puzzles why It is my habit to identify Carnations as “Christ’s flowers,” knowing I

Can give no explanation but “Because.” Word-roots blossom in speechless messages The way the thread behind my sampler does

Where following each X I awkward move My needle through the word whose root is love. He reads, “A pink variety of Clove,

Carnatio, the Latin, meaning flesh.” As if the bud’s essential oils brush Christ’s fragrance through the room, the iron-fresh

Odor carnations have floats up to me, A drifted, secret, bitter ecstasy, The stems squeak in my scissors, Child, it’s me,

We are excited to partner with All Saints’, St. Mary’s, and St. Paul’s Episcopal churches to host internationally renowned scholar and speaker Dr. Amy-Jill Levine for a two-part Advent lecture series on December 2 and 3. The series is also made possible by a gift from Mrs. Frances Eakin in loving memory of her husband Dr. Frank Eakin.

The first lecture, “Revisiting Christmas: Ancient Jewish Expectations, Christian Interpretations, and Interreligious Responses Today,” will be held at St. Stephen’s on December 2 and is open to the public. The second lecture, “Understanding Jesus and Paul Means Understanding Judaism,” will be held at St. Paul’s on December 3 and is open to faith leaders and educators.

Dr. Amy Jill-Levine

Dr. Levine is the Rabbi Stanley M. Kessler Distinguished Professor of New Testament and Jewish Studies at Hartford University, and has taught at Vanderbilt University. She has published over 30 books including The Misunderstood Jew, Short Stories by Jesus, five children’s books (with Sandy Eisenberg Sasso), and The Bible With and Without Jesus (with Marc Z. Brettler).

In preparation for Dr. Levine’s visit, the Rev. Claudia Merritt led a study of Short Stories by Jesus in the fall. Claudia said, “We are honored to have Dr. Levine with us for an evening of reflection. She is a pre-eminent scholar in Christian and Jewish circles, and I’m excited to hear her open the scriptures in a new way. She’ll help us hear who Jesus was and how he sounded in his first century community, and this will be especially powerful as we move through Advent toward Christmas.”

After reading Short Stories by Jesus, Claudia says, “I’ll not hear the parables in the same way again. I highly recommend the book. Dr. Levine is humorous and totally engaging.”

Space is limited and pre-registration is required. There is no charge for admission, but a donation to defray the costs of this event is appreciated. See details below for more information and registration for each lecture. (Please note that each of the two events has its own registration.)

Important • At both events, masks and proof of vaccination are required. • The series will not be livestreamed or recorded. • Registration for each event is separate.

He turns the page to “Clove” and reads aloud: “The clove, a spice, dried from a flower-bud.” Then twice, as if he hasn’t understood,

He reads, “From French, for clou, meaning a nail.” He gazes, motionless. “Meaning a nail.” The incarnation blossoms, flesh and nail,

I twist my threads like stems into a knot And smooth “Beloved,” but my needle caught Within the threads, Thy blood so dearly bought,

The needle strikes my finger to the bone. I lift my hand, it is myself I’ve sewn, The flesh laid bare, the threads of blood my own,

I lift my hand in startled agony And call upon his name, “Daddy daddy”— My father’s hand touches the injury

As lightly as he touched the page before, Where incarnation bloomed from roots that bore The flowers I called Christ’s when I was four.

Gjertrud Schnackenberg, “Supernatural Love” from Supernatural Love: Poems 1976-1992. Copyright © 1982, 1985 by Gjertrud Schnackenberg. Used by permission of Farrar, Straus & Giroux, LLC, http://us.macmillan.com/fsg. All rights reserved. Thursday, December 2, 7:00-9:00 p.m. | Public Lecture at St. Stephen’s “Revisiting Christmas: Ancient Jewish Expectations, Christian Interpretations, and Interreligious Responses Today” This event is open to the entire community, though seating will be limited to ensure safe distancing, and masks and proof of vaccination are required for all. To register, visit ststephensRVA. org/Levine-registration.

Friday, December 3, 9:00 a.m.-11:30 a.m. | Lecture for Faith

Leaders and Educators at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church

“Understanding Jesus and Paul Means Understanding Judaism” This event is open to everyone; however, this event is targeted towards faith leaders and educators. Seating will be limited to ensure safe distancing, and masks and proof of vaccination are required for all. For more information and to register, visit stpaulsrva.org/levine-lectures.