Do we need to be able to explain everything?

I like to follow the Scripture texts that will be read today in half a million Catholic churches in the daily mass. One of my prayers is that the sword of the Word will penetrate the consciousness of people who may be sincerely searching for a relationship with God.

Today they will be listening to readings from Romans 6, Luke 12, Psalm 123. Whenever I read about the punishment of the servant who knew his master's will but didn't pay attention, I recall a quote that Mr. Maxwell gave from a lady who said that even though she didn't exactly know what that meant, she did know that she didn't want to be beaten with many stripes. So it was better to be obedient. Very practical!

Thinking of that, I become aware that we don't have the option of Luke 12:48, "the servant who didn't know what his master wanted", who received a light beating. Those of us who have attended Prairie have had abundant opportunity to understand clearly what God wants to do through us. We will be held accountable.

Importance of knowing history

Those who follow the liturgical calendar recently were reminded of Monica and Augustine. Mr. Maxwell used Monica the mother of profligate Augustine as an example of how God answers prayers in different ways than we expect. She prayed that her son would not go to Italy, where he would find an even worse atmosphere than in Africa. Well, he went to Italy, heard the gospel and eventually became one of the leading lights of Christianity in his time and for future generations. What looked like a prayer not being answered ended up as the best thing that could have happened.

At the same time we need to not think of these "saints" as perfect examples. They served their generation well, but not everything they did was profitable.

A gift for making things memorable

We are going through the prophet Isaiah here in the mountains of Spain. The vision of Isaiah (Chapter 6) brought back Mr. Maxwell's vivid description of Uzziah's apostasy in relation to Isaíah's call. The danger of prosperity and power. His voice is there in memory, "The year that king Uzziah died" (King James, of course), directly related to the call and cleansing of the prophet.

Those of you who studied under him or knew him in other ways, what recollections do you have? Write a comment here, or through Friends of Prairie on Facebook.

Position on the page

Mr. Maxwell wore out Bibles. He used an edition of the King James that was out of print, and was grateful when someone gave him their copy of that particular edition because it helped him find texts by page position.

Someone remarked (maybe in a biography) how he could pull one of the many books off a shelf and rapidly find the quote he wanted, by checking the position in which he remembered it on the page. (now we do that with a computer search)

Wouldn't it be nice to enlarge this collection of memories, all in one handy place?

Without words

Having been sent to Prairie out of a difficult home situation in grade 9, I found everything about the school positive. One memory that stuck with me was seeing Mr. Maxwell walking down the sidewalk and Miriam coming the other way. No words, just a huge beaming smile. Something I had never experienced, which I considered a great model.

Another conversation, this time with a mission leader who was answering Maxwell's question about the biggest problem with missionaries. The response, "imaginary unfulfilled potential".

Drinking wine

OK, let's toss in a few more memories: (don't know why some of these stick) speaking of a conversation with Mr. Howard, editor of the Sunday School Times, they were commenting an article that had been published purporting to show that wine in the Bible was not alcoholic, but rather a thick syrup that could be transported without spoiling. Mr. Howard's conclusion was, "I'm not sure that he can prove that".

If you want a really biblical experience of "treading the winepress", here's how it's done. Stomping grapes