Valentines Day
February 25th, 2008
Dear Friends
Valentines day and the promise of spring seems to awaken latent instinct! It is not that Slovenia distorted my sense of romance, on the contrary, a call from my daughter warned me that I should be especially ‘nice’ to the overtures of a nervous young gentlemen! Minutes later Esquire phoned and explained how serious they were about making a life together, would I be so kind as to offer my consent?
A ‘once in a life time’ experience! How poignant can ‘yes’ be?
I have been dipping into Lewis Hyde’s, The Gift. He discusses the sociology of giving as a source of creativity in our society. He also explores the custom of fathers ‘giving away’ their daughters. It’s just as well, that I was half prepared! He asks:
Are daughters sovereign property given in a culture of exchange?
Why do we not give away our sons?
In our culture we tend to embrace the idea of sovereign ownership in contrast to ideas of commonwealth and leasehold favoured in other cultures. He suggests that we give our daughters, not because they are chattels or owned property, but because they are life giving gifts from the family of our wives, given in trust. We are thus bound to bestow them on a succeeding family thereby consensually binding society. We cannot receive the gift of life until we give the gift of a life.
In a similar vein we talk about receiving gifts from God, gifts of the spirit, the gift of Christ Jesus himself. It is possible that we become possessive and retentive about these gifts, with salvation being the birthright of the self serving elect.
The economy of Grace requires the spirit of a gift to flow indefinitely.
Thank you for being a philanthropist of God’s gifts, for priming the pump and for keeping the flywheel turning.
Best regards
Victor