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September 16th.
2009
PICTURES
They could not control their laughter – actually I think they had no
intention of doing so. “Uncle Brian, look at those big glasses you used
to wear!” “Oh you look so much better without a mustache!”, another
family member proclaimed. And as the family gathered around and poured
through old photo albums and digital pictures on the computer making
preparations for my father-in-law’s service many more comments about
changes in others continued.
Photos are interesting, and more so are the ones we or other’s select to
represent us. For example, I am always struck by which photos are chosen
for obituaries. Sometimes these are recent photos, sometimes these are
photos from a moment in time such as service in the military, wedding or
what appears to be graduation picture. Other times people choose to go
with a side-by-side of present and past.
I have always been intrigued with the suggestion that some past cultures
did not want their pictures taken. The often given rational for this
resistance was the suggestion that the photo would “steal” their spirit.
Ironically, many other “cultures” take endless photos trying to preserve
the “spirit of the moment.” All one needs to do is attend a sporting
event or anything that has a large number of children and it often
appears like a photo shoot for Family Circle magazine. Likewise, I have
learned through the years to have a pre-wedding conversation with the
hired photographers. I want to be clear that what is about take place is
a religious ceremony and not a glamour shoot.
I love photos, both taking them and looking at them. They always fill me
with memories of a person, a group of people or an experience. They are
a moment preserved. Yet, they are not the spirit of the moment. That is
a gift bestowed by God, one that by God’s grace, often prompted by a
photo, lives deep within our hearts forever.
Blessings,
The Rev. Brian N. Prior, Rector
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