{"id":2234,"date":"2018-11-16T14:03:09","date_gmt":"2018-11-16T19:03:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/lawrencefrizzell\/?p=2234"},"modified":"2018-11-16T14:03:09","modified_gmt":"2018-11-16T19:03:09","slug":"bees-in-the-great-context-of-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/lawrencefrizzell\/bees-in-the-great-context-of-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Bees in the Great Context of Life"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Over the centuries many people have developed a deeper appreciation regarding the connections of the creatures, large and small, which contribute to our lives. In recent decades the collapse of beehives in many regions of North America has caused great concern. Scientists note that one-third of our daily diet comes from plants pollinated by bees and other insects. The<\/em> New York Times<\/em>\u00a0published a study in the Science Section about the focus on other pollinators whose services may assist to avoid a crisis: see “Plan Bee: The Rise of Alternative Pollinators<\/a>” by\u00a0Catherine M. Allchin.<\/span>\u00a0May the sources of the attack on bees be discovered so that perhaps the balance of agricultural and horticultural areas will recover soon!<\/p>\n

The presence of bees in the Bible is noted in a number of places. In England a can of honey has the quotation, \u201cOut of the strong shall come the sweet,\u201d referring to the riddle of Samson (Judges 14:4-8).<\/p>\n

The Hebrew word translated as \u201choney\u201d can also mean \u201cdate syrup,\u201d as in Psalm 81:17: \u201cIsrael I will feed with the finest wheat and satisfy them with honey from the rock.\u201d This refers to the rocky ground unsuitable for vines on which date palms were planted. We recall the promise that the Israelites will come into a \u201cland flowing with milk and honey\u201d (Exodus 3:8; Leviticus 20:24; Numbers 13:27), undoubtedly with reference to date syrup.<\/p>\n

God\u2019s Law and the gift of wisdom are \u201cmore desirable than gold, sweeter than honey from the comb<\/em>\u201d (Psalm 19:11; see Psalm 119:103), referring to the work of bees. The prophet Ezekiel was given the Word of God as a scroll, sweet as honey to the taste of Ezekiel but a bitter message to the disobedient (Ezekiel 3:1-3; See Apocalypse 10:9).<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Christian art, the beehive suggested community, sweetness, eloquence, and sometimes the Virgin Mary and Christ. The bee also exemplified industry, diligence, and vigilance\u201d (Judith Couchman, The Art of Faith: A Guide to Understanding Christian Images<\/a><\/em>\u00a0(Brewick, M.A.: Paraclete Press, 2012) p. 158). The mellifluous tongue of Saints Ambrose, John Chrysostom and Bernard of Clairvaux carried the wisdom of God to their generation.<\/p>\n

A prayer extends this image to ourselves.<\/p>\n

Dear Lord, may I think often of the bees and the honey they produce. And when I do, help me to remember that I too can produce sweetness by what I say. Teach me to use kindness in all my thoughts and actions. And please, Lord, help me to do it sincerely. Good honey must be pure, and so it is with kind words – they must be honest and true.<\/p>\n

(Norma J. Perssen, God and Nature: A Book of Devotion for Christians who Love Wildlife<\/em><\/a> (Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall, 1984) p. 57.)<\/p>\n

From ages past people marveled at the complexity of the beehive and the wonderful cooperation of many to maintain their home and provide sustenance for all. Until the 17th<\/sup> century people thought that the leader of each hive was its king. In Shakespeare\u2019s King Henry V, during the discussion of the king\u2019s choices in governance, the Archbishop of Canterbury presents an analogy with a long reflection on the marvelous cooperation of bees.<\/p>\n

Therefore doth heaven divide
\nThe state of man in divers functions,
\nSetting endeavour in continual motion;
\nTo which is fixed, as an aim or butt,
\nObedience: for so work the honey-bees,
\nCreatures that by a rule in nature teach
\nThe act of order to a peopled kingdom.
\nThey have a king and officers of sorts;
\nWhere some, like magistrates, correct at home,
\nOthers, like merchants, venture trade abroad,
\nOthers, like soldiers, armed in their stings,
\nMake boot upon the summer’s velvet buds,
\nWhich pillage they with merry march bring home
\nTo the tent-royal of their emperor;
\nWho, busied in his majesty, surveys
\nThe singing masons building roofs of gold,
\nThe civil citizens kneading up the honey,
\nThe poor mechanic porters crowding in
\nTheir heavy burdens at his narrow gate,
\nThe sad-eyed justice, with his surly hum,
\nDelivering o’er to executors pale
\nThe lazy yawning drone.<\/p>\n

(Henry V. Act I scene 2, line 183-204)<\/p>\n

The Easter Vigil Liturgy in the Roman rite begins with the lighting of the Paschal candle from the new fire. The beautiful Paschal Proclamation<\/em> or Exultet<\/em> can be traced to the early Middle Ages. It includes a celebration of the work of bees.<\/p>\n

On this, your night of grace, O holy Father,
\naccept this candle, a solemn offering,
\nthe work of bees and of your servants\u2019 hands,
\nan evening sacrifice of praise,
\nthis gift from your most holy Church.<\/p>\n

But now we know the praises of this pillar,
\nwhich glowing fire ignites for God’s honor,
\na fire into many flames divided,
\nyet never dimmed by sharing of its light,
\nfor it is fed by melting wax,
\ndrawn out by mother bees
\nto build a torch so precious.<\/p>\n

O truly blessed night,
\nwhen things of heaven are wed to those of earth,
\nand divine to the human.<\/p>\n

May the scientists of our time learn what has interfered with the life of so many bees and provide a remedy to the dilemma! Of course, every aspect of such research must be evaluated carefully from the perspectives of many experts from several nations. See Emily Baumgaertner’s\u00a0<\/span>pertinent article in The<\/em>\u00a0New York Times, “<\/em>Viruses Spread by Insects to Crops Sound Scary. The Military Calls It Food Security<\/a>.<\/span>”\u00a0<\/em>We also might express gratitude for the little creatures who render great service as pollinators and then are robbed of their harvest so that we can indulge in a craving for sweetness.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Over the centuries many people have developed a deeper appreciation regarding the connections of the creatures, large and small, which contribute to our lives. In recent decades the collapse of beehives in many regions of North America has caused great … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2011,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2234","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-miscellaneous"],"aioseo_notices":[],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/lawrencefrizzell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2234","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/lawrencefrizzell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/lawrencefrizzell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/lawrencefrizzell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2011"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/lawrencefrizzell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2234"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/lawrencefrizzell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2234\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2272,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/lawrencefrizzell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2234\/revisions\/2272"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/lawrencefrizzell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2234"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/lawrencefrizzell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2234"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/lawrencefrizzell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2234"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}