Earlier this month, in the space of 24 hours, two video clips arrived in my in-box.
One is nine minutes in length. The other is six minutes. Both were recorded a long time ago and are rather limited, technically. Both feature men who were born in the same decade and then who died in the same decade as well. One had a privileged upbringing, while the other’s was defined by unimaginable suffering. One is proper and polished, speaking in his mother tongue; the other is witty and conversational, speaking in a language not his own. One articulates ideas, the other tells stories. One dialogues with another as they sit and as they walk, the other monologues from the front, standing behind, and leaning on a lectern. One is speaking from inside Central Europe, although that is not his homeland; the other is speaking from outside Central Europe, which is his homeland. One is a Christian, the other is a Jew.
And both were writers. Each wrote more than 50 books and yet, in these clips, each refers to slender slivers of books – one written in 1955, the other in 1958 – books so thin that they are easily overwhelmed by the neighbouring tomes on bookshelves across the world … and yet they are two books that helped change the world: Night and Basic Christianity. One tells a story of despair in our world, the other tells the story of hope for our world.
Here, have a watch yourself and see what other similarities and contrasts you discover…
With Elie Wiesel I cannot embed the YouTube clip, so here is the link.
And here is John Stott:
I’ve watched each clip a few times now. I find myself asking, “Why am I drawn to them?” The answer comes as I am reminded of how, increasingly, when offering feedback to beginning preachers, I am likening the sermon to a song. So it becomes about listening for the lyrics that come from the mouth, as well as the music that comes from the person, as they speak. Something similar is happening here, for me.
With Elie Wiesel and John Stott, I am drawn to the lyrics, the words they say. Eloquent. Clear. Concise. Profound. Memorable. So many descriptors surface, capped off by the way Wiesel speaks of the compulsion which the writer feels to ‘bear witness’. I am sure Stott would concur. And Stott speaks of books as ‘a means of grace’. I am sure Wiesel would concur.
But even more, I am drawn to the music, the way they speak. The gentleness in the face. The warmth in the eye. The softness in the manner. The respect in the posture. The pace in the voice. The remembering and the using of peoples’ names. It is all so very winsome, so appealing.
This is the lifesong each one of us needs to be singing in our troubled world today. We need this kind of lyric … and we need this kind of music as well. It is within reach of all of us.
And both men were people of faith. We must take care not to allow a segment in a person’s life to define their entire life. While John Stott’s life was one of consistent, persistent faith, Elie Wiesel’s journey, as expressed in Night, is famous for its doubt. But I have it on good authority that it was in the writing of Night that Wiesel found faith, rather than lost it.
Ohh, imagine listening to these two people share together on a sofa for two hours…
nice chatting
Paul
PS. This all takes me back to John Dickson’s story about Martin Hengel and Richard Bauckham which impacted me so much, all those years ago.
About Me
the art of unpacking
After a childhood in India, a theological training in the USA and a pastoral ministry in Southland (New Zealand), I spent twenty years in theological education in New Zealand — first at Laidlaw College and then at Carey Baptist College, where I served as principal. In 2009 I began working with Langham Partnership and since 2013 I have been the Programme Director (Langham Preaching). Through it all I've cherished the experience of the 'gracious hand of God upon me' and I've relished the opportunity to 'unpack', or exegete, all that I encounter in my walk through life with Jesus.
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Thank you Paul. I love this. You have captured the qualities of their speech and presentation so helpfully. That is – their tone and persona. And your likening of a sermon to a song when giving feedback – I have found myself using the same metaphor in the past few years. But most of – it is the character and characteristics you have highlighted in both clips: inspirational and aspirational.
Thank you.
Thanks, Geoff
Yes, it is a fabulous discussion to have in a classroom with preachers: 'If the sermon is like a song and the words the preacher speak are the lyrics, then to what might the music refer in the sermon?' What pushed me this way, in the first place, was sensing the struggle of translators, as we've worked together over the years, to find the right word for 'tone', or 'manner', in the preacher. Oftentimes there would be just … … silence. They couldn't find a word. I needed to find another way.
Having said all that, it is good to encounter these hard-to-translate words. Another one is the word 'integrity'. They provoke so much discussion and interactivity in the classroom, as learners go in search of the right word and discuss options with each other. Hence the exercise you've seen me do with 'integrity' which has become one of my favourite learning experiences to facilitate.
As for inspiration and aspiration… We may have been away from NZ for seven years, but some first impressions remain … too much inspiration, too little aspiration!
take care, under his care for you