Theologian's Almanac for Week of April 23, 2023
Welcome to SALT’s “Theologian’s Almanac,” a weekly selection of important birthdays, holidays, and other upcoming milestones worth marking — specially created for a) writing sermons and prayers, b) creating content for social media channels, and c) enriching your devotional life.
For the week of Sunday, April 23:
April 23 is the (observed) birthday of William Shakespeare, born in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, in 1564. It’s also his death day, in 1616, at the age of 52. Theology is woven through his many works, including these gems worth remembering:
“God shall be my hope, my stay, my guide and lantern to my feet” (Henry V).
“The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose” (The Merchant of Venice).
“There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy” (Hamlet).
“The quality of mercy is not strain'd,
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath: it is twice blest;
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes:
'Tis mightiest in the mightiest: it becomes
The throned monarch better than his crown;
His sceptre shows the force of temporal power,
The attribute to awe and majesty,
Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings;
But mercy is above this sceptred sway;
It is enthroned in the hearts of kings,
It is an attribute to God himself;
And earthly power doth then show likest God's
When mercy seasons justice” (The Merchant of Venice).
April 25 is the birthday of Ella Fitzgerald, the First Lady of Jazz, who once said, “It’s not easy for me to get up in front of a crowd of people. It used to bother me a lot, but now I’ve got it figured out that God gave me this talent to use, so I just stand there and sing!” Here she is, um, just standing there and singing :)
April 26 is the birthday of French-American ornithologist and painter John James Audubon, born in Haiti in 1785. His classic book of ornithological paintings, Birds of America, is still regarded as one of the finest, most ambitious picture books ever made. In response to a critic who “expressed some doubts as to my views respecting the affection and love of pigeons, as if I made it human, and raised the possessors quite above the brutes,” Audubon wrote: “I presume the love of the mothers for their young is much the same as the love of woman for her offspring. There is but one kind of love; God is love, and all his creatures derive theirs from his; only it is modified by the different degrees of intelligence in different beings and creatures.”
At the same time, as celebrated as Audubon is for his contributions to ornithology and environmental protection, he also enslaved African Americans and held white supremacist views. Some have tried to diminish these aspects of his legacy as products “of his time,” but of course some of Audubon’s contemporaries were staunch, vocal abolitionists. To their credit, the National Audubon Society has opted in recent years to highlight and grapple with this dimension of their namesake’s life and work, and use it as part of the organization’s efforts to help build a world of racial equity.