Swept Away

I hold in my hands, a piece of heavy, woven fabric – a cloth. It is square, being equal on all sides, with a fringe that is made up of the same variety of yarn which makes up the rest of the cloth, but tied together separately and sewn to the edges of the cloth with thread.  The cloth is sturdy and, while flexible, does not stretch.

While at first glance, the cloth appears to be more or less uniform of shade and color, upon closer examination it can be seen that it is woven from yarns of many different colors and shades, some multi-colored.

The texture of the cloth is a bit rough, but not abrasive; comforting in its crudeness, something like the comfort one feels from a well-worn and familiar old wool blanket.

Examining the cloth carefully, it can be seen that the fibers used to make the yarn are not all the same; some have the soft, welcoming look of cotton, others possess a more refined appearance, like silk, while still others seem to be some kind of synthetic.  Clearly, the weaver of the fabric has chosen these fibers carefully, intending each to lend their own unique characteristics to the yarn; some to make the cloth soft and comfortable, some to help the cloth retain a more pleasing appearance, while some will add strength to make the cloth durable.

As I contemplate the cloth in my hands, my attention is frequently drawn away from the body of the cloth, to the fringe.  Why is that?  Well, that’s what it’s there for; to get my attention. The fringe has no useful purpose, after all; it is not even an integral part of the cloth, and the cloth will serve whatever purpose it has quite well without the fringe.  The fringe is merely held to the cloth by relatively weak thread and, if the fringe is pulled upon with any real force, it will pull away from the cloth and unravel, only to fall to the floor, make a mess and be swept into the trash.  But, the cloth remains.

The strength and character of the cloth is formed and protected by a collection of many different fibers, spun into specialized blends of yarn and all skillfully and creatively woven together so that the strengths and beauties of each part, form a whole piece of cloth that will benefit all with whom it serves.

If, when the fringe is pulling away from the cloth, the cloth were to cling (as it were) to the fringe, the cloth itself must at some point, either let go of the fringe, or be torn away from the body, thus destroying the beauty, integrity, value and usefulness of the cloth.

Humanity is much like this cloth; created beautiful, warm, strong and flexible. Beautiful in the variety of our looks, likes and tastes; warm in our hospitality and care for one another; strong in our resolve to protect ourselves and each other, and flexible in our resiliency to adversity and catastrophe.

But, like the cloth, humanity has its fringe.  The fringe surrounds us on all sides and exists for one reason only – to bring attention to itself, having no value, except as a tool of our enemy to tear us apart.  The fringe is useless but demanding and, if the body-human clings to the fringe, trying to hold on as it is pulling away, the very fabric of humanity will be torn apart.

The fringe must be allowed, even required, to separate and fall to the floor, swept into the trash heap of history and destroyed.  The body must resist and reject the fringe or be torn apart forever.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

"Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up. Furthermore, if two lie down together they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone? And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart."

PDS – August 18, 2017