by Mr. Chris Buckles
It is a joy to be assembled altogether once again and open our year, and it is my honor to share some opening remarks with you all as we begin our year. The following blog post is a written version of my address at our Convocation ceremony the morning of August 17th, 2021. If you would also like to reference the scripture read prior to the talk that morning please see Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 and Philippians 4:4-8.
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The modern world with its new luxuries and technologies has changed much of our way of life, in a way that can hardly be appreciated by the younger generations of today. One pastime that disappeared with the arrival of the air conditioner was that of families spending their evenings on the front porch, mainly to stay cool in the outdoor evening air, but lending itself to socializing with neighbors on, down, and across the street. I bring this up because I want to open with a passage from a book that is set during such a time and illustrates an important image that I will develop more later.
Here is a passage from Ray Bradbury’s book Dandelion Wine, describing this ritual in the early summer, set during the summer of 1928:
“Yes, summer was rituals, each with its natural time and place. The ritual of lemonade or ice tea making, shoes or no shoes, and at last, swiftly following the others, with quiet dignity, the ritual of the front-porch swing.
On the third day of summer in the late afternoon, Grandfather reappeared from the front door to gaze serenely at the two empty eye rings in the ceiling of the porch.
“All right, Douglas, let’s set it up.”
In the garage they found, dusted, and carried forth the swing chair which Grandpa chained to the porch-ceiling eyelets.
Douglas, being lighter, was first to sit in the swing. Then, after a moment, Grandfather gingerly settled his pontifical weight beside the boy. Thus they sat, smiling at each other, nodding, as they swung silently back and forth, back and forth.
At last, like ghosts hovering momentarily behind the door screen, Grandma, Great-grandma, and Mother would appear, and the men would shift, move, and offer seats. The women carried varieties of fans with them. Folded newspapers, bamboo shisks, or perfumed kerchiefs, to start the air moving about their faces as they talked.
What they talked of all evening long, no one remembered next day. It wasn’t important to anyone what the adults talked about; it was only important that the sounds came and went over the delicate ferns that bordered the porch on three sides; it was only important that the darkness filled the town like black water being poured over the houses, and that the conversations went on, and on.
Douglas sprawled back on the dry porch planks, completely contented and reassured by these voices, which would speak on through eternity, flow in a stream of murmurings over his body, over his closed eyelids, into his drowsy ears, for all time. The rocking chairs sounded like crickets, the crickets sounded like rocking chairs, and the moss-covered rain barrel by the dining-room window produced another generation of mosquitoes to provide a topic of conversation though endless summers ahead.
Sitting on the summer-night porch was so good, so easy and so reassuring that it could never be done away with. These were rituals that were right and lasting.”
At Providence, your teachers and parents wish to model for you a life well lived, and though we do this imperfectly many times, we hope, by the Lord’s mercy and grace, you would catch glimpses of what we have been able to experience in part that you may experience it more fully. I have found that the best embodiment of our vision is in the simple life, marked by reverent, reflective, resilient, resplendent men and women who go about their lives in humility and holiness. This is quite contrary to what we feel pressured by the world to pursue. A faithful life is what we really ought to aim for, and is what we train for here at Providence as we seek to do the same lovely routines that build our appetites for truth, goodness, and beauty.
In short, I am excited for another year of doing the same thing Providence has done for many years now: equipping students for a life of wisdom, virtue, and eloquence to God’s glory with the holy Scriptures as our guide and the classical liberal arts as our method. What has made our school so revolutionary in our day is the fact that what we aim to do and how we hope to achieve that aim have changed very little over the years. We keep memorizing passages of Scripture and the best poetry, learning how to write in beautiful cursive penmanship, diagramming sentences as a practice to get acquainted with how language works, learning Latin to dive deeper into language and enter into the early days of Western civilization, gaining insights into significant historical events that are part of our rich heritage, reading old books that are still as excellent and relevant today as they have ever been, and practicing the arts of logic and rhetoric to examine our own ways of thinking and enter into meaningful dialogue with others. These practices are as good and beneficial as they ever were to our minds, hearts, and souls, and they will continue to prove to be the best arts we may practice as image bearers of God.
The Book of Ecclesiastes is one of my favorite books in the Bible, and it explores this idea of things happening routinely and repeatedly. I find it comforting that someone else sees and feels the often drudging and routine nature of life, yet sees the beauty in how the world is repetitive. The closing thoughts I will draw out are from all of the book, but particularly in chapter 3 of Ecclesiastes, where the author states:
“What gain has the worker from his toil? I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God’s gift to man.” – Ecclesiastes 3:9-13
The author notes that man is a busy creature, but some unique qualities in man is that he can perceive beauty and can sense the eternal nature of things. As such, the author states that there is nothing better for man to do than be joyful and do good, finding pleasure in his toil, for it is a gift from God.
As we consider familiar rituals and growing in virtue, I want to encourage four virtues related to wonder, worship, work, and wisdom. As one of our graduates, Andrew Vastola, summed up the message of Boethius’ Consolation of Philosophy in his salutatorian address last year: “You can only achieve true happiness through virtue.” So, these distinct virtues are what I charge us all to pursue this year, that we may experience the fullness of the Lord’s gifts this year.
First, behold God and his creation with wonder. We live in a world that we cannot tame and is full of mystery and even danger. This is one thing we learn from classic tales, and it is meant to instill in us reverence and regard for God and his creation. We read old books and turn to God’s word to keep stoking the fire that is our sense of wonder at this wild world. As you immerse yourselves in stories, encounter God’s word, and experience life as a young person, don’t miss the stunningly providential hand behind it all. In other words, wonder, remember that God is big and you are small.
Second, be contemplative. We live in a busy and hurried world, and school days are no different, with many tasks and routines to keep up with. However, we set aside time at the start of each day in Matins, and even now during convocation, to pause and reflect. Doing so, we embody the meaning of the word “contemplate”, meaning “to approach the temple”, the place God’s people were simply meant to “be” and not “do”. It is our hope that you build a habit of reflection and sitting in the silence in your life, giving praise and thanks to God. In other words, worship, even amidst distractions.
Third, be faithful with your lot. Each of us is given a portion with which to be faithful, and for students, a large portion of this is your studies. Every day, your teachers will give you work to do, and you have a choice every day to steward that work faithfully, with all your might, or to bitterly do what must be done to keep teachers and parents satisfied. The work we give you is good and worth doing for its own sake; you may not feel or understand that yet, but trust the love your parents and teachers have for you as they give you good work to do. In other words, work, and do so faithfully.
Finally, be joyful in your toil. There is much joy to be had in the work and leisure time we are given, and we often miss it because we miss that it is a small part of a much grander story. Often, we get so caught up in the anxieties and pressures of life that we are distracted from what our work truly is. By the grace of Christ, our work does not earn us favor with God, but we are free to work with joy and delight in all the things we do. Do not grow bitter or resent the good before you; instead learn to see clearly the beauty in all the things of God. In other words, enjoy, even when it feels toilsome.
The temptation as we set back into routines and rhythms is that they have the danger of growing stale or mundane to us; it may be that this is less of a danger this year, since going back to normal will feel refreshing. However, I still wish to urge you to find the simple joy that is had in daily, weekly, or annual rituals, be they at school or at home. Your life will be filled with such rituals and routines, and just as Ray Bradbury writes about his family’s summer rituals with such fondness in his book, may you grow to see the beauty and delight in these gifts from God, beholding his glory, contemplating his creation, being faithful to his call, and being joyful in his generous giving.I am so relieved that my job at Providence is not to be all that creative or clever, but rather, I am called to be a preserver and protector of good things. As we just sang, Be Thou My Vision, I am delighted that we have our vision set forth in Scripture, God’s own Word, and even more particularly for our school in our vision document; our way is set. I will endeavor every day to behold our great God, be faithful to our school’s vision, be willing to pause and be present in the moment, and take joy in the hard days and the easy days. I am delighted to be here with you all today, this year, and for the many years to come, trusting the Lord and His goodness and steadfastness will keep our school in the purposes of the Lord for many generations to come.
Chris Buckles started serving at Providence in August 2013 as an upper school teacher and is now in his third year serving as headmaster, still teaching upper school logic. He and his wife, Lindsey, reside in Edwardsville, IL and worship at Center Grove Presbyterian Church. They are parents to Scott, Emilia, and Peter.
