On My Desk: Duane W.H. Arnold, PhD
I keep several small objects on my desk along with a number of framed photos. There is a late medieval wooden carving of St. Barbara, the patron saint of architects, betraying my love of design and building.Ā There is a small Byzantine oil lamp stamped with a cross dating from the time of the Church Fathers.Ā Adding a bit of color is a small seventeenth century piece of porcelain bearing the VOC mark of the Dutch East India Company betraying my love of oriental export wares of the era.Ā In the framed photos I am reminded of old friends and acquaintances ranging from two Archbishops of Canterbury, to Reformation scholars, to former students.Ā In the center of the desk is a silver letter opener, once owned by a Knight of Malta, its hilt set with two silver coins issued by the Order in the eighteenth century.Ā Above the desk, hanging on the wall, there are three illuminated manuscript leaves, one from the 1200s, one from the 1300s and one from the 1400s.Ā Ā
Each item holds some personal significance. Each piece serves to stoke my imagination as I work at the desk.Ā One particular item, however, always tends to draw my attention.
On the corner of the desk is a small fourth century terra-cotta head from Alexandria. It is obviously not a āstock imageā of a god or a ruler. It is the real face of a real man. His features are rough and common.Ā He wears the every day dress of his time. We donāt, however, know who he is.Ā Most likely he was a merchant or perhaps an artisan. In any case, he must have been known to the sculptor. Given that this piece was created in Alexandria in the mid-fourth century, it is likely that he was a believer. He might have heard the first reports from Nicaea when the delegates returned from the council. Perhaps he heard the great Athanasius preach in the cathedral near to the Serapion, in the heart of the city. He might even have been one of those who went out into the desert to seek the advice of the hermit, Antony. Was he involved in the politics of his day? Weāll never knowā¦
He stays on my desk for a reason. He is a reminder to me that in my faith as a Christian, I am not the first to walk this road. I am part of a continuum. He also reminds me that there has always been turmoil in the Church, often exacerbated by politics.Ā Not all accepted the decrees of Nicaea and the controversy stretched out for decades being both helped and hindered by succeeding emperors and the bevies of court theologians. Athanasius, you may remember, was exiled five times in his life as a bishop. His friend, Antony of the Desert, was considered to be decidedly eccentric by most people of his time, with the monastic movement as a whole regarded as a possible threat by the secular authorities.Ā It is interesting to note that, at least in the fourth century, most of those who sought power by aligning themselves with the imperial court fared badly, both at the time and in how they were remembered.Ā For every āgoodā emperor who might support their aims, there was no guarantee that the next emperor would be so inclined.Ā Indeed, there could even be a Julian the Apostate waiting in the wingsā¦
As I look at this small terra-cotta bust, I am also reminded that contemporary society is not necessarily the measure of perfection. There is much to be learned from those who have gone before us. This is to say that one need not be a slave to the past, but we ignore the past at our peril. As I said above, we are not the first ones to walk this road.Ā Indeed, there are physical reminders of this truth.Ā This unknown man from Alexandria was baptized as I was baptized.Ā At the Eucharist, he heard the same words that I hear, āThis is my bodyā¦ā He partook of that bread and that cup. At Easter he heard the same proclamation of the Resurrection as I hear.Ā He also faced the same dislocations owing to the politics and pandemics of his day and time⦠and he sits on my desk and looks at me across the centuries.Ā What unites us is not social circumstance, or language, or politics, but faith and, perhaps, our common humanity.
I find joy and assurance in being part of this continuum.
I canāt help but believe, however, that we are losing something⦠maybe a good number of āsomethingsā. It sometimes seems as though simple humanity, reverence, silence and charity are in short supply. The insistence of many that we align faith and politics will, in my opinion, merely add to that which has already been lost.Ā I wonder if in following the politics of the moment, we are abandoning much⦠maybe too much. Friendships have been lost, churches have divided, even families have been split asunder. Sometimes it seems that even prayers cannot be offered without the motive behind the prayer being questioned and suspect.
So, I look at my Alexandrian friend and I try to remember our common faith and common humanity that stretches across the centuries.Ā In looking at those who have walked the road behind me, perhaps I can find wisdom for the road ahead.
Well said.
It’s the lack of common decency that concerns me the most…and the temptation to be indecent in response.
We aren’t going to heal quickly from the wounds we’ve inflicted on each other…
Michael
Many thanks. Decency, civility, trusting in facts rather than conspiracies… it will be a long road back.
Dr. Duane, i love you my brother, but that is one of the most depressing, beat up by life, faces i have ever seen. š
Worse than my own……
It tends to match the way I feel some mornings…
Looks like a large number of the President’s staff has the Corona Virus. People on Twitter think there’s some kind of conspiracy. They are say “only two options to explain this.” ONE, they aren’t really sick, just following some playbook or TWO, one of Trump’s enemies deliberately infected his staff.
How about THREE, because of a stupidly cavalier attitude they mingled with infected people and got infected themselves?
Meanwhile, here’s what’s on my desk, from left to right:
1. A small plastic set of drawers filled with paper clips, rubber bands and bookmarks.
2. Several small notebooks to keep track of my aquariums.
3. A flower pot with rulers, pens and paint brushes.
4. Quite a few flower pots/ mugs of this sort, actually.
5. Cheap computer speakers
6. Several pairs of Dollar Tree reading glasses in exotic colors
7. Zoega’s “A Concise Old Icelandic Dictionary” (Old Norse)
8. A pile of Old Norse poetry I am supposed to be translating.
9. A lamp from IKEA
10. A nail clipper
11. A paperback edition of an Old Norse poem about the Virgin Mary I am thinking about working into my final thesis.
12. An old iPhone with a “Bob is a Hobbit” sticker
13. More cups full of pens and mechanical pencils, erasers all worn down.
14. My laptop
15. A mug of tepid coffee
16. The desk itself is a pine table from IKEA, chair is from the thrift shop.
17. On the wall above, a white board with upcoming online stuff and an Old Norse personal pronoun paradigms.
Xenia, the queen of multitasking..
My desk along with the rest of my stuff has been in storage for 7 1/2 years…. I wonder what’s left as i saw a “duplicate” of one very unusual piece of furniture that i bought over 60 years ago in an open house….. last year….
A working desk.
I actually have five desks in total – my bedroom desk (described), a desk in the library (specifically for referencing books), a desk in the workshop for projects, a computer desk in the basement and a drafting table that I use as a standing desk… each serves a different purpose
Ahh a drafting table as a stand up work space… been there, done that – great relief from a long sit. š
Gave ours to a grandson, for him i turned out to be a great affirmation of his potential as his older, smarter. brother had been a bit of a bully
Em
Indeed! Got the idea after seeing Churchill’s at Chartwell years ago…
Duane, I’ve only got one. It’s my daughters’ old bedroom, what I euphemistically call “The Library.” It’s great! It’s got a couch, an aquarium (a cichlid named Ragnar), a music room (took the door off the closet and I attempt to practice the recorder in there), 4 large bookcases, a mouse named Reepicheep, a fake wood stove that lights up and provides heat; Christmas lights, a few more little book cases, a cage with two guinea pigs Ruby and Flokki. The dog is usually on the couch. The window overlooks the neighbor’s wreck of a backyard (weeds, junk, derelict sheds, etc) so I keep the blinds closed.
Why all the little critters… well, I don’t get out much these days and I like talking to the little dudes. I just like little animals! Mr. Noodles the cat hangs out elsewhere.
Ragmar, Reepicheep, Ruby, Flokki, a nameless? dog and a Mr. Noodles…..
Xenia is most definitely uunique. . in a good way
I have a dead bullsnake under the mailbox…. should bury it, i guess. ..
The dog is Daisy. She is a Chiweenie.
I forgot to mention the icon corner with the hanging lampada.
Maybe dig a hole right next to the body and just tip it in?
under the debris of my desk is the little sign that states “An organized desk is the sign of a sick mind” Self-fulfilling prophesy. š
anyway–I enjoyed your contribution this week, especially the commonness of the bust & the everyday man. Our society struggles with the idea of common, basic, utilitarian. He/she is rare who is exceptional.
with Michael, I share the concern that common decency towards others is declining. My offering there is that one cannot share with others what he does not himself possess. If I am indecent, that is what I have to give. No posers here. Again it is a matter of what I cultivate within that constitutes a starting point for change.
chiweenie.
That is simply fun to say. Schwing, batta batta, Shwing.
filbertz
“My offering there is that one cannot share with others what he does not himself possess.”
Exactly so. I guess that I’m trying to cultivate within myself some of those things that I once considered to be of the utmost importance – humanity, reverence, etc. It’s a life-long project…
I work in a school where we, as staff, don’t initiate political discussions (unless we teach history). Anything that does come up is to be treated fairly and decently, respecting all sides of the issue. Our staff viewpoints range from mid-conservative (I don’t think we have any do or die Trumpeteers) to far left Woke, but we get along well due to the requirements to maintain civility at all times. This is my oasis of sanity in the midst of the chaos.
My school desk is full fo the tools of my trade with upper elementary studetns-flashcards, the text we currently use, my props for second-language teaching, and my large water bottle as I talk all day. Again, other than my cozy little home, this is my safe place, and I am thankful for it. I wish my students were with me instead of on Zoom, but that is better than no students at all.
Linn
You are doing God’s work…