A Challenge

I'm preparing for a summer conference teaching on "the spiritual life in all its fullness through the story of Jonah". I have written a small skit/drama where Jonah is talking about his Ninevah experience and he sounds like a teenager. (This is in the style of Armstrong and Miller WWII comedy sketches - be warned the language is offensive to some in the Youtube clips.)

Rosanne who is reading it for me commented "You know I think Uncle Jonah on first read sounds irreverent - which shocked me a little - although maybe Jonah really did have that attitude.. was that intended?"

When reading Jonah 4 I find that Jonah knows good doctrine but doesn't really know or understand the why of the love of God. So Jonah seems to me to be immature and like many teenagers inconsistent especially when it comes to authority. I hope Jonah in my drama is a little shocking especially for those who are over familiar with the story because I'm trying to reach beyond a children's Sunday school class understanding.

I believe good art, drama, and music should challenge us in someway and yet for the artist, writer, or composer the challenge is to maintain a sense of the aesthetic. This probably the case in postmodern architecture. The move from Modernism and functionalism to first putting elements including the classical in juxtaposition with each other to now trying to find a new way of speaking. The city is full of examples of this. Go and stand at the North East corner of King and University and you'll see what I mean. Also then perhaps the Lee Chin Crystal at the ROM is the most recent dramatic attempt though the aesthetic has been sacrificed because glass has been replaced with metal.

Did you notice the cellist in the picture? He's playing left handed. Knowing that, you're forced to check the other players. Jonah in the skit is written to do that to ourselves.